Chapter 11
MILA
Ishake my head. “No-nothing.”
“Are you sure about that?” Aiden asks. “The color from your face is gone and you are fidgeting in your seat. Something is on your mind.”
“It’s really nothing,” I mumble.
There are too many things I need to tell them, and I don’t know how or when.
Tobias has said several times that he wants to be with me, but how will he want to be with me when he knows about everything? He is going to see how complicated my life is and realize that he wants nothing to do with me.
I can’t let him know yet, but at the same time I don’t want to continue to lie to him. What if he finds out and throws me out of his cabin?
“Mila, whatever you are thinking, I want you to stop. I can see it written all over your face, and I don’t like it,” Tobias says as he places his hand on top of mine. “Let’s just forget about everything for right now and focus on eating breakfast.”
Easier said than done. How could I not think about everything right now? It’s a constant reminder when I’m hiding things from both of them and they ask related questions.
“So are you two a thing now?” Aiden asks.
My eyes grow wide and I look at him. “Wh-what?”
“Are you two together? Is he your Daddy?” he asks like nothing is wrong with what he just said.
“Oh, come on, it’s not a secret. Anyone with two eyes can see that you two like each other.
Anyone can see that he is taking care of you.
And you keep sneaking little glances at him when you think no one is looking. ”
My cheeks flush and I look away. I thought I was discreet when I looked at him.
“You’ve been stealing glances at me?” Tobias asks.
“N-no,” I stutter.
“Liar.” A smile forms on his face. “It’s okay. I’ve been doing the same thing.”
I put a spoonful of eggs in my mouth and look away from him. How can he be so calm when he admits that?
“There is nothing wrong with looking at each other. There is nothing wrong if you like him and want to be together,” Aiden explains. “I’m just curious if you are together or not.”
I shake my head.
“Not yet, but I’m working on it,” Tobias says.
“Tobias!” I scold him.
“What?” He smiles at me. “It’s not wrong. I’ve told you several times that I want to be with you for the rest of our lives. I’ve told you that you are it for me and that I will be your rock through hard times.”
“He wants to be your Daddy,” Aiden chimes in.
“It’s not like you haven’t called me that already.” Tobias chuckles.
“I haven’t called you Daddy!” I raise my voice.
He nods. “Yes, you have. When you fell asleep in the car and we arrived at the hotel for the night. I tried to wake you up and you called me Daddy several times. It’s okay. I really liked it and if you ever want to call me that again, I won’t complain.”
It’s too embarrassing and I cover my face with my hands. “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe I called you that when I was half asleep.”
“You trust him,” Aiden explains. “You wouldn’t have just called a random person that.”
“But at that moment he was a random person.” I throw my hands in the air. “I had known him for maybe an hour.”
“When you know, you know,” Aiden whispers. “There is nothing wrong with knowing that you want to be with him for the rest of your life when you first meet him. Love has no time restraints.”
“It doesn’t,” Tobias agrees. “I knew from the first moment I saw you in the coffee shop that I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life. I had this protective instinct that I’ve never had with anyone else.”
“Really?” I hesitantly ask.
He nods. “Yes, really. The more I got to know you and your little quirks you do without realizing, the more I fell in love with you. You make me want to spoil you, love you, discipline you, and make you the happiest person in the world.”
Tears pool in my eyes, and I look down at my lap. Here go the tears again.
“Wait? Are you crying?” Aiden’s panicked voice fills the room. “Shit. What should we do?”
“Let her cry?” Tobias suggests.
“I’ve never seen her cry. She has never been a crier, and now she’s about to burst into tears. We need to do something. Do you want ice cream?”
“She is not allowed ice cream at nine in the morning,” Tobias replies. “She can cry if she wants to. It’s healthy for her.”
“I’ve cried too much with you,” I grumble.
“Did I hear that right?” Aiden asks. “How many times have you cried?”
“It’s probably been four times now,” Tobias replies before I can.
“Shit.”
I look up at Aiden who is staring at Tobias in wonder.
“I figured she was bottling up her emotions, but I’ve never been able to make her cry. What did you do?”
“Nothing.” Tobias glares at him. “Why do you think I’ve done something to her to make her cry?”
He shrugs. “Because she doesn’t just cry from sweet words.”
“There is just something about him,” I murmur. “Something about how he looks at me, but also takes care of me. Something about how he can see right through me.”
“It’s my superpower,” he whispers. “Don’t tell anyone, though.”
My eyes widen. “O-okay.”
He chuckles. “Let’s eat before breakfast gets cold.”
“I need to go check on a patient, but I hope to be back later,” Aiden says as he stands next to the door. “There are two other girls who live here with their Daddies. One of them is currently away, but you should still meet up with the other girl.”
I wring my hands together. “I’ll think about it.”
He nods. “Take care of her and don’t let her get stressed. It’s her doctor’s orders.”
Aiden walks off and Tobias looks down at me.
“Doctor’s orders?” he asks.
“Yeah, the doctor back home,” I mumble, hating that Aiden brought it up once again.
“Why did you go?” he asks. “I thought you said you hadn’t gone to the doctor in three years.”
I rub my neck. “It wasn’t a checkup.”
I don’t want to tell him that I passed out and hit my head while working. I don’t want him to know how bad things are.
“What was it for?” he asks.
I shrug. “I don’t really want to talk about it.”
“Is there anything major I should know?”
“No,” I lie.
He searches my face before sighing. “What did I tell you about lying?”
“Not to,” I mumble.
“And did you just lie to me?”
I nod.
“Corner time,” he declares.
I walk over to the corner slowly and lean my head up against the wall, taking a deep breath in. I deserve it. I deserve this and a lot more.
I’ve lied to both of them so many times and I keep doing it.
“You are going to stand here until I tell you otherwise. You are not allowed to talk and if you move, the time starts over. Understand?” he asks.
“Yes,” I whisper, Daddy on the tip of my tongue.
“I want you to think about why lying is bad.”
Tobias’ footsteps leave and I take several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. I absolutely loathe corner time. It makes me really think about everything that I’ve done.
More effective than spanking.
I know lying is bad but I don’t want him to leave me just yet when he finds out how badly I’ve been taking care of myself. The thought has even crossed my mind with Aiden, and he is like a brother to me.
How am I going to keep them in my life when I just keep on making them worried about me? At some point they are going to get tired of worrying about me and not want me in their lives any longer. They’ll figure out how peaceful their lives are going to be without me.
“Time is over. Come here,” Tobias commands.
I wipe away the tears before turning around and walking to Daddy; I mean Tobias. I can’t start calling him Daddy when he hasn’t given me permission yet. I can’t get used to it and accidentally call him that again and be embarrassed when he doesn’t want me to call him that.
“Did you think about why lying is bad?” He asks.
I nod.
“And why is it bad?”
“Because it is deceiving the other person,” I say.
“Yes, you are correct. If you lie enough times, then it makes it hard for people to trust what you say. We care about you, and lying so that you think we won’t isn’t a good thing,” he explains.
“I know you want us not to worry about you, but we are always going to worry about you. Even if you are healthy. I don’t want you to think just because you aren’t telling us things that we aren’t worried. ”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper.
“It’s okay, Little One. You are forgiven for lying to me before this.” He kisses my forehead.
The guilt inside of me festers into a bigger ball, weighing me down. Because of all the other things I’m keeping from him.
“Let’s go cuddle on the couch,” he says.
“What about work?” I ask.
“I don’t have much work for the next two weeks. Besides, I want to be with you.”