This will consist of a bunch of things I never put in Little Miss Maisy that I don't want to go to waste, hope you enjoy it— AKA DELETED SCENES 💛:
Heads up: it do be a bit long . . . I hope you like it though
𝑂𝑛𝑒 – 𝑆𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛
PLEASE COMMENT, TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK
One:
Fireflies
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"Hey, pumpkin."
Sawyer walked over to Maisy, who had wandered away from the people in the outdoor venue. She was staring at the little man-made pond and the strung lights that were reflecting off the surface.
She had to hold her wedding dress up as she walked, not wanting to trip or get the bottom dirty.
"What're you doing all the way over here? Everyone's looking for the flower girl." Sawyer crouched down next to the little girl, moving the brown curls away from Maisy's face.
"Nothing." Maisy blankly answered, staring down at the grass.
At first, the bride thought Maisy was sad, but no–She realized she was staring at a tiny blinking light down in the grass in front of her. There were quite a lot of those blinking lights sprinkled all through the grass over by the pond.
Sawyer leaned down and let one crawl onto her hand, right next to her new wedding ring. "It's called a firefly."
Maisy stared at the small lightning bug, her eyes full of wonder as she watched it crawl around Sawyer's wrist. "It's so pwetty!"
"It certainly is." Sawyer smiled at Maisys expression, in awe at the firefly on her hand. "You're lighting up the room too, you did a really good job today."
She kissed the top of Maisy's head, she didn't get much of a chance to see her favorite little girl since this morning when they were getting ready.
"Thank you berry much." Maisy turned her attention away from the firefly and back up at Sawyer, sometimes she forgets the word very and confuses it with a word for fruit.
Sawyer grabbed Maisys hand and set it close to her own so the firefly would crawl onto Maisy, knowing how fascinated she seems at the small creature.
Sawyer watched Maisys face with a smile, just enjoying how happy the little firefly was making her. Until Maisy gasped and looked down.
"What's wrong?" Sawyer thought maybe the firefly flew away or something, but Maisy pointed down to her wedding dress.
Some fireflies had landed on the bottom of her dress, sparkling against the white gown.
Two:
Birthday Girl
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"Okay, light the candles." Cassidy directed Eric to light the candles on the birthday cake, an ice cream cake decorated with Oreos.
"Where's the lighter?" Eric searched through the kitchen drawer it hardly ever leaves, but he couldn't find it.
"It should be in there." Cassidy licked the frosting off her thumb before going to the sink to wash her hands off. "Well, it's not."
Birthday cake. You must be asking who's birthday is it for? Well, our little princess is growing up fast. She turns five years old today and now we must celebrate!
Cassidy dried off her hands on a rag then came over next to Eric, pulling the lighter out of the drawer within two seconds with a smug smile.
"Go light the candles, sparky."
Eric grumbled, how did she find it so easily?
Cassidy still smiled at him, proud of her power. But she peaked her head out of the kitchen and looked at the dining room table, where Maisy was chatting with Miles and Beau.
"Well, she seems distracted so we might as well carry it in now." Cassidy lifted the cake after Eric finished lighting the last golden candle, ones he picked out because he thought Maisy would like them the best.
"Start singing." Cassidy instructed Eric as they slowly entered the room, being careful with the cake. This is a special birthday, Maisy's first one with the Rose siblings since she came back to live with them.
She elbowed Eric when he didn't, then started to sing with him. Then Beau and Miles joined in while Cassidy set the cake on the table and slid it closer to Maisy, who looked nervous.
She wasn't sure if she should be singing too, it was quite stressful not knowing. The small flames were also quite mesmerizing, enough that she reached out to touch one with her small fingers just to feel–
Of course, as one would imagine, it hurt. And no one realized what she was doing fast enough to stop her. So, she jumped back with a yelp as she clutched her finger with her hand.
Miles got up to grab some ice and Beau immediately grabbed her hand to inspect it, chuckling at her innocence even though he remained concerned. "Why did you touch it?"
"It was pwetty. I didn't know it was gonna bite me." Maisy mumbled with a pout, she didn't expect the beautiful thing to hurt her.
"Bite you? Sweetheart, it burnt you." Beau laughed again as he took a frozen bag of diced carrots from Miles, gently setting it over Maisy's hand.
"That's why you can't touch fire babes, it burns you." Cassidy explained, on the off-chance it still wasn't clear. Apparently, they just forgot to teach her that, which maybe was a bad sign–But otherwise, they were doing great . . . they hoped.
