Chapter Four
Axel
I did not like the words that had come out of Paisley’s mouth. What did she mean she slept at the shop?
“Yes, the owner lets me sleep there, so I don’t have to drive all the way home just to come back the next morning.”
“Is he there?” I hated how possessive I sounded, but Paisley was a sweet baby. I didn’t want to see her putting herself at risk.
“No, he sleeps with his wife at their house,” she replied with a laugh.
I grimaced. “I deserved that.”
“Maybe a little. It’s nice that you care, though. Since the shop is so far away, they let me work thirteen hour shifts, so I can work three days and then come home. I have four days off in between my shifts. They’re really nice to me. I’m thankful Emily helped me get the job. Well, Rouge helped me get it, but you know what I mean.”
I did know what she meant. Rouge was Emily’s twin sister and she worked at the same shop. I was thankful she’d helped Paisley get the job too. I loved Strickland but it was small and we didn’t have a local, multi-service, good-quality tattoo shop. The shop Rouge worked at was actually expanding and opening a location here. I was glad that Paisley wouldn’t have to commute anymore. She was very talented and I was glad she was able to showcase that at the shop with her piercings.
“I’m glad they’re good to you, baby. You deserve good things.” I carried her into my room and tucked her under the covers. “I’m going to get you some medicine, and I’ll be right back.”
She nodded.
I walked back into my bedroom and set the cup on the nightstand before handing her a package of peanut butter crackers. Her meds needed to be taken with food.
She ate three before handing me the pack back.
“One more?” I encouraged.
Paisley sighed but ate a fourth one.
“Good girl,” I praised.
After taking a few sips of water and her medication-with no complaining- I tucked her in and kissed her forehead. “Okay, baby. I’ll be in the guest room. I double checked that you have my number in case you need me. You call or text and I’ll be right here.”
“Nu,” she whined.
“Nu, what, baby?”
“Don’t leave me. I’ll be so scared.”
“You don’t have to be scared. I’m just going to be down the hall.”
“Nu,” she whined again. “Stay?”
“Stay here with you?”
Paisley nodded.
“Until you fall asleep or all night?”
“All nights. I’m just a baby.” The batting of her eyelashes let me know she knew exactly what she was doing.
“All right, baby. Scooch over.”
She did as I asked and I slid into the bed.
“Thank you,” she whispered. Her face was almost buried under the covers and I wondered if she was embarrassed by her request now.
I pulled the blanket down just enough to peek at her face.
“You never have to be embarrassed with me, baby. I don’t mind that you just needed to be close. That’s perfectly okay.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled again.
I placed my hand above her head and played with her curls.
“Thank you for everything. I would have really been scared without you there with me today,” she added.
“I’m very sorry you got hurt, but I am glad we got to spend this time together.”
“Me too,” she agreed. “I thought you were scary, but you’re not. You’re really nice.”
“Hey, now, don’t go telling all the Littles that. They’ll think they can have their way with poor Uncle Axel.”
“I’m gonna tell them all.” Her smile made the corner of my mouth tip up, but her sassy answer made my palm itch.
“Alright, Little miss, go to sleep before I start swatting that sassy ass.”
She yelped and rolled over so quickly, I couldn”t help the laugh that escaped my lips. I realized I’d laughed more with Paisley than I had in a long time.
***
I woke to a bear growling. Prying my eyes open, I searched for the source of the noise. Pale pink curls stuck out from under the blanket. Reaching out, I pulled it back and was incredibly surprised to find Paisley snoring like an eighty-year-old grandpa. What. The. Fuck?
She was lying sideways in the bed. Her ouchie foot was draped across my stomach, the other hanging off the edge of the mattress. One arm was resting on her belly, the other thrown over her eyes. And she was snoring loud enough to wake the residents of the surrounding county.
How the fuck did something that loud, come out of something that small? I gently eased her foot off my stomach and sat up. After pulling her into the middle of the bed and supporting her ankle with a pillow, I slid out from beside her and stood. I needed to switch the wet sheets from last night into the dryer. I also needed to update Emily on my patient and probably make sure Onyx survived feeding Angel.
Grabbing my phone from the nightstand, I groaned when I saw four missed calls from Onyx’s number. I knew automatically that it was Emily calling in concern for her friend. It wasn’t even eight a.m. yet. The little brat had probably snuck her Daddy’s phone since hers stayed downstairs so she wasn’t tempted to play on it. Onyx’s stayed beside the bed in case of an emergency, but nobody was allowed to respond to calls or texts until after they’d had breakfast together.
