Out for Blood: A Billie Joe Story

We drive to the mall in silence. My heart pounds in fear for what he meant when he said I'd be trying a lot of stuff on. In all actuality, I know exactly what he means. I'm just trying to deny it.

My father hands me a CD holder. I look at him questioningly.

"Pick out a CD you wanna listen to," he says, looking at me with an innocent expression on his face. It wasn't one of those looks that he forced onto his face, it was like he really didn't mean anything of the gesture. I open it and flip through the CDs. I take out Warning and put it in the CD player. "Warning" starts playing. By the time "Fashion Victim" starts, my father is pulling into a parking spot. He cuts the engine and looks at me.

"Ready," he asks, staring at me. I feel like he's searching my eyes for something.

"I guess," I reply, uneasy. He nods and gets out. I get out also and walk a little behind him. He looks back at me.

"Come stand next to me," he orders, not sounding like himself. He sounds withdrawn or something. I walk a little faster until I'm beside him and then return to normal pace. He slips his arm around my waist. I swallow as my heart rate increases. We walk in and go straight to the juniors' section.

"What do you wanna look at first," he asks quietly looking down at me.

"It doesn't matter," I reply almost inaudibly. He manages to hear me. He thinks for a minute.

"Let's look at shirts," he states and guides me over to the shirts. "See any you like?"

I saw a lot I liked. I smiled and giggled, not being able to stop myself. He smiled slightly.

"What are you laughing at?" I shake my head.

"Nothing," I say and walk towards a section. I pick out a shirt I like. It's white and says "I ♥ Punk" in hot pink with guitars and stars and so on. I have the smallest size.

"Go try it on, make sure it fits," my father says, looking at other shirts.

"Okay," I murmur. I walk into a fitting room and try the shirt on. It fits perfectly.

"You got it on," my father asks.

"Yeah," I say, looking at it in the mirror.

"Come out so I can see it." I sigh. We're gonna be out where people can see, so he won't do anything. At least I hope. I open the door and he looks me over.

"Nice, I like it. Here, try this on," he says, and hands me a black shirt. I go back in the fitting room and close the door. I lock it as quietly as I can and hold the shirt up. I piece of paper falls out of the bottom. I pick it up and open it.

I'm sorry about last night. Please forgive me?

I sigh and look at the shirt. It says "I'm sexy" and then a winking emoticon. I can't help but smile. I think it's kind of funny. I put it on and look at it. Perfect except for the fact that it's a V-neck and it shows my breasts a little too much. I should've expected that.

"Is it on," my father asks.

"Yeah," I respond.

"Can I see it?"

"I guess," I say reluctantly. I unlock the door and stand back, still looking in the mirror. He walks in and shuts the door behind him. He looks at me and smiles.

"I love that," he says, sounding like he meant it in a good way.

"Why did you pick this one," I ask quietly.

"I thought it was cute, and it could be like a self-esteem booster." I smile. He walks over behind me and spins me to face him. He watches me for a few seconds before embracing me in a tight hug.

"I love you, kid."