She shook her head.
My heart plummeted. “What happened?”
Herbig, green eyes shimmered. Agony stabbed me behind my ribs. And when her chin trembled, I would’ve given anything to take whatever pain she felt and make it my own.
“Harry made fun of me today.” A small sniffle escaped her throat. Then another and another.
“Oh, Bug, I’m sorry.” I held her tight to my chest again. In my peripheral, I spotted Izzy moving closer. “Wanna tell me what happened?”
Millie burrowed her face in the crook of my neck and gave me a small nod. Without pulling away, she spoke, her voice soft and muffled, “Miss Tracy asked us what we wanted to be when we grow up.” Another sniffle filled the room. “When it was my turn, I said I wanted to be a K-pop idol and then Harry laughed.”
A few more sniffles escaped, and she lifted her hand to wipe her nose. “Miss Tracy scolded him, but it didn’t matter; he just waited until recess to laugh at me some more. And then he said I was too ugly to be anyone’s idol.”
Ohhhh, that boy. I was going to have a serious chat with his parents.
Tucking my fingers under Millie’s chin, I guided her watery gaze to mine. “You know he’s wrong, Bug. You’re beautiful, and if you want to be an idol then that’s what you’ll be.”
Her wide gap-toothed smile reached inside me and filled my entire being with happiness.
“It doesn’t matter what boys—or anyone else—think of you.” I tapped my forefinger against her cheek. “The only thing that matters is what you think of yourself.”
Those words were too big for a six-year-old to understand, but I’d hoped they’d worm their way into her mind anyway. The last thing I wanted was for her to grow up being hung up on what people thought of her.
She was her own unique person, and anyone who didn’t see that or value it didn’t deserve to be in her life.
Closing my eyes, I planted a quick kiss on her forehead. “A little birdie told me there’d be pizza... Was that birdie lying?”
A soul-filling laugh bubbled up her throat. “No. Izzy ordered four pizzas.”
“What?” I widened my eyes in mock disbelief. “Four whole pizzas? Who’s gonna eat them all?”
“Me.” She giggled.
I tickled her sides. “I’d like to see you try, Bug.” Putting her down, I pointed toward the kitchen. “Why don’t you have a seat, and I’ll be right there to witness this pizza annihilation.”
She hurried away, and I shut the door behind me.
Izzy was at my side not even a second later. “You look like you’ve had a day.”
If she only knew.
“Yeah.”
“Come on.” My sister hooked her arm through mine and dragged me toward the kitchen. “I’ll pour the wine while you talk.”
We took a couple of steps when a thought slammed into me. Digging my heels in, I stopped dead in my tracks.
“Katie?” Izzy’s confused gaze collided with mine.
“What if it’s my fault? That I’m only making things worse for her?”
My sister wrapped me in her arms so fast, I didn’t even know what hit me. It took a few seconds to realize she was hugging me. And a few more to admit how much I needed that hug.
“It’s not your fault, and you’re not making things worse.” Izzy drew back and looked me in the eyes. “Encouraging her to keep dreaming is the best thing you can do.”
That familiar sting in my nose made itself known again. “I’m scared, Iz. Taelyn has a good—”
“Fuck Taelyn,” she hissed. “She can bring a whole damn army, but she’s not getting our Millie.”
