Second Chances

A daughter

Sadie had gone to the mall before with some friends. She enjoyed walking around, talking with them, and looking through the items. It was too bad back then she couldn't buy anything.

"Where to first?" Sadie comes back to the present at Axel's voice and looks around the mall plaza. She supposes it would be best to start out with clothes, since she was currently wearing Axel's.

"Clothes?" Axel nods at Sadie and they walk to the nearest clothing store.

"Have a look around, pick some things you like?" It was Sadie's turn to nod as she meandered her way through the store.

By the time they left that store, Sadie had five new outfits. Two stores, and seven more outfits, as well as a few pairs of shoes later, Sadie was done. She tugs on Axel's jacket sleeve and he immediately looks her way.

"What's up Sadie?" She felt bad wanting to leave, but she was hungry, tired, and ready to go home.

"Can...can we go home?" Axel was quick to reassure Sadie that that was completely alright. They walk to the suv together and Axel loads Sadie's things into the backseat. He hops into the drivers and starts the car, ruffling Sadie's hair before taking off.

Sadie smiles at the gentleness of Axel. She's glad she found him. Now she just hopes her dad is similar.

"You alright sweets, you wanted outta there pretty fast." Sadie leans back against the seat and closes her eyes.

"Tired...and hungry..." Sadie didn't know if Axel had any strange rules on eating; her mom sure did. The only time Sadie got to eat was at school, and once on the weekend days. However, Axel told her she was safe, so she'd put her trust in him.

"I'll make us something at home, and then get you to bed." Axel gently rubs Sadie's head this time before focusing fully on the road. Sadie was very happy.

They made it home and Axel hauls Sadie's things to her room for her. Leaving her the responsibility of putting everything away while he cooks for them.

Sadie got right to it and starts hanging her shirts and folding and storing her pants and shorts. She put her shoes on the shoe rack in the closet and proudly looks around her room as she finishes up. The green and brown color scheme of Axel's house really spoke to Sadie. She found her room to be very calming.

"Sadie, food's up." Axel knocks on Sadie's door and she opens it. She follows Axel to the kitchen and sits down with him to eat. They ate in companionable silence and once again Axel takes care of their plates after they're done.

Sadie covers a yawn while moving to the living room. She grabs the throw and settles comfortably on the couch. Soon enough, she was joined by both Axel and Dahlia.

"Want to watch a movie?" Sadie nods and leans against Axel's side as he searches through movie options.

———-

Axel looks down to ask Sadie her preference when he finds her already asleep against his side. Axel was very appreciative of how quickly Sadie seemed to warm up to him. He turns off the tv and goes to move Sadie to her room when his phone rings in his back pocket.

In confusion he pulls it from his pocket and his heart pounds as he reads the name. Marc was calling him, while his daughter he didn't even know about was sleeping against Axel. He sighs and hits answer.

"Marc, thanks for calling me back." Axel had no clue how to approach this situation.

"Uh yeah, your message seemed pretty urgent..." Marc was just as uncomfortable having this conversation as Axel was. They hadn't talked in years.