Olivia nosleep

It was early in the morning Friday when I was woken up by a knock at my door. It was highly unusual as I moved into my new apartment just over three months ago and hadn't given out my address to anyone outside of my workplace HR department and some utilities/cable companies. So when I answered the door and a police officer was standing outside with a seven year old girl I was definitely caught off guard.

“Shane Altin?” The officer inquired.

“Ummm...Yes. That's me. Is there a problem?” I said, my voice wavering. I haven't had to deal with the cops in a long time but from the times I did they certainly weren't pleasant experiences.

“May we come in sir?” he questioned, motioning at the young girl standing next to his side.

She looked innocent. But don't all children her age? I had never seen the girl in my life and I knew that for a fact but something seemed very recognizable about her. I just nodded and stepped to the side to let them walk past me. The girl immediately sat on the couch and grabbed the television remote.

“Can I watch some TV?” she asked, a confidence in her tone that surprised me. Almost like it was her TV and she was just being polite by asking.

“Yeah. Uhhh...yeah, sure. You have to turn the TV on with that remote and then you need--”

“I know.” she said grabbing the cable box remote, once again with that confidence, “We had the same setup at home.”

“Had?” I said, shooting the officer a severely confused look. He just stood off to the side of the couch and looked back at me, fake cleared his throat and then started to talk.

“Sir, you may want to sit down for the news I'm about to give you. Olivia's mother...” he said, looking over at the young girl sitting on my couch, “Well, she passed away earlier this evening--”

“Wait!” I interjected, looking back at the girl and then back at this rookie cop who I could tell hadn't ever done anything like this before in his short career, “What does this have to do with me? I mean, who the fuck is she, excuse the language.”

“She's your daughter.” he said, looking at me like I should have known. “Can we go into the other room and talk more privately?”

The cop didn't even wait for me to answer, he looked in the bedroom to see if anyone else was in there and waited for me to walk by before closing the door. He waited until he heard the TV start playing in the other room and then he started talking again.

“Look, I know you and Lindsey had a rough past, the police reports tell the whole story but you have a responsibility now, regardless of the legal issues you had with her mother.”

I started to laugh at this cop, I couldn't help it. Did he really thing that girl was my daughter?

“This has got to be a joke, right? Someone at work put you up to this, didn't they?”

“No, sir. I assure you that this no joke, that is your daughter sitting on your couch and she's going to need you more than ever now. She is one tough kid. What she went through no child should ever have to go through.”

I stopped him from saying anymore, this was getting way too real, way too fast and I didn't like it one bit. This was impossible, I never got Lindsey pregnant and it had to have been eight or nine years since I seen her last and that girl has to be seven, at least.

“I haven't seen Lindsey in like nine years. There is no way that little girl is my child.”

“Sir, your name is listed on the birth certificate as the father.”

“What the fuck? How is that even possible?? I didn't sign my name on a birth certificate for anyone!” I pleaded, “I have never seen that girl in my life, not at the time of her birth, not ever!”

He didn't look convinced, in fact he looked at me like I was some piece of shit, bottom feeding scumbag who impregnates women and doesn't take care of his own seed. He started shaking his head.

“Mr. Altin, your signature and even your social security number are both listed on the birth certificate for little Olivia. I understand that this is kind of a shock and I admit, I wouldn't be leaving her with you if there was any other option but you are the biological father and therefore, by state law, I am required...no, you are required and responsible for your child.”

“Dude! I'm not trying to get out of any responsibility, I am just simply not responsible! She's not my child!

My responses appeared to be falling on deaf ears as he began turning the knob but before opening the door he looked back at me, “You will take care of her. Is that understood?”

“Wait, you're not seriously going to leave her here with me?? Are you?? Can't you just take her to Lindsey's mom's house until we get this misunderstanding sorted out??”

He let go of the door knob and stuck his pointer finger directly into my chest knocking me back a bit, “I really don't like deadbeats and I won't like it if I have to come back here because I find out that you have done anything to hurt that girl.”

He turned back, opened the door and walked back out into the living room stopping and kneeling next to Olivia.

“Hey Olivia. I'm leaving now but I want you to have something.” he reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card, “If you ever need anything you can always call this number and I'll be on the other end. Ok sweetie?”