"Alright, alright. She's fine now, she's a year older and a year wiser. Let's get on with it." Miles waved his hands at the whole incident. Instead, he moved the cake towards Maisy more and motioned for everyone to finish the final verse of the song before the cake is devoured.
"Yay! Make a wish birthday girl!" Everyone clapped for her and encouraged her to blow out the candles, she seemed more hesitant now.
So Maisy shut her eyes right and thought real hard for what her birthday wish would be as she sucked in a deep breath to blow out all five golden candles.
She inhaled–
I wish for a yummy birthday cake.
She exhaled her deep breath towards the candles, blowing out all five of them.
Three:
Fireworks
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"That's a beautiful dress, little girl." Miles glanced down at Maisy as he commented on her special dress. She was grasping his ring and pinky finger, her hand not quite large enough to hold all his fingers.
"Fank you, Miles. I think it's beau'ful too." Maisy glanced down at her dress herself, she picked it out special for tonight. To celebrate the Fourth of July, as a tradition they go to layout a couple of blankets and watch the fireworks together.
So they went to the store last week, and Maisy chose the tie-dye dress of red, white, and blue swirls with a little glitter decal firework on the front.
Beau, Cassidy, and Eric were right behind them in no rush. Sawyer and Amber in front, carrying the blankets and scouting a perfect spot for the family.
"Are you ready to see the fireworks?" Miles made the little exploding sound effects, quite ready to see the colorful explosions in the dusk sky. Maisy wasn't as excited, she couldn't remember much of last year's fireworks, she was only three then, but she didn't remember loving them.
She remembers crying because they were loud.
"Um, 'm not so sure." Maisy wasn't sure how to feel about the whole event. She did know she was excited about the bomb pops that Beau brought in their small littler cooler.
"What about Teddy, is he excited?" Miles grinned down at the bear in her arms, deciding her spirits needed to be lifted.
Maisy also looked down at Teddy in her arm, wondering what he thought. "He's only a little excited."
"Only a little?" Miles echoed, knowing Maisy seemed uneasy about the whole holiday. Sure she loves her dress, but the whole fireworks ordeal seems iffy.
Maisy nodded her head but was focusing on the area Sawyer and Amber had decided to set up. They started to spread the blankets out on the grass, the night started to fall.
"Mais, you wanna come to sit with me?" Amber sat down on one of the blankets, patting her lap to encourage the small girl.
"I don't know, my blanket is a lot cooler." Sawyer caught Maisys attention, patting her own lap.
Maisy looked back and forth between them. She loves Sawyer . . . and she loves Amber.
Then she looked behind her at the rest of her quirky little family, they were digging through the cooler and chatting.
So Maisy decided she would just sit in between the blankets, on the grass. Teddy likes it better here anyway, no feelings get hurt.
"Aw, Mais! You don't wanna come sit with me?" Amber stuck out her lip into a fake pout, pretending to be hurt by the little girl's choice.
"Or me?" Sawyer mimicked Amber, sadly patting the open spot next to her on the blanket saved just for little Maisy.
"M' just fine over here, fank you." Maisy folded her hands and placed them in her lap with a little polite nod towards each of them, deciding to focus her energy on the upcoming fireworks.
She was still unsure if she should be scared, happy, or settle on somewhere in the middle. A few minutes later, Beau and Eric sat in the middle with her. They ate a couple of bomb pops before the show started, chatting about what the fireworks could look like.
As they started though, she found herself becoming anxious and drifting towards Beau's lap as the loud booms shook the sky. She didn't remember them being so loud.
"Beauy, the sky's breaking." Maisy's voice cracked as she grasped a handful of his shirt in her fist, Teddy being squeezed tightly in her other. She was desperate to get away from the noise and buried her face in his chest, her brother will fix it. He can fix anything.
Last week he fixed Teddy when he got caught on something and he got a tiny hole in his paw.
Beau looked down at her and protectively wrapped and arm around her, shielding her from the scariness. "The sky isn't breaking, sweetheart. That's just the fireworks."
"Exploding." Eric added onto Beau's sentence, causing an even more terrified look to surge into Maisys eyes. "Just wait till the finale when they really light em up."
Excitement seemed to glow in the teenager's eyes. He did enjoy fireworks, it was something to look forward to every year. A tradition he loved when he was little.
"Beauy, I don't want the sky to explode!" Maisy's minor anxiety seemed to blossom into hysteria, tears glistening in her eyes as she frantically looked up at her oldest brother.
Beau leaned his head forward a bit to look past their sister and give him an unamused look. "Thank you for that, Eric."
