Page 72 of Dancing in the Dark

26

FLETCH

“What the hecken!?”

I wake with a start at… I don’t even know. Dark o’clock. My neck kinked, my ribs tweaked, my hand wrapped around Sera’s, but my head at the opposite end of our sleeping space.

Because that’s how we don’t confuse a five-year-old.

Copeland City streetlights illuminate my living room enough for me to see Mia standing over us, her hands on her hips and her impatient big toe tapping the floor six inches from my head.

“Daddy!” She drops to her knees and cups my face, staring down at me upside down, exactly how I looked at Sera after she purged her fucking soul and made me promise not to make it into a big deal. “You made a pillow fort wifout me? That’s not fair!”

“Shhh.” I press a gentle finger to her pouty lips, then I peek all the way to the other end of our makeshift bed and find Sera precisely where I left her last night, curled around a pillow and with her head settled on my legs. Long lashes kiss her cheeks, and the shadows beneath her eyes, the shadows Anderson fucking Markum put there, slowly recede now that she’s finally able to rest.

Grinning, I bring my eyes back to Mia and carefully inch to the side. “You wanna climb in, baby?”

“Really?” She tosses her bad mood aside and mercilessly dives onto my chest. Wriggling and squirming until she finds her comfy spot, she tilts her head back and looks up at me in the shadows. “This is a really cool pillow fort, Daddy. You and Fifi built it all on your own?”

“Mmhm.” I fold around her, careful to keep Sera’s hand nestled in mine. With the other, I gently brush the hair from Mia’s eyes. Shut them. Go back to sleep. “We sure did. I did all the work while Fifi said I was doing it wrong.”

She chokes out an almost silent snicker. “Were you doing it wrong?”

“Only for a little bit. Then it all fell apart, and I had to start again. The second time around, it was perfect.”

“It’s very perfect.” Exhaling a happy sigh, she squishes back into the curve of my torso until we touch from—her—head to feet. “This is the most perfectest pillow fort I ever saw.”

“I’m glad you got to see it. Did you pee?”

“Mmhm.” She brushes her hand along my arm and finds mine tucked around Sera’s. My heart sputters for a beat, nerves wash through my blood, but she doesn’t make a fuss. She simply places her hand down too, and creates a stack that feels ridiculously fucking good. “Maybe next time you could tell Fifi to sleep wif her head up this end. I’m scared I might kick her by accident.”

“You won’t kick her.” And to make doubly sure, I bring my knees higher and cup her legs so they have nowhere to go. “Close your eyes now, baby. Go back to sleep.”

“Okay.” She releases a gentle sigh. “Night, Daddy. I love you.”

“Night, Moo. I love you, too.”

27

SERAPHINA

Warm air fans across my face in constant, heavy pants. If not for the playful giggles of a little girl incapable of being quiet, I’d almost think Charlie had adopted a puppy overnight and placed it in bed with us.

But that’s not what happened.

And this… this is way better.

“Fifiiiiiii?” Mia’s fingers gently tap my forehead. “Fifiiiiiii? Are you dreaming?”

“I’m dreaming of puppies.” I whip my eyes open and snake my arm across her belly, startling a loud scream from the depths of her chest and dragging her down into my small island of pillows. “Lots of puppies.” I tickle her ribs and consider the clash of her heel against my shin the price I pay for admission. “And each of those puppies has a little girl to play with. Because little girls and little puppies are the cutest things ever!”

“Stoppppp!” Cackling, she throws her arms and legs wide, spasming like her body is being tortured with live electricity. “Fifi! I’m gonna wet my pants!”

“You would never!” I roll forward and lie half over her tiny body. Her smile is so bright and beautiful. So full of happiness and optimism and resilience. God, I hate that word. It’s nothing more than a participation trophy given to people forced to hold the trauma they never asked for. “You wouldn’t wet your pants, would you? You’re not a baby. You’re a big girl.”

“I sometimes nearly wet my pants,” she giggles. “Then I gotta—” She crosses her legs with a fast snap and makes a show of squirming. “Then I run funny and go to the bathroom real quick.”

“Sounds like you have a system in place.” I smack a noisy kiss onto her cheek and catch her knee a mere inch before it clobbers the side of my face. “And having a system makes you a big girl. What are you doing here, anyway, huh?”