"I... I tried calling you, but your phone was going straight to voicemail..."
I looked at my daughter, who had seen me coming up the stairs, but something seemed different. I looked carefully at her, before I realized what it was.
I walked up the her, and placed my hand on her cheek. She didn't pull away like she usually does, instead she stayed quiet.
Then I swiped my thumb under her eye.
"!!!"
"Dad... Its not.. a big deal. It was a one time thing and I just wanted to stay here until he cooled down.."
I took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.
"Come inside, let's put some ice on that first... We don't want you to get a bruise." I said, unlocking the door to my apartment.
I calmly put my bag in my room, and then I came out to get Ashley some ice. Once I got her some, she put it on her eye gingerly, wincing a bit.
I sat down across from her, and looked her in the eyes.
"Was it the typical guy your mom is with, or a different one?"
She looked down and was quiet for a moment.
"It's the normal guy... But it was different today. He... was different. Usually he just says mean things, but ever since yesterday he has been different. He was gone for a really long time, then he suddenly came home all amped up on something. He kept talking about some Tower and the wishes he had in life... How we were holding him back. I told him to not blame mom and me for his own problems, and then he hit me... He said if I talk back again, he'll use his full strength next time... I got scared so I just ran here... I'm sorry for coming unannounced.."
"It's fine... I... I like having you here."
At this Ashley began to cry. I didn't know what to say so I was just sitting across from her looking confused and worried.
"I-I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier! It... It came out wrong. I just wanted to tell you to stop spending money on me, but I said it in such a mean way. I don't know how to talk to you... Mom always says such mean things about you, but I remembered how nice you were to me when I was a kid, and even now you've never been mean to me..."
She began wiping tears on her sleeves.
"I think you just lost control that time, but I don't think you're a bad person... And... I don't think you're a bad dad... I at least know you would never hit me... Even if Brad has all the money in the world, he's still a piece of shit in the end."
I was silent, listening to her pour out her emotions. I... Felt glad that she didn't hate me, but I was angry that the way I am finding out is by her coming to me with a black eye.
'That fuck Brad... He has been to the Tower of Wishes too... I don't know what Gift he got, but it could be dangerous. I need more information.. But once I had the information I needed... I'll kill him.'
A dangerous glint flashed across my eyes, but thankfully Ashley didn't see it.
"Why don't you go sleep in my room honey, you can take the bed and I'll sleep on the floor for tonight."
She sniffled a little.
"Are you going to be okay dad? I know you have work and it is sometimes hard on your back..."
I could see she was genuinely concerned for me. I was glad I was so wrong about her hating me. Perhaps... It wasn't as hopeless as I thought.
"No, it's okay. I feel... Pretty good lately. My back isn't bothering me anymore. So take it. I plan to move soon too, so don't worry about me."
I said, while flexing for her and smacking my bicep.
She laughed and got up from the floor. She walked to my room, and it wasn't until it was too late that I realized something important.
"WAIT, ASHLEY!"
But she was already walking out with my bad full of money.
"Dad... Where did you get all this?"
I looked at her, unsure of what to say.
She simply made eye contact with me, and nodded.
"You.. Didn't hurt anyone for it, right?"
"No, of course not!"
She nodded again.
"But... It isn't yours... Is it..?"
This time I shook my head, looking away. I had just earned her trust again and now she is going to think I'm some petty thief.
"Cool. Did you like, rob a bank??" she came over to me and set the money down.
It seemed that her energy was rejuvenated, as she looked at me with wide eyes looking at me with interest, which surprised me.
"You mean... You don't care that your dad is a thief?"
"What? No. I steal all the time. But I have never gotten this much, how much is in there by the way?"
"A little over $200,000..."
"Yeah, me I usually get like five hun-"
I could see her eyes slowly getting wide.
"DID YOU JUST SAY 200,000???!!!"
I quickly reached over and covered her mouth.
"SHH! I literally just stole it! You want to tell the whole building I have the exact amount that was stolen?!" I looked at angrily. I wasn't upset but she needed to understand the seriousness of it all. If I were caught, it was prison time. Not jail. Prison.
She slowly calmed down and pulled her head away from my hand.
"Sorry dad... But how did you do it?"
I looked at her, and thought for a moment. I knew that what happened to me was magical, and perhaps there is a bigger reason behind it all, but I didn't care about those politics as much.
I was just a dad trying to get closer to his daughter... So I told her the truth. I told her about what happened, how I teleported into the Tower, and what happened inside the Tower. I told her about my Gift, and how I used it to get money, which she thought was very cool.
But then I explained my worry about Brad, the one who hit her, and how he might have also been to the tower.
She nodded, seeing how that was a logical conclusion, and understood that if he had a powerful gift, that he was really dangerous. After I finished explaining everything, we sat in silence for a while.
"So... What are you going to do with all that money?"
"Oh? Well, I'm going to buy a laptop tomorrow and hack into the bank's customer information storage, then transfer money from all of their accounts to an online account of mine that is completely anonymous. Then move that money around some more until it's untraceable, and then use that. I was going to put the cash back into the peoples' accounts, but I realized I don't need to do that since the banks are federally insured. So I guess I'm just gonna keep it?"
"OOOH! CAN I HAVE SOME? Pleeeeease!"
She then gave me these large pleading eyes. Eyes that I hadn't seen since she was a little kid. I was lost in nostalgia for a moment when I recovered my wits.
"Huh? Yeah, sure, just don't buy things worth a lot of money because if you do then it will get flagged by the IRS. Just moderately expensive, and if you can do a payment plan with a large down payment that would be even better. That way it just looks like you are in debt."