Eric didn't glance away from the sky, mesmerized by the colors bursting in the sky. "Mhm."
"Maisy, I promise it's okay." Beau put his other hand on her head, partly soothingly stroking her hair and mainly pausing to cover her ear in hopes of settling her down. "It's just loud because . . ."
He didn't know how to rationally explain it to a four-year-old. Perhaps she could understand technological terms, but that was a far stretch.
Then he got a brilliant idea, he remembered a picture book he had just recently read to her. It was about jumping beans, which she greatly enjoyed.
"They're jumping into the sky like the beans in your book, they're just . . . whistling while they do it." Beau awkwardly finished, but it was enough to put Maisy at ease.
"Really?" She looked up at her brother with big, trusting eyes. It made sense to her, that must be the noise right before each boom–The whistling.
Maisy stared up at the sky, and for the first time this evening, in wonder. The fireworks were just jumping up to touch the sky, possibly hitting their heads from how loud it was.
"Really." Beau confirmed as he watched too, among the entire family. All together.
Four:
Curiosity exhausted the Brothers
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"Hey–Have you seen the kid?" Miles went up to Eric, who was sitting on the couch with his phone in hand. He had just gotten off a quick phone call, then found that Maisy was no longer playing in his room.
"Nope, haven't seen her." Eric went back to his phone, but a look of terror appeared in Miles' eyes. If she wasn't within eyesight of Eric or him, they could have a real problem. Beau and Cassidy are together on a few errands for food and other house supplies.
The last time they lost sight of her and they were the only two in the house, Maisy ate a whole pack of cookies, ran around for a while, and threw up all over herself before she had a sugar crash. Then they got lectured by Beau for what seemed like an eternity.
"Eric . . . " The pained expression in Miles' eyes made him look like he had been through some real stuff. Like he has PTSD and is having some sort of horrific flashback.
"What?"
It took a second before the panic sank in, and they started to search the house for the littlest Rose sibling.
"Maisy?!" Miles searched the bottom floor, looking for any trace of her. Opening cabinets, looking under the dining room table, searching every corner–But found nothing.
"Maisy? Here, girl." Eric whistled and patted his lap as he walked around the top floor, ducking his head in each bedroom and calling her like a dog.
"Eric!"
Eric snapped his head in the direction the small voice came from, the bathroom.
The terror appeared in Eric's eyes this time. Imagine all the things that could happen in the bathroom. Who knows what kind of trouble she could've found.
"Maisy?" Eric half jogged to the bathroom and opened the door . . . And froze when he saw what his young sister was doing.
"Look what I found!" Maisy ignored his shocked and frozen expression, her tone full of excitement and glee.
Eric couldn't move. He instantly hated Miles for letting her out of his sight.
Maisy was smiling and standing in front of the toilet with the seat up.
Sure that would be bad enough on its own, but what scarred Eric so much was what was in her hand and littered on the floor around her.
Tampons.
There was a tampon in her hand, still a white compressed wad of cotton. There were wrappers and a couple of applicators around her on the floor.
"Eric, watch! Watch!" Maisy did a tiny hop because she was so excited to show her brother. She reached into the bowl and let the tampon make contact with the toilet water, allowing it to expand three times its size. Also drawing Eric's eyes to the three other wasted tampons floating in the water.
Eric's face seemed awfully pale.
"Did you find her?" Miles jogged up the stairs and paused when he saw Eric frozen in the doorway of the bathroom. He couldn't have been staring like that if she wasn't there.
"I think I'm gonna puke." Eric walked away and past Miles, going back downstairs to avoid their little sister.
Miles, however, peered into the bathroom to see what got Eric all dramatic. When he saw the mess, he rolled his eyes and called down the stairs. "Lightweight! Grow up!"
Miles let out an exasperated sigh at his younger brother and wearily stared at his sister instead. "That's quite a mess you made."
Maisy's excitement didn't fade, despite their bad reactions, and she decided to show Miles the white spongey toy she found in Cassidy's drawer.
"Look! S' like the pills!" Maisy was referring to the little sponge tablets that expand in water, no wonder she thought the tampons were water toys once she opened them.
"Honey–" Miles didn't even know where to begin. "I–"
He gave up and placed his hand over his eyes, why couldn't he have just ignored the call and continued to keep an eye on her like he was supposed to.
"Those aren't toys." Miles walked closer to her, extending his hand to take the product from her, but hesitated and settled for picking her up. "We don't play with those."
"What's the matter with Eric?" Maisy dropped the tampon, making a squish noise as it hit the tiles.
