Chapter 15

Ellie

I felt tiny in this place. My head barely reached his waist. It brought back memories of happier times, when I still had my mom and dad. I’d always felt safe back then, until they fell ill.

Maybe that’s why he treated me like a little girl. I was starting to feel like one. I felt safe with Gabriel, just like I had with my dad.

I didn’t want to forget my first dad, even though I felt that both he and mom had left me. Not just me, Jackson too. I just hoped that Gabriel, my new dad, wouldn’t do the same.

I tilted my head and looked up at him.

“You won’t give me away, will you, daddy?” I asked, my voice shaky, tears welling up in my eyes.

“Oh, Ellie,” he comforted, lifting me up and settling me on his hip, “I will never do that, sweetheart.”

He kissed the top of my head and rubbed my back.

“D...Do you think they didn’t love me? Is that why they gave me away?” I sobbed, tears spilling down my cheeks.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and placed me on his knee. His thumb gently wiped away my tears. Then he gently tilted my chin up so that I was looking at him.

“I don’t know, Ellie, all I know is that their loss was my gain. I’ll never let anyone take you from me, do you understand?”

I nodded, “I love you, daddy,” I whispered.

Dad looked at me and smiled.

“I love you too, my precious little pickle.”

Dad lifted me from his lap and set me on the floor, then he gently guided me from the bedroom back to the kitchen with his hand on my head.

I rubbed the fabric of the dress between my thumb and finger. It was so soft. The truth was I knew as little or as much as I did when I was taken away. I didn’t even know what a dress was until today.

Nor did I know what colors were. The dress was the same color as the sun, which I now knew was yellow. I needed to start learning things like that.

As we walked into the kitchen, I spotted the wolf that dad had given me sitting on the high table.

I ran across, catching dad by surprise. I reached up to try and grab it, but I couldn’t quite reach.

I gasped as a strange woman picked it up and leaned over to look at me.

“Is this yours, sweetheart?” she asked.

I quickly stepped back, my heart pounding against my ribcage. My back bumped into dad’s legs. I immediately turned and hid behind his legs. I knew he would keep me safe.

Dad chuckled, and his hand rested on the top of my head, comforting me.

“She’s a little nervous of strangers, Millie.”

He bent down and picked me up, settling me on his hip.

“This is Millie, Ellie. She's going to be here a lot. She’s going to help daddy with cooking and cleaning.”

Millie smiled at me and picked up the wolf, and handed it to me.

“Is he yours?”

I nodded and grabbed him.

“Thank you,” I mumbled, remembering what 'lijah had told me.

Dad tapped my nose with his finger.

“Good girl,” he whispered.

I smiled, silently thanking 'lijah for his help.

Dad lifted me onto one of the seats, it was high up. Higher than the seat where we had eaten dinner.

“Can’t we have breakfast on the sofa?” I asked, pouting slightly.

Dad chuckled,

“No, pickle, you have to eat your meals sitting up. This is a breakfast bar, which is why we eat breakfast here. Other meals you have to eat at the dining table, like last night.

I pouted again, I didn’t like the breakfast bar, it was too high up.

Dad rolled his eyes, “why the grumpy face?”

I looked down at the ground, “I’m scared I might fall,” I mumbled.

He walked behind me and moved the stool closer to the breakfast bar.

“If you sit still and eat your breakfast nicely, you’ll be fine,” he coaxed, as he kissed the top of my head.

Millie put a plate in front of me, there was fruit and something else. They were round and had brown dots all over them, shaped into a smiley face.

“I made you some chocolate chip pancakes, honey,” she said cheerfully, “Your daddy said you had a sweet tooth.”

I grinned and looked up at Millie, then glanced at Dad.

“Chocolate...for breakfast?”

Millie smiled back and nodded.

“Uh huh, unless you don’t want them.”

She winked at Dad, who chuckled.

“No...I mean yes...I mean I want them,” I stammered, a little flustered, afraid that she would take the chocolate away.

Dad laughed, “alright, pickle, calm down. No one's gonna steal your pancakes. Let me cut them up for you.”

I watched as he cut up the pancakes, then drizzled something over the top.

I frowned, “what’s that?”

“That’s syrup, you can't have pancakes without syrup,” he said with a smirk as he handed me a spoon.

I’d never tasted anything quite like it. It was so sweet, and the chocolate bits had started to melt making it all gooey and yummy.

I was so busy eating the delicious food that I didn’t notice Dad and Millie chuckling as they watched me eat.

I licked my lips trying to get the remnants of chocolate and syrup that had stuck to my mouth.

Dad looked at me and laughed.

“You sure are a mucky pup, aren’t you?”

I frowned, “What one of them?”

Dad laughed again, “Never mind, let's get you cleaned up before we head to the doctor’s.”

I stiffened. I really didn’t want to see the doctor. I bit my bottom lip.

“P...Please daddy, I don’t want to,” I stuttered.

Dad picked me up and rubbed my back.

“It’s ok, pickle, he’s only going to look at your arm, nothing else, I promise.”

I wanted to trust him, but I couldn’t. The doctor made me nervous. Every encounter with him had been unpleasant.

Dad lifted me up and carried me to the bathroom, setting me on the edge of the counter. He gently cleaned my face and hands.

“Okay, kiddo, time to brush those teeth.”

I gave him a puzzled look when he took out a small brush and squeezed something onto it from a tube.

“Ellie, have you never brushed your teeth before?”

I shook my head in response.

He sighed, “I’m amazed you still have teeth. Open up.”

I opened my mouth and he began to scrub my teeth with the small brush. The paste he’d put on the brush tasted alright, but it quickly turned foamy.

I instinctively bit down on the brush.

“No, sweetheart, don’t bite,” he gently corrected.

He removed the brush from my mouth, “Spit into the sink.”

I did as he said, and then he started brushing my teeth again. This time, there wasn’t as much foam, but it still tasted fine.

Once he was done, he filled a glass with water.

“Take a sip, swish it around in your mouth, then spit it out,” he instructed.

I followed his instructions.

“Good job,” he smiled, “now your teeth are all clean.”

I ran my tongue over my teeth. They did feel different, and the whole process had distracted me from what was coming next.

Dad scooped me up, but he didn’t say a word. He didn’t need to—I knew where we were headed.

He picked up my wolf toy on the way out, and I clutched it to my chest, hoping it would bring me some comfort.

I recognized the sign as soon as we got there. It was the same place he’d brought me on my first night here.

I started to shake, and tears began to stream down my face.

“P...Please, daddy,” I whimpered, “d...don’t let him hurt me.”

I could barely get the words out as I gasped for breath.

“Shh, it's okay,” he comforted, holding me close and gently rubbing my back.

But it wasn’t okay. I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck, clinging to him as if my life depended on it. My wolf toy slipped from my grasp and fell to the floor, forgotten.

As we entered, I saw the bed where he’d made me sleep.

Dad tried to set me down on it, but I clung to him.

“N...No, daddy, please...” I squeaked between sobs, as I saw Erik approaching.