She looked at him and smiled, taking the business card from him, “I'm ok. I miss mommy but I'm glad daddy is here.”

Panic rushed through my whole body, I just wanted to run. I had no idea, I still have no idea what is going on. The cop raised up and shot me an evil look as he walked to the door of my apartment.

“Olivia has the keys to the home she and her mother shared, you will have to wait until next week Tuesday after the holiday to go back there and get Olivia's things. The police are currently there but should be done by that time.”

And with that final set of instructions this guy walks out of my apartment and I stare, blankly at the door as it closed me in, the disbelief all but suffocating me. I couldn't move, I was fucking paralyzed.

“Daddy?” beckoned a soft voice, “I'm tired.”

I just sat motionless, what was I going to do? This was completely insane. I can't take care of a child. I live in a one bedroom apartment and work as a systems administrator making a meager salary, even for a single guy with no children. And now I have a child? I'm still questioning this, it all makes no sense.

I looked at the girl on my couch, I mean, I really looked at her. Was this girl actually my daughter? There were similarities between us but nothing glaring that stood out enough to make me say, yeah, that's my daughter. Her eyes were glassy and red like she had been crying or was about to start.

“Ok. I guess you'll have to sleep in the bedroom tonight until we can figure out a better arrangement. Just hang tight for a second, watch the TV while I change the sheets on the bed for you.”

I went into the bedroom, my mind racing, and got a clean pair of sheets from the closet. Better arrangement, I thought, how is this going to get better, it's a fucking nightmare.

I was pulling the comforter straight when a slight tugging on my shirt scared the shit out of me and I jumped. Olivia stepped back and then without hesitation attacked my midsection, burying her head in my stomach as she wrapped her arms around me. It looked like someone hit me with a water balloon when I wasn't paying attention, my arms hovering two feet from my sides, my back arched and the expression of utter terror. Then she started to cry.

Slowly I brought my arms down and patted her on the back gently, “It's ok, I'm confused too.”

“You don't love me! I can tell!” she bawled, wiping her eyes back and forth on my shirt, “Mommy said you died but I knew she was lying!”

“She said I died?!”

I was actually insulted and for a second I forgot that I wasn't even sure that this was my child and went straight into what the fuck mode.

“What else did she tell you?”

Olivia looked up at me, her eyes swollen and soaked with tears, “She said you were in the army and you never came back. But I heard her talking to Auntie Dee and Auntie Dee told mommy that she saw you at Walmart so I knew she was lying.”

Her eyes went cold and a menacing look crept across her face, “She lied!”

The crash at the window sounded like an explosion sending a shiver down my spine and tremors through the floor. I walked over and pulled the blinds, peering outside I could see a bird the size of a softball on the ground violently convulsing.

“She shouldn't have lied to me, it wasn't nice.” she said angrily, “I don't like when people lie to me!”

I turned back and watched as the little girl hopped up onto the bed and burrowed beneath the blankets not paying any attention to the window. A few short seconds later she was immersed in bedding and again focused her gaze on me.

“You won't lie to me, will you daddy?”

I really wasn't prepared for that questioned but managed to choke out a “no” and “you should probably get some sleep” before going back into the living room. I sat down, my eyes fixed on the TV but my attention in a far different place while my mind tried to comprehend what all transpired in the matter of an hour. I had so many questions and very few answers but one thing I did know was that I wasn't going to be making it into work that morning so I fired up my laptop and shot an email to my boss explaining that I had come down with the flu and wouldn't be in this morning.

The next thing I did was make myself a drink, I know, probably not the best idea given my current predicament but I couldn't help it, my nerves were on fire and I needed to relax. One drink turned into two which turned into a lot more and before I knew it I was seeing double. I'm not entirely sure how long it took before I passed out but I did and when I came to my head was banging and Olivia was perched in front of me rubbing her eyes.

“I'm hungry.” she moaned

“Jesus Christ.” I grumbled, sitting up, “Give me a second, ok?”

She let out a lengthy sigh and sat down next to me on the couch, grabbing the remote and flipping through the channels.

“Mommy used to make me pancakes.” she said, her eyes still locked on the television

“Well, I'm not mommy and I don't have anything to make pancakes with.” I replied, standing up and walking to the kitchen. I looked in the refrigerator, which mind you, was a refrigerator of a single guy who wasn't used to cooking for small children. Scanning what food I did have I saw some eggs that had expired just under a week ago and put them on the counter.

