savior complex - kth

029

"Jamie!" Taehyung said back to her. She had a mermaid doll in her hand and she handed it to him, excited to show it off. It's like I wasn't even in the room. "Ooh, what's her name?"

"Lady." The little girl answered and grabbed it back from him, still holding it close. "She wants a kiss, too."

He chuckled and gave it's little plastic head a kiss just like he had done hers. He began to say something about her name when a woman's voice was heard, and she didn't seem happy at all. "Tae. I need to talk to you right now."

All the eyes went to Bea in the back of the room, she looked tired and worn out. Her long hair was falling out of it's bun and all over her face and down her back. Is she babysitting Taehyung's kid?

Taehyung set the little girl down and put his hand on the top of her head, making sure she was facing me. "Jamie, this is my friend Jos. Jos, this is my niece Jamie."

When our eyes met I realized that he was about to leave me alone with her, and I mentally prepared myself for this conversation with a small girl. I barely even talked to my little siblings, let alone a little girl I just found out existed.

"Now!" Bea said and looked at me then back at Taehyung. She turned around to enter a room when she saw him coming her way, barely leaving the door open and when he entered he shut it.

Jamie didn't even pay attention to me and kept playing with 'Lady', until I bent down in a squat to be eye level with her. "Is she a new friend?"

She nodded her head, looking up at me with her beady eyes that didn't resemble Taehyung or his sister. The only thing she shared with them was their box smile, her hair was curly and lighter brown unlike their black hair. Her nose was tiny and pointed upwards and her skin only slightly colored.

"She is very pretty. Like you." I said to her, scrunching my face up.

She mocked my face and I saw her cheeks blush, maybe because she didn't know me at all. "Are you friends with Tata?"

"I am." I said, and watched her swing the mermaid doll down at her knees with her hair. "He is pretty cool, huh?"

She nodded again, showing her small teeth with it. "Pretty cool."

"How old are you?"

She held up four fingers but her words told me differently. "Three."

"Oh wow, that's old!" I said to her.

"Are you three?"

As I began to tell her that I was, I heard yelling coming from the room Taehyung had disappeared to. It wasn't him yelling but his sister, definitely chewing him out for all that happened yesterday.

"Do you love him?" Jamie asked and I almost choked on my own spit, hugging my own legs that were against my chest from how I was squatted.

I shook my head. "Not like that."

"I love him." She said.

I couldn't help but smile at her saying this. It was weird to think about Taehyung being soft over something, or someone, but I witnessed it the second he laid eyes on her. "He loves you too."

She held up her doll to me, smiling. "She wants a forehead kiss from you, too!"

I grabbed the doll and pulled it to me, giving it a kiss on it's face just like Taehyung had done. It got sweet little giggles from Jamie but they didn't last long because the door opened back up.

"I already told you it's taken care of." After this was said by Taehyung Bea slammed the door to the bedroom. Taehyung just looked at me as he came towards me. He squatted down to be with us. "Are you guys talking about me?"

Jamie pointed to me with her lips pursed together in a tight grin. "She is!"

I let my mouth make an 'o' as I looked at her, Taehyung reached over and scooped her up to hold her upside down as she laughed as hard as her belly would let her. "You got caught!"

There was no way for me to hold in my giggles and so I started laughing, too. The sound was too pure and the joy and excitement Taehyung had making this little girl laugh gave me joy.

The laughing died down by Bea talking again, her tone was nothing less than snarky. Taehyung and her were similar. "I'm glad you guys are having fun. Jamie and I are going to meet with a new daycare in a little so we're going to be leaving."

I felt relieved knowing the tension was going to end soon, but sad that this Taehyung wouldn't be here anymore.

"Well, when you come back drop the fucking attitude." Taehyung said back to her.

Jamie was unfazed by the foul language and laid her head on Taehyung's shoulder since she was now upright, gripping his neck tightly with her hand wrapped around the hair of her doll. "Is your face hurting again?"

His cheek went onto her head, luckily his good cheek. "Only a little."

"It's nice to meet you Josie. I'm sorry it's like this." Bea was walking towards me and her hand was outwards towards me.

I shook her hand that was dried out like my moms used to be when she would do the dishes. "Oh, it's okay. It's nice to meet you, too."

She gave me a smile that would only be friendly if I didn't know Taehyung made the same face when he was annoyed, so I tried to keep mine back as real as possible.

"Okay, baby. Let's go." Bea retrieved Jamie from Taehyung with a lot of reluctance, tears filling her eyes when she was peeled off of Taehyung. "Are you going to be here when we get back?"

Taehyung moved his shoulders up and down and then grabbed a bag from a hanger near the door, handing it off to Bea. "Maybe."

At this point Jamie was beginning to cry so Bea hurried out of the door, and Taehyung pushed it shut but as he did he waved with a small hand to Jamie.

When the door finally shut and he turned around, it began to click for me. "It's Jamie." He looked at me confused, his head tilted slightly. "She is the person you love most in the world. The one you'd kill for."

The nod along with his eyes going to the floor gave me the answer I had been searching for since that day. It was her, his 3 year old niece.