The Nanny [COMPLETED]

My Dearest Grace [P72]

Elle's POV

I slowly woke up and stared at her skin. The same skin that was pressed against my face. She knew that I slept the best when she was close enough for me to hear her heartbeat, but this didn't excuse the way she treated me.

I slowly moved back and slipped out of her arms, holding in a whimper from the pain shooting through my lower back. The massage felt amazing last night, but it could only do so much. As I made my way to the closet, I didn't bother to change my clothes. I grabbed the black book with the sunflower that my father had left me and walked out of the room.

My legs lead me downstairs, where I grabbed an orange from the kitchen, and out the back. I needed some time to myself. After a few moments of walking, I sat down against a tree and began peeling the orange as the wind swept through my curls. They were getting longer, but I had noticed some parts falling out. Of course, I hadn't told Jan.

I slid a slice of the fruit into my mouth as my fingers slid under the cover of the book and opened it.

I stared at the bold cursive letters in the middle of the page and read aloud,

"To Eloise: My light, My sunshine, & My heart. You are my purpose."

A faint smile spread across my lips and I flipped the next page. The book didn't look as new as I thought it would. In fact, it was rather old.

My first proof of this was the picture of my mother holding me as a newborn. I looked fresh out of the womb and from the looks of my mother's bare body in the water, I assumed she had a water birth. My eyes glanced over to the other side of the page,

"Day 1 and your eyes are already wide open. You were a crying mess when I lifted you up and laid you on your mother's bosom, with your umbilical cord still attached, but as soon as she began to sing, you quieted your raspy little voice and listened. Your eyes opened and you met the sight of the woman who had sang to you for eight straight months. That's right. You were a preemie and I could hold you with one hand, but you were as healthy as could be. I wonder what we'll name you."

I snickered and shook my head, trying to hold back my tears. I flipped the page and ate another orange slice before reading another entry.

"Week 1 and we've agreed on a name. Now, don't hate us. We needed time to think and adjust a name fitting to your personality. You're our first born and the last thing we wanted to do was give you a rushed name. Therefore, if I hadn't said it before, I'll say it now. Welcome to the world, Eloise Celestial Jones. Daddy loves you."

I smiled and sighed, leaning my head back against the tree to blink away my tears. Hold it in, E. Hold it in. I finally got myself together and slowly flipped the page.

"Month 1 and you're smiling at everything. No matter how hard my day was, I was lucky enough to come home to your mother and you. Yes, the coal mine is horrible, but if it keeps the bread on the table and smiles on my girls' faces, I'd mine a hole to the center of the earth. Every giggle and coo you utter, sounds heavenly. Every time you cry and interrupt your mother and I's arguing, we smile, because we know that God's bringing our minds back to what's truly important and that's you."

I sniffled and wiped my tears before they could roll off my cheeks and onto the pages. I was afraid to open this book, but now that I have, my feelings for my father are all jumbled. I've spent most of my life hating the man that helped to make me, thinking it was just a part of life.

The truth was, I allowed the ignorance of the past steal my happiness and now that I've grasped my joy, karma was biting me in the ass. Maybe that's why Jan acted the way she did last night. I sighed and rubbed my face, flipping the page.