"Okay sweet girl, are you ready to go?" I asked Mia as I grabbed Olivia's diaper bag. "Yep!! Are you going to stay and watch me?" She asked as she grabbed her swim bag. "Of course! Now, get in the car." I said and opened the front door.
Today I was taking Mia to her swim class, which was her favorite thing in the world. I was convinced she was going to become an Olympic swimmer from how much she loved it.
I was taking them by myself today, but my dad would be at the house when I got home, which I was grateful for.
"Are you excited?" I asked as I put Olivia in her car seat. "Yeah!! We are learning how to swim under water!" She said and kicked her legs happily.
"You already know how to swim underwater!" I said with a giggle as I put Olivia's pacifier in her mouth. "Yeah, but not like big kids!" She said as I grinned. "Ohhh, my bad." I said then closed the car door and got in.
"How about we call daddy on the way?" I suggested and started the car. "Yeah!!" Mia cheered as I dialed his number and connected it to the Bluetooth in the car. "Hey baby." Colby answered as I started driving.
"Hey, I'm in the car with the girls, behave." I said as Mia giggled. "Hi daddy!" Mia called out, leaning forwards to be closer to the phone.
"Hi, princess. What are you up to?" He asked as I focused on the road. "I'm going to swim class! I miss you!" She said as Olivia cooed loudly at Colby's voice.
"Hi, angel." He said then chuckled, "Mia, you're gonna turn into a fish." He said as Mia gasped. "Daddy, I'm a mermaid!" She huffed out as I laughed. "Sorry sweetheart, I forgot." Colby said as I pulled into the swim school.
"What are you up to today?" I asked as I looked for a parking spot. "We are filming at a haunted mansion in Pennsylvania. So if I can't call you tonight it's because I don't have service..it's in the middle of the woods." He said as I frowned.
I really looked forward to our calls at the end of the night. It made falling asleep so much easier, even if I only slept for a couple hours.
"Okay, just call me if you can, no worries." I said but chewed on my lip, feeling the sadness creep up. "Listen, I have to go, but I love you girls with my whole heart, you know that?" Colby said as Mia frowned, "I miss you, daddy." Mia said as I Colby sighed slightly.
"I miss you too, princess. I'll be back in a couple days though, so you better have some cuddles saved up for me." He said as I got out of the car. "I'll have them ready for you!" Mia squealed then undid her seatbelt, since she was officially tall enough and heavy enough to not need one.
"Cor?" Colby asked as I pulled Olivia out of the car, "what's up?" I asked and leaned into the car so he could hear me. "You're doing a great job, and I love you. Don't forget that, baby girl." He said as I grinned. "I won't. I love you, too. Be safe tonight." I said as he hummed in agreement then hung up.
"Alright, swim time." I said to Mia as I put the pacifier back in Olivia's mouth. "Yay!" Mia cheered then grabbed my hand.
As soon I got Mia ready and in her goggles and bathing she ran off to go to where her class was. I sat on the bleachersc bouncing Olivia on my lap as she giggled and sucked on her pacifier.
I made sure I watched Mia the entire time she was at her lesson because I knew she would be checking to make sure I was. I wanted to watch her though, but the smile that was on her face the entire time was priceless.
My dad texted me about halfway through the lesson telling me he was going to be just a little late to getting to the house. I was planning on just having a chill night, by making dinner then just watching a movie until it was time to go to bed.
That's pretty much all we did anymore, because I wasn't comfortable taking the girls to very public places by myself. The grocery store was about as public as it got while Colby was away.
I was starting to really have a hard time, since I felt like I was just failing the girls. I knew that it wasn't my fault that there was a missing piece to our puzzle, but I still felt bad about it.
The girls deserved only the best.
"Mommy, did you see me?!" Mia squealed happily as she came running over. "Yeah! You did such a great job baby." I said then kissed her wet curls. "Thank you, can we have ghetti for dinner?" She asked as Olivia giggled and pointed to Mia. It my heart soar at how much Olivia loved Mia.
