[ In these strong, secure arms, something buried in her mind from a time when she was half-delirious with pain surfaces, bubbling up like a breadcrumb in the water. Daddy, she'd said, broken and desperate, back slick with blood. You've...never...carried me before...
That's not true anymore. There's a lifetime of this man, holding her in his arms, rocking her to sleep and giving her piggyback rides. Taking her up to bed when she got too tired to walk, wiping away her tears when she sprained her ankle. It's overwhelming, how much that faรงade— that beautiful and horrible illusion, it leaves her just as desperate as she'd been with her back ripped open by the lake that day. ]
D-dad... [ She chokes it out into his chest, terrified. What if he rejects that? It wasn't...real, so what if he pushes her away? If he does, she has to know now. She has to let herself be torn to pieces before she gets too attached. ] Daddy, I—
[ Please. Please, don't take this away from her too. ]
cw: body horror mentions
That's not true anymore. There's a lifetime of this man, holding her in his arms, rocking her to sleep and giving her piggyback rides. Taking her up to bed when she got too tired to walk, wiping away her tears when she sprained her ankle. It's overwhelming, how much that faรงade— that beautiful and horrible illusion, it leaves her just as desperate as she'd been with her back ripped open by the lake that day. ]
D-dad... [ She chokes it out into his chest, terrified. What if he rejects that? It wasn't...real, so what if he pushes her away? If he does, she has to know now. She has to let herself be torn to pieces before she gets too attached. ] Daddy, I—
[ Please. Please, don't take this away from her too. ]