Bound To A Bully

e

e did well and was given the proper shape of the head of her snowman, but she was hav

it wasn't. She never complained about it. And I didn't want to think about what she was missing out on when I was angry with he

liked that one thing. I arranged barbeque, too, after decorating with lights, plastic garlands, and our snowman, but it wasn't enough. And again, I couldn't bring her father

t her. Not because she never

een minutes felt like fifteen years. When I got her, she smiled toothily and showed m

addy complained before I could begin by setting a carrot on her snowman's face. I eyed

s widened at me. Before she could say anything, I sat on my knees on the snow and to

said. "How about we make

r and teased, "

ill help you with th

wood I stored in my garage last night a

e. Even better, if you s

ce ball and formed two holes in one line to

s in his control. He ruled, and everyone was bound to follow. I knew he was looking for me everywhere, all around the world, and was one step away from calling a war against the Italian Mafioso. Why? Because I was

what happened in the airp

her to wait for me with her fellow friends, who also had to choose a round trip from St Petersburg to Zurich. We didn't get a direct flight to Sweden at that hour, and I thoug

Please." My daughter pleaded, but I

ith Maddy following behind, I felt a tug on my sweater and looked down to see her

e. It still gave me chills when I remembered how I looked for her everywhere but didn

That year, when I got a low score in world geography and fine art, you still rewarded me with a new pair of blue sneaker

g to her. It was just. . .nobody ever rewarded me before or appreciated me for my

ith wide eyes, surprised to

her up and took her to the kitchen to feed her warm milk.

r my face, making it hard for me to see where I was heading. I

inst her before placing her on a stool in my kitchen. "So

. "Let me help you with molding the piz

w your taste, Maddy. Was

were anything but ordinary people. Keeping her with me means putting her life in danger. A fear always crept into my chest when she asked me to visit our next-door neigh

u like the food there? I have talked with your faculty. They told me good things about you. Even your classmates and

knew how I bribed the driver to drop us here, who wanted us to leave immediately. I was tired from my match on the last day and had jet lag today. Not to mention, I had to make the round trip to pick up my daughter from her academy, so the driver had to bear w

help of a not-so-corrupt ex-militant, I got to manipulate her age to transfer her into a decent military academy. With her height, health, and high IQ, I didn't need to face t

home; past midnight, a continuous kno

ep, which made me br

n from the drawer

my brain stopped working to see t

i

's fa

here did he f

ere. I didn't know

got to breathe. I forgot

d a couple of times at him

wake up from this nightmare, bu

on my doorstep, standing in a milit

a heart attack any time, even though I knew how strong my heart was. No, how did

seeing, Maddy appeared beside me with her doll, rubbing her right e

ation get any

my eyes, I noticed our daughter was watching him with droopy eyes, puffing her

though I knew he couldn't figure it out sooner. I was sure this dumb

scular than the last time wh

wanting to hear him tell me what

and in his body. I would have done something for him while pushing back my f

"Hello, sir. Ha

do, every day,

, but only

s will be spe