Their Little Heart

Scary Man

One phone call and many cookies later, Nadia found herself cozily tucked into bed, a pillow propping up her injured foot.

The girl was definitely tired, evident by the yawns she kept producing, but for some reason she couldn't fall asleep.

All she could think about were the two men currently housing her.

She knew she really liked them, for they had been nothing but kind to her, but she worried about how they felt about her. All she had done so far was cause trouble, and while they never seemed too upset, she could never be sure.

Her momma had been that way; nice one second, but then completely and utterly upset the next. It was all she knew, and until she met Margaret she probably would have assumed all people were like that.

The girl had done her best to be obedient, always doing as the men said. She couldn't help but be anxious about her behavior over the last few days, however.

It seemed as though she would forget herself, and just do and say things without much thought. That was a very dangerous game to play around men that she didn't completely trust.

All the worries were keeping the girl awake, thoughts running wild without the distraction of daytime. As she picked and prodded at her mannerisms and those of the men, which only caused her anxiety to grow, she started to feel slightly fuzzy.

Her thoughts became muddled as she chewed her fingers nervously, not understanding what she was feeling, but knowing that she didn't feel safe.

Safe.

She knew who could make her feel safe...

But she didn't want to be more of a burden. They had put her to bed, most likely intending for her to stay there.

The girl felt tears prick her eyes, feeling completely lost and frustrated, just wanting someone to hold her, but also not wanting to upset the men.

The need to be comforted got the better of her, as she stumbled out of bed on unsteady legs, wiping the tears that had fallen.

Limping toward the door, she could faintly hear the men still talking in the living room.

When she finally made her way there, pain shooting up her right leg, she saw the men sitting near each other on the sectional, glasses of amber liquid on the table.

Will was the first one to spot her hobbling figure, eyebrows pinching in concern when he saw the faint tear tracks.

"Sweetheart? What's the matter? Does it hurt?"

Her breath hitched at hearing his deep, silky smooth voice. She felt even more fuzzy, more tears falling down her flushed cheeks.

Nadia scanned his figure. He was big and strong and muscly.

He looked safe.

Still not saying a word, she limped her way over to the two men, who were now both trying to figure out what was wrong, and plopped herself down onto Will's lap.

Letting out an oomph in surprise, the man immediately wrapped his arms around the girl.

"Baby, tell us what's wrong. You're scaring us." Luke demanded gently, getting frustrated with not knowing how to help the precious girl.

Burying her face into Will's warm neck, she muttered, "I couldn't sleep," through a bout of sniffled and hiccups.

The tattooed man began stroking her hair, and rocking her slightly.

He had been surprised to see the small girl hobbling into the living room, and even more surprised when she decided to sit on his lap.

He played it off well, immediately going into comforting mode when he saw how upset she was.