©JRF2016
He had stayed sober for two whole months and being here with her and Isabella has renewed her faith in this man. He could do this and he could be a father and a husband, if he would only ask her, she might actually say yes. She wasn't holding her breath for that though. That was a lot to expect from Merle Dixon. She snuggled in closer to his side and he wrapped his arm around her. Isabella was playing on the floor as they sat on the couch with the TV going but watching her . It was her fourth birthday tomorrow and she didn't even care about a party. She was so excited that her Papá was going to be here with her for this birthday and that was all that mattered. "Bella Rose, whatcha want for your birthday little girl?" Merle had finally spoken up as he stared at his small daughter. "I don't need nothin' Papá," she smiled as she ran over and jumped into his lap, "I already got what I wanted for my birthday."
"Oh yeah, what might that be?" She asked her daughter as she smiled at the two of them. "Papá's here this time. That was my only wish." She laid her tiny little head on Merle's chest as he wrapped her in a tighter hug and then reached over to pull her closer as well. Isabella let out a huge yawn as her eyes kept falling shut. "I think you are ready for bed little lady."
"Uh uh," she argued, "I wanna stay up with Papá." She was pouting as she flashed her sad little girl eyes at Merle. "How about Papá tucking you in and reading you a bedtime story?" She squealed and she jumped up to her feet. "You go ahead and get ready for bed and he'll be up soon." She watched the little girl run up the steps and then turned to Merle who had a look of sheer terror on his face causing her to laugh. "For a man that claims not to be afraid of anything you sure do look like you are about to pee your pants at the thought of reading a bedtime story to your little girl." She gave him a shove before he replied. "I ain't scared, I just ain't the bedtime story type. What am I supposed to read her?"
"She has tons of books up there. Pick whatever book you want, better yet, let her pick."
She had fallen asleep on the couch waiting on Merle to get back. When she woke she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked to see what time it was. It was after midnight and she had started to wonder what had happened to Merle. It had been his idea to put her to bed so they could have some alone time. She climbed the stairs listening for any sounds of him wandering around but heard nothing. When she finally reached her daughter's bedroom door and peeked in she saw why he had not returned. He was lying next to her in her small bed with her head on his chest and both were sound asleep. He had one foot still on the floor and the other leg up on the bed with his left hand resting on top of the book open on his stomach. She had smiled as she picked up the blanket off the floor and spread it across the two of them before kissing both of them on their foreheads. She had slipped into one of Merle's t-shirts before getting into the bed and drifting off again.
She was waken after what she felt was only a couple of minutes by hand moving up her thigh to her hip. "Hey sweet cheeks," he whispered, "The kid's asleep now."
"Merle, s 'in ritardo." {Merle, it's late.} She said sleepily. "Abbiamo molto da fare la mattina." {We've got a lot to do in the morning.}
"Aww, baby, I only need a minute or two. Then you can go back to sleep." Merle pleaded with her as he began to place soft kisses on her skin. His kisses were starting to linger a little longer on her neck, her shoulder, her arm. Now her body temperature was beginning to rise and her sleepiness dwindling. His lips and his hands roamed freely over her entire body sending waves of ecstasy through her. He smiled as his eyes glanced up at her from the last kiss on her stomach. His fingers made their way down between her legs and he began stroking causing her to moan out loud. "Si, Si, Si." She said over and over again getting a little louder as he began to stroke her faster. "So wet," he answered as she called out his name. "Sono pronto per il cazzo!" {I'm ready for your c**k!}
"Mama, Papá." They both looked toward that tiny voice and she clapped a hand to her mouth hiding her face in shame at what she had just screamed out in a fit of passion while her daughter was probably standing there watching the whole time. Merle sat up in the bed and stared over at his daughter while Caterina hid her face under the covers. "What were you doin' Papá?" For the first time in his life Merle Dixon was speechless but he finally found the words to answer her, "Well baby girl, me and your mama were just..."
"Merle Dixon! Chiudi la bocca!" {Merle Dixon! Shut your mouth!} Now she jumped out of the bed and quickly ushered the little girl out of the room and down the hall. He was propped up against the headboard with that cocky little grin of his when she came back. "What were you going to tell our daughter?"
"The truth, just in kid friendly type terms, I promise, kitty Cat." He stated, "She'll learn sooner or later. Come back over here and let's see if we can finish what we started." She glared over at him for a minute before joining him in the bed and they started all over again.
After Isabella's party the next day Merle had decided to go out and have a drink with his brother at the bar. Caterina knew that there was a chance that he would end up doing more than just having a couple of beers and she didn't want him to go. "Kitty Cat, it's my baby brother. What kinda trouble do you think I'm going to get into with my pansy ass little brother?"
"You've been doing so good Merle. Just stay here with me and your daughter, please."
"Don't worry about me kitty Cat, I'll be fine. I've got this under control and I'll be back in two hours I promise. Is that okay? I can't get into any trouble in two hours, right?" She still didn't feel right about him going but she agreed. She only agreed because he was only staying for two hours and really, what kind of trouble could he get into in two hours anyway?
