Perfectly Ruined by:jdollar *a D'Amore story*

Chapter 53

-_-_-_-_-_-_- a real parent is someone who puts their kids above their own selfish wants and needs -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-
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Caroline
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"I'll be fine, Pauly! Stop calling me every five minutes. It's your first day back in the office and you have so much to do. I'm fine. Adalee is here. Rita is here. And Arabella and Maggie plan on stopping by later this afternoon before they come home. Mia and Mawmaw just left. You're Aunties wanna come visit later this week. I'll have plenty to do to keep me busy for the next few days. Stop worrying!"

He huffs. "I can't help it, Care! I don't like being away from you. Not so sooner after...."

"Don't," I stop him. "Please, don't. I'm fine and it's been two weeks. I feel good and Dr. Logan said my hormone levels have gone back to normal. And my iron has gone up. I'm fine."

"Yeah," he sighs. "That's all good but it's your mental health, I'm worried about now."

"Well, don't be. Until I say I'm not fine, then you don't need to worry."

"Asking me not to worry about you is like asking me to not breathe. You've hardly talked to me about it. Then when I've flat out asked you how you wanna handle your dad, all you say is we'll handle it tomorrow. I don't wanna push you too far but baby! I didn't fly off the handles and do what I wanted to at first, because of you. I'm still not doing what I wanna do. If I had my way, I would have already handled this, but I don't wanna hurt you. I want you to lead me. Whatever you want to do, I'll do."

I groan inwardly. He wants me to lead him in how to handle my Dad. The only problem with that is, I don't know what I want to do about it!

"I know. We'll talk about it tonight," I tell him.

I hear him take in a deep breath. "Alright, but Care, we are going to talk about it. Too much time is going by."

"Okay. Have a good rest of the day and stop calling me every five seconds."

"I love you, baby," he says, ignoring my request for him to stop calling. "I'll see you tonight."

"I love you too."

His end goes dead. I remove the phone from my ear and turn to face Adalee. My friend had showed up to the hospital the same night Rita had, just much later. Apparently, in all the rush and fuss over me, no one had thought to text Adalee. And when she texted me, as she does every day, and I never replied to her, she began to worry. But it was Rita who had finally called her, once she had left the hospital with a new job.
I still can't believe Pauly did that. Offering Rita a place to work with us. Of course, he can afford to now, but I hadn't expected it. Having her with me here, means the world to me. Pauly's selfless, kind offer for Rita made me love him all the more. His thoughts might have been more about me, knowing that I would need the lady who has acted so much like a mother in my life, but... By doing what he did, he had also given so much to Rita. She was going to have a hard time in my moving in with Pauly. Now, we'll be under the same roof again. She may work for us but Rita, much like John's Milo, is family. She loves us and we love her!
Life will move on.
It already has.
However.....
That didn't mean that I could ignore what my father did to me.
I just don't want to face it. If I asked Pauly to deal with my father, Pauly would kill him with no mercy. I know this fact, which is why I haven't wanted to 'talk' about any of it. But Pauly will never let this go. I don't want to let it go. What Daddy did is unforgivable! My heart is broken not only because of my lost child, but also because my father could do something so horrible to me.
I don't know what to say. Or how to deal with any of it.
Rita brings me a glass of water. Adalee tries, God love her, to make me smile. And I try, for their sakes, to pretend like I'm okay. That I'm dealing with it. But I'm not. I'm devastated. Lost and completely heart broken.