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ALL I DO. { irl }
!! TW : domestic abuse !!
niola stops dead in her tracks when she sees her father standing in front of the stove, cooking some eggs on a pan over it.
for a moment, niola thinks that her father looks like an actual dad. but she's quickly snapped out of it when she thinks of rayne. before she can think of asking where her sister is, niola hears the precious sound of rayne trying to sound out a tough word.
"then miss posey pushed me on the swings when we were at the playground!" rayne rambles, talking to their father the same way she talks to niola, camille, and the triplets.
niola looks around for her sister before her eyes land on her. rayne is sitting in front of the table, buckled into her pink high chair. in front of her is a plate of scrambled eggs, cooked just the way she likes them.
rayne is chewing on a spoonful of eggs while she talks, happily swinging her legs back and forth under the table.
niola's gut tightens. she's the one who taught rayne how to talk. not him. their father wasn't even around for her first words. does he even know how rare it is for her to talk to people the way she's talking to him? does he even know that's how she likes her eggs, or was it a lucky guess?
"what are you doing here?" niola asks, making sure to keep her distance from him. she knows to keep a minimum of ten feet in between her and her father at all times. she learned that the hard way. niola is standing in the kitchen's doorway, watching his every move to make sure he doesn't try anything.
"is itcruel of me for wanting to visit my daughters?" he asks, not looking up from the eggs that are cooking on the pan.
"no, it's not cruel." niola tells him. "but it's rare. and out of character for you."
he chuckles, his brown eyes still glued to the pan. "you've always been smart, niola. and as usual, you're right. i'm not just here to cook eggs and leave."
"then why are you here?" she asks, beginning to get annoyed with his small talk. she just wants a quick and direct answer so he can get out of the house. "don't you have money to gamble away?"
his fist clenches around the spatula, making niola take a step back. but he simply takes a deep, calming breath. then he returns his attention back toward his eggs.
"i've made a decision," her father announces before turning to face her for the first time with a wide grin spread across his face. "that will alter our lives forever."
