Belle Stone

Part 10

Belle and the guy had really built a father-daughter relationship. They always kind of had one. As Belle had said already he took care of her as a father would. This time it was just more apparent due to her calling him dad. They didn't spend as much time together now that Belle has got some friends. Nonetheless, he was still there for her. Every time she had some problem or when she felt a little bad she turned to him.

They grew closer each day. It was a time for her to go to school, she was 6 years old already. She wasn't so happy like the other kids. She felt nervous and shy. Worry got to her. Are they going to like me? Will they be scared of me too? Will they run away? What will I do if they run away?..and many more questions like that where on her mind.

She couldn't sleep the night before her first day. Her "dad" saw that she was having some trouble so he went in to check up on her.
"Hey there, princess."
"Hi, dad."
He smiles at her and crouches down next to her. His hand traces the strands of her hair. Gentle, almost not to break them. Her soft hair feels cold to the touch. Pleasant type of chill greeted his fingers. The wrinkles on her forehead slowly drifted away with each stroke.

At first, he felt weird being called that way. He didn't have a love interest or anyone so being called a dad prematurely kind of threw him off guard. Now everything has changed though. He got used to it. He had to get used to it. There was no way of rejecting that sweet little angel in front of him. There was nothing else left for him than to adapt to it. Everyone else around them adapted to it too. They were all shocked at first but the more they thought about it the more sense it made. He was the only one taking care of her. She only wanted him and he directed most of his attention to her. It did seem like they were in a father-daughter relation. As more time passed everyone started thinking of it as the cutest thing ever.

He was so lost on thought, he forgot to ask the obvious question. Her little sigh snapped him out of his trance. His full heart looked at her with concern.
"What's up, Belle? Why aren't you sleeping?"
Quiet. Soothing. Her heart calmed at the sound of his words. Her mind quieted down.
"Ah... Dad... am worried."
Another sharp sigh. It pierced through the soothing atmosphere the guy has created.
"Why princess?"
He scrunched his eyebrows. The motion of his hands remained the same. In the homogenized rhythm, he pets her.
"Well, what if the kids tomorrow don't like me or they become scared like the ones here were."
His hand finally stopped, resting at the top of her head.
"Belle, dear... There is no way. You are such a sweet girl. There is no way they won't like you. As for the scaring thing... Kids here were scared of you not liking them. Just go up to the kids and be yourself. The friendliest and kindest girl that you are and I assure you they are going to love you." "Really dad? Promise?"
"Really. I promise you. Now hurry. Go to sleep. You need to be rested to have the energy to play.”
"Okay but first..."
“Yeah."
He dragged out the syllables in a teasing manner.
"Will you tell me a bedtime story? Please, please, pretty, pretty please...”
She dragged out her syllables too as she grabbed his hand and softly yanked it a few times.
“Okay, okay."

He couldn't say no to her. Yet again she tranced him with her cuteness.
Sitting down on her bed he changes his position quickly into a laying one. Softly he brushes her hair once more while telling a bedtime story. It based on her current situation to make her smile and feel better.

As the guy was narrating he thought about how far has Belle come. She was speaking so well. It took her only a year to make up for the lost time. It was so fascinating to him. He felt so proud of her.

He started to feel a bit drowsy. This story had a hypnotic ability. His eyelids were becoming heavier by each second. A soft yawn escaped him. She swung her tiny hand and it landed on his chest while his arm was loosely wrapped around her. They fell asleep in each other's arms before the story even ended.

The next day arrived and Belle went to school. Hands shaking, palms sweaty, chaos in her head... The guy comforted her, reassured her it was okay but she couldn't budge. She looked at him but she didn't see him. She saw the kids running away from her or scrunched up in the corner hiding away from her. He was talking but she didn't hear him, she couldn't. All she heard was footsteps against the hard floor. Footsteps frantically getting further away. It was all in her head but it seemed so real.

Her tiny foot hit the school hallway doors reanimated the sound she was hearing when the guy was talking. She spent all of her time in a corner alone, avoiding the children so they wouldn't have to avoid her until some kid decided to approach her. The guy was watching her all along. He wasn't going to leave until he made sure she was okay. As she ran off to play with the child he finally went back to the orphanage. Belle was happy and the guy was too. Both of them satisfied spent their day filled with pride and joy.

To be continued...