"He's not prepared for his first period."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Miles lifted her and walked her a couple of steps over so he could grab the trash can. "Come on, monkey. We've gotta clean all this up before Cassidy whips me with her flats."
"Clean up. Clean up. Clean up." Maisy sang the same two words over and over as she made an attempt to help. Miles picked up a handful and threw it in the trash, while Maisy fluttered back over to the toilet where several tampons still remained.
"Bye-bye. Clean up, clean up–" Maisy pulled the handle down and flushed the toilet before Miles could stop her, causing a huge clog and the water to slowly rise and create a larger mess as it started to overflow.
". . . Great."
Beau and Cassidy were sure going to be happy with them.
Five:
More Pool Adventures
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"Eric." Maisy nagged and yanked on the bottom of his swim trunks, almost yanking them down.
"Jeez, what do you want?" He scowled at the young girl for nearly humiliating him.
"I have to go potty." She innocently said up at him, not even batting an eyelash at his grimace.
Eric, though, was not amused. "Look around, you're in a pool. Go nuts."
Maisy wrinkled her nose in disgust and grabbed his hand to pull on it, shaking her head at his ridiculous suggestion. "No! That's icky."
"Maisy, you're a kid and you're in a giant pool. Go pop a squat over there, then go back to playing." Eric waved his hand towards the playground in the outdoor water park, they're currently in the shallow little-kid end.
"No, I don't wanna have an accident!" Maisy still refused Eric's 'suggestion' and pulled on his arm a little harder.
"Maisy, you're in a pool. It's not an accident if you're in a pool." Eric tried to reason with her. Mainly because the bathrooms are a long walk away, and their towels are in the opposite direction. Resulting in a long long walk and a huge waste of time.
"I don't care." She huffed, and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest. A small pout forming upon her lips.
Eric looked up at the sky to gather enough patience to deal with this child, then took a deep breath before giving in. "Fine."
Maisy's pout faded into a smile and she grasped his hand again so he could walk her to the building that had the indoor pool and the bathrooms.
As soon as Eric started walking though, and they got out of the shallow water, Maisy looked up at him again. "M' cold."
"Okay."
"I want my fwuit towel." Maisy looked up at Eric, knowing their towels were the other way. Her towel is decorated with watercolor watermelons, strawberries, lemons, and little leaves.
"You're going to be the death of me." Eric groaned and pulled her the other way, speed walking along the hot pavement in an attempt to make the trip quicker.
"That's not funny." Maisy glared up at him, stopping in her tracks to cross her arms again.
"Okay, fine. I'm sorry. Hurry up so you don't piss yourself." He looked back down and saw that she hadn't budged . . . Excellent.
"Maisy, let's go." Eric nodded towards their chairs in the distance, he could see them. They're so close.
"No."
Eric glanced back over at the chairs, hoping someone from their family would be over there and see them. Possibly so they could come help and deal with the child while he went in the hot tub.
"Maisy, don't you want your towel?
"No."
"Fine, then let's go inside to go potty." Eric tried to grab her hand to lead her in the other direction, but she yanked it away. Her stubborn glare still remaining on her face.
"No."
"So you're going to pee in the pool?" Eric's hopes rose a little . . .
"No!" . . . Before slumping right back down.
"Then what do you want?" Eric couldn't help but ask her in an annoyed tone, he wasn't in the mood to deal with this.
Maisy stayed silent and chose to glare up at him instead this time, considering throwing a big fit.
"That's great." Eric sighed and looked back over to the chairs, trying to spot Beau or Cassidy to come to deal with her. They could probably handle this better than he is.
"Maisy, come on. Let's go get your towel now." Eric reached for her hand but this time she yelled, drawing attention to them. "NO!
Eric leaned down to her level and looked her straight in the eyes, deciding to move this along a little faster. "Then are you going to pee your pants?"
Maisy exhaled a frustrated huff of air then shook her head. As much as she wanted to pout, she still had to use a potty.
"Alrighty then. March." He told her as he took her hand once more, this time pulling her in the direction of the bathrooms. Her towel could wait.
This time Maisy kept her mouth shut, despite still wanting to throw a big fit. Her reasoning wasn't really valid, but all she knew was that she wanted to.
"Alright, there's the bathroom." Eric let go of her hand and nudged her towards the ladies room near the food court, the closest bathroom unless they wanted to walk for another thirty seconds to the family ones.
Maisy hesitated and glanced up at Eric. She didn't anticipate for this to happen.
