Closer 2

143.

"Elise Chen! What on Earth was that?" Brett asked a bit sternly as he entered Elise's bedroom, finding her curled up on the floor with Sharkie by the foot end of her crib. "You know you're not allowed to hit anyone, I know you know."

Elise just curled up more in the little corner she had made for herself, hiding her face in Sharkie's white belly. Brett sat down on his knees next to her and gently touched her arm. The little girl just flinched and tried to press herself further into the corner.

"Noooo!" she cried, trying to swat Brett's hand away. "Go away!"

"Elise, you know you did something wrong by hitting uncle Ray. You know it's not okay to hit anyone," Brett said a bit softer than when he entered the room. "You need to go apologize to uncle and say you're very sorry for hitting him."

"Noooo," Elise sobbed right back at him, turning her back to him to face the wall. She pressed Sharkie to her chest. "Go away baba!"

Brett furrowed his brows. Since when did she have such an attitude? The solution was so simple, just go apologize and then she could go play in the park with uncle! Wby couldn't she just realize that and just do it?

"I'll give you the opportunity to go say you're sorry right now. If you don't, I'll take Sharkie and you have to sit here until you're ready," Brett said, figuring that was an okay consequence as she had pretty much put herself in a time-out already. "Come on now."

"Noo! No no no! Sharkie!" Elise screamed, hugging Sharkie tighter and trying to hide him from Brett by shielding the shark with her own body. "No! Go away!"

"Come on. Last chance," Brett sighed, holding his hand out to get Sharkie. Elise responded by hitting him to try and make him remove his hand, her eyes wide as she did.

"No no no no! Go!" Elise cried, tears running down her face as she frantically tried to make Brett's hand move away from her best friend in the whole world. "No baba!"

Brett felt bad, but he knew he had to follow through with the concequence. What he did not expect was for his daughter to sink her milky white teeth right into his hand as it touched the plush fabric of Sharkie's tail fin.

"Shit!" Brett exclaimed, quickly pulling his hand back. He looked at it, finding little pink bite marks.

Nothing more was said after that, nothing more than Elise's screams as Brett pried Sharkie out of her arms and stood back up. Brett had enough.

"You stay here until you're ready to apologize!" he said sternly as he exited the room, slamming the door behind him. He could hear Elise's loud cries from the other side of the door, but he was simply too angry in that moment to care. He went over to the sink to rinse his bitten hand off, tossing the stupid Shark away. Why did she have to make it so difficult?