She nodded, and was surprisingly writing what I said down.
I remembered that Ashley was a really bright kid. She did really well in school, which was surprising because neither her mother or I were book smart.
We spoke for a while longer, before she fell asleep on the floor.
I looked down at her and smiled, thinking she still slept the same way she did when she was a baby... So... Carefree.
I went to pick her up, when I realized I was too old and weak to pick her up.
I shook my head in frustration, when I thought of something.
"Status."
STR: 10
CON: 10
AGI: 10
DEX: 10
INT: 10
CHR: 4
LCK: 1
AP: 5
I promptly added five points to my strength. Yes, I was going to use this magical resource, to get strong enough to lift my daughter to bed.
Because that's my job as a dad. Always.
****
After I allocated the points, I was able to lift my daughter up like it was nothing and bring her into the bedroom.
I felt incredibly invigorated, and overflowing with strength. I looked at myself in the mirror, and noticed my body had been packed with muscle. I looked like just a middle aged dad who liked to take care of his body. Not yet at the level of a body builder, but getting there.
I then got comfortable, and fell asleep on the couch. It was the first time in a very long time, where I wasn't having trouble sleeping. I felt... At peace for the first time in a long time.
****
The morning was eventful as well. I woke up to the smell of eggs and bacon. I looked over at the kitchen, and Ashley was making breakfast.
"I hope you don't mind, I took some of the money and bought some groceries since I saw you only had beer and milk in the fridge." she said, laughing.
"Huh? Oh, yeah... Well.. I was planning to go out and eat somewhere nice tonight... If you wanted you could come with me? We could go to some restaurants we used to go to when you were little?" I offered.
"Mmm.... Nah, let's go somewhere with like really good sushi!" her eyes sparkled at the mention of sushi, so I could only relent and say okay.
"Also, Ashley I was going to look at houses tonight... Would you... Well... Would you like to move back in with me? Of course you don't have to! I don't have custody of you or anything, but I think with this situation I could get your mom to let me see you a little more.."
I began trailing off, feeling less and less confident in my ability to win some custody.
Ashley came over and placed a plate before me. It had a lot of bacon and eggs, with some homemade pancakes. She then placed her hand on my shoulder and hugged me lightly.
"I would love to... I can talk to mom. I get the feeling... You won't forgive mom for leaving you the way she did... And I understand that. After getting to know you more, I think she lied about a lot of stuff, but she's still my mom. So I don't want to just leave her, but I think I can talk to her about living with you during school breaks. We have a pretty big winter break coming up in a few weeks, so we can spend Christmas together."
I rested my head on her head, and we stayed like that for a few moments, before I thought of something I felt I should talk to her about.
"Ashley..."
She looked up, having just sat down across from me.
"Yeah, what is it? You got all like serious again."
"I am going to get rid of Brad... I am telling you because... Well because I don't want to treat you like someone I can't trust or confide in. I'm not asking for permission either... I am simply telling you what will happen."
She took a long while to think about what I just told her. We both ate in silence, and I didn't push her for a response. I meant what I said, that I wasn't asking for permission or forgiveness, but simply that I was going to do something. So I wasn't interested in a response. I ate my breakfast happily, and after I got up to put my plate in the sink.
She spoke.
"I won't think any less of you.. If the Tower can grant people extraordinary strength, then it can definitely be used poorly if the wrong type of person has it... And I think Brad is the wrong type of person.. I just.. Wish it didn't have to be you to do it."
I nodded, and I understood what she was getting at. However I couldn't allow a threat like Brad to exist to my family. So with that, Ashley and I finished our breakfast, before heading out to buy a laptop. She showed me some that she recommended, as they were popular brands. After I bought one, I bought a laptop router, and began moving money out of the accounts of millions of people from the bank.
I began laundering the money, and after a couple hours in a parking lot, we were ready to leave. We headed to a phone store next, where I got a new phone and upgraded Ashley's. She was really excited, which made me happy to see. We then headed to a realty agency, and began to look for houses. I didn't much care what kind of house we lived in, so I let her choose. She ended up choosing a really nice house with four bedrooms and two bathrooms.
I didn't mind what house she chose, as when we got there I would simply upgrade it with my own technology.
After signing the paperwork, everything was arranged for me to move in immediately, and since I had nothing I just drove straight there. I also ordered a bunch of old cheap electronics to be delivered to the house, which my daughter didn't understand.
Stating it was a waste of money, but I disagreed. I then placed my hands on two old TVs, and used my gift to create one giant TV, that was more sophisticated than top of the line TVs now. It was directly placed into the wall, as I created a moving wall mount and a space to hide the TV when not in use. I was connected to a remote that I had created, using an old one.
I walked over to the kitchen, and created a garbage disposal while changing the design completely. I upgraded the entire kitchen. I then added a smart temperature system, which could be controlled through wifi, but also had an AI that adjusted it in case no one else did.
I created a thermostat in each room, allowing for separate temps for each room, which also required me to change the ventilation system. I simply connected that to the AI as well, allowing it to control the whole house.
I changed the lights, moving them around freely, and upgraded each room one by one. Ashley was watching all of the changes happen right before her eyes, the mysticism not lost in the slightest.
"Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"How... do I enter the Tower?"
I was shocked when she asked this, as she knew from my stories yesterday that it was incredibly dangerous, yet she still wanted to give it a try. I understood her, as over the last night I realized something had changed in me.
I wanted to go back to the Tower... I wanted power.. The strength to do what you wanted was, addicting to say the least. However currently I didn't know why or how I entered the Tower. Perhaps I could get that information as I advanced floors.
Now that I had a safe place to come back to... I already began to plan my attempt at Floor 2.