A Little Hope

7. Happiness Is Here

"I hope for rain to wash us clean
and make a brand new start
for both our tired hearts."
~This Wild Life

⋆ ˚｡⋆ ୨୧˚　˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

Sebastian POV
I woke up in the morning to find myself on the couch with Savannah wrapped in my arms. My face went deep red realizing how close she was. She had interlocked her legs with mine and had made a pillow out of my chest. My hand reached out to stroke her cheek. She breathed softly and it was calming to listen to her. Her hair had spread out across her back and her thumb was in her mouth. Again, confusion clouded my thoughts.

There was something really peculiar about Savannah and I wanted to know what it was. I have never met anybody like her. She acted like a literal child. She was capable of acting as a seventeen year old girl but most of the time she acted like a cute toddler. I didn't mind it. In fact, I even liked it because it was so adorable. I was going to find out soon even if that meant confronting her about it.

Savannah slowly stirred in my arms and her eyes fluttered open.  She looked around the room until she caught my face and smiled. She was in child mode right now. I was beginning to learn when she was in adult mode and when she was in child mode. When she was super cute and happy, she was small. When she was serious or sad, she was big.

I grinned at her and said, "Hey, sleepyhead. You hungry?"

Her eyes went wide as she nodded excitedly. I chuckled, "I wasn't expecting you to be staying so unfortunately all I have right now is Coco Puffs. I promise we'll go grocery shopping today to get more nutritious things."

Savannah started jumping up and down and asked excitedly, "Did you just say Coco Puffs?".

I laughed and responded, "Yes. You know the chocolate cereal with the crazy bird?".

"Of course I know Coco Puffs! And he's not crazy! Have you tried Coco Puffs? I think you'd be insane for not going coo coo for Coco Puffs! I want Coco Puffs, please!"

I shook my head chuckling and told her, "All right, all right. But only because you were a good girl and remembered your manners."

Her face became a tomato again as she blushed while I poured her bowl. I was secretly pleased inside. I wanted to keep testing her and see what she was okay with to the extent of me treating her as a child. That little mark didn't seem to bother her. I decided to push a little further and give her a plastic princess cup of apple juice that I had leftover from when I babysat my neighbor's daughter awhile back.

She looked at the cup intensely and then darted her eyes back to me and then back to the cup. I shrugged my shoulders and simply said, "It's the only clean cup I have right now. Is that okay?".

She waited a bit before getting that same cute childish grin back on her face, "It's otay! I love Belle! And Ariel too! She's my favorite! But don't tell Belle that, she might get jealous."

I stared at her in awe and watched her as she ate. When she was done, she started to get really hyper and I was starting to think that maybe giving her chocolate cereal first thing in the morning was not the smartest idea. I grabbed her dishes and started to wash them when, all of a sudden, the switch flipped again and she went into adult mode. She came right over and tried to reach for the sponge.

"What are you doing Savannah? It's okay I got this," I asked her puzzled.

Tears started to form in her eyes as she continued to reach for the sponge. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to forget about the dishes... Give me the sponge, please! I'll wash them right now."

I was confused even more so I asked her, "What are you talking about Savannah?".

"The dishes... I'm not doing them... Aren't you going to punish me?" She asked with tears starting to fall down her precious face.

Realization washed over my face and I found myself curling my hand into fist. That motherfucker. Someday when he's not expecting it, I'm going to get revenge on that bastard. How someone could do all this to this to me was still a complete mystery to me.

I took a deep breaths and tried to calm down. Getting angry would only upset Savannah and that girl has had enough trauma to last her a lifetime. Once I settled down, I reassured her and said, "No, I'm not going to punish you. I will never ever hit or hurt you in any way, shape or form. I promise."

She bit her lip nervously and took a step back. "I-I'm sorry... It's just every time I forgot to do the dishes...H-he would punish me by saying maybe if he washed me out with his tongue I would remember to wash the dishes," she mumbled out.

I felt my own eyes start to water as I realized just how badly she was abused. "Is it okay if I hug you Savannah?" I asked her wanting to just wrap her up in my arms and protect her from all the evils in this world.

She started crying hysterically as she nodded. I scooped her up and felt her collapse against me. I whispered sweet nothings into her ear and rubbed her back. We fell to the floor and I sat back against the wall to help me support her as she laid on my chest. We sat there for what seemed like hours.

When she calmed down a bit, I spoke up gently and said, "Your safe now. You never have to go back the monster ever again. From this moment on, happiness is here and I will always do my best to make sure it always is here."

She looked up and gave me a weak smile before resting her head against my chest and closing her eyes and muttering a soft thank you.

I knew this was going to be a long journey. She would need time to fully recover from all this trauma that had occurred in her life. All I could do was try and guide her in the right direction. To protect her from all this evil and bring her happiness. I would do whatever it took.

Watching her sleep against me, I felt my heart start to beat faster. I confirmed what I thought the moment I saw this girl. I was starting to fall in love with her and I was starting to fall fast. I sighed knowing a relationship was not was she wanted nor needed at this time. But I was willing to wait on the side lines and helped her heal. Then, hopefully, one day she might start to possibly love me as much as I knew I was going to love her.