Little Red

THIRTY SIX

"And this is the Prince that stands outside of the castle. He protects the Princess from all of the scary monsters that try to hurt her or make her feel sad," Frankie explained as he drew on his paper.

It had been a little while since they both had woken up, and their parents still hadn't returned yet, so Dani had decided to distract Frankie from their absence by letting him draw since he'd always had a love for it.

"Oh really?" she questioned while watching him in awe.

Frankie nodded as he continued to draw. "Uh-huh...and do you know what my princess' name is gonna be?" he asked.

Dani furrowed her brows playfully as she thought of her answer. "Hmm...I can't think of any names. Why don't you tell me?"

"Ellie. Her name is Princess Ellie," Frankie answered and looked up at her with a small smile. "I'm your Prince, and I'm gonna protect you from all the bad things that try to take you away."

Dani's eyes glistened with tears as her heart swelled at his words. "Aww, bud. You're so sweet," she told him and pulled him into a hug.

"I love you, Ellie," Frankie mumbled into her shoulder.

Dani smiled as she kissed the boy on the head and said, "I love you too, Monkey...Forever..."

"And always," Frankie finished as he pulled away with a smile.

Their moment was quickly interrupted by the door opening, which caused them to turn their heads and smile at the sight of their parents walking into the room.

"Hi, Momma! Hi, Daddy!!" Frankie happily greeted, which caused them both to smile.

"Hey, bubs," David greeted as he reached the bed first and picked up Frankie, who squealed at the action and laughed as his father peppered his face in multiple kisses.

"Hi, Momma," Dani murmured as her mother gave her a hug.

"Hi, sweetie," Michelle said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

Dani shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess," she said. "Is everything okay? You guys were gone for a good while."

Michelle nodded. "Everything's fine," she said. "Are you ready for some dinner? We thought it'd be a good idea to eat outside today. You know, to give you a break from being in this stuffy old room all the time."

Dani laughed softly and nodded as she said, "Yeah, I could eat...I haven't really been that hungry for anything today...though I'm sure I've been snitched on already."

Michelle hummed as her husband and son were too engaged in themselves to pay attention to the conversation. "You're right about that," she said. "But it's only because we're worried about you, sweetie...Have you been taking your medicine every day still?"

Dani gave her mother a look. "I'm in a hospital, Mom...You know I have no choice but to."

Michelle frowned as her daughter looked away to rub at the ring on her finger.

"He told you, didn't he?" she asked. "About what I did when I found out about Mikey?"

Blinking her tears away, Michelle bit her lip with a nod and said, "Yes, he did...How long have you-"

"Not long. And you shouldn't be worried about it," Dani mumbled. "It was a moment of weakness, Mom. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me," Michelle said and shook her head. "Please don't."

Dani looked up to her mother and softened her features at the saddened look on the woman's face. "I'm sorry, Momma," she said. "I won't do it again."

"I just hate seeing you this way," Michelle said with a sniff. "It hurts me so much...You're my baby, and all I'll ever want is to see you as happy as you could possibly be."