Childish

63

I continued to get nervous the longer it took me to get ready for bed. I knew I needed, and wanted, to talk to Alex but I was afraid of how he would respond. His mom was well... his mom and I was just... some girl he took in to fix his mistake. I had no right to tell him how to treat her or how to feel. Maybe he wouldn't take it well and he'd get angry with me. It wasn't often I saw him angry.

I worried about it the entire car ride and then some. Naomi gave me a bath and the entire time I was so worried about how he would react. I didn't want him to be mad at me. I just wanted him to feel better.

Naomi pulled my pajama shirt over my head and brushed my hair from my face. "You look so nervous. Don't worry about Alex. He's not mad at you."

I looked down at my hands and sighed. Initially, I wasn't upset about what was said about Naomi and me. I just took it because I knew it was true. But the more I thought about it, the more I dwelled on it, the more it upset me. And, clearly, it made Alex upset, too.

"Alex would never put someone else over you. You mean a lot to him, Lyla."

As true as it may have been, I still had my doubts. "I don't know..."

"You're his little girl. That means something."

"I'm just a baby."

Naomi sighed. "You're our sweet little baby. You mean a lot to both of us and we'll do everything we can to protect you from bad things and people. Even if that includes his mom."

I leaned into her and put my forehead on her stomach. "It was just supposed to be a normal thanksgiving. I wanted to celebrate since I didn't get to last year."

"I'm sorry, baby. I know this hasn't been easy on you. We'll make things better for Christmas. I promise." She wrapped her arms around me and held me close. The smell of her perfume relaxed me and helped to calm me down. "Let's go talk to Alex so you can get some sleep."

I let her pick me up from the changing table where I sat. She held me on her hip as she carried me from my bedroom. The distance from my room to hers was too short and we got there faster than I was anticipating. Which meant I had to deal with my problem rather than ignore it and hope it would go away.

Alex was sitting on the bed when we entered the room. He had showered and changed into clothes for bed but looked like he'd been sitting in the same spot for a while. It seemed he was stressed out about how dinner went, too.

He looked up as we entered.

Naomi set me down on the bed as we approached and I crawled over to Alex.

"I'll be back." Naomi left the room, giving Alex and me time to talk alone. It was easier to talk to him when it was just the two of us.

"I'm sorry about thanksgiving. I don't want you to be mad anymore."

His expression softened. "You don't have to apologize, Ly."

"But I don't want you to be upset anymore."

"I'm not mad at you, Lyla. My mom was out of line today. That's all."

I reached out for him so he could hold me in his arms. Hopefully, that would help him.

"Don't let what she said get to you. She was wrong. She doesn't know you like we do. Maybe if she did, she wouldn't have said those things."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Do we have to invite her to Christmas?"

He chuckled. "I don't think Monica would mind if we didn't."

"Good."

"I think you should try to get some sleep. It's been a long day and you didn't have much of a nap."

"I still took one though."

He patted my back before setting me on the bed. "You still need to get some sleep. I really don't want you cranky tomorrow."

I giggled as I crawled up to the pillows. I got under the blanket and made myself comfortable in the middle of the bed. "I'm ready."

He shook his head as he got to his feet. "I'm going to go check on Cooper and then I'll be back. Please try to go to sleep."

"I can't make any promises."

Once he left, I let myself get comfortable and tried to focus on falling asleep. It had been a busy day, especially since we went to Monica's. I was hoping she'd be able to come to our place once she was in better shape to do so but I knew we couldn't rush it if she wasn't ready.

By the time Alex came back, I was asleep in bed with my teddy bear snuggled in my arms.