"You can still be broken, even when nothing's wrong."
. . .
"I've taken care of myself for three years, I don't need someone to take care of me now. I'm eighteen in two years, mom." She believed her mom when she said that Liam was kind. But she did...
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"What?" Louis voiced, carefully balancing both eggs and butter in one of his hands, the other one closing the refrigerator.
"Why would you need baking soda for cookies?" He asked, Genevie shrugging in response while looking at the computer on the kitchen counter. She patiently listed all the ingredients again while Louis searched for the baking soda, grabbing flour and sugar from a shelf in the process.
"You forgot brown sugar," The girl added when he carelessly dropped a container filled with salt next to the pile of ingredients already on the counter.
The man paused and turned around, feigning exhausted while asking. "There's something called brown sugar?" Louis, a little tired from running around the kitchen in search of everything, widened his eyes jokingly. Genevie just turned the screen towards him, looking with disbelief in her eyes from the electronic device to Louis, who had a frown etched on his face.
Louis saw the difference in her body language, growing more confident every day. From the nervous wreck she had been, to the one standing bravely in the kitchen. Sometimes, she was still that timid ball of nerves, too afraid to ask for juice when Liam only offers water, but the difference from a week ago was striking.
Right now she didn't look on edge, ankle rested over the other, her backside against the wall behind her, arms carelessly by her sides, not in the protective cross they had been a few days prior. She had also gained the courage to nod, answering his question while looking slightly confused, like she couldn't believe he didn't know different types of sugar existed, and until this moment, Louis didn't.
Genevie spoke teasingly, surprising Louis, "how can you not know this?" Though, the second the words left her mouth she looked concerned, maybe afraid to have hit a nerve.
Louis just grinned and shook his head, telling her about his horrendous adventures in the kitchen while sitting down, Genevie laughing loudly from his stories. The older man was so proud, she had enough confidence to tease him and laugh at his mistakes. The husbands noticed the changes day for the day, how she was coming out of her shell, opening her door wider and wider for them.
"Okay, want to give this a try?" Louis asked, Genevie nodded excitedly while looking around the kitchen.
It started out okay, they dropped an egg on the floor and Louis got some flour in his hair, but overall, everything was fine. The older man didn't know where a single thing was in the kitchen, including the brown sugar he wasn't aware of existed. When they had searched every cabinet, they decided on adding usual sugar instead.
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"But why would you need both?" He asked while Genevie was changing song, the girl shrugging in answer. "I thought you said you had baked cookies before; they do different things." She stated, looking questioningly at the man.
