Before You and Me ✔️(Wattpad Version)

Raising Bella

Mack

As Bella got older, I taught her things she should know. Like how to ride a bike. Yeah, that didn't go too well. She crashed into a ditch. I had to dig her out.

She scraped her knee, and you thought someone was killing her by how dramatic she was being.

"Bella, it's a scrape," I explained to her.

"Daddy! It's not a scrape! I'm dying!" She wailed. I rolled my eyes as she limped. "Mommy! Daddy pushed me into a ditch!"

Wait. What? Paige came out of the house and gave me a look as I looked at her.

I swear my kid was going into theatrics with her attitude. I'm wondering when fatherhood became the ultimate thing.

There was another time I took her fishing. She needed to learn a life lesson. What better way than to take her fishing?

We went to the dock, and I carried two fishing poles and a tackle box as she carried the container of worms.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, pumpkin?"

"What is this?" She asked, pointing to the container of Nightcrawlers.

"These are Nightcrawlers."

"Night what?" She looked at me, confused.

"Worms, honey," I said as she screamed and threw the container over the rail into the water. I stopped and looked at her.

"Bella! What did you do?"

"Those were worms," she furrowed her brows, and her bottom lip quivered.

"And the fish's food," I sighed.

She frowned at me as I found someone to buy some worms off of. Once I bought them, I handed her the tackle box while I carried the container of worms. At the rate we were going, we would catch no damn fish.

I set up the poles and opened the container. I pulled out one, and she scrunched her face.

"Here," I said, handing her a worm. She took it. When she felt it, she threw it back at me, landing it on my head. I gave her a look as she looked at me wide-eyed.

I took it off my head and hooked the worm. Then I taught her how to cast a line, but she hooked her finger. She screamed as I had to get the hook out. People thought I was trying to kill her.

Note to self, wait until Bella is older to take her fishing.

I got the hook out and cleaned her finger, placing a Hello Kitty Bandaid on it. I cast the line into the water and had her hold the pole. Then I showed her how to wait until she felt a tug on the line.

Her line tugged, and I helped her reel the fish in. We pulled it out of the water, and I watched as she got excited.

"Look, daddy! I caught a fish!"

"Yes, you did, pumpkin," I said, smiling.

I helped her take the fish off of the hook and tossed it into a bucket. I helped her again, then cast my own line. The two of us stood there as we fished together.

"Bella, I'm going to give you some advice. Guys are like anglers. They catch a fish. Because they feel dissatisfied, they toss them back until they find the perfect fish. Understand?"

"Huh?" She looked at me, confused, as I looked at her.

"Don't let a guy catch you, then toss you back. Give him a reason to keep you. Make life difficult for him," I smiled.

"Okay, daddy," she shrugged.

"Good girl," I smiled at her.

We continued to fish until we caught enough, then we packed up and went home. As soon as we got home, I handed the fish to Paige, and she threw them at me.

"Christ, Paige! Do you know how long it took me to catch them?" I yelled.

"I don't care! I'm not cleaning them, Mack!" Paige yelled back.

I sighed. Pizza it is.

The pizza arrived, and we sat down at the table to eat.

"How was fishing?" Paige asked.

"It was interesting. First, Bella threw my Nightcrawlers into the water. Then I bought some more. She threw one on my head. Got a hook stuck in her finger, and I gave her life advice," I shrugged.

"What life advice?" She asked me.

"Don't let a guy catch her," I said as she chuckled.

"Only you, Mack," she giggled.

Bella bounced in her chair as she ate her slice of pizza. I knew when she got older, there would be someone who she would fall in love with. That would be the day my little girl would have to deal with loving someone other than me. It was a day I didn't want to think about with her.

Later on, I got her ready for bed and tucked her in. I read her a bedtime story as she listened to me. When I got done, she asked, "Will I find my Prince Charming?"

"He will have to get through me to get to you," I told her.

"I love you, daddy," she said as she held out her arms to me.

"Bella, I love you more," I said as I leaned over and hugged her. I gave her a kiss and turned off her lamp as I left her bedroom.

The thing about having a daughter, they steal your heart the minute they come into this world. I stood in the hallway and thought about it.

I felt Paige wrap her arms around me from behind, "Penny for your thoughts?"

"I was thinking, one day, some dipwad boy is going to come along and take her from me," I sighed. That thought depressed me.

"Yeah, but sometimes that dipwad boy can turn into someone who is best for you," she said as I looked at her. "I know, I met a guy like that," she smiled as I gave her a look.

"Hmm, let's see how much of a dipwad I am," as I chased her into our bedroom. Leave it to a woman to ruin a wonderful moment with their asinine comments. Let's pray, Bella doesn't do that. Then again, I had a feeling that things would not turn out like they would.