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I searched for the baking soda, feeling stupidly triumphant when I found it. I sent Emma to sit at the table with Lily, not caring that Lily had no idea how to talk to kids. Even when she was a kid herself, she never felt like one. When she was around, it always felt like having an adult there.
Pouring the baking soda on the toy, I used a cloth to gently scrub at it. Thankfully, the slime began clumping and falling away. I sighed out a relieved breath. I'd need to buy Lily a drink or shoes or make her favorite meal to thank her for this. If Uni was ruined forever, I didn't know what Emma would do.
"Who's car—" I stumbled back a step, jolting at the deep rumble of Eli's voice.
"Where the—when did you get home?" I cried, pressing my hand to my chest. "Jesus, I didn't even hear you!" His lips twitched into a smirk, but he quickly schooled his features.
"Hey, Eli," Lily purred. I shot her a glare, but she wasn't looking at me.
It wasn't her fault she was stupid hot and had a natural bedroom voice. But it did make things hard when I liked a guy and they finally saw her. They'd forget entirely about me and move on to drooling for her—which was fine. I knew I wasn't ugly. Just, in comparison, not as hot as her.
I waited for Eli's demeanor to change, for him to straighten or push his chest out or do anything to show that he was interested in Lily. It's not like he hadn't met her before, but it had been years since they last saw each other.
"Oh, hey," he said, jerking his chin at her. "I didn't know you were coming over." He slid his eyes to me and I gave him an apologetic smile.
"Daddy! Uni is dying!" Emma shouted, startling all of us. He blinked, then turned to me, looking horrified.
"Purple slime," I explained, holding the toy up. His eyes widened further. "I'm fixing it. Uni isn't dying." I lifted my brows as I stared at Emma, but her eyes were solely on Eli.
To my shock and horror, Emma burst into tears. Lily looked ready to bolt as Eli and I rushed toward Emma.
"Em," Eli cooed. "Rae is fixing Uni. It's okay." Emma couldn't catch her breath as she sobbed. I rushed back and grabbed Uni from the counter. Crouching beside Eli, I held the toy out to her.
"Look, it's coming off. It's not ruined," I frantically said.
She just kept crying. Panic clawed at my chest. I didn't know what to do or how to make her stop. Eli looked just as panicked. I glanced over his shoulder at Lily, who was slowly inching her way out of the kitchen.
"It's okay, baby," Eli murmured, running his hand over Emma's soft hair. She jerked roughly away from him, nearly sliding from the chair. "Emma."
"Don't touch!" she screamed, shoving his hands away. We exchanged a look, one that told me he was just as lost as I was.
"Want to play dolls?" I blurted, trying to find anything that would help her stop crying.
"We can go to the park," Eli added.
"And get ice cream," I said.
"Boy, you two are great at this," Lily muttered from her corner of the kitchen. I flipped her off behind Eli's back, but she didn't laugh. She just stared at Emma. "Weren't you trained to help people regulate emotions?" She gave me an accusatory look, and I took a deep breath.
Right.
I'd helped Emma before, but it was usually before bed when she was already winding down for the night. Not when she was in the middle of a meltdown. It was hard to know where to start when I didn't know what triggered the outburst.
"Hey, honey," I said softly, clenching my hand into a fist to refrain from touching her. She took a shuddering breath. "Can you breathe with me? Like we do at bedtime?"
Her dark eyes shifted to mine. I wanted to hug her, she looked so upset. Her face was red and blotchy, her eyes wet and already swollen.
"Remember how we breathed last night?" I murmured. She wiped roughly at her cheeks as she nodded. "Can you do that?"
I held my hand up, and her little, shaky finger lifted. She pressed it into my palm and took a deep breath as she drew a line across the top of my palm.
I glanced at Eli, finding him watching us with his mouth parted. I'd explain everything later, right now I needed to focus on Emma.
"Good," I whispered. She exhaled as she drew a line down, and I followed her lead, breathing out with her. "Big, deep breath now." She drew another straight line across the bottom of my palm as she inhaled.
She focused on drawing a square on my palm and breathing, and slowly, she calmed down. Suddenly, Eli began humming softly. My head snapped to him. He wrapped his hand around my free one, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Another square, honey," I whispered, looking back at Emma. She drew another square and by the time she was done, she was totally calm. Eli continued humming, but his gaze was still on me.
