Fallen Petals

Chapter two

Ten years later

Rosie grew bigger and more beautiful every day, her long red hair and blue eyes attracted a lot of attention. It didn't take Rosie long to notice that while she had red hair and blue eyes, her daddy had brown hair and hazel eyes.
"Daddy if I'm your daughter why do we look different?" She asked every so often. Lucas always told her it was because it meant she was destined to be special. The situation bothered her sometimes and she went into a shell. Lucas noticed this as she had always been a sweet little kid. To soothe her, one day before she went to bed he pulled her close and told her something.

"Let me put it this way honey, everything different about you is beautiful and to show everyone that life is magical when I have you." He said. Rosie smiled up at him and cried a little bit when she hugged him. This caused her to come out of her shell and open up.
"Thank you Daddy you are the best Daddy." She responded.

She had always been a little shy but over time, she became the opposite making friends with anyone she encountered. This made Lucas happy, as he often worried she would be closed off like him. She didn't complain that they always had to move whenever Deanna caught up with them. Though he did worry that he couldn't keep her happy. As when she wanted a beautiful doll in her mermaid dress but he couldn't afford it. When her face dropped he worked double shifts at the mall to try and get it. He hardly got any sleep that week, but he ignored the tiredness. Rosie was happy at his dedication but put a stop to this when she saw the circles under his eyes. She hugged him and told him she didn't want the doll anymore. They had both learned an important lesson from that experience. Like why people should be valued over objects or believe in your ability to give someone joy. He still got for her anyway as he felt she deserved it when she tried to give him her piggy bank. 

One morning on her tenth birthday, she ran into Lucas's room at top speed.

"Good morning," she said. He remained asleep and Rosie sighed as he snored. She tapped his shoulder until he began to stir "Daddy wake up!" 

Lucas smiles and grabs hold of her to tickle her, which causes the preteen to laugh. It filled his heart with joy, even if some might not understand it. His wife certainly didn't as she made their lives a living hell. If things were different and she didn't have an army of lawyers, he would have gotten away from her.

"Look who it is the birthday girl, and she's sneaking up on me." He said.
When she sat down on his bed he instantly began to tickle her.
"Daddy stop I don't like being tickled." She laughed.
"Sorry didn't catch that, my hearing must be on the fritz." He responded in his best old-man voice. Rosie played the victim and Lucas let her go so he could get up.
"No Daddy you're not allowed to get old." She laughed. This only made Lucas tickle and tease her more and only stopped when she gave him her puppy dog eyes.
"Oh, not the eyes Rosie." He said as he playfully begged, but she kept going.
"Please Daddy who I love so very much." She responded.

Lucas feigned defeat and she jumped in delight. Then gave him a tight hug and pulled on his arm.
"Looks like you beat me." He laughed.

"Daddy are you going to take me to the beach again?" She asked jumping up and down while Lucas got dressed. Rosie had always had a connection with the ocean that he would never understand. At first, he thought that maybe she just loved water, but that wasn't it. Lucas had lost count of the sea shells she had brought home and the times she spent hours in the water.

"Of course honey, let me just make breakfast for us." He said.

She took his hand and followed him into the kitchen where he made a stack of waffles. They took a bit to make yet Rosie never complained about the taste, she hardly complained about anything. He placed a plate down for her while she munched on some fruit. Lucas had always been insecure about his body image. Mainly because of all the comments he had received from Deanna. So he tried his best to eat healthy and pushed that habit on his daughter a bit. Since she would eat only chocolate and candy if he let her. 

The sticky hands of Rosie on his shirt brought him out of his thoughts.

"Daddy she won't be here right?" Rosie asked out of fear. "I don't like mom."
"No Rosie don't listen to anything she says, she is not your mother," Lucas responded. He picked her up and held her close, Lucas didn't want his daughter to be afraid of Deanna like he was. So whenever she found them, he would hide Rosie while Deanna screamed at him for caring about a sea creature. Lucas had no idea why she thought Rosie was a sea creature, she was just like any other kid.

His daughter placed her hands on his face to comfort him. Whenever he was tired or upset she always tried to comfort him.

"I know but I don't like when she hurts you," Rosie said. Talking with food in her mouth and coughing a bit.
"Don't worry Rosie, I'm taking care of it, now what did I say about manners?" He asked. Rosie turned red in embarrassment while Lucas wiped her face full of sticky honey and butter. He cheered her up by giving her a stuffed starfish, her eyes lit up when she saw it.
"Daddy, is she for me?" She asked with a smile. He smiled back and handed the toy to her, before he could answer she was already in love with the toy.

"Of course, I wouldn't want my little flower to be upset on her birthday," Lucas responded. Rosie hugged him tightly to thank him then brought her starfish to the table. She talked to it a few times and tried to feed some of her waffles to it. This made Lucas laugh as he knew Rosie had an active imagination. While preparing his breakfast, his phone vibrated and his heart pounded. He dreaded to think what Deanna could want now. His glasses fell from his face and he was forced to adjust them.
I know you are getting my texts! Answer me and tell me where you are. She typed.
"Daddy look at what I'm....Daddy, what's wrong?" Rosie asked.

"Nothing honey let's go." He said. Lucas hid his phone and blocked his wife's phone number. Rosie giggled and grabbed his hand with her starfish in the other. The ten-year-old would have pulled him to the beach if she could as she chanted the whole way.
"I am going to see the ocean with all sea creatures and collect shells, then I'll look for tide polls!" She exclaimed.
"You might end up taking the whole beach back with you." Lucas joked when they walked outside. She took her sandals off and shook her head at him.
"No Daddy I can not take any fish with me, they will get sad on land." She said

"I don't know you keep begging me for a turtle." Lucas joked back and ruffled her hair.
"Daddy!" She laughed and playfully pushed him. They soon arrived at the beach, Lucas set down the bags and Rosie ran and fell into the water with a splash. Lucas chuckled as he watched her collect sea shells, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and mussels. He made sure to check if anything she touched had anything dangerous in it.
"Rosie make sure there are no crabs inside." He said. She nodded and handed him a purple conch shell she had found.

"Look at this one Daddy." She said. Lucas smiled and took the shell to admire it however before he could say anything a red claw sprung from it. He jumped in fright and dropped the shell as the hermit crab pinched him. Rosie laughed at him and grabbed the tiny creature with no fear.
"See I told you, you always have to check," Lucas said. He brushed the sand off his clothes and grabbed a towel for Rosie since she was soaked. However, then he caught sight of his little girl with the crab in her hands. "Rosie wait..." He began but stopped when he saw her place the crab back in the water.

"Hear my voice beneath the sea, and sleep so peacefully, listen to my song, and let your worries cease." She sang in a beautiful voice. Lucas wasn't shocked to hear her sing as she often ran around the house doing it. Yet he was surprised at the familiar words as he heard something similar when he first found Rosie. He was brought out of his thoughts when Rosie pulled on him.
"Rosie, did you help him?" He asked.
"Yes Daddy I heard that all the fish and its friends have been hurt by an oil spill so I wanted to make them feel better."