*Abigail's POV*
I'm convinced that the koala stuffie that Molly is holding right now is Rosie, my childhood stuffie that was stolen from my apartment that first weekend I had met Mama. That red stitching was the dead giveaway. It sticks out of Rosie like a sore thumb, and is the exact pattern that my friend's mother sewed on her shoulder.
I remember sobbing after that incident. I was 10, and my older brother saw me cuddling her after my parents had told me I was too old and wasn't allowed to have stuffies or toys anymore. He tried to grab her from me, but I managed to get a grasp on her arm. He pulled and pulled as hard as he could before the stitching couldn't handle the stretch anymore. Rosie was torn in two, her arm in my hand while the rest of her was flown from my brother's hand and onto the ground. I dove to the floor before he could get to her, sobbing as quietly as I could so as to not attract the attention of our parents.
"Stupid fucking baby." My then-teenage brother said while he laughed at my sprawled body. He laughed at my tears, not even bothered to tell our parents that I still had Rosie. I cried over her torn body before putting her gently into my backpack. My best friend's mother at the time was great with a sewing needle, so she helped fix Rosie back up, even if the stitching color was a little bit off. I've always been grateful to her.
But now, staring at the stuffie that I am certain is Rosie, I can't even believe what I'm seeing. Molly hugged her to her chest, holding her lips to the top of Rosie's head, the same way that I used to do with her.
I didn't know what to do. Molly and I had just started to connect. I was starting to make a friend out of the last person in the world I thought I could be friends with. And now, this. She pulls out my stuffie from her bag, cuddling her as if Rosie is her own. She's still crying steadily, so I don't want to get too upset. But that's my Rosie!
"Um," I began to say hesitantly. "Where did you get that?"
"Get what?" Molly asked genuinely, looking up at me with her tear-clouded brown eyes.
"The stuffie." I replied, my confused frustration seeping slightly into my voice.
"My Daddy gave it to me." She said, her head dropping back down as more tears fell.
"Where did he get it from?" I asked, starting to sound clearly concerned.
"I don't know." Molly answered casually, looking up at me confusedly. "Why do you care so much?"
"I-, she-..." I stuttered, unsure of exactly what to say. "Because she's mine."
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*Dina's POV*
"She's not yours! She's mine!" I heard from the central play area, immediately shifting my gaze towards where Abigail was sitting.
Her and Molly now had what looked to be some kind of stuffie in their hands, each of them pulling to try to get a hold of it.
"Stay here." I commanded Savannah, knowing she would allow her anger towards Molly to get the best of her in a situation like this. Samuel followed closely behind me with a frustrated look in his eye.
"What is going on over here?" I ask the two girls in my most authoritative voice.
"Mommy!" Abigail cried out, not letting go of the stuffie that I knew for a fact she hadn't brought with her to this meet-up. "She has Rosie! She has Rosie!"
Rosie, the koala stuffie that was stolen from Abigail's apartment? What would Molly be doing with her? My little must be mistaken.
"Abigail, let go of the stuff. Right. Now." I demanded sternly, not wanting either of the two littles to get hurt.
After a moment's contemplation, Abigail released her grip on the koala. She immediately climbed out of the table's bench and into my arms, sobbing intensely.
"Mommy. Mommy," She heaved into my chest. "It's Rosie. She has Rosie."
"Sweetheart, look at me." I said, pulling her chin up so she would look me in the eye. "Just because Molly has a koala stuffie, does not mean she has Rosie."
By this point, Savannah had decided to disobey my orders, making her way over to the scene that was unfolding, which had attracted the attention of nearly everyone at the meet-up now.
"What happened?" She asked me worriedly.
"It's Molly's stuffie." I answered with a breath. "She's convinced it's Rosie, the koala that she had lost in the break-in."
Savannah's eyes immediately widened at the thought.
"Sweetie, what makes you think that that's Rosie?" She asked Abigail, bending down to ask her somewhat privately.
"Be-, because of the stitches." Abigail forced out through her breathless sobs. "Th- the red stitches."
Savannah and I both noticed the glaring red stitches on the koala's back.
"Molly, when did you get that stuffie?" Savannah asked, trying her best to sound gentle but ultimately not succeeding.
"Savannah, please," Samuel cut in, taking a hasty step towards my girlfriend.
"You back the fuck away from her." I said before he could approach any closer to her. I don't trust a thing he does or a word he says, and I don't want him anywhere near Savannah.
"Molly?" Savannah reiterated as Samuel took a step back following my thinly-veiled threat.
"I don't know," she said with a quiet shrug. "In the fall I think?"
"And who gave it to you?" She responded.
Molly just pointed silently towards Samuel, not looking up at the rest of us. Abigail was still clinging to me, whimpering into my chest. I picked her up, wrapping her legs around my torso so that she might feel a bit safer.
"Hm?" Savannah looked at Samuel with an interrogative eye. "And where did you find such a unique and... clearly used... koala stuffie, Samuel?"
He smiled nervously, letting out an anxious chuckle as though trying to lighten the tension of the situation. But it clearly didn't work, as before anybody could say another word, he was off running.
He scrambled through the crowd of caregivers and littles in the small convention center and stormed out of the doors towards his car. He was gone before any of us could react. We stood there quietly, shocked at what had just happened.
"What the fuck?" I asked, more confused than I had ever been in my entire life.
Savannah looked at me, clearly just as perplexed as I was about what had just transpired. That's when I noticed across the table. Molly stood there, tearfully eyeing the doors that Samuel had just ran out of without her. Her lip quivered as she clung tighter to Rosie. Her Daddy had just, literally, ran from her, leaving her alone in this crowd of strangers.
What are we going to do with her?
YOU ARE READING
Her Little Helper
Romansa**THIS STORY IS UNFINISHED AND WILL LIKELY REMAIN UNFINISHED** Abigail Lawson has never been much of a people-person. Moving to the city to force herself out of her comfort zone, she has been trying, and failing, to land a simple IT job. However, Ab...
