a book of parent!phan

28. knowing your baby, head to toe.

i spent so long making this perfect and it made me cry so much, ahh, its nearly 1000 words ;)

-

"Something's wrong," murmured Phil.

He could tell. He knew Lily, and he knew her with all his heart. Now, as she was fifteen, everything wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows anymore, so he had adapted to the many faces of discomfort. The teen life she was now living was full of drama and overly emotional breakdowns, some unnecessary ones, too, might Phil add, but he knew it was just part of being an adolescent.

So now, as she walked down her school steps towards his car, the down, exasperated expression on her face made him bite his finger nail.

"Hi, love," smiled Phil as Lily opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat.

"Hi, Papa," she breathed, leaning over to kiss his cheek. She sighed and fell back into her seat, lolling her head to the side and closing her eyes.

"Everything okay?" He asked her, chewing his lip.

"Yeah," she said after pausing for a second.

"Okay, baby," said Phil, trying not to become too worried. They drove in silence. He didn't want to push Lily, and gave her time to think, which was always a good idea. At stoplights, he would glance over to her nervously, where he found her picking at her nails or staring blankly out the window.

He sighed when they finally pulled into the driveway. "Hey," he said softly before she could hop out of the car. "Dad's made mac n cheese for lunch, is that okay?"

Slowly, Lily's eyes welled, and she sobbed brokenly, her face falling into her hands.

"Lily? Tell me what's wrong, love," he whispered, stroking her hair back.

"It's Cadence," she cried almost inaudibly. "She's been ignoring me and I don't know what to do- she might hate me, Papa. I love her and I miss her and-" she sobbed again, "I don't know what to do! Ohmygod!" she said angrily, scrubbing away tears from her face.

"That little twat! I love her!" Lily kicked the car, her eyes leaking.

"Lily-" coaxed Phil, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Calm down baby."

Lily was now plain frustrated- the same way Dan reacted to overwhelming things. Sadness, then anger.

"How am I supposed to calm down?" she shrieked.

"Has she talked to you at all?" asked Phil quietly. "What's she like?"

"Dad!" she said sternly, and Phil's heart broke at the loss of the name she called him as a baby. Her first word. "She's ignoring me! She's bloody avoiding me!"

"Have you tried talking to her?"

"Dad, why- why wou-" she mumbled in disbelief, raking her hands through her hair. "Ohmygod! Just- just stop, okay? Sod off!"

Lily opened the door, slamming it before striding off to the door, wiping away tears furiously.

He was shocked. Phil sighed, wanting to go after her and wrap her in his arms. He wanted to wipe away her years and cradle her, just like she used to, forever. But she didn't want that.

Phil hopped out of the car and walked in the door, carrying her backpack.

"-ME ALONE, OKAY?" followed by a door slamming was the only thing he heard before silence.

He found Dan in the doorframe of the lounge, his brow furrowed.

"Hi," greeted Phil, exasperated, put Lily's bag down and nearly fell into Dan's arms.

"Hi," said Dan distractedly, wrapping his arms around his shoulders. "What's happened?"

Phil sighed, burrowing his face into Dan's shirt. "She got sad over the mac n cheese when I mentioned it. Little Cadence's favorite, because something's going on between them. She mentioned that she was ignoring her, but-" Phil sighed. " I dunno. I'm worried."

"Oh," mumbled Dan, kissing Phil reassuringly. "We'll talk to her later."

"Let's go eat," he sighed sadly, knowing Lily would have no interest in eating the favorite food of her favorite person.

-

"Lily?" Phil asked cautiously at her door, Dan by his side.

"What?" she said impatiently.

"Come eat with us," pleaded Dan. "We don't want you to eat alone, babe. I know you're hungry."

Lily padded over to the door, opened it, and avoided eye contact with her parents.

Phil opened his mouth. "-I'm fine," interjected Lily sternly before he could say a word.

-

They sat at the table, Lily in front of an untouched bowl of mac n cheese.

"Lily," whispered Dan, leaning over to brush a lock out of her hair. "Talk to us."

Lily scooped up a piece of pasta, placing in her mouth. She put her forehead in her palm, and her eyes closed, tears falling out of them.

"You're not fine, Lily," stated Phil. "You're my daughter. You're my baby," he said softly. "I know you head to toe, and I know you're sad. You don't want to be alone like this, we don't want you to be alone like this...."

"Stay with us, please," said Dan, his brown eyes searching hers. "We'll be with you no matter what, and no matter how hard. Okay?"

"Okay," Lily cried, leaning over to tuck herself into Dan's arms. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, pulling away. She got up, walking over to Phil.

"I'm so sorry, Papa, I feel so bad," she sobbed, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "Forgive me, please," she whispered.

"Oh, Lily," he muttered, his own eyes welling up. "Of course I forgive you, and I understand. But I hate seeing you like this. I just want you to be happy forever."

Lily laughed teary-eyed, and Phil cradled her, just like he used to, and she called him the name she used to call him when she was a baby.

Her first word.

-

tell me what you thought! hope it wasnt too cheesy. thanks so much <3

edit: I JUST READ THE COMMENTS ON MY NEW AUTHORS NOte AND IM actually crying. you guys are so sweet I'm :'''''')