"What're you waiting for? Hurry up, go in there." Eric nudged her a little closer to the door, but she backed up towards him again. "I don't wanna go by myself."
That left Eric in a tough spot . . . He's not allowed to go in there with her, but she can't exactly go in the men's room. He'd have to cover her whole face until they got to a stall and even then it's disgusting in there.
He groaned and grabbed her hand, pulling her for the extra thirty seconds to the family stalls.
"Here, hurry up now." He opened the door and quickly ushered her in, shutting and locking it behind him.
"I can't!" Maisy nearly yelled at him, sick of dealing with Eric and dangerously close to forming a puddle at her feet. He's lucky Beau wouldn't let her get cotton candy earlier–Otherwise, he would be at the top of her bad-brother list.
"What do you mean you can't?!" Eric did not like the stress this child brings him. At this rate, he would have a head full of grays by the time he was twenty-five.
-
"God, isn't it nice to just relax in the sun?" Cassidy nestled back into the lounge chair and pushed her shades a little further up her nose.
Beau grinned and leaned back in his own. "That it is."
It was quiet for a moment before Cassidy spoke again. "I hope Maisy and Eric are having fun."
"I'm sure they're fine."
Then they both let out a synchronized relaxed sigh.
-
"M' stuck!" Maisy frantically pulled at her swimsuit in full panic, unsure of how to get it off in time and very close to nervous tears. Inconveniently, Beau decided to buy her a one-piece and her bladder didn't have the patience to care about making it to a toilet.
"Hold still!" Eric forcefully yanked it down then set her on the toilet in the nick of time, deeply regretting volunteering to take her to the shallow pool by himself.
When she was all done and Eric got her swimsuit back on, he noticed her teeth were chattering and she was full-on shivering.
"See why we don't pout? You're cold now, aren't you?" Eric waited for her to admit it, forcing the lesson upon her.
Maisy gave him another dirty look, but nodded. She was freezing in here with the air conditioning and her soaked swimsuit.
"You're lucky I love you and didn't just throw you in the pool when we got in here." Eric lifted her up and opened the door so they could go back to the outside pool, glancing at the indoor pool that he could've forced Maisy to pee in and avoided the anxiety of not making it in time.
"S' not f-funny." Maisy's teeth continued to chatter, and Eric rubbed her shoulder in a weak attempt to warm her up. They would be out of the AC in a second.
"No, it's not funny when a certain little girl almost pees on me." Eric retorted, earning a small shaky giggle from Maisy.
"You're going to have to explain to Beau that you need a new swimsuit." Eric pointed at the ripped strap on her swimsuit, in all the haste of getting her out of it, he wasn't that careful.
"We can say that Miles did it." Maisy tried to be helpful, normally she would've blamed it on Eric but this time he really did do it.
Eric scoffed but smiled as they walked towards the chairs again. "I can't believe he would do such a thing."
Six:
Christmas Morning
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"Merry Christmas, sleepy girl."
Beau woke Maisy up with a gentle kiss on her forehead, slowly pulling off her blanket. Maisy let out a slow groan and covered her eyes with her Teddy.
"Excuse me, little lady? Don't you want to go see if Santa came and brought you any presents?" Beau's words alerted something in Maisys brain, and she shot up at the mention of Santa.
"Did he come, Beauy?! Did he bring toys?!" Maisy jumped on her bed, while Beau stared at her with a grin plastered on his face.
"I don't know, we've gotta go check—But first you have to wake up your brothers." Beau lifted her off the bed and set her on the floor, all while Maisy excitedly squealed.
"Come on, Teddy!" She ran out the door and to her siblings rooms, jumping on their beds and yelling about Santa.
-
Within five minutes, everyone was sleepily sitting around the living room. Maisy had ran around handing everyone their stocking, even Amber and Teddy.
Eric ended up getting some chocolate on his stocking, and of course a little bit of coal just for shits and giggles.
But before they opened the presents, Beau realized an upset expression on Maisy's face.
"Maisy, come here." Beau pulled her onto his lap then moved her hair out of her face, wondering what could be wrong. "What's the matter?"
Maisy's lip stuck out a little, she was holding back tears. "S-Santa ate my cookies."
"Honey—" Beau had to stifle a laugh, but quickly corrected himself. "Those cookies were for Santa, remember?"
"B-but I wanted a cookie too." Maisy was very confused. She thought they would get to eat the cookies they put out in the morning and didn't expect to see only crumbs left.
"Sweetheart, what about your presents? Why don't you pass them out to everyone." Beau suggested instead, a successful distraction. Maisy's face lit up again and she crawled underneath the tree, searching for the prettiest wrapped gifts.
