Forever and Always

Chapter 23 - Daycare

"Well, now that that's over with," Levi snapped at Isabel and Farlan. "How was the wedding, Mr. and Mrs. Magnolia-Church?"

"It was awesome!" Farlan gushed. "But, personally, I preferred the honeymoon."

"I bet," Levi answered, his eyes quickly meeting Isabel's.

"Gross!" Isabel griped, sticking her tongue out childishly. "Guys are nasty. Okay, but I have to get to work." She stood, offering her arm to her husband jokingly. "Shall we?"

"For sure," Farlan nodded, fishing his car keys out of his pocket and heading for the front door. "See you two in a bit. Sorry again, guys."

"It's fine, see you later," I called after him waving slowly. In fairness, I understood why something like that would happen, so I wasn't too mad. It wasn't like Levi had done anything, I justified, trying not to freak out. The door shut behind the couple and Levi turned to me.

"You took that well," Levi said suspiciously.

"I mean, yeah. If I were Farlan, I probably would have done the same thing," I said calmly, even though my brain was having a full on meltdown.

"Are you sure you're okay? We could probably stay at a hotel-"

"No. I'm okay," I murmured. "Let's go get Poppy."

"Look who's avoiding things now?" Levi smirked, taking my hand and starting for the door just like Isabel and Farlan had done moments earlier. He unlocked Isabel's car and we climbed in. He texted her for directions to Poppy's daycare, which she responded with almost instantly. He started the engine and took my hand again, backing out of their driveway. "But yeah. I guess we need to have a brief conversation. I am so sorry about Farlan. I didn't think he would do something like that. It had been long enough that I thought he was over it. He told me he was in love with me the night he and Isabel left for Colorado. I was their ride to the airport, and Farlan pulled me aside while Isabel was putting Poppy in her car seat and told me he loved me. Clearly, he isn't quite over that. You should know that the only love I feel for him is platonic. All romantic feelings have faded, but still, I'm so sorry. You shouldn't be caught in the middle of all this relationship drama."

"I-it's fine," I stammered, squeezing my fiancee's hand, feeling instantly more secure. He smiled a sad smile at me as he continued driving. "Let's go get your baby."

"Yeah."

The rest of the drive was silent, save for the GPS speaker every mile or so that Levi drove. Finally, we pulled up to a blue stucco building with various sea creatures painted on it. Odd choice for a daycare in Colorado, but I moved on. Levi found a parking place and pulled in before cutting the engine. I unbuckled and reached for the door handle.

"Wait. Just a sec. I need a second," Levi said, looking down at his marked up wrists. There wasn't anything new; there hadn't been since North Carolina. He took a deep breath and looked up with me, pure fear in his crystal eyes. "I can't do this. Eren, I can't." He looked away again, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Why not?" I asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"Dads don't do this kinda shit, Eren." Levi pointed to the thin white scars that were slowly fading from his arm. He was breathing hard, on the point of hyperventilating. "I'm a fucked up parent. I drink, I smoke, I do drugs. No kid should have a parent like me. I'm a bad example for her. What the fuck was I thinking? I-"

"Shut up, Levi!" I snapped, angry at him for thinking things like that about himself. Lowering my voice, I spoke again. "You're not a shitty parent. Most kids your age wouldn't give the girl or the kid a second thought. Most guys would leave Isabel all alone and Poppy fatherless. The fact that you stepped up at fifteen speaks volumes. And you don't do any of that shit anymore. You're so  wonderful, and Poppy absolutely idolizes you. You'll do fine. You can do this, Levi."

"What if I let her down?" He choked.

"News flash: Parents let their kids down sometimes. Big whoop. But guess what? You couldn't let her down if you tried. You could be an actual serial killer and she'd still think you were God Himself. That being said, please don't be a serial killer. No robbing banks or killing Popes, either. I don't wanna visit you in prison. I doubt they'd give you conjugal visits if you killed the Pope. What I'm saying, Levi, is that you're gonna do fine, and I'll be right here the whole time, by your side, right next to you forever." I pulled him in for a quick kiss before we climbed out of the car. Levi clung to my arm as we walked towards the entrance. I held the door open for him as we stepped inside. There was a sort of receptionist's desk next to a door that I assumed led to the rest of the daycare.

Levi approached the receptionist with a false bravado and I followed closely behind him. "Levi Ackerman here to pick up Poppy Ackerman. My daughter."

"Poppy's father is absent. He doesn't even live in the state, and you don't look like her stepfather at all." 

"Cuz I'm not her stepfather. And I don't live in the state."

The receptionist eyed him skeptically. "Can I see some I.D.? You look a little young as well," she remarked. Levi nodded, unable to suppress the eye roll. He grabbed his wallet from his pocket and slid her his driver's liscense. She squinted at it before handing it back.

"I am a little young," Levi snapped. "She was born when I was fifteen." The woman's eyes widened.

"Well, you look, uh ill-equipped, in any matter," she said gesturing towards Levi's hand in mine. Levi and I both were about to explode. "I'll have to call her mother."

"Jesus, fuck," Levi cursed as the woman dialed Isabel's number.

"Hello Mrs. Magnolia Church, it's Jeanette with Kiddie Cove Daycare, and we just had two guys come in, one of them claiming to be Poppy's father. He looks a little sketchy though. Yeah short, black hair. Lots of piercings. Pentagram on his hoodie. The boy with him is actually kinda cute, brown hair, green eyes, surfer dude vibe." There was an abrupt pause, like Isabel had interrupted her. "Oh? Really? Okay. I'll give her over to them. Sorry to bother you. Have a good day." Jeanette hung up the phone and looked at us, utter defeat in her eyes. "Right this way," she sighed, opening the door for us into the play area. I started scanning the area for a small, female version of Levi.

"Don't touch anything, Love. Toddlers are disgusting," Levi shuddered. "Do you know how many germs?"

I nodded, appeasing Levi's neurotic germophobia, knowing myself how disgusting toddlers were.

Levi let out a small gasp when he saw his daughter. I followed his gaze to see a small girl playing alone in a corner with a few blocks. He was speechless. We both were. Luckily, feeling the gaze of three adults on her, Poppy looked up on her own. She stared for a second before her eyes grew to the size of saucers. Immediately, she dropped her blocks, accidentally knocking over her tower as she darted towards us. She vaulted over a large stuffed bear in the center of the room with the agility of a cat, a grin now dimpling her face and crinkling her dainty nose.

"Daddy!" She squealed, still running. Levi let my hand go and dropped to his knees as Poppy collided with him, clinging to him like her life depended on it. "You're really here!"

"I am, baby," Levi said, his voice cracking. "I'm right here."

"I love you so much! I'm never gonna let you go!" Poppy sobbed, locking her arms and legs desperately around her father.

"I'm never gonna let you go," Levi whispered through tears.

"I thought she was mute," the receptionist whispered. I shook my head at her, looking down at my future stepdaughter and squeezing Levi's shoulder comfortingly.

"And Eren, too!" She exclaimed, very quickly waving at me before returning her arm back around Levi's neck. I waved back and she smiled a pretty white smile.

"Yeah! Eren's here, too," Levi agreed, tears streaming down his face. "You wanna go home?"

"Yeah!" Poppy affirmed, bouncing up and down in Levi's arms as he stood, taking my hand and shooting a final glare at the receptionist before carrying Poppy out of the building.