Fragile | ✓

1.4 | The Past

14 | The Past

→ The past is in the past  - Let It Go

→ If I can't see you, you can't see me

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AS DADDY COUNTS down the last few numbers to ten, I sprint up the stairs to try and find a last minute hiding place. My tiny feet tip toe across the carpeted hall and finally, creaking open the door of the laundry room, fit inside the laundry basket.

"Ready or not, here I come." Daddy sings, his voice increasing a few pitches on the last word. I hear his footsteps disappear and reappear a few minutes later, closer than ever. "Hmm... I've searched just everywhere. Could Jess have disappeared in thin air?"

I fight back a giggle. I lift the top of the laundry basket a tiny bit, just enough to get a glimpse of daddy, standing by the laundry room door. "Maybe she's secretly an elf and went to the North Pole?" He makes binoculars with his eyes and face his hands to the ceiling. "Oh, elf Jess! Come out, come out wherever you are!" I follow his line of sight to the ceiling, near the attic door. Another giggle erupts within me and this time, daddy hears it. I quickly duck back inside the basket, the lid falling back into place with a thump. I cover both my eyes with the palm of my hand. 'If I can't see him, he can't see me.'

A few quiet seconds later, the lid of the basket lifts up making light flood my crouched position inside the basket. My eyes remain closed though, with hopes of becoming invisible.

"Ah ha! There Jess is," he peels my hands off my face and I blink, getting used to the new scenery.

"Daddy thought I was an elf." I laugh maniacally as daddy pouts. "Elves have big big ears. Do I have big big ears?" I tilt my head to the side and then at an angle, trying to catch a glimpse of my own ears. It doesn't work.

"Nope, you have itty bitty ears until you become a big girl. Now can I have a kissy for searching that long?"

"I am a big girl. Daddy gets no kissys until he says I'm a big girl," I whine, stomping my foot.

"Fine, fine. My angel's a big girl now-" I cut him off with a peck on the cheek. "And now she's back to a little girl."

He picks me up as if I weigh nothing and throws me lightly in the air, before catching me in his hands. "She's my little girl."

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I had gone to bed that night with a smile never leaving my face and slept nightmare free for the first time in a long time. Now in the morning, my mood didn't change slightly as memories of the, safe to say, magical night hadn't felt my brain. Little did I know my mood was going to be dampered the moment I walked down the stairs. The alarm rang its quiet tune and I responded, quickly pushing my covers off and getting off the queen sized bed, not protesting like I usually did. I ran a comb through my hair and tied it up into a high ponytail with an elastic band to make it look presentable. Grabbing my phone off the nightstand, I pulled the door open while simultaneously pulling on my ponytail. The long hallways I had grown accustomed to followed and I skipped down the stairs to the dining room.

"... progress so I don't know how to tell her," I hear Caden whispering aggressively when I reach the landing of the staircase.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion and tip toe a little further down the stairs to try and pick up more of their conversation. Luck wasn't on my side though as Eli looked up at the exact moment, catching me eavesdropping. The tensed look on his face immediately dropped and he smiled softly at me. Eli's smile was one thing that stayed continuous from the time I had met them but this smile was different than the usual one. The right side of his lip was tilted down ever so slightly that it was almost not noticeable. It lacked the happy glint that was always in his blue eyes as he smiled. Instead, this reminded me of a one I was familiar with from adults in the past. The look of pity.