Sure, she doesn't exactly know how to read—But she can still help. It was mostly Beau telling her to give this present to this person, but within ten minutes everyone had their own small pile.
Miles and Amber were sitting together on the floor. Beau, Teddy, and Maisy were sitting together a few feet away from them, and Eric—Well he was sitting on the couch still half asleep.
As per usual.
It was a lovely, white Christmas.
Seven:
Ouchies
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"Ow! Motherf—"
"Hey." Beau silenced Eric before he could finish the curse, and shut the door behind them. "You still have to watch your mouth around the kid."
Maisy gave a little wave from the couch, she couldn't continue to read her book anyway. Miles was reading to her but closed the book once Beau and Eric came through the door.
"Hi, Eric."
She's been feeling just a tad guilty, especially now that she can see Eric's arm in a hard cast. Eric tripped over one of her toys on the stairs, and his arm just happened to break his fall.
"I assume it's not good news." Miles glanced towards the cast, waiting for someone to explain.
"I have this stupid thing stuck to my body for six weeks. Six weeks." Eric kicked off his shoe before storming off, causing Maisy to flinch as it slammed into the wall.
"Jesus, talk about a poor sport." Miles got up off the couch and sighed, going to chat more with Beau about the whole situation.
Maisy, however, stayed on the couch with Teddy. Eric seemed extra grumpy this afternoon and she didn't want to anger him any further.
She was going to go upstairs and hide away in her room instead, but before she could everyone heard another yell from upstairs.
When Miles and Beau ran up to see what was wrong, Maisy carefully lingered behind them.
"What happened?" Beau was hovering near Eric in his bedroom, trying to help him in whatever way he could.
Eric was swearing underneath his breath and clutching his cast. "This stupid cast gets in the way of everything."
Maisy hid a little further behind Miles' legs, she knew he was upset. His voice was practically shaking he was so mad.
"Maisy, what're you doing back there?" Miles moved, revealing Maisy's poor hiding spot while Beau took Eric's cast and tried to see if there was a way he could help his youngest brother.
" . . . Nothing?" She innocently looked up at him, the best innocence she could muster anyway. They always seem to know when she's done something naughty.
"Mhm. You're looking a little upset, are you alright?" Miles lifted her up, against her will at that. Luckily, Maisy had Teddy and he could be there for moral support.
"M' okay. Is Eric okay?" Maisy seemed very worried about him, but Miles just dismissed it as her big heart. None of them would even for a second blame her.
Well, maybe a certain someone might a little.
"He's just fine, love bug. His owie is just bothering him right now because he's clumsy." Miles translated to the best of his abilities. After all, it isn't easy to explain a wrist fracture to a toddler.
"Don't call me clumsy, it isn't my fault." Eric muttered at Miles as he watched Beau carefully examine the cast.
That made Maisy feel another pang of guilt. Eric was probably very angry with her, after all, it was her toy that caused him to get injured in the first place. And she had been told to clean up her toys but didn't listen.
"Shut the hell up." Miles warned him, he could sense how uneasy their sister was. He mainly assumed it was from the anger radiating off him now. Maisy's always uneasy around them if they're upset.
"Mais, you wanna go give your brother a hug?" Miles cooed at her, setting her down and giving an encouraging nudge towards their moody brother.
"Not willy." Maisy tried to turn and reached up so Miles would lift her up again, but he was persistent.
"Go on, he doesn't bite." And after glancing at Eric's expression, Miles added on with a slightly threatening tone. "And if he does, I'll break his other arm."
Maisy looked at Beau for help instead, but recently he's been liking the whole 'hug it out' philosophy. So, he only nodded his head towards Eric.
". . . fine." Maisy carefully walked over then looked up at Eric, he still didn't seem so happy. But, he bent down enough so she could reach him.
But as soon as Maisy wrapped her hands around him, he winced and pulled away. "Ouch, god—Be careful, Maisy!"
Maisy flinched away the second Eric made a noise, she didn't mean to hurt him. But maybe she is a destructive nuisance.
"Whatever, I'm going to my room." Eric stomped away yet again and slammed his door, pouting by himself this time.
•
"Is Eric coming down for dinner?" Cassidy glanced at Beau across the table as she put a small helping of salad onto Maisy's plate, while the young girl stared at it with a bored expression.
Although she only had a mere peanut butter and banana sandwich for lunch today, she wasn't feeling so hungry.