It was one o'clock in the morning when he finally rolled up to the front door. Caterina had greeted him at the door with an angry scowl on her face. "Due ore stronzo! Hai promesso solo due ore!" {Two hours asshole! You promised only two hours!} He looked at her confused and then held out his arms to embrace her. "Aww, don't be mad kitty Cat. I'm home now. How's about some lovin' for daddy?" She pushed him back and he stumbled into the door frame. He straightened himself back up and as he did she caught that glassy look in his eyes and the dilated pupils. She stepped in closer to him and caught an unfamiliar scent. Perfume, and not hers. "Sei di nuovo alta e puzzi di profumo abuon mercato." {You're high again and you reek of cheap perfume.} She could feel her face turning blood red now as it felt now like it was on fire, "Chi e? Chi e la puttana questa volta?" {Who is she? Who's the whore this time?} He made a move closer but she shoved him again. "Vaffanculo! E mentire, truffare bastardo! {F*** off! You lying, cheating bastard!} She turned him around and pushed him out the door. "Get out of here and don't come back!"
"No!" She stopped and turned to her daughter at the top of the stairs. "Don't say that to him! Don't make him leave mama!"
"He has to leave bambina. He's no good for us."
"I'm coming with you," she screamed before running in her room and grabbing her stuffed teddy bear. Her mother grabbed her by the arm as she reached the front door and then she lifted the four year old and hugged her tight against her chest before retreating farther into the house. Isabella watched over her mother's shoulder as her Papá once again jumped on his motorcycle and rode away.
She sat on the couch in her mother's arms crying heavily for an hour before she slowed enough to ask her mother what happened. "Mama, why'd he leave us again? Why does he always leave us?"
"I made him leave bambina." She knew how much the girl loved her Papá and she wasn't about to make her hate him, no matter how much she herself hated him right now. She figured the child could hate her for now. They had plenty of time to make up later. Isabella now looked at her mother angrily as she continued to explain, "Papá did something bad and he had to leave. I couldn't let him stay knowing what he did."
On that Monday morning she was waiting at the fence with the other mothers for their children to be released from their preschool classes. The women were all chatting as usual but she couldn't enjoy the conversation at all. She kept thinking about Merle. She had let him in again, she had trusted him again and he broke her heart, again. "Caterina right?" A strange voice broke her train of thought. She turned her head toward that voice to see a woman who looked three times her own age but was actually the same age. "Merle Dixon belongs to me and I hope that from now on you will keep your mitts off!" She only responded by waving her off. This did not sit well with the woman and she walked over to Caterina and grabbed her wrist. Caterina slung her hand off and glared at her as the familiar sound of Merle's bike came roaring up. He got off the bike and walked over to her. "Cat, we need to talk about last night."
"No we don't Merle. You've blown your last chance with me." She turned to the strange woman, "Lo averte. Ho chiuso con il suo culo." The woman looked at her confused, she didn't understand. She rolled her eyes and repeated what she had said in English this time. "You can have him. I'm through with his sorry ass."
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She was hugging her Papáso tight and crying into his neck. "Bella Rose, what's wrong?" He glared over at Shane, "If you hurt her you sumbitch..."
"Papá, he didn't hurt me. I'm fine. I'm crying happy tears because I had a dream that you were dead and this place was demolished." She kissed him on the cheek, "But you're not dead! You're still here, this prison is still here. I had a dream about mama too," she paused and looked around at everyone else, "Well, more like a memory, but I don't want to talk about that right now. I'm so glad it wasn't real." She jumped up and threw her arms around his neck again. Her mention of her mother brought back all kinds of memories for him now. He had loved that woman and he had hurt that woman.
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"Izzy, wake up." Shane said sounding almost panicked. She sat up looking into his eyes confused. "You were crying in your sleep." She smiled at him and put her hand up to his face pulling him in for a quick kiss. "I'm okay," she stopped as she remembered her Papáwas still alive and she hopped out of the bed and ran out the door. She didn't even remember going to sleep. It didn't even matter now, all she knew right now was that she had to see him again. She couldn't wait. She wanted to hug him, to feel her Papá's arms holding onto her tightly. As soon as she stepped outside she ran right into the back of Rick. "Sorry," she said still smiling as she stepped around him and off the steps. The bright sun shone directly into her eyes and she quickly brought her hand up to shield them. She was standing in the middle of the street looking in all directions. She was in Alexandria. Her heart broke and her shoulders slumped as she stared at the ground. "Izzy," Shane called as he walked over to her. She didn't look up and more tears fell from her eyes. "Izzy, are you sure you're okay? You don't have to be upset, or scared, we're safe here." Now she turned her head back up and looked at Shane standing there with his shirt unbuttoned and his brawny chest rising and falling with each breath. She leapt into his arms and buried her face into the crook of his neck and uttered a few unintelligible words. She would give anything right now for this to be the dream. "Izzy," he said as he pushed her back off of himself, "I didn't catch any of that." Her shoulders were heaving heavily with her sobs now and she couldn't muster up those words again. Her knees buckled and she folded to the ground with Shane, still wrapped in his strong arms. "Shh, shh, shh." He whispered to her as he stroked her hair trying to get her to calm down. When he thought she had calmed enough he scooped her up in his arms and walked her back into the bedroom. He lay there next to her on the bed for a while before she spoke again. She wiped her eyes and looked into his, "He's gone, Shane. He's really gone. I thought it had all just been a dream and he was still alive but he's really gone, isn't he?" Shane pulled her into his side tighter as he continued to stroke her hair. "I'm sorry Izzy." Those were the only words he could offer her. He knew it wasn't much of a comfort but it was all he had.