@page { margin-bottom: 5.000000pt; margin-top: 5.000000pt; } 1 At eighteen, Mattie knew she shouldn’t be sitting on her stepdad’s lap anymore, but she couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to grow up if that meant no longer being daddy’s little girl. Thinking about losing their close connection made her want to cry. It was the worst feeling in the world. Mattie just found Alec after a lifetime of not having a dad, and now she couldn’t even love him the way she wanted without strife. Life was cruel how Mattie felt young and innocent wanting only what made her happy, but everyone around her treated her like eighteen-year-olds weren’t harmless anymore. Wising up to the ways of adulthood sounded unrewarding to Mattie. Luckily her daddy never told her to grow up. Instead Alec often said, “Don’t grow up too fast, baby.” Maybe she took advantage of her daddy’s blinded love a little bit, but not in ways that were cruel or vindictive. She just liked getting away with stuff, like any other teen did.
