I See You (Campus Crush series)

11

Quick author note. You'll see the name "Kealen" in this chapter. I've changed the spelling so that it is pronounced *kee-lynn* The nickname is also Kee :)

Pic of Athena
**

I slowly brushed out my daughter's curly hair, after wetting it to make the bristles detangle it easier. She was sat in front of her mirror, watching me with her green, beautiful eyes while playing with her Barbie Doctor's clothes.

"Daddy? You look sad." She pouted.

I glanced at myself in the mirror, noting my puffy eyes and my downcast demeanor. I barely slept last night, and it showed. I sighed and placed the brush down on the dresser, carefully spinning the chair for her to face me.

"Dawn, listen." I cupped her cheeks and put on my best smile. "I'm okay. Right now, what you went through is my main concern. Your teacher said a horrible thing to you, so Dad and I will make sure she doesn't get away with it."

Her face morphed into a worried expression. "But... I-I don't want her to know I told. Please don't say anything."

"You have nothing to worry about. We'll take care of this, and you were very brave to tell us."

She just nodded as I kissed her forehead. "Okay, let's finish your hair. Your cousin's picking you up for dance."

I turned her chair back around and proceeded to add leave-in conditioner to her locks before putting it in a pretty bun.

"Your curls are beautiful," I complimented her. She smiled brightly at me and I knew that it meant a lot to her. There was a knock on the room door and we both looked toward it. Dani leaned against the frame with a smile.

"Hi, mommy," Dawn greeted, abandoning her doll to go hug her mother.

"Hey, baby. Go on downstairs; breakfast is almost ready."

"Kay-kay."

When she ran out, Dani walked in further then closed the door behind her. I knew instantly that she wanted to talk, and what she wanted to discuss. "Lay it on me," I said.

"I'm sure David told you that we talked about the situation. I don't mean to insert myself—"

"No, he was right. It's bigger than just us two."

She bit her lip then approached me to take my hands. I didn't understand what she was trying to do at first, but she just squeezed them gently as if to say 'I'm here' and that alone sent me into tears. Jesus Christ. I felt like I'd done enough crying to last a lifetime.

"I know you didn't cheat."

"Why doesn't he believe that?" my eyebrows pulled together in a sad expression.

"I think he knows it too. Actually, I think he's hurt over something different, but you know how he bottles in his insecurities. He loves you. He wants to over-analyze this and look at every angle. Just answer his questions as truthfully as possible and it'll blow over in no time."

I sighed. "I'm not some case for him to work on."

"If you really did hide anything from him though, then I'm sorry to say it but the only way he can understand is by digging deeper rather than taking your word for it. You know how he is."

I chewed the inside of my cheek, pushing down the emotions I felt rushing through me. Even though it stung, she was right, as usual.

"He doesn't trust me right now. I kinda get it. I got suspended from work and that's basically how he found out. I should've just been transparent. What was I thinking? I-I don't know what to do. I've loved him for a decade yet I have no idea how to get past this."