Daddy's Patient

I walk softly towards the basement door, knowing the path by heart. As soon as I reach the bottom of the stairs, I bump into Kacey’s father.

“Dr. Stone, I-I’m sorry, I—“

“It’s okay, Nicki,” his deep, familiar voice calls out to me in the dark.

Kacey’s dad places his big hands over my small, bare shoulders, steadying me. I shiver before him in my sheer, very short nightie and shiver, but not because it’s freezing cold in this house.

“I was wondering how long it would take you to come down.”