Chapter 33 #2
He crossed the room in as much haste as he had busting through the doorway. I didn't stand up because I didn't need to. He came down to me instead, crouching in front of the couch, his hands taking mine.
"Hi, baby," he said.
"Hi, Daddy," I replied back, not caring at all that we were in mixed company. Everyone knew at this point. And if they didn’t, then it was a discussion for later if they were bothered.
He looked at me for a moment, running his gaze over every inch of me. Then he looked at Auden and Moseley. "Thank you," he told them both. “It means a lot you called for me.”
"Anytime," Auden said simply.
“It seemed to be the best choice.” Moseley shrugged, as if he hadn’t been the one to suggest it in the first place.
Daddy stood and helped me up alongside him. He grabbed my bag from behind the desk without asking and settled it on his shoulder. His hand found the small of my back as he pointed us toward the door.
"We're heading out," he announced.
"Obviously," Moseley agreed, then went wide-eyed when Auden gripped the back of his neck. “I mean, that’s awesome. Get well soon. See ya.”
He was still muttering words as Daddy directed me out of the building. At the car, he strapped me in before driving us home. To my home.
Inside, I stood in the hallway for a moment while he put my bag down and locked the door behind us. The house already felt like relief compared to my office. I wasn’t sure if it was because the call took place there or if my home being a safe place was the standard. It could have been both.
"Playroom," Daddy encouraged.
I nodded quickly. "Please.”
"Give me five minutes. Go on in and get comfortable. Don't change yet."
I didn't ask what he meant. He’d tell me exactly what to do later. I went to the playroom and sat in the middle of the blanket pile, back against the wall, knees drawn up as I waited.
My space calmed the noise in my head enough for my body to start relaxing. Every tense muscle melted into the comfort the colorful room provided.
I heard Daddy moving around through the open doorway.
It echoed around my mind with the voices of my parents.
They tended to linger past the conversation itself, replaying in a loop that took time to slow down.
Dramatic. The word in my mother's voice, precise and dismissive, was designed to make me feel like a burden.
My thoughts shifted to the aftermath of their words. How Auden had stepped in to defend me. And Moseley had jumped to call my Daddy since he knew that was what I needed.
The people who had decided I was worth showing up for were growing in number. I had spent so long believing that my parents' version of my life was the correct one—that the parts of me they found excessive or inconvenient were objective flaws rather than their own misguided beliefs.
Daddy appeared in the doorway. He was holding a soft blue fabric over his arm that caught the low light of the room. He held it out to me the minute he dropped to a seat across from me.
“I had this made for you, baby.”
A onesie. The piece was obvious the second I held it up.
It was the exact shade of my walls and covered in small white clouds. It was my room in fabric form. A comfort I could wear outside of the space if I needed to.
"Been waiting for the right time to give it to you. I hope you like it."
"There's no right time," I managed. "You could have given me this any day."
"I wanted to give it to you when you needed it most," he said. “I wanted it to help ground you.”
"I put it on now?" I asked, voice turning Little.
He helped me change with a giant smile on his face. Daddy enjoyed my outfit as much as I did. It made the moment all the more special.
"Oh, baby. You look…" He shook his head. “You look like my precious boy, Grizzly. I’ve never seen a more adorable human being than you right now. How do you keep getting cuter?”
I giggled at his praise. Given the day I’d had, I shouldn’t have been able to. Daddy was magic like that though.
The onesie’s soft fabric glided against my skin anytime I moved. It was the perfect gift.
Daddy reached up and took my glasses from my face. He folded them gently, then set them on a shelf within reach.
"You don't need to see everything clearly right now," he said. "Just be here. Be Little with me.”
I reached for Wells and pulled him close.
Around me were the rest of my stuffies, a whole assembled collection of soothing creatures.
Closing my eyes, I let myself sink even more into my Little mind.
Daddy gently pulled up the hood of my onesie.
I kept my eyes closed as he did, since it felt nice to trust everything to him.
I heard Daddy leave and come back. Then he was settling behind me, legs on either side, pulling me back against his chest. I sank into him without worrying about my size or if I’d hurt him. The man had proved more than once he was capable of supporting me.
When I peeked one eye open, I saw he’d gone to get our book. He’d also managed to grab a bottle of milk. He brought it forward to my lips, where I took it without a fight.
"Ready?" he asked.
I made a small sound to say yes since words were hard. Daddy knew me, so he opened the book with one hand, and held the bottle steady with the other.
His voice moved through the opening passages, and I followed it like a current, letting it carry. His chest was solid against my back, his arms loose around me.
I sank deeper and deeper, until his voice was only sound since the words weren’t clear. There was no space between reality and my mind. Only good feelings.
The bottle emptied slowly. When it was done, Daddy set it aside without interrupting his reading and shifted his hold, tucking me more fully against him. I pulled my bear a little closer as he kept on.
I couldn’t remember feeling more content at any other point in my life.