Daddy Issues

Don't leave me daddy

Aleks sat cross-legged on the edge of the bed, fingers twisting the hem of Steve’s t-shirt that she had held on to from the night before. It still smelled like him - cologne and skin, a little faded now - but it comforted her in a way nothing else did. The afternoon sunlight filtered through the blinds in sharp stripes, casting shadows on her bare thighs. She had been quiet for most of the day, lost in her thoughts and anxieties.

Steve was typing on his laptop at the small desk in the corner of the room. He hadn't looked at her in a while. He didn’t notice how tightly she was holding the shirt. He didn't see the way her eyes darted over to him every few seconds, searching for something - what, she didn’t quite know. A signal maybe. A sign that he still wanted her the way he had the night before. The way he whispered her name against her skin. The way he called her “baby girl” when he thought she was drifting off.

But today, he was distant. Not cold, not cruel - just… elsewhere. And that alone was enough to send a spike of panic into her chest.

"Do you still want me?" Her voice was quiet, the words stuck somewhere back in her throat.

Steve looked up at her. “Of course I do, darling."

Aleks looked down at her lap, a tear forming in her eye. “You’re… distracted. You’ve been on the computer all day. You haven’t really looked at me. You didn’t kiss me when you got out of the shower.”

"Baby, I'm sorry. I just had this work thing on my mind.”

Aleks carried on looking down at her lap. Steve touched her knee. “Aleks…”

She looked up at Steve with her puppy dog eyes and spoke: “I think about you all the time. Even when I try not to. It’s like you’re under my skin. I wake up thinking about whether you still love me. Whether you’ll get bored and just… vanish.”

Her throat closed. Her eyes stung. And now the tears were coming, hot and fast.

Steve sat beside her and pulled her into his arms. She clung to him immediately, burying her face into his chest like a child.

“My dad left,” she whispered after a few minutes. “When I was like two or three. I don’t remember his voice. I just remember the space he left behind.”

Steve held her tighter.

“I keep thinking you’ll leave too. That one day you’ll just… get tired of this.” She pulled away just enough to look up at him. “Of me. Because I’m a mess and you’re-” she laughed bitterly, “you’re a grown-up. You have your life sorted. You’ve lived.”

“Aleks…” he said, but she talked over him, her voice rising.

“I know it’s crazy. I know I’m being ridiculous. But I feel it, daddy. Every second you’re not looking at me, I feel it. Like I’m being erased, little by little.”

He cupped her face, thumbs brushing her wet cheeks. “You are not ridiculous. You’re not being erased. You’re here. With me. And I see you.”

She bit her lip. “Do you see how much I love you?”

He nodded. “Yes. And I love you too. So much.”

Her shoulders shook again, and she melted into him.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she whispered. “I don’t care what anyone says, how weird they think this is. You’re the only person who makes me feel… safe.”

Steve kissed the top of her head. “You’re not forgettable, Aleks. Trust me, you couldn’t be if you tried.”

“But what if you do leave? What if you meet someone your age, someone who has their life together, someone who doesn’t cry when you’re not paying attention to them for an hour?”

He didn’t answer right away, and that silence was a punch to her gut.

She pulled back, her eyes wide. “See? That pause. That’s what I mean. You thought about it.”

“I didn’t think about leaving,” he said gently. “I was thinking about how much you’ve been hurting. About how much pressure you put on yourself to be perfect for me. And how none of that is necessary.”

She didn’t respond. Her face was crumpled with confusion and hurt, and something deeper - something primal and afraid.

He leaned in close, speaking quietly. “You don’t have to fight to keep me. I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart.”

She sniffled. “Promise?”

He nodded. “I promise.”

There was a long pause. She closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. When she finally spoke again, her voice was steadier. “Sometimes… when I call you daddy, it’s not just to be cute. Or sexy. It’s because… I need you to be that. Not literally, I know. But someone who won’t leave. Someone who wants me just the way I am - even when I’m scared or annoying or clingy.”

Steve kissed her gently. “Then be all those things. I’m still here. Be a baby.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back, desperately, fiercely. Like it was the only way to keep him tethered.

“I love you so much it scares me,” she murmured.

He smiled against her lips. “Love like that should be a little scary.”

“But you’re not scared, are you?” she asked, suddenly searching his face.

“I’m scared for you,” he admitted. “Because you’re young and this world will try to tear you apart. But I’m not scared of you, Aleks. And I’m not scared of what we have.”

She let that sink in. Then she nodded slowly.

“Okay,” she said, quieter now. “Just… don’t ever stop saying it. That you love me. That you’re not going anywhere. I need to hear it more than you think.”

“I’ll say it every day.”

She looked at him, eyes glassy but finally, finally steady.

“Good,” she whispered. “Because you’re the only home I’ve ever had.”