“How do you like your eggs?” I asked, grabbing a bowl from the cupboard

“Ewwww, eggs?” she complained

“Ewwww nothing. It's all I have right now. I'll get pancake mix or something later.”

“Fine.” she griped, “I guess scrambled but mommy always makes me pancakes.”

“Yeah, you told me that already.”

I cracked the egg and broke it open over the bowl, the contents spilling out a crimson red in color and emitting a pungent odor that made me gag. Holding my nose I dumped the blood soaked chicken placenta into the kitchen sink washing it and the rotting embryo down the drain with hot water in hopes of eliminating the horrendous odor. I have never in my life ever experienced that before but rationalized that it couldn't be all that unusual, so I got a new bowl and another egg. This time, not only was the smell god awful but there was actually a small fetus floating in this pool of avian afterbirth. I had enough with the eggs, I discarded the corpse into the disposal and tossed the remaining eggs.

“Hey Olivia, how about we go to Denny's instead? You said you wanted pancakes, right?”

Her eyes lit up like spotlights and she hopped off of the couch, “I do, I do!”

Denny's was relatively busy for a Friday morning but we were able to get a booth and the waitress said she'd be back to take our orders shortly. While we waited I decided to get the order to go, I wanted to get home as soon as possible and start to sort this mess out. Olivia was adorable and so far, pretty well behaved but I wasn't convinced that she was indeed my daughter or that I was ready for such a responsibility. The waitress came and took our order and less than ten minutes later she was back with our food bagged up and ready to go.

“Thank you.” I said, stepping out of the booth, Olivia trailing right behind me. I walked up the register to pay the bill, pulled out my wallet and handed the check and my debit card to the lady working. A faint giggle came from behind me, it was Olivia. An old woman with white, ratty hair running down the center of her ragged flannel jacket was hunched over, whispering something in her ear. The old woman noticed me, grinned, revealing her yellowed, rotting teeth and she continued to speak.

“Olivia!” I snapped, parading over to her, grabbing her hand “Don't talk to people you don't know.”

“Sir! Your daughter, sir!” the old woman clamored, shaking her hands “Your dau--”

“Just fuck off!” I barked, gently pulling Olivia to the register. I grabbed my receipt from the woman at the register who was shaking her head at me.

“What?!” I said, snatching up our food, “Do you just let all the bums panhandle in your restaurant?”

Honestly, I didn't care to hear whatever excuse she could've mustered and just took Olivia and left, the whole time I could hear the old woman mumbling some incoherent shit. When we got into the parking lot and were walking to the car I asked Olivia what the woman said to her and she just shrugged and smiled. There is no shortage of weird people or bums in this area so I just unlocked the car for us and went back to my apartment to eat.

I let Olivia eat at the table in the living room so she could watch TV, hopefully keep her busy for a little while I scoured the internet looking for a copy of that birth certificate. I closed the door behind me when I went into the bedroom to start my investigation. When searching I was surprised to see that I wasn't able to get a copy for free and ended up having to pay twenty-five dollars for one. Either way, my investigation was the shortest in history and I wasn't pleased with the results because my name is listed as the father, with both my social security number and my signature. My head dropped and I just sort of imploded into myself for a moment.

Fuck!! I thought, What am I going to do? I can't afford this, I can't afford any of this!

I looked up and Olivia was standing there in the doorway, her deep blue eyes watering again. Before the waterworks could even start I closed my laptop and hopped off of the bed.

“Hey! How about we go to the Zoo?” I suggested cheerfully, “Have you ever been to the Zoo?”

“No. I don't think so.” she sniveled, wiping her cheek, “What's the Zoo?”

“Seriously? You're mother never took you to the Zoo?” I said surprised, “Well, it's where all of the animals are. You'll love it.”

She just nodded and wiped her other cheek before putting on her coat and following me out of the apartment. We went to the Zoo which is a story in itself so I will post it after I get back from taking Olivia to get her belongings tomorrow.

Submitted May 31, 2016 at 06:38AM by skarekrow81 http://ift.tt/1Z9er1Q nosleep