Meant to be half

~12. My sweet girl.~

"She didn't call me for weeks—" Before I knew it I was face to face with my littlest. "Buttercup, are you okay? How was it at daddy's so far?"

Her big eyes looked at me and something seemed off.

"...I miss you." She mumbled, with the biggest pout and my heart dared to shatter all over the carpet around.

"Oh baby... I miss you too. So much, that I will never let go of you when you're back in my arms." I tried to make her smile, which worked out. "It's gonna be such a big cuddly hug on the couch, with a movie on, that you will forget all your worries."

"With Tes!" Grace cheered and pulled her big sister into the screen.

"Yes, if the cool Tes allows her uncool mother to give her a hug." I teased again.

"I might grant one." She laughed.

"How very generous of you baby." I chuckled amused.

"Daddy's food is not good." Grace blurted out and scrunched her face together.

"He never was a chef." I smiled. "Did you eat something though?" My littlest nodded. "Yes, that's my girl. Why do we have to eat?" Head tilted, I saw her mirroring my motion.

"...for energy."

I nodded. "That's right, buttercup. We need to nurture our body to do all that we love. What do we love?"

"Dance!" Gracie exclaimed.

Widely smiling, I replied. "What a beautiful thing. I'm proud of you. Proud of the both of you. My girls." Before I had the chance to fall into another flashback of memories, my girls suddenly got all quiet and big smug grins painted over their lips. "What—"

"Now who are these pretty girls." A voice from behind me cheered and the mattress to my left digged in. Then she just laid next to me. Hip to hip. Thigh to thigh. Shoulder to shoulder. My breath was sucked out of me for just a few seconds too long. Not good. "Tessa, how are you?"

"Great Miss Williams... and you?" Her eyes switched from left to right. Emery and me.

"Couldn't be better." The woman next to me beamed and leaned onto her arm.

"Wow! So pretty!" Grace gasped and came closer to the screen. "Mommy where are you two?"

"Good night, baby."

"Mom." Tessa got nosey too.

"Bye darlings. Mommy loves you two very much!" I waved and their complains didn't stop me.

Groaning, I closed my eyes and rolled over to lay on my back.

"Hey!"

A frown on my face, I cracked an eye open. "Hey to you too." And I closed it again.

A gentle nudge hit my shoulder, yet I didn't react. A few moments nothing else happened. It seemed Emery understood something was off. Yet the fact that I knew she was beating herself up over it in that pretty head of hers, made it hard to keep ignoring her.

So, to overcome my ego, I turned my head and decided to look at the woman. Her face was drowned in anxiety, yet the unconscious biting on the skin of her lip gave it away the most.

I wanted to prevent her from it, but she was once again daydreaming and not aware of me speaking to her whatsoever. Reluctantly my fingertips reached to touch her chin, to distract her. Emery responded well to physical touch as a distraction... it brought her back to reality.

And for my part? I was a big lover for cuddles and touching. This time though... I knew something I didn't before all these exchanged touches previously. So placing my fingertips on her skin was ultimately a bad idea.