risk// 5SOS

6

Calum

"Dad, can I sleep here?"

"You know my boundaries, angel. It's a no,"

"But I had a nightmare,"

"Come and have a cuddle,"

Clambering onto my bed, Gia dove into my arms and nestled her way into my chest, making it impossible for me to not shield her.

This hadn't happened in a while, but I suspected Rider leaving was the cause. Once Luke had left, she had taken off her brave face and gone into complete fury and heartbreak.

It was sad, he seemed like a good kid for her to be around.

"None of it is real, okay?"

"Okay,"

"Why don't you go to sleep again, and think of happy thoughts,"

"There are no happy thoughts,"

"Think about how on Sunday, we have all day together. We are gonna wash your hair, and then maybe go on a bike ride, or play in the garden,"

"Okay,"

"I love you. Maybe sleep with your night light on,"

"Can you tuck me in, please?"

I took her back to her room and turned the night light on, then tucked her back into bed and shut her door. Exhausted, I climbed back into my own bed and fell asleep instantly, letting it control my body without hesitation.

I hadn't bothered to see what time Gia woke me up, but it felt like one second ago when my alarm went off. Groggily, I rubbed my eyes and yawned, grimacing at the cold air. My clock ticked away in the corner- the only thing that made a noise at any time because Gia could not sleep if there was noise- and I forced myself to get out of bed.

Once I was changed, and presentable, I went downstairs and put toast in for myself, turning the news on very quietly. Gia would eat at Luke's, and he always made sure to cook her up something nice. It wasn't often I worked Saturday, but when I did, we both hated it. Luke always cheered her up though, and knowing Mike would be at work today was a relief.

I ate, then packed myself lunch and went upstairs, gently waking Gia up. Equally, it was her least favourite part of the day, but she sat up to give me a hug nonetheless.

"It's time to go angel, do you want to change or pack clothes,"

"Pack clothes,"

"Okay, what do you want to wear?"

"I don't know,"

"Go and get your shoes on, I'll find something,"

She left, so I found her some pants, socks, trousers and a top to wear, then joined her downstairs and we got in the car.

Bless her, she fell asleep again in the car, and when we got to Luke's, I carefully carried her inside. She stirred, and became aware of her surroundings, but let me tuck her into the spare bed and went back to sleep.

It was the spare room, but it was pretty much a second bedroom. She had some dolls and her crafting here, and the decor was now purple. My friends were the best.