"Sure thing. Let's go." I said then took her hand so we could go get her changed. She insisted on wearing one of Colby's hoodies even though it was entirely too big on her, but I understood because that's literally all I wore.
It just felt like being in his arms.
"Okay, kid. What are we listening to?" I asked as I put Olivia in her car seat. She was fast asleep which was good because she needed to rest.
"Hmmm. Tangled!" Mia said as I nodded and got in the car, "Tangled it is then." I said then put it on. Mia sang along to every song, giggling happily when I would try to imitate the characters voices.
When we got home I took Olivia to the nursery so she could sleep in peace, then went to the kitchen to start cooking dinner.
"Can I put on cartoons, mommy?" Mia asked as she washed her hands so she could cook with me. "Sure, we need something to listen to while we cook, right?" I asked as she nodded. "Yup!" She said then skipped over to the remote so she could put the cartoons on.
I grabbed a big pot and filled it with water, then seasoned it with salt and started to boil it. "Do you want angel hair or spirals?" I asked and held up the two pasta boxes. "Angel hair!" She said and pointed to the angel hair pasta. "Alright, sounds good to me." I said then put the spiral pasta box away.
I felt my hands start to shake about halfway through heating up the pasta sauce but I tried to ignore it. I just had to wait until my dad got here, then I could walk away and deal with my issues. I was doing a good job at ignoring it too until I heard someone violently pounding on the door.
When I looked over, nobody was there.
"Mommy are you okay?" Mia asked as I nodded. "Mhmm..can you grab the cheese from the fridge?" I asked as my heart started beating out of my chest.
I swear I heard pounding on the door.
"Yep!" She said as tears formed in my eyes.
No no no not now...please just wait until dad gets here.
Mia grabbed the cheese and set it on the counter, then sat down so she could start coloring. There wasn't much to do when cooking pasta so she got very bored, very fast.
As I went to check if the noodles were done for the pasta I noticed how bad my hands were actually shaking.
I needed my dad to just get here already.
The noodles were done so I turned the heat off. As I was carrying the pot to the sink though I heard the pounding on the door again, causing me to drop the hot pot onto the floor, making the boiling water spill everywhere.
"Mommy!" Mia exclaimed as I grabbed my chest, feeling it seize up. I opened my mouth to try and talk to her and tell her I was okay but instead I just started to sob, bringing my hands to my hair as I fell to the floor, burning myself intensely in the process.
"MOMMY!" Mia screamed and ran over, crying as the hot water burnt her too. "G-g-go upst-stairs." I stuttered out as I sobbed and pulled my hair. "Mommy! Please get up!" Mia cried out as the front door opened.
"Mia?" My dad asked as she stood up and ran to him, "Something is wrong with mommy!" She screamed as I started pounding my head into the ground, begging myself internally to breathe.
"What?" He asked as Mia sobbed, "Help mommy!" She screamed as my dad came running over. "Oh my god! Mia go upstairs, I'll come get you in a minute. Mommy's gonna be okay, I promise." He said and kissed her cheek before shooing her away.
"Mommy!!! Please don't die!" She screamed and cried as I sobbed and pulled my hair, still ramming my head into the ground. I wanted to tell her I was gonna be okay, but I couldn't breathe.
"Shhh, squirt. It's okay. I'm here." Dad said as he pulled me into his arms, stopping me from hurting myself anymore. I trembled into him as I sobbed uncontrollably.
Dad carried me to the bedroom and laid me on the bed before running into the bathroom to grab a pill. I couldn't stop sobbing as he came running back in with the pill and a glass of water.
"It's okay, squirt. You're safe. You're okay." He said then forced me to take the pill. "M-m-Mia." I wimpered as dad pulled me into his arms, tucking my head under his chin as I sobbed.
"Shhhh she's okay, I'm here. I'm gonna watch the girls...shhhh." Dad soothed as I started to fight off the drowsiness that the pills were trying to give me. "I want Colby." I wimpered as dad tightened his grip on me.
"I know squirt, I know." He whispered then kissed my head as everything faded away to nothing.