He Saved Me

Chp 46

Mia's POV
It is now past midnight, the longest Daddy has ever let me stay up. I guess everyone is too busy having fun to look at the time. Towards the end I was getting so bored. All the kids, and some aunts and uncles who can still run around, were outside. But Daddy forbade me from enjoying any of these Neverland activities for the next 3 weeks. I'm stuck inside the house with all old people. I'm trying to pay attention to the conversations Auntie Rebbie and Grandma are having, but I can't keep up. I can feel my eyes get heavy, slowly closing.
~~~
I woke up to complete darkness. I turned to the other side to snuggle into Daddy, but there was no one there. That's when I realized that I was in my own room tonight. Someone must've carried me in here when I fell asleep downstairs. I cuddled into my blanket, feeling so lonely. I wish Daddy could understand how scared and lonely I feel by myself, especially at night. I keep thinking I see shadows in my room. I tried to calm myself down, but then I heard a creak on the floor. I held on to my blanket even tighter, scared out of my mind. The wind was howling outside, causing me to jump out of bed and run to Daddy's room.
I walked into the upstairs portion of Daddy's bedroom. I tip toed inside, knowing I'm not allowed to be here tonight. I found Daddy fast asleep and snoring. I didn't want to wake him up, but I didn't want to go back into my room. I'm convinced something is wrong with that room at nighttime. I was scared that Daddy will get mad if he woke up to me, back in his room. So I didn't even bother getting into his bed. I sat down on the floor next to the side of the bed where he's laying.
My plan is simple. I'm going to sit here till the sun comes up, leaving before Daddy even wakes up. This way, I feel safe and protected next to him throughout the night. And I won't even get into trouble for going against my punishment. Well, that plan only lasted about 10 minutes, before I couldn't even keep my eyes open anymore. Once again, I could feel the weight on my eyes, forcing me drift into a deep slumber.

Michael's POV
I woke up to the sun shining in my face. This was the first night, in a very long time, where I slept through the night. With Mia's tossing and turning, along with her unusual demands in the middle of the night, I haven't been getting much sleep. I wonder if Mia slept well. I know she must've been upset if she woke up in the middle of the night. I stretched and rubbed my eyes, to adjust to the sunlight coming in through my windows. I should probably go check on my little Mia.
As I'm about to put my feet on the floor, I hear snoring. I look down and see Mia sleeping right next to my feet. I let out a sigh and rubbed the bridge of my nose. She really isn't ready to sleep in her own room. My heart broke to see her sleeping on the hardwood floor, with no pillow or blanket. She must've been too scared to join me in bed. I cursed at myself for making her feel afraid of me. But I have to be her parent at the end of the day.
     I picked Mia up in my arms, she was still asleep. I was going to take her back into her room, but as I held her in my arms, I didn't want to let go. I didn't get a chance to really hold and love her after punishing her yesterday. With the whole family over, time flew by so quick. She unknowingly snuggled into my chest. I watched her little body go up and down with each breath. I moved her messy curls out of her face, and caressed her cheeks.
     I love this little girl so much... my heart could explode. Throughout my entire adult life, I always talked about adopting children. Never in a million years, did I think I could actually accomplish that dream. I love all children of the world, I really do. To save a child's life, bring him/her out of a toxic situation, and give them a better life filled with love- that's all I ever wanted to do. I couldn't save my own childhood, but at least I get to do that for someone else.
     I place kisses on Mia's face, praying she still loves me. I'm doing what I have to do as a father, but I just pray to God that she understands that. I don't want her to resent me. I love all my babies so much, I can't even express it in words. They are my life, in the most literal sense possible. As I'm lost deep in my thoughts, I hear Mia mumbling in her sleep. She starts to move and whimper. She's having another nightmare.
     I hold her tight and hum to her, hoping that soothes her. I see the tension in her face slowly diminish. But she's still whimpering and mumbling something. "Daddy don't make me go please," she mumbled. She was having a nightmare about... me? "I'll be good Daddy, don't make me go," she mumbled. I saw a tear slip out of her eye. My heart broke into a million pieces.
     Normally, Mia only has nightmares about her mother and past abusive incidents. It's usually things that bother her subconsciously. So to hear her cry about me in her sleep, really upsets me. I want to be a source of love and protection for her. Not fear. Her whimpers became more frequent, forcing me to wake her up. I shake her arm, trying to wake her out of her misery. Her eyes flutter open, she takes a second to look at me, and then her lips start to quiver.
     "I'm sorry I broke a rule Daddy. I wasn't going to stay in here long... I-I-I'm sorry," she cried. I pulled her into a tight hug, while I kissed the top of her head.
     "It's okay mama, I'm not mad. Shhh... it's okay," I said gently as I rubbed her back. We stayed silent for a bit, as she calmed down. Her sobs were now gone, her breathing was stable. She laid her head on my chest, while playing with the buttons on my shirt. "You had a bad dream babygirl?" I spoke up. She nodded her head yes while pouting. "Aww," I cooed while rubbing her back. "What was it about?" I asked.
     "I don't wanna say," Mia mumbled.
     "Please?" I gently said.
     "What if you get mad?" she asked looking down. I lifted her chin, making her look at me.
     "I will never get mad at you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with me ok? As long as you speak in a respectful manner, you can say anything you want," I explained.
     "I-I saw that you se-sent me back to my old family... because you didn't like me anymore," she stuttered.
     "Mia... baby you know that's never going to happen right?" I asked gently.
     "Yeah but I made you so mad last time that you cried. You probably don't even like me anymore," she mumbled.
     "Sweetheart, I love you more than life itself. I can never not like you. No matter how angry you make me, I will never... ever... send you away. Even when I have to punish you, it's because I love you so much. I want you to grow up to be a good person. I will never send you away, we've talked about this before," I explained. "And I wasn't crying because of you babygirl. I was just upset about something else."
     "You pinky promise to never send me away?" she asked innocently. I couldn't help but chuckle. My verbal promise wasn't enough validation, but wrapping our pinkies will seal the deal for her. I shook my head and laughed, as I held my pinky up. She wrapped her tiny pinky against mine, as I promised to never send her away. I wrapped my arms around her, and looked out the big windows. Sunshine and cuddles from my babygirl, I honestly couldn't ask for a better morning.