I really loved the idea and if I ever had a Little one again, I thought I”d probably implement some kind of rule like that. I didn’t kid myself with pretending it might be Paisley. I was older than her by over a decade. Surely, she wasn’t interested in having an old man for a Daddy even if that old man might be interested in her. Shit. The thought ran through my brain so fast it stopped me in my tracks. Was I interested in Paisley? I’d dated a bit in recent years, but mostly vanilla. Until recently, I hadn”t been willing to open my heart romantically to a Little one. It would have been too painful. But time heals all wounds. That was what they said, right? I was finally at a point where it felt like it might be true.
I hit redial and headed downstairs to make coffee. I needed it after last night”s activities. Nobody answered Onyx’s phone. Emily must have gotten caught.
I started going through the motions of my morning routine while thinking about all the things Paisley and I needed to get done today. She had an orthopedic appointment at ten, I needed to make sure she called her boss, we needed to go feed her satanic cat, and I probably needed to pack some clothes to stay at her place until she was steadier, and in less constant pain. I’d only brought her to my home after the emergency room visit because I was closer to the orthopedist and I knew we would have an early morning after a late night.
A knock on the front door startled me. Rolling my eyes at myself, and hoping it was the kid next door who sold Girl Scout cookies, I grabbed my wallet and answered the door.
“Why the hell didn’t you answer your phone?” Emily yelled.
***
Paisley
I woke to the sounds of fighting. Loud fighting. After struggling to sit up, I finally scooted my way out of the bed. My arm hurt bad enough to bring tears to my eyes, but I needed to know what in the heck was happening.
I walked down the hallway and slowly took the stairs. As I got closer, I could hear Emily laying into Axel in a way that I didn’t know sweet, quiet Emily was even capable of. Frowning, I plopped down on the second to last step to listen. The door was just out of view, so while I could hear them, I couldn’t see them and they wouldn’t be able to see me either. I wasn’t ready to announce my presence just yet. I needed to hear what was being said.“I trusted you, Axel,” Emily cried. “What did you do, bring her back here and fuck her the first chance you got?”
I winced at her words. We hadn’t fucked, but came close to it. Hearing Emily’s tone and the words coming out of her mouth confused me. Something didn’t sit right. Why was she so angry? The sight of Hearing my sweet, timid best friend being so unkind and angry didn’t sit right with me. Why was she so angry? Panic danced in my tummy. Had I done something wrong?
“You’re out of line, Emily.” Axel’s voice was dry and emotionless.
I was amazed at how calmly he spoke. Emily was practically screaming at him, and her words and accusations were ugly. Holding my breath, I kept listening. I needed to understand where this was coming from.
“So what?” Emily spat, ignoring his reproof. “You are too. Dammit, I knew we should have just come and gotten her last night. Paisley is not just some plaything you can have fun with and dump to the side. She’s vulnerable and so desperate to belong, of course she let you sleep with her the first time you dropped a dimpled grin.”
Her words hurt. A physical pain tore through my chest. Was that really what she thought of me? Was it what she thought of Axel? Was she right? Was he just being nice, using me because I was injured and vulnerable? I knew Axel was a big grump, but I’d never thought he was cruel. Apparently I wasn’t a good judge of character, because I didn’t think Emily could be so mean and angry either. Tears pricked my eyes and I worked to blink them back as the argument continued.
“We didn’t sleep together,” Axel informed her. “And even if we had, that would be none of your business.”
“She’s my business. She’s my best friend. Who do you think is going to have to pick up the pieces of her self-esteem once you ruin it, huh? You are too mean to handle someone that fragile and emotionally needy.”
Mean? Her accusation to Axel confused me, but not as much as the things she said about me. Fragile? Emotionally needy?
I didn’t have time to spend too much time thinking about her words, though, because they kept going.
I sucked in a breath when Axel said, “You’re upset and not thinking clearly, so I’m going to let your unkind words to me go for right now, but I don’t appreciate the way you’re talking about Paisley. I think it would hurt her to know you have such a low opinion of her.”
“Oh, fuck you.”
My eyes grew wide to hear Emily speaking to Axel like that. The Emily I thought I knew would never, and Onyx would have her bottom on a platter if he heard her. Where was he? I waited to see how Axel would react.
