"I came home princess," I smile at my daughter. She's been nervous the whole time I've been gone. I was talking to Cameron last night, she's never yelled so much and she had to stop because she woke Skylar but she yelled and yelled. "I promised I would baby girl." I hum taking her into my arms while Cameron steals our baby boy away. She's blown all of her steam though and we're trying not to fight any more. "Can I get a smile? Or even a hug?" I hum kissing her temple.
"Y-you left." She mumbles laying against my shoulder only because my hand is keeping her there. "Me and mama are fine without you." She nods sliding out of my grip and hopping over to her mama and baby brother. "I missed you cutie." She giggles playing with his fingers and kissing his cheek. "I missed you." She gasps and kisses his head.
"You'll be ok without me?" I whisper in cams ear. "Why would you tell her,"
"I didn't tell her that." She mumbles sharply cutting me off. "She told me that." She cuddles the two kids. "Why don't you go and make dinner, cook something she likes ok?" Cameron presses a soft kiss against my cheek. She's not so mad anymore, she got the chance to calm down last night but Skylar didn't.
"Thank you." I smile pressing a light kiss against her temple. "I love you so much baby you know that." I whisper in head ear warning me a nod.
"I love you too, but you made a stupid impulsive decision and you need to fix it." I broke the one girl I'm supposed to be bonded to forever. Sure Cam and I have a bond through our rings and pieces of paper with our signatures on them but Sky is the one that I should be bonded to by blood. And she can't even look me in the eyes.
"I was thinking," I speak a little louder even though the whole household is silent. "Maybe we could do something tomorrow, we could go swimming, I'm the pool?" I suggest with a weak smile.
"She doesn't like the pool," Cameron coughs at me while she puts the two in the play pen. For whatever reason Skylar like being in there with Noah. She says she likes cuddling him and when he crawls all over her, and when they both fall asleep, and he relies on her for warmth. She's a lot like her mama, she likes being needed.
"What do you mean she doesn't like the pool, I've only been gone ten days, not ten years, not ten months, ten days." I groan a little mixing the noodles on the stove.
"It was a hard fucking ten days for all of us Shawn. And she's mad at you for leaving, and I'm mad at you for leaving, so you're just gonna have to learn the hard way." She sighs pushing my away before I can do anything else at the stove.
"I'm sorry, Cameron you know I wanna help." I try taking over but she's making something entirely different than what I thought to do.
"It's not her favourite anymore. Because daddy came up with the recipe, and daddy brought her to the pool, and daddy used to sing her to sleep. I can't even go into the room when she's going to bed because that's what daddy does, she has to sleep in her own bed with the lights on and the blankets up to her eyes because she won't sleep anywhere else in the house." She sighs a little finishing the food on the stove and pulling out a pan to put it in.
"Yay mama!" She squeals with excitement looking at the pan, she doesn't even know what's going in it. "You're making my favourite." She giggles.
"Daddy's making it princess, I just got the pan out." Cam nods and my baby girl frowns.
"I'm tired mama can I go to bed?" She blinks faking a yawn, a pathetic little yawn.
"You've gotta way dinner first, right?" I smile but she ignores my existence completely.
"Baby you have to eat." Cameron kisses her head lifting her and her little brother out of the playpen.
"But, But daddy's making it." She whispers to Cameron who's brought them both closer to me. "So I don't want it."
...
"I didn't mean to, you know that right? I didn't mean to make her hate me." I plead while Cameron starts out of the bathroom. "You know I didn't, I just got mad. Baby you know I have a short temper." I kiss her cheek softly. "I needed some space, that's the only thing I could think to do." I pull her down on top of me. "Come on pretty," I kiss her gently. "Just forgive me?"
"I'd be an idiot if I just forgave you." She rolls her eyes and kisses my again. "That doesn't make me heartless." She chuckles kissing me again.
"Can you pretend to forgive me?" I kiss her again. "Come on it's only a week, I'll be gone in a week." I let my fingers comb through her hair. "She really doesn't like me and there's no way I'm fixing that in the six days I have left."
"I can pretend, for six days." She nods sadly kissing my head.
"Thank you pretty," I smile sitting myself up continuing to hug her.
"I still love you Shawn, you're an idiot you always have been, but I love you and your stupidity." She chuckles pressing her sweet soft lips against mine.
"I love you too, I love you all a little too much and it hurts. But I couldn't force myself to love you guys any less." I'm very relieved that she'll at least fake for me, maybe we can have coffee every couple of weeks, maybe our work schedules can stay the same she'll still let me see Noah and watch as he grows up. Maybe when Skylar turns sixteen and she can't remember who I am or why I left, Cameron will let me see the girl. She'll be fairly grown by then, not the little girl I raised.
"We'll stop hurting you in one week." She nods kissing my cheek. "Just one week."
"One week until I'm gone pretty, it doesn't mean I'm gonna hurt any less."
"You don't have to leave," a weak little voice murmurs. "I'm mad, but I'm not a monster." Her words are all separated and slightly detached. She talks funny, but I love it. "You're still my daddy, and I still love you, and mama and Noah would cry all of the time." She smiles jumping onto our bed. "But you promised daddy."
"I know sweetheart, I know," Cameron moves herself to the side and I squeeze my little girl. "I called your mama almost everyday because I wanted to say how sorry I was, but mama never picked up."
"Mama didn't know," she mumbles. "I stole her phone whenever you called. I didn't wanna hear from you." She sounds so stuffy and she has a cute little lisp.
"I know I did a horrible thing. And I'm sorry for hurting you princess, you don't deserve to be hurt."
"Mama was hurt too, she's only pretending to forgive you, remember?"
"Did you listen to everything?" I chuckle kissing her face all over which makes her giggle.
"I think so." She chuckles hugging me softly. "Can I sleep in here, I had a bad dream."
"Of corse you can princess, this room is always open to you."
"I love you daddy, and I love you mama." She hums laying against my shoulder.
"Mama loves you too sweets." Cameron smiles crawling into the bed.
"And daddy loves you, more than anything else in this world." She opens her eyes only to watch Cameron hit me. "Besides your mama." I chuckle kissing her head again. "I'm sorry sweetheart. It won't happen again."