"He said he'll do it himself when he feels like it." Miles passed along the message from their irrational brother, refusing help from everyone and grouching away in his room.
"M' not hungry either." Maisy pushed her small plate away from her, resting her head in her hand instead. She could only think of what she did and what it caused, the way that Eric winced when she hugged him.
"What do you mean you're not hungry? Mais, you love pork chops and cheesy potatoes!" Beau reached over and pushed the plate back in front of her, knowing how little she's had to eat today.
"I don't want any today." Maisy pushed it back towards Beau again then climbed down from her chair, walking over to the living room instead to go play with Teddy.
"Do you want to eat something else instead then?" Miles usually wouldn't give her the option, but this was pretty unusual. Maisy has always loved pork chops, whether it be with potatoes or Brussels sprouts, she devours them.
"No fanks." Maisy politely declined and carried Teddy over to the couch to read her book, well—Mainly to stare at the pictures because she doesn't quite understand the concept of reading yet.
"Mais, you have to eat something. Get back over here and take a seat please." Cassidy pointed at her chair and firmly pushed the food right back to where it's supposed to be.
"But, Cassie—" Maisy started to whine and protest, but Cassidy cut her off before anything else could escape her lips.
"Nope, no buts. March over here this instance, Maisy Renee." Cassidy used a parental tone and snapped this time before she pointed to the untouched plate.
Maisy grumbled to herself but set down Teddy and her book then dragged her feet back to the table. Once her butt was on the chair, Cassidy sat back down and glanced at Beau, deciding that he could take it from here.
"Is something wrong?" Beau doubted she was sick, but that was the only time she ever refuses to eat. Well, there was that one time that she ate a bunch of candy before dinner—But that's beside the point.
"No." Maisy mumbled and picked up her fork, poking the potatoes but not lifting a single bite to her mouth.
"Are you sure, sweetheart?" Miles decided to ask one last time, her down-in-the-dumps attitude was definitely not normal.
"M' fine, just not hungry." Maisy tried to emphasize her point the best she could. It wasn't far from the truth, the only thing was that the guilt seemed to be the only thing she could feel in her tummy.
Maisy was persistent and insisted she was fine for the rest of the night. She even seemed to be getting a little closer to normal as the night went on. Miles finished reading her the book, Cassidy brushed out the tangles in her hair, and she even sang along to the music on Tv.
Well, until Eric decided to come downstairs.
Maisy went silent when she saw him come down the stairs, thinking of when she watched him tumble down. Thinking of the toys she didn't pick up that caused the accident. How angry Eric is.
"Do you want me to heat you up some dinner?" Beau offered, knowing it wasn't going to be easy with his tender wrist and bulky hard cast.
"I can do it on my own just fine." Eric snapped back, opening the fridge with his good hand and carefully curling his hands around the Tupperware with the pork chops.
"Are ya sure there, Clumsy?" Miles asked, watching Eric try and cut his pork chop with one hand before he settled by picking it up and biting it.
"Mhm. Cold and without a fork, just the way I like it." Eric's tone was bitter as he walked away with his cold pork chop in hand, annoyed by all inconveniences surrounding him. Including Miles.
"Bye, Eric." Maisy offered a small wave to him, but he only spared her a single glance before he climbed the steps.
"Why would he rather eat like a caveman than accept help?" Cassidy shook her head, she was awfully sick of the stubbornness in this house. A bit hypocritical, but still.
"Because he's a teenage boy who was produced by our father." Miles muttered without a second thought, earning a warning look from Beau.
"Does Eric hate me?" Maisy sadly looked up at Beau, not dealing with his rejection all that well.
"No, of course not! Eric is just in a mood because his arm hurts." Beau was quick to reassure her, not about to let this little girl think her older brother doesn't love her. "He loves you very much."
"Yeah, you want me to go break his other arm for you, baby?" Miles lifted up Maisy and kissed her forehead, offering the most reasonable suggestion he could think of.
"No, no one is breaking anyone's arms." Beau stopped Miles before it could even start, but he only earned a sad face from Maisy and an eye roll from Miles.
"Fine, I won't." Miles sighed and lowered Maisy down into Beau's lap instead. "I'll be right back."
"Miles—" Beau was about to yell at Miles, knowing where he was going.
"I just said—I won't break his arm! God." Miles turned around and went to the stairs to go pay a visit to Eric, deciding now was quite a pleasant time for such a thing.
He didn't even bother to knock before he opened Eric's bedroom door, barging in as if he owned the place.
"What the hell, can't you knock?!" Eric flinched, startled by the sudden opening of his door. But, it quickly turned to more anger.