His voice was hard and I could almost picture his jaw ticking with anger. Emily was out of line, no matter where her intentions were. Still, he somehow managed to remain calm. “Come in and have a seat. I’m done with this conversation, but I don”t want you driving back home this angry. Does Onyx know you’re here?”
I scrambled up two steps, making sure I stayed out of their eyesight as she entered the house. She was doing as she was told, but whatever was going on in her head, she wasn’t ready to let it go.
“This isn’t over, Axel. I’m taking her with me. I should have never let her come here. She’s still looking for her place to belong and you’ve just fucked up all her progress.”
My progress? Seriously, what was her deal?
“I was serious when I said I was done with this conversation, Emily. I’m going to make sure all your shouting didn’t wake Paisley.”
The tears that had only pricked my eyes before, rolled freely down my cheeks. I buried my head in my hands, embarrassed and unable to move though I knew they were going to find me and realize I’d heard the whole thing.
The whole thing.And even more shocking than the way Emily was speaking to Axel was the way she seemed to feel about me. That was the most heartbreaking.
I really did think I’d found a friend group finally—a place to belong, and people who liked me for me. Singing at Dallas and Pike’s wedding had been life-changing. All of the Littles had welcomed me with open arms, but I’d grown closest to Emily. She seemed to enjoy hanging out with me. I hadn’t realized it was because I was a project to her—something she needed to fix and protect. Rejection and worthlessness filled my bones—feelings so familiar they were like long-lost companions. How silly it had been of me to think they were gone. I would never belong here. I would never belong anywhere.
I was in full meltdown mode, no longer even aware of Axel or Emily until warm hands rubbed my shoulders and Axel’s fresh scent surrounded me. “Look at me, baby.”
I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. There was no point in seeing the pity in his eyes.
“Thank God, come on, Paisley. We’ll get you packed up and you can come stay with me for a while.”
Emily’s voice broke through my meltdown, but I kept my head in my hands. How could she think I wanted to go with her? I sat for a minute, trying to collect my rapidly racing thoughts. Lifting my head, I met her eyes. “No, thank you.”
“Why are you crying, Paisley? What’s wrong?”
Resisting the urge to laugh at her question, I stood. “Would you please take me home?” I asked Axel.
Axel’s whole body seemed to sag with what seemed like relief. “If I take you home, I”m staying with you for a few days. I want you close to me. I need you close to me.”
“Don’t put that on her, you asshole. She doesn’t need to carry that weight.” Emily was still fighting. Whose battle, I wasn’t really sure. I just wanted her to shut up and go.
“Please just take me home,” I begged him. Brushing my tears away with my good hand, I wondered if you could die from heartbreak. It felt like it. It was my own fault. I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up. I’d seen the small family dynamic they had set up and I so desperately wanted to be a part of it.
But It was stupid to think I could be. They were already a family, and there would never be room for me. I was twenty-five years old. It was time to give up on my build-a-family dream.
Axel nodded and stroked my face softly. “Let me pack a bag, baby.”
There was no point in him doing that. I had no intention of letting him stay. I just wanted to be alone to reflect on Emily’s words.
“You don’t need to pack a bag. I’m taking her with me,” Emily argued, stepping closer as if to shield me.
Axel stepped between us, but finally turned to Emily. “Can’t you see you’ve done enough? You’ve broken her down, Emily. You’ve hurt her with your words and your actions today. She doesn’t want to go with you. You need to calm down and call Onyx. I’ll take care of her.”
“Oh, like you took care of your wife?” she spat.
I couldn’t have stopped the gasp that left my mouth even if I’d wanted to. I was shocked at the careless words tumbling out of Emily’s mouth. “That’s a terrible thing to say!” I shouted. “How could you be so heartless?”
For the first time, I saw Emily look remorseful. Shock crossed her face and then her own eyes filled with tears. “I’m so sorry, Axel. That was really terrible of me.”
“I would like for you to call Onyx to come get you and then sit on the porch until he gets here.” Axel spoke slowly. His body was tense and he was clenching his jaw. The signs of distress were easy to see. I lifted my own hand up and stroked his face with the back of my fingers, just like he had done for me earlier.
“It’s not true,” I assured him. Even only knowing him for a few days, I knew it wasn’t. He was a great man and that alone made him a great Daddy.