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“I would have stolen both of you away and hidden us so well that Robert would never find us. Even if it meant living life on the run for a small bit of time, I would have done it for you.” He pulls back, his hands moving up my body until he tenderly holds my neck, his eyes boring into mine, showing me every emotion he feels. “Emma, you are my life, my reason to live. That little girl out there that we created. She is the greatest blessing I ever could have asked for. I will spend the rest of my life proving to both of you that I can be a great father.”
A couple of tears slip out of the corner of my eyes at his words. A lightness begins to take over inside me not realizing just how much I needed to hear those words. We still have a lot to work on between us, but now I know that we can do this together. One day at a time we will heal the bonds between us as we work to take down my father and provide a safe, happy home for our beautiful brown-haired, blue-eyed little girl.
TWENTY
TREVOR
After our little heart-to-heart in the office, Emma and I went back out into the living room to just relax. Before we had come out Emma and I agreed it would be good for Alexis to spend some time with me and get to know me before we told her who I actually was. The plan wasn’t exactly my favorite, but I knew we had to go at her pace. I wouldn’t risk losing either of them or having Alexis despise me because she didn’t understand why I wasn’t there and let them suffer.
When we came out, Alexis had moved closer to the TV, and Emma just laughed, picked her up, and sat her on the couch. With both of them cuddled together watching the end of Beauty and the Beast, I took the seat on the other side of Emma and let her relax into me. We sat in silence watching the movie. The only noises came from Alexis who was singing along to the songs. The longer we sat there together, the more I realized how much I missed out on by trying to protect Emma and leaving.
I know I said I didn’t regret my decision but a small part of me is regretting missing out on these moments. I didn’t have to wake up in the middle of the night to feed her or change her diapers. I missed the teething and watching her hit her milestones. She’s only nine but I know I missed so many things in her life. The one thing I can do now is to make sure not to miss anymore. I will do everything that I can to ensure I don’t miss a single school talent show, any after-school activity, or anything else in between. I’ll even be the annoying father when she starts dating who greets her dates at the door holding a gun and reminding them to treat my baby girl right. She’s going to hate it, but I’ll sure love her. I bet her uncles, Knox and Steel, will be right beside me when it happens. When they get to know her, they are both going to fall in love with her, just like me.
Right as the movie is ending my stomach gives a slight rumble. It’s still a little too early for lunch, but if I’m getting hungry, I’m sure both the girls will be soon as well. I place a small kiss on the top of Emma’s head and then lift my arm to slide out from under her.
“I’m going to start lunch. What do you girls want?”
Steel stocked the kitchen this morning when he got here with fresh supplies so I can make pretty much anything. We weren’t sure how long the girls would need to remain here so I wanted to make sure they would have a variety of foods. The freezer out back is stocked full of meat and frozen veggie. I even made sure to stick some ice cream and popsicles in the indoor freezer that I hoped Alexis would like.
“Grilled cheese and tomato soup sound good. What do you think, Alexis?” Emma questions, poking her in the side when she answers so quietly neither of us can hear her.
“That’s fine,” she speaks up a little louder.
“Coming right up,” I answer, getting up from the couch.
From the kitchen, I can hear the two of them talking, discussing what to watch next. Alexis is begging to start watching Moana while Emma is trying to talk her into a documentary while she does some school work.
Shit.
That reminds me I have no idea how to work out keeping her in school or how to explain her absence. That’s something Emma and I will need to discuss. I don’t want Alexis to fall behind in any school work even if she is only in the fourth grade. School is important. Adding it to my mental checklist of things to do I focus on preparing lunch for the three of us.
By the time I have the food on the table, the girls settle on Moana playing as long as Alexis promises to work on her reading. I thought about just bringing the food to the living room to let her watch TV while she ate and did school work but I had a feeling that Emma might not be the biggest fan of that happening.
“Food’s ready,” I call out. Immediately the TV and homework are forgotten as Alexis runs into the dining room and finds the bench area to claim as her seat like I had suspected she might.
Maybe I won’t do so badly at this being a dad thing after all.
Emma follows behind, having taken the time to pause the movie, before sliding into the sea beside our daughter at the head of the table. That left me to sit across from Alexis which I was okay with.
Right as Alexis is about to take a bite, Emma reaches out to stop her. “Careful, it’s going to be hot.”
“No, I made hers first so it had time to cool down. It should be the perfect temperature,” I chuckle. At my words, our little girl shrugs and takes a giant bite of the sandwich. Whether it was to prove me right or her mom wrong, I have no idea but either way, it is funny. When Emma sees she isn’t complaining that her mouth is burning she sighs, shakes her head, and just digs into her own lunch.
When most of her lunch has been eaten I finally start to make conversation with Alexis to start getting to know her. “What’s your favorite Disney movie?”
Her blue eyes turn to her mom who gives her a small nod that it’s okay to answer before she does. “Beauty and the Beast, duh.”
“Oh of course it is. Glad Steel chose that to play for you then when you guys came in.” I chuckle. We are definitely going to need to work on her shyness around me. It doesn’t need to be happening.
“Are you finished, honey?” Emma asks when she notices Alexis is just pushing her spoon around in her soup.
“Yeah, my tummy is full,” she sighs.
“Okay, go get washed up and then go back to your homework. Trevor and I will get lunch cleaned up.” Emma’s tone is soft and I can tell she’s trying hard to make sure our daughter is comfortable at all times.
“The bathroom is the first door on the right down the hall.” I’ll have to make sure to give them both a tour later after we get lunch cleaned up. I don’t want either of them getting lost even if the house isn’t all that big.
When we hear the door shut, Emma turns and stares at me. “What?” I question, having no damn idea what I did wrong.
