Walking Fragile Lines

I Should've Known

Brian's promise seemed like a distant memory to Liv now as things returned to the way they were before they had gone on vacation. She knew it wasn't his fault, the network were really bugging the guys, but she just felt sad. She couldn't see a way for them to have the time they wanted without one of them retiring, and that was, of course, something she wanted neither of them to do. Still, she carried on the best she could, supporting him as she always did and trying to remain positive.

Late one night, Brian was away for a couple of days doing some shows he had agreed to in Pennsylvania and Liv had settled down for the night.

"Mom? Mommy?", a small voice caused her to stir in her sleep. Liv's eyes flittered open as she blindly reached out to her bedside lamp, switching it on to reveal Maci stood by her bed.

"What's the matter sweetie?", she asked sleepily as she propped herself up on her elbow.

"I - uh - I had another nightmare", Maci said shyly. It may have been a little strange, but this had been a relief to Liv. This had been the first time Maci had come in to her when she had had a nightmare instead of trying to stay awake all night - this was progress. Without a second thought, Liv lifted her duvet and patted Brian's empty side of the bed.

"C'mon bunny", she invited her. Maci crawled onto the bed beside her mother, instantly becoming the little spoon as Liv began to softly play with her hair. "So, are you ready to tell me what the nightmares are about?", she dared to ask. Liv heard Maci sigh as she shifted a little in her embrace.

"Some girls at school", she admitted quietly.

"Okay. And - what do they do? In your nightmares", Liv probed further, hoping she wasn't pushing her too much.

"They - they tease me, and hit me, and push me", Maci continued. Liv felt a pang right in her heart as she braced herself for the next question she was about to ask.

"Do these girls do that to you in real life?", she asked. Liv's whole body ached when Maci nodded her head. Maci was being bullied. Now everything suddenly made sense to Liv. Maci had gone from talking about school all the time to refusing to talk about her day at all and of course the nightmares would affect her so much because they were more than just nightmares for her - they were a reality. "Oh sweetie", Liv spoke softly as she held her daughter a little tighter, wishing that a hug could make this all go away, but she had to think realistically. "I know this is hard but - but I need you to tell me who these girls are", she told her. Maci quickly shook her head as Liv watched her trying so desperately to hold back tears. Liv gently caressed her cheek with her thumb as she sighed. "Y'know - I was bullied too when I was your age", she suddenly said. Maci slowly shifted so that she could face her mother, looking up at her.

"Really?", she asked. Liv nodded as she pushed her daughter's hair back behind her ear. "What - what did you do?", she asked further.

"I did lots of things - I tried to stand up for myself. Tried to ignore them. Tried to reason with them - but none of that worked", she told her honestly.

"What did you do after that?", Maci probed further.

"Well, I told my mom", she said, squeezing her slightly. "And then me and my mom went and talked to my principle at school", she continued simply.

"And - and they left you alone?", Maci questioned. Liv nodded as she smiled warmly.

"I know what people say about tattletales but sometimes? - Sometimes you have to tattletale when someone is doing something wrong or mean", she told her, sighing as she returned to playing with her daughter's hair. "People can't help if you don't talk bunny", she finished as she placed a gentle kiss against her forehead. There was a comfortable silence for a moment as Liv just held Maci in her arms, just like when she was a baby, and for a second Liv thought maybe she had fallen asleep until she heard her sigh.