Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 262(@200wpm)___ 209(@250wpm)___ 174(@300wpm)
He spent months working through exposure therapy with his psychiatrist and Daniel to get to a place where he's comfortable chasing imaginary monsters out of our daughter's closet. He won't step inside and close the door—I don't think he'll ever get to that point. But he doesn't avoid them anymore. He hangs his clothes in our closet, and he's able to step inside and grab what he needs. So long as the door stays open and the lights stay on, he can breathe. And he teaches our daughter to face the things that scare her. He faces them with her.
"You go, Daddy," Corbin says, hiding her face against my throat. "I don't wanna."
Brantley chuckles, pressing a kiss to my shoulder before he climbs from the bed. "You know you've gotta go with me, baby girl. I can't fight monsters without my partner." He holds his arms out to her. "Kiss your mama and crawl up here."
"Bye, Mama," she says, pouting. "I'm going to get eating by monsters."
I chuckle, brushing my lips across her forehead. "I bet your daddy won't let that happen. He loves you too much."
She huffs, reluctantly holding her arms out for him to scoop her up. He tucks her carefully against his bare chest, brushing his lips across her crown when she lays her head against his shoulder.
"I'll be back, little bird," he murmurs to me, winking.
"Love you." I close my eyes as they cross the room, heading for the hall.
"We're going to get eaten, Daddy," Corbin tells him as they pass through the door.
"What'd I tell you, baby girl?" he asks, his voice a gentle rumble. "Monsters will never get you so long as I'm here."
My heart threatens to burst in my chest as I listen to them murmur back and forth. We never tell her that monsters aren't real. Kids never believe that, and we both know it's not true. There are monsters in this world. There will always be monsters in this world. But they'll never be more powerful than goodness. They'll never snuff out the light. And we'll always be stronger. Those are the lessons we teach her.
We learned them in ways no child should. It's not the same for her and never will be. She'll never know what it's like to not be wanted by a parent or to be hurt by one. She'll never know any of the pain Brantley experienced or the confusion I did. She knows love, every damn day. And so will her baby brother.
"Get outta my cwoset!" she cries from her bedroom, her little voice carrying down the hall. "My daddy said you hab to leave!"
I chuckle, shaking my head as they bang around in her room for a few minutes, scaring the monsters away. And then they fall silent.
A few seconds later, I hear her little feet racing down the hall. Of course he didn't put her back in her bed. He never does. He chases the monsters away and then gives her exactly what she wanted in the first place. He isn't capable of telling her no.
"Mama! Mama!" she cries, scrambling back up on the bed with me. "The monsters are gone. We scareded them away."
"Good job, baby girl," I whisper, my eyes fluttering open to find Brantley standing in the doorway, grinning at us. "Are you ready to sleep now?"
"Uh-huh," she whispers, snuggling up against me again.
"In your bed?"
Her face falls into a pout.
Brantley pushes the door closed, strolling toward us. "I told her that she could sleep with us tonight," he murmurs. "But she has to sleep in her bed tomorrow."
"Uh-huh," I say.
"I'll sleep in my room amarrow, Mama," she says, putting her little cold feet against me. "Pwomise."
"You know we aren't going to love you any less when the baby gets here, right, Corbin?" I ask, brushing my fingers through her hair. "Your daddy will still scare monsters with you. I'll still bake cookies with you. You'll still be our favorite girl. You'll just have a little brother who loves you just as much as we do, too."
"I know, Mama."
Brantley crawls into bed with us, adjusting the blankets over us. "Your little brother is going to love you like crazy, baby girl."
"How do you know?" she asks, her voice small.
"Because you're just like your mama." He runs a hand down my hip, squeezing. "It's impossible not to love you."
"Oh," she whispers, yawning.
I press a kiss to her porcelain cheek. "Sleep, sweet girl."
Her eyes flutter closed. Within minutes, she's out cold.
Brantley presses up against my back, his lips against the back of my neck. "She isn't worried about being replaced," he murmurs. "She's worried the baby won't like her."
"Of course the baby will love her," I whisper, staring down at her.
"She'll figure it out as soon as he gets here," Brantley says with a chuckle. "But she's nervous. She's never been a big sister before. She doesn't want to mess it up. And you're her person. You make her feel like things aren't so scary. Sometimes, she just needs you to hold her. You're damn good at that, little bird. Everything feels a helluva lot less overwhelming in your arms."