Single Dad "Starting Over"(Hunter Hayes Fanfic)...Completed

Chapter 87

"Okay, just let me carry Harper upstairs and put her to bed while you make us some popcorn with extra butter. I'll meet you down here after I've change into some comfortable clothes. Deal?"

"Deal." She smiles.

I bend down and carefully pick my little angel up and carry her to her room. I try not to wake her so I don't turn the lights on. Instead I let the light from the hallway illuminate the room. It's not much, but enough for me to find her pajamas and slip them over her head once I've removed her cute black leggings and pink top.

When I bend to kiss her forehead she opens her eyes. "Hey there punkin. How are you feeling?"

She yawns. "Tie Tie."

"I can see that." I say as I brush her bangs from her face. "I wasn't going to wake you, but now that you are, why don't I take you to the bathroom so you can brush your teeth and go potty? Then you can go right back to sleep or if you prefer you can come snuggle with mommy and me."

"Hotay." She mumbles as she holds her arms out for me to carry her into the bathroom.

While we are getting her ready for bed, I notice she is not herself. She's extremely quiet. "Is anything wrong, baby girl?"

She shakes her head, yes. "Why mommy yell at Liddy?"

"I didn't know she did."

"She did, hunnest."

"Okay, I believe you. Do you remember what she said?"

"Uh huh."

"Would you like to tell me?"

"She said Lid go..... Go where, Daddy?"

"I'm not sure, honey. I'll ask mommy all about it. Okay? Don't you worry."

"But Lid cry."

"She did?" I try to keep my voice calm even though I can feel the blood pounding in my veins.

She shakes her head, yes.

"Please don't worry. I'm sure Liddy is okay."

"You pomise?"

"I pinky promise." I say as I hold out my little finger for her to grab. "So do you want me to carry you back to bed or would you rather come snuggle on the couch with mommy and daddy?"

"Bed, peez. Mommy scare me."

"How did Mommy scare you?"

"She yell lots at Lids."

I wrap my arms around her and hold her tight as I carry her back to her room. "I'm sorry mommy scared you, sweetie. Daddy will talk to her, okay? Now you get some sleep."

She smiles. "Hotay, I luff you."

"I love you too, punkin more than you will ever know." Then I kiss the tip of her nose. "Sweet dreams."

As I walk towards the living room to confront Renee, I am literally shaking. I can't believe she had a fight with Liddy and to have it in front of Harper is totally unacceptable. She scared our daughter!

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Liddy's POV

As I sit in front of my TV with a glass of white wine, watching an old episode of 'Friends', I try to relax, but I can't help but think about the confrontation I had with Renee earlier. I still can't believe she verbally attacked me, almost as soon as I drove in. All that I managed to do was get Harper out of her car seat before she went off on me. Yelling, telling me I had no right to be there. Insisting that I leave.

I didn't say a lot to defend myself because Harps was standing right next to me, exposed to the whole argument. I could tell it was upsetting her that Renee was shouting at me. I could feel her little hand shaking in mine and I didn't want to do or say anything that might add more fuel to her mother's rage.

Renee was vicious. She wanted to hurt me and she certainly succeeded. She couldn't wait to brag about how happy and in love she and Hunter were, living in his house, raising Harper together. She delighted in telling me how Hunter admitted to her that he never truly loved me because he couldn't, since he never stopped loving her. I guess all I was to him was a rebound. According to Renee, he regretted asking me to marry him. So he was elated when I broke the engagement and that he only pretended to be upset.

The comment about him never loving me and that all I was was a rebound, cut the deepest. It brought me to tears. When it did she just smiled. I could tell she reveled seeing me in pain. I'm not sure she would have stopped except that Harper started crying. Even though I was trying to cover her ears, she could still feel her mother's anger and it scared her.

As soon as I saw the tears in Harper's eyes I picked her up and started consoling her, rubbing her back and reassuring her that everything was okay. When Renee insisted that I pass Harper to her, I cried because I had no choice. I hated letting her go. I knew Harps wasn't feeling well and I wanted to tell Renee that, but I was afraid if I tried to give her even the slightest bit of advice, on how to care for her daughter, it would only upset Renee more, so I remained silent.

I worried all afternoon about Harper and whether her temperature had gone up and if she had calmed down since observing her mother yelling at me. So I decided to texted Hunter about my concerns regarding Harper. I opted to not tell him about the fight Renee and I had and how it upset her. Instead I only mentioned that she didn't eat well and might have a low grade fever.

Hunter loves Harper more than anything in this world so I was confident that he would make sure she was okay. I knew he'd watch her temperature and make sure she drank plenty of fluids. He'd most likely even have her sleep in his bed with him and ... Renee because he'd be so worried about her.

Thinking about the two of them together makes me cry. Knowing that they could be sleeping in his bedroom only a few yards from mine; separated by only one locked door helped me decide to sleep on the couch. I need to put as much distance between them and I, as possible. I can't take a chance of overhearing a thing. I know just the sound of his voice could be enough to cause me to completely break down. I can't risk that. I'm too proud to let him know that he's crushed my heart into a million tiny pieces and there's not enough glue in this world to ever fix it.

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Well, what do you think of Renee? Is she really mean or just scared?

Looking forward to your comments so PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS> I LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!!!

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