Protect Her, My Heart

hold my hand and don't let go

"And they lived happily ever after."

Jennie closed the book with a sad smile. If only it was that easy. Maybe teaching Ellie about divorce and cheating would prepare her better for life, but on the other hand, depressing a kid at such a young age was probably not the right way of education.

She put the book on the nightstand and leaned down to place a kiss on her daughter's head.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, darling?" Jennie asked and softly and ran her hand through the girl's curls once more.

"When is Lisa coming back?"

It was a simple question but it made Jennie's heart ache. Even more when she thought about the fact that she had no idea how to answer it.

"I don't know," she eventually said. "Lisa has to protect other children like you, you know?"

Ellie nodded a bit, her feline eyes curious but sad at the same time.

"I don't know when she's coming back."

Or if she's coming back at all.

Jennie closed the bedroom door behind her and let out a desperate sigh. She felt helpless. For what felt like the twentieth time that day she dialled Lisa's number.

No answer.

Again.

///

Somewhere, in the back of her mind, Jennie tried telling herself that she did all this for Ellie. That her daughter was the one who needed Lisa more than she did. To be honest, she wasn't sure who needed her more. But no matter what, Lisa had to come back.

So that was how Jennie ended up in front of an apartment complex, early the next morning. She'd dropped Ellie off at kindergarten and even though the girl didn't seem happy about it at all, Jennie thought that giving her a sense of normalcy was the best for her in a situation like this. And after that, she'd come right here. Maybe it had been a bad idea to look up Lisa's address in their files but again, she was doing this for Ellie.

"I'm sorry, ma'am, Miss Manoban doesn't live here anymore," the doorman eventually said after checking his documents over and over again.

"When did she move out?"

"End of last month. She didn't want to renew her contract."

Jennie thanked the man and walked back out towards the car where Jinyoung was waiting for her. She let herself drop in the backseat and let out a slight huff.

Again, this made no sense. Maybe Lisa had planned to stay with her and Ellie for a longer time? Or she simply moved to a new place, but Lisa had never said anything about moving. Jennie closed her eyes for a moment and leaned back in her seat. Now she knew even less than before.

After being at the office for only a few hours (a few very unproductive hours) Jennie decided to go home early and pick up Ellie from kindergarten. She wanted to spend time with her daughter now more than ever.

When she arrived there, one of the teachers waved her over to the corner of the room.

"Did something happen to Ellie?" the teacher asked with a quiet voice. "She barely ate anything and didn't speak all day."

Jennie wasn't sure how to answer that question. It felt like a stab in the heart, hearing that Ellie had such a hard time dealing with all of this.

"I- uhm, there was a loss in the family," she eventually said, eyes on Ellie, who slowly put her shoes on all by herself.