To Keep Her Safe is All I Know

Chapter 6

Sadie goes over to Fred and starts petting him to calm him down as he was still growling at John's presence. John looks to Melanie, an unpleasant expression on his face.

"Well, I suppose I'd better be hitting the road."

Sadie hugs him, "Bye, Daddy."

"Goodbye, honey."

John gives one last glare to Melanie, then walks out of the house.

"That was weird." Melanie states.

"What was?"

"I'm not sure, something about your dad just seemed a bit...off."

"Well, he did say earlier that he forgot to take his medicine this morning."

Melanie looks out the window and watches as John starts his car and drives off.

"Did he." Melanie states.

"Yeah. I didn't even know Daddy took medicine."

"Mhm, he has a disorder that he needs to take medicine for."

"A disorder?"

"Big words here, okay? Daddy has what's called bipolar disorder. Sometimes he can't control how he's feeling, so he takes his medicine to help him."

"Oh. Well, then I'm gonna start texting him every morning to tell him to take his medicine so he doesn't forget."

Melanie smiles, "You're a good kid, sweetie."

Sadie smiles as well, but it then fades, "Why aren't you and Daddy married anymore?"

Melanie sighs, "I've told you this, Sadie, your dad and I just don't love each other anymore. I found out that he was keeping secrets from me, and we just decided that we weren't right for each other."

"There's no way you guys could ever try to fall back in love again?"

"No. I'm sorry, honey, but there isn't. You'll understand when you're older."

Sadie looks down, almost as if to be embarrassed, "I can't tell Daddy that I wanna be a boy sometimes, can I?"

Melanie pauses, then continues, "Baby...if when you're a little older, you still want to be a boy sometimes, or even all the time, then maybe we can think of a way to talk to your dad about it, but I just don't think he would take you seriously right now because you're still so young."

Sadie's little face then contorts into a frown and her eyebrows slant down in anger, "Why does everything always have to wait until I get bigger?! Everyone keeps telling me how big I've gotten, so why aren't I big enough?!"

Sadie storms off to her room before she can get an answer, leaving Melanie dumbfounded. Sadie goes upstairs and to her room before shutting the door behind her. She goes to her vanity and looks in the mirror. She pulls her hair back with her hands, creating the illusion that she has short hair before letting it fall down over her shoulders again. She repeats this cycle a couple of times before kicking her toy box in frustration and going over to her bed and crying, clutching her stuffed elephant on her arms.

x

"I don't know what to do about this, Chris, I really don't." Melanie says into her phone at whisper level.

Melanie had come upstairs a while later. She decided that Sadie needed a minute to cool off, but after a while, Melanie went up to Sadie's room to check on her. When she did, Melanie found Sadie asleep on her bed, tear streaks down her face with Peanut in her arms. Melanie lightly runs a hand through Sadie's hair as she talks quietly to Chris on the phone.