4 years later: Connecticut 1889
(Tae's P.O.V)
"Daddy!" I yelled happily as the big brute man came through the door with a tired huff after a long day at work. He smiled at me, although the smile seemed weak and he pressed on to the living room. I eagerly followed him, grabbing his dirty hand and nonchalantly pleading for his attention.
Daddy glanced down at me, "And how is the good, little miss doing today?" I looked up at him with a smile plastered on my face.
"Happy! Me and Amelia had tea together!" I exclaimed joyfully as Daddy walked down the hall and into the family room. Amelia is my favourite doll; I had her since I was two years old and I plan to keep her forever.
Daddy let go of my hand and I scrambled into my favourite chair. It was a poofy rocking chair with cushions and I love sleeping in it even though Daddy always wakes me up and makes me go to my room when I do fall asleep. Daddy sat on the sofa and sunk into the cushions with a heavy sigh. I could tell instantly that he was exhausted and I wondered what he had done to get himself so bummed out.
"How was work, Daddy?" I asked sweetly, tugging at the lace fringe of my petticoat. Dad sighed gently and closed his eyes as if to take a nap, which I thought was odd since he always yells at me for sleeping on the sofa.
"Work was fine, Tae, " Daddy responded simply. I frowned; that's all he ever says. I was beginning if his job was actually really boring. I never imagined building carriages to be boring; there's so much to do and see! But, how Daddy puts it in his bland, boring statement, "it's fine," it's making me question what really happens in his workplace. It can't be as boring as listening to gentlewomen gossip around tea tables, is it?
I don't know why he doesn't tell me things. Maybe it's a grown-up thing? Whatever it is, Daddy scares me when he hides his feelings from me; he always looks so mean and angry. But the more I think about it, the more it hurts me to know that Daddy hides his feelings from me. It's like I'm not big enough to hear what he has to say, and it worries me because I don't know what's going on. I can tell when he's sad, but he puts a smile on his face; I can tell when he's scared, but he plays it off as if it were nothing.
Speaking of being scared; I scare Daddy sometimes. He gives me odd looks sometimes when I hug him, or curl up on his lap, but it happens most often when playing hide-and-seek, which I can never seem to get him to play with me anymore. I love to be the hider because I can go into small places and curl myself up into small, queer shapes. I love to hide, but I hate being found because of the horrified stares and noises my Daddy makes... I've asked him before why he's afraid of me and he just answered with, "because you're a hellspawn." I don't know what that means but I felt sad because of the tone he had.
Even when I make my animal noises he looks at me weird. I make my cat noise most often; it sounds like a purr and happens mostly when I feel comfortable. Daddy doesn't like it though; he thinks little girls shouldn't act like animals and he scolds me if I run around the house chirping like the songbirds outside my window.
Sometimes, when it's late at night, I'll hear Daddy talking with his friends in the lounge room about me; he says things like, "She's different. I know she is... and it's not the good kind of different either."-or- "She's a spawn of the devil! I know she is! Knowing the activities her mother partook in, there's no doubt!" I don't know my mother. What do I have to do with what she did?
Daddy suddenly sighed again, knocking me out of my thoughts. I looked at him with wide eyes, wondering what he was about to do. He hoisted himself off the sofa and stretched, letting out a drawn-out yawn as he did so.
"Well, I'm going to go to wash up and go to bed now. You should too," he stated, before walking out of the living room and up the stairs.
"But I'm not tired," I pointed out in disappointment. Daddy stopped in the middle of the stairwell and looked me straight in the eye with that familiar, scary glare of his.
"I said, 'you should too.' That means: go to bed," he ordered firmly and I frowned. Reluctantly, I obeyed and followed him up the stairs to my room. Daddy helped me change into a clean nightgown and brushed my long, blonde hair to put into two braids. I hummed a little tune as a played with my doll, paying no mind to my hair being tidied for bed.
When Daddy was finished, however, I whined and complained that I wasn't tired again, hugging my doll close to my chest and putting on my most convincing pout. Daddy sighed and glared at me tiredly.
"Tae, I'm only going to say this one more time... It is bedtime!" he informed angrily. My pout disappeared and I immediately nodded my head in fear that he would get angry and yell at me again. I obediently climbed into my bed, still hugging Amelia, my doll, close for comfort. Daddy patted down the covers and tucked me in quickly before muttering a soft, "Goodnight," and turning out the lights.
"Goodnight, Daddy..." I uttered back, still disappointed about having to go to bed early.
...
The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Daddy's voice talking sternly with someone in the lounge.
That's odd. I thought. He usually has friends over at night. Curious, I got out of bed and went downstairs to investigate. I peeked through the door to the lounge room and saw Daddy sitting in his usual spot with a drink in his hand, and two other people that I'd never seen before sitting across from him.
"Well, Mr Vlamorae, now that you have your drink... I think you can now tell us what happened yesterday in the factory," one of the men stated, crossing one leg over the other and staring at Daddy intently.
"I swear Mr Alexander... I was only the man who installed the wheels," Daddy defended himself. The other man cocked an eyebrow at him and rubbed his bearded chin.
"Well then, surely, you must've seen the faulty axel?" he asked with an almost sarcastic tone. Daddy furrowed his brows in confusion and clutched his glass until his knuckles turned white.
"I didn't notice anything wrong! I wasn't even at my post! I was looking for extra bolts!" Daddy defended himself. The two men gave each other a knowing glance, before turning back at him.
"So you admit to not being at your post, therefore abandoning your position and bypassing a faulty carriage?" Mr Alexander asked although it sounded more like a statement. Daddy's mouth parted as if to say something but no words came out, he was too dumbstruck to be able to comprehend what was happening. I didn't know what was happening either but I knew it was bad.
"I was only gone for a moment to look for bolts!" Dad yelled in outrage, standing up from his chair angrily. The other man's face twisted into one of rage and he stood up as well with an intimidating demeanour that frightened even me.
"Mr Vlamorae! We have a lawsuit on our hands because a man and his wife have been injured! Now, if you really do care for your position at the factory, then you'll kindly take responsibility for not accounting for the tainted carriage! Will you, or will not comply?" the man yelled sternly in a strong voice that I could only describe as, "demanded respect". I cowered away from the door slightly, the man's yelling scared me.
"That's poppycock! No, I will not comply and be blamed for something I didn't do!!" Daddy snapped furiously, the loud noise causing me to whimper and curl up into a ball in the shadows. Mr Alexander and his partner stood and gazed at my father gravely. Alexander sighed calmly, taking his derby and placing it delicately on his head.
"Well then, Mr Vlamorae... we no longer are in need of your services; have a nice day." Mr Alexander formally announced, before standing up with the other man, who was putting on his hat and coat and leaving the house through a door on the other side of the room from where I was.
Daddy looked out where they had disappeared with a dumbstruck expression, he was in too much disbelief to comprehend what was happening. When the realisation hit him, he returned to his seat and put his head in his hands, wondering what he would do next.
I decided I would finally get up; so I quietly got out of the shadows and pushed open the door. Daddy didn't see me, nor did he hear me, apparently. I placed my hand on his knee, and after a few seconds, I climbed onto the arm of the chair and hugged him around his neck.
However, suddenly, Daddy growled in annoyance and shoved me off of him. He stomped back upstairs, leaving me on the floor to ponder what had just happened.
He pushed me... I fell and he didn't care.