over the next day or so, raelei has been very distant from ethan. and he has no idea why. on saturday morning, he is standing at the kitchen counter when his wife comes to hug him, and their daughter is sitting in the living room.
when allyson hugs him, he puts his chin on her shoulder, looking at raelei.
"remember that i love you. always remember that." allyson whispers in ethan's ear. when she releases him, he smiles at her.
"no more tears."
allyson begins making coffee for her husband, and as he watches the way she moves, he feels complete once again. allyson puts a stack of pancakes in front of their daughter a little while later, but when raelei takes a bite, she gags and suddenly, she's throwing up onto the hardwood floor.
"i-i'm s..s...sorry mama." the little girl struggles out, looking to her mother, but before allyson can reply, she heaves once again.
she seems to be clinging to the wooden chair for dear life once she's done, shaking. ethan and allyson share a look, and he goes over to scoop his daughter up, but as soon as he touches her, she pulls away and yells.
"stop!" the little girl glares at him so fiercely that he can only back away. she has never reacted to her father that way. allyson busies herself with wiping and cleaning the floor until it's squeaky clean, which takes her a good amount of time.
finally, raelei is escorted up to her bedroom by her mother, most likely to rest. when ethan's wife emerges from the staircase into the living room, he looks to her with hopeful eyes.
"it's going to be hard for her to eat a full meal for awhile. that man...he had starved her. she still won't tell me for how long, but it must've been a long time. i've never seen that happen to anyone." she sits next to him, snuggling into his side. he breathes out a sigh, swinging an arm around her body.
"she wouldn't even let me get near her." he says quietly.
"you're a man. she was kidnapped by a man, and no matter if you're her father, i'm not sure if she'll warm back up to you for awhile. she's scared."
"but i'm her-"
"i know, honey. but think about it," allyson interrupts him, sitting up and looking into his eyes as she talks.
"she was with this man for a little over a month. some of the things he did to her, i can't begin to think about. if it was a woman, the role would be switched. she'd be afraid of me. it isn't personal, i can promise you that. just give her time."
but how long could he wait?
♡♡♡♡
dudes my new room has this little nook in it for like reading and stuff and it's so awesome i can't even okay byeeeeeee until the next chapter