However, Miles said nothing. He simply walked over to Eric, looked down at his cast, then back at Eric.
"Why the fuck are you staring at me like that?" Eric shifted a little bit, Miles is never silent. Not without a reason at least.
Miles continued to stare for a second longer, before smacking Eric's cast with a loud thwack.
"Ow! What is wrong with you?!" Eric yelped and clutched his wrist close to his body as he glared at his crazy brother. For all he knew, Miles could've gone psychotic.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Miles smacked Eric one more time, this time on the back of the head. "Maisy is downstairs and she thinks you hate her."
"Well, tell her she's nuts. That's not my problem." Eric continued to glare as he rubbed the back of his head instead, not enjoying the amount of physical pain this conversation has caused.
"You tell her she's nuts, she's afraid of you. For some odd reason, she thinks it's her fault you got hurt." But they knew why she thought that. Eric had been a little cold to her today. Nor was he understanding when she apologized before they took him to an emergency room.
"So you better fix it." Miles started to leave the room but paused in the doorway. "And if you ever make her think you hate her again, I'll snap every goddamn bone in your body."
•
Maisy pressed the button on her starry light before she leaned back to stare up at the glowing shapes against the dark ceiling. Although it isn't time for bed yet, Teddy and her thought it would be fun.
"Hey, babe."
Maisy looked up to see Eric in the doorway, not looking all grouchy like before, but she couldn't be too sure.
"Hi."
"Can I come in?" Eric glanced up at the ceiling for a brief glimpse of the mini stars before he focused on his own universe; She really did have them wrapped tightly around her finger.
Maisy only shrugged as she stared down at Teddy, carefully picking at his fur. Her other siblings tried to convince her that none of them could ever hate her, but Maisy was having a hard time believing them.
Eric decided to just take it as a yes and come in then carefully sit on the floor next to her. Even then, Maisy didn't meet his eyes.
"You know, kid—" Eric started, unsure how these talks usually go. He's never been the greatest with kids, but this kid? She means the world to him, so he's going to try. "As much as you get under my skin, I could never hate you."
Maisy looked up at her brother, struggling to find the right words. "You don't?"
"Of course I don't. Without you, I'd have nothing." Eric offered a small smile then motioned for her to come onto his lap. But Maisy hesitated.
The last time she touched him, it hurt him. Her toy hurt him. So, she tucked her hands behind her lap then shook her head with a sad expression. "I better not."
"Mais, come here." Eric nodded towards himself, knowing she wasn't going to budge unless he did something about it. "I'm fine, you don't worry about me."
"But, Eric—" Maisy was cut off by Eric, who shushed her.
"Ay, shush. It's just a little plaster, I'm the same as always. Tough as nails, just like you, right?" Eric reassured her, and this time she actually complied.
She was very careful and gentle not to touch his arm, she didn't want to upset him. Even if he claimed he wasn't.
"Now, Maisy? Are you listening to me?" Maisy looked up at Eric and nodded, her eyes a little hesitant still.
"I love you very very much. And I'm sorry that I wasn't very kind to you today." Eric leaned down a little to rest his chin on top of her head while she hugged Teddy close to her. "I was just upset about my arm, it wasn't your fault."
"Ever since you came back, I think things have gotten a lot better for me. You really just . . . do that I guess. Even if you are a little pest sometimes, you've also made me very happy."
Eric paused, realizing that was what he wanted to say. Well, the gist of it anyway. "Anyways, I guess—I just . . . I love you, Mais."
Maisy nodded, staying very quiet. Although she wasn't sad, she felt as if she was going to cry. She couldn't quite explain why, but I think we all know the reason.
"Okay?" Eric finally realized how quiet she was being, then when he glanced down he noticed the way her lip was sticking out.
"Aw, what's the matter? I thought I was patching things up, not makin' em worse." Eric leaned down closer to her face and started to rock her.
"Maisy, come on—" Before he could try and comfort her the best he could with one arm, she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him in a very tight hug as the tears started to leak from her eyes.
"I love you too, Eric."
After a few more minutes of sitting like that, Eric pulled away—The best he could anyways."Alright, alright. Enough of that."
"How about you get your markers, and you can color one of your best pictures onto my cast." Eric suggested, causing a bright look to return to Maisy's face. One that he greatly appreciated.
"Willy?!"
"You bet."
So that's what she did. And for the rest of the six weeks he had his cast on, Maisy's doodles were the only things colored on his cast.
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What was your favorite one?
Would you like another one of these chapters?