Princess of the universe // Hardzzellee

Chapter 17

After lunch, Joe left to visit Rami. Lucy immediately let him in.
"Hi," Joe said. Rami and Lucy greeted him back instantly.
"Addison is now a full-time placement," He said. A huge smile immediately spreads on Rami's face.
"That is amazing!" He said.
"We want her to get to know Scarlett. Addison is only a year older than Scarlett is." Lucy nodded eagerly.
"However, meeting new people still terrifies her. So, we want to invite Lucy and Scarlett first," Joe said. Rami's smile dropped immediately.
"Sorry, Rams. Especially men terrify her. We think that if we have Lucy and Scar over two or three times, it will be easier to introduce you." Joe said.
"Alright, I get that."

A few days later, Ben was sitting on one knee. Addison was sitting on his other knee. Joe had opened the door to let Lucy and Scarlett in.
"Hey Scarlett, can you wait here for a few minutes?" Lucy asked while she handed Scarlett a book. Scarlett immediately sat down. As soon as Lucy walked into the living room, Addison curled up against Ben's chest.
"Hey, Addison. Look at me sweetheart," Ben said. Addison looked up at him.
"This is someone who is a very good friend of ours. She is not going to hurt you, I promise. She is just here to drink a cup of tea with us before she is going home again," Ben explained. Addison nodded slowly. She turned her head to Lucy again. Lucy had stopped dead in her tracks but now continued walking.

Lucy got down on the floor in front of them.
"Hi, my name is Lucy," Lucy said while smiling. Addison backed away once more.
"Can you tell her your name?" Ben asked. Addison looked like she really didn't want to.
"Addison," She mumbled.
"Nice to meet you, Addison," Lucy said while holding out her hand.
"Go ahead, honey. You can shake her hand." Addison shook her head.
"Do you want to shake it together?" Ben offered. Addison nodded. Ben held out his hand and waited for Addison to put hers against his. Slowly he brought their hands to Lucy's. As gentle as she could, Lucy shook Addison's hand. Ben's hand wasn't even touching Addison's. He just held his hand close to hers as a safety measure.

"I have a daughter too. She is waiting in the hallway. Do you want to meet her?" Addison didn't really respond, but Ben nodded. Lucy got up to get Scarlett. The latter ran in. She sprinted to Gwil first, jumping into his open arms before moving on to give Joe a hug. She stopped in front of Ben and Addison.
"Hi, I am Scarlett," She said.
"Addison," Addison mumbled.
"Your dress is really pretty," Scarlett said.
"Thank you."

"Why don't you go play in Addison's room? We'll be right here if you need something," Ben said. Addison hesitated before getting up. Scarlett followed her to Addison's room. Ben let out a deep breath before standing up. He gave Lucy a quick hug.
"Nice to see you again," Ben said. Lucy smiled before sitting down on the armchair opposite the couch. Gwil had already made tea for all of them.
"She is really cute," Lucy said. Joe's expression softened.
"She is," He confirmed.
"How is it?" Lucy asked.
"Not going to lie, it is quite tough. She requires a lot of time and patience. That can be very energy consuming," Ben said.
"It's rewarding too. We've already made progress with her in some areas. And she trusts us now, that makes the entire process easier," Gwil added.

"What is her general past?" Lucy asked. She looked at Joe to see what he had to say about it.
"Physical abuse and possibly also some verbal abuse. Parents, especially the dad had alcohol issues," Joe said. Lucy's face dropped into a frown.
"We've stopped drinking completely. We didn't drink that much anyway. But Gwil and I liked to have a beer on the weekends and Joe wouldn't say no to a glass of wine. For now, we've quit completely to avoid any triggers," Ben said.
"It's cool that you did that."
"Yeah, well. I know how much triggers can suck. Ben and Gwil always did their best to avoid triggers for me and that really helped. So, we are doing the same for Addison," Joe said. 

After a while, Addison and Scarlett walked back into the living room. Addison immediately climbed onto Joe's lap. He wrapped his arms around her before kissing her forehead.
"Are you okay?" He whispered. When Addison nodded, Joe pulled her closer. 
"Shall we go home, Scarlett? I think dinner is almost done," Lucy said while standing up from the armchair. She checked her watch before looking up at the three men in front of her. She gave Ben and Gwil a hug before she knelt down in front of Joe and Addison. When she grabbed one of Addison's hands in her own, Addison moved even closer into Joe's embrace.
"It was nice to meet you," She said. Addison didn't really respond. Lucy stood up before giving Joe a short hug which was made slightly more difficult with Addison still sitting on his lap.
"It was nice seeing you again. Drop by when you have the chance," Joe said. 

Scarlett was already waiting to give Joe a hug. Joe opened one of his arms for her and Scarlett climbed onto the couch to give him a hug. After that, she turned to give Addison a hug. Addison tensed up but didn't say anything about it. 
"You should come to my house. Then I can show you my doll house," Scarlett said with great enthusiasm. 
"We will definitely do that sometime, Scarlett," Joe said. Scarlett nodded before following Lucy to the front door.

When Lucy and Scarlett were gone, Ben and Gwil disappeared into the kitchen to start dinner. Joe turned Addison around on his lap so he could look at her.
"Did you have fun with Scarlett?" Joe asked. Addison nodded. 
"Verbal answer, honey," Joe said before kissing her forehead.
"Yes," She mumbled.
"Would you be okay if Lucy and Scarlett came over again soon?" Joe asked. Addison was about to nod before she remembered that she wasn't allowed to. 
"I guess," She said.

************

Hey guys,

Some fluff with a tiny bit of angst. So far, so good. Can't promise you that it will last too long though.

Thank you guys for reading this chapter!

Take good care of yourself and others. Stay safe, stay healthy.

Goodbye,

Xx Itsametaphorjoe