Yours Truly

Chapter 34

"Ow," Mia whispered as she sniffled and shifted just a tiny bit to sit in her daddy's lap more comfortably.

"Are you ready for a bath, Darling?" Owen asked as he just waited patiently. "Ready to leave the attic?"

"No," she whispered. "No move."

"You don't have to move," he said softly as he kissed her hair. "I'll carry you."

"Kay," she breathed against his neck. She hiccupped then whimpered as her body screamed at the sudden movement.

"We'll get you fixed up, Darling, I promise," Owen said as he carefully carried her down the stairs. "Let's get you in a nice warm bath, it'll feel good on your skin." She barely kissed his neck to let him know she heard him. "Is it ready, Mr. Coleman?"

She immediately tensed up, "It's ready, Mr. B," Gabe's voice came from another room. "Bubbles and lots of lavender to help with relaxation."

"Thank you, Mr. Coleman," Owen said as he pressed Mia into his hold while he opened the bathroom door. "Look, Darling."

Mia carefully slid out of Owen's hold and gasp softly seeing the candles carefully placed around the counter, a tub full of bubbles, and Owen's music softly playing out of the speaker. "Pretty."

"Come on, let's get you in the bath," he said as he slowly slid her shirt up. Once she was in the tub he stripped and got in behind her. She leaned back against him and sighed softly as she relaxed even more into his hold. "Better, Darling?"

"Much," she whispered as she looked up at him. He kissed her forehead and she hummed in content. "Love you, Daddy."

"I love you more, Darling," he said, giving her that special smile she loved so much. "You are my girl, my heart, my life. You are mine."

"I'm yours," she instantly replied with a soft peaceful smile on her face. "Forever."

"Yes you are," he continued to smile as he tightened his grip on her.

She sighed softly, "I'm sorry I ran, Owen. It just happened, I didn't even realize I had until I was on the road. I called you as soon as I got here. I didn't mean to, I promise."

"I know, Mia, I know," he said soothingly. "I know Mr. Coleman's perspective, so why don't you tell me yours to get it out of your mind and then I can tell you what happened to help you move past this moment? I am very proud of you though for calling me as soon as you did, extremely proud of you."

"Thank you, Daddy," she smiled as she pulled out of his hold to turn and face him. "I was making a grilled cheese since I was hungry and just as I put it together some of the bread tore causing some cheese to spill out onto the pan and start burning. Just as that happened he came into the kitchen screaming horrible things and all those memories came rushing back." Tears filled her eyes, "I just had to get away from all the screaming, I didn't want to be in trouble. I didn't mean to mess up the sandwich, it just happened. The voices wouldn't go away, even here they were still yelling at me. Why won't they leave me alone? I just wanted it to stop."

"Oh Darling," he whispered as he pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry. I wish they would leave you alone but you are getting better at overcoming them. And you did call me for help as soon as you realized what was happening. That is a big improvement for you." She hugged him tighter, "come on, let's get cleaned up then I want Mr. Coleman to tell you what happened so you can hear from him how it was a big misunderstanding, okay?"

"Okay," she whispered. "Not leave me?"

"Never," he shook his head as he picked up the cup and started rinsing the bubbles off her skin.

After they were cleaned up and in dry clothes, towel dried her hair then kissed her nose, making her giggle as she hugged him. He picked her up and held her as he carried her into the living room.

"Oy, I'm so fucking sorry, Doc," Gabe said getting up off the couch to rush over to them.

"She knows it was a misunderstanding, Mr. Coleman," Owen said as he walked over to the couch. "Let us sit down, then you will tell her what happened and then she will tell you what triggered everything. Open communication will help the both of you."

"I was making a grilled cheese," she said, feeling Owen's hands wrap around her stomach as she rested her head on his chest. "Just as I put it together a piece of the bread broke making the cheese spill onto the pan and start to burn. When you started venting, it triggered me getting yelled at and punished for ruining food. I had to get away before I got in more trouble." She shook her head, "I didn't even realize I had left until I found myself driving on the road. I apologize