The Drive

Mr Benson gave his daughter a squeeze on the shoulder and stood up to go get what he wants to share with her.

He walked to his drawer, cleared the top and moved it. Pamela's eyes bulged out, she could have sworn with her life on the line that the drawer could not be moved.

Mr Benson groaned silently, his muscles bunching as he moved it.

He moved it and underneath was the rug, the same one that covered the whole room. 

He raised the rug and there was a brown squared shaped gleaming tile. He pulled it and there was a hole. 

 

He sneaked his hand in and he brought out a black case. A case that almost could pass for a glass case. 

Mr Benson's looked up at her and chuckled at her facial expression 

He beckoned on her to move closer.

Legs shaky, she moved closer and knelt beside him.

She didn't know why but she was scared.

It was like her dad was letting her in on some really dark secrets.

"See?" Her dad said and pressed the red and only button on the case and a front where a code has to be put into came up.

"Wow!" She couldn't help it.

"It's cool right?" Her dad asked.

"So cool," She answered.

"Guess what the code is?" Her dad asked, his eyes gleaming mischievously.

"Ummm," She shrugged. "I don't know. Your wedding date? The letters of your names in figures?"

"What?" Her dad chuckled. "Those are really good ideas for passwords. They're unpredictable." He said as he looked at her in awe.

She shrugged, "passwords are supposed to be unpredictable".

"Yeah, but it's non of those ones you mentioned."

"So what's it?" She asked eagerly.

"Come on, I want you to guess," Her dad pouted and Pamela couldn't help it, she giggled.

Her dad was good at this; he always have a way of making her - anyone - feel at ease, no matter the situation.

She knew whatever her dad wanted to show her was dangerous but he made it seem like it was some kind of fun adventure or brain wracking puzzle.

"Dadddd," she whined, grinning, "just tell me".

"Fine," he looked at her. "It's your birthday," He whispered.

"What?" She mouthed, confused. 

"The code is your birthday," He whispered again as he carresssed her cheek.

He continued, "All my passwords and codes are your birth date, either in figures or in words".

He looked down to input the code, her birth date but Pamela couldn't stop staring at her dad.

With his oval face that housed a well pointed nose, firm lips and sharp jawbone, he was beautiful and she's lucky to have inherited his pointed nose. 

His hair fell over his face and the sight was breathtaking, she wished she was with her camera.

She knew her parents loved her but at that moment, she knew she didn't know how deeply her dad loved her, how much she really means to him.

"And that's it," She heard him whisper.

He opened the case and Pamela feasted her eyes on it.

His dad took the content out. 

"A flash?" She siad and looked at her dad.

"Yes, a flash." 

"What's in it?"

"I can't tell you that now, I'm sorry." 

"It's okay, dad, I understand and I trust you," She rested her palm on his knee and he smiled.

"Thank you," He continued, "I want you to keep it".

"Keep it safe and like I said earlier. Do not give it up no matter what."

"I won't."

He placed it back in the case, locked it and gave it to her.

She collected it. 

They moved the drawer back to it's position, he put his stuffs back on the drawer and she helped him with them.

Mr Benson finished and sat on his chair.

"Okay. The adventure is over. You should go to bed now."

She gave a small smile, "It was an exciting adventure."

"Ummm dad? Thank you for trusting me with this," She tapped on her short's pocket where she had kept the case. I promise to take very good care of it and never give it up. No matter what."

Her dad smiled.

"Okay," she hugged her dad. "I'll go to bed now, good night".

"Good night baby," She threw her head back and groaned.

And her dad's deep laughter graced her ear as she walked out of his office.

She had gotten to her room before it dawned on her. She rushed out and made her way to her dad's office again.

She poked her head in and her dad was already busy with stuffs on his table. 

"Hey, big man." 

"Pam?"  

"Umm, do I have holes in my room too." 

Mr Benson laughed, "no, honey, no holes." 

She pouted, "awww, I want holes too."

Her dad's laughter filled the room. 

It was a bright morning.

She walked to the window and opened her curtains. Beautiful rays that seem to promise a beautiful day streamed in.

"Today just has to be good," She sighed happily as she starts to prepare for school.

Unlike other kids, Pamy loved school.

She loved her school friends, her teachers, the subjects the sports, the gyming, the club meetings.

She has always found it hard to wrap her head around why any sane teenager would hate school.

She played 'dancing in my room' by 347aidan on her stereo.

She moved her feet to the beats as she ruffled her hair.

"I see you're awake," Her mom called from outside her room. 

"Yes momma!" She called back she moved to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

She looked at the mirror and admired her teeth as she scrubbed it.

She loved her teeth; they were straight, the perfect breath and height. And they were white. Sparkling white.

As she looked into the mirror, she remembered last night and smiled.

She turned back to look at her room through the open bathroom door and smiled again.

She looked back to the mirror. 

"It's safe daddy, it's safe."

She pampered herself with a long bath and washed her hair.

Her phone rang.

She turned down the blaring music as she took the call.

"Girrrrlllll, I had a great night! I can't wait to spill everything to you."

She chuckled as Gina rambled.

"I can't wait too. Lemme get dressed, ait? I'll see you in…" She removed her phone from her ear to check the time, "let's say an hour, ait?" 

"See ya," And the call ended.

She took her time to stretch her hair and pick her outfit; her latest favorite boyfriend jeans, her dad had got it for her on her fifteenth birthday, a crop tank top, it was summer after all.

 

The cute glasses her val had gotten her on vamentine's day, her favourite pink sneaks and she picked a cute little pink cat backpack to match her short pink hair and shoe, she loves pink.

She put her headphone, phone and other necessaries in her backpack and backed it.

She gave herself a thumbs up in the mirror. She carressed her hair, she loved her hair. 

"Let's go have another perfect day."

She mouthed as she skipped down the hall to say hi to her dad before going downstairs.

"Dad?" She called as she got to her dad's room.

He wasn't there. 

"That's unusual," Her brow lifted. She suddenly heard a loud scream.

She was going to just race down the stairs but she decided against it.

She silently and carefully tip toed down the curvy stairs. She was half way down when she saw them, she swallowed her gasp.

Their house keeper, a french, once her baby sitter was lying face down on the floor. She looked dead as a sturdy guy in all black kicked her.

"You don't have to do this," She heard her dad plea, desperately. He was on his knee, facing guy who backed him.

"We can talk this out, man. I'll just give him a call and we'll settle this. Infact, he can forget about the agreement. We'll nu-".

"Man! I ain't here to negotiate!" His accent? He definitely wasn't from around here, Pamela observed.

"Look, I'll give you whatever you want. Anything. Even more than they gave you. Just let my family go, please".

Her mum clinged to her dad as she sobbed silently.

"Will you shut the fuck up, woman!" He yelled and he hit her mom with his gun.

"No, She mouthed.

Her mom fell on the floor and dad went berserk as he sprang up and attacked the guy who had hit mom.

And a guy from the back shot him.

Her dad fell on his knee.

She didn't even know she had started to cry, her body shook terribly as she tightly clamped her palm on her mouth, she was whimpering and it was getting louder.

"Noooooo," She screamed and ran down the stairs as the men shot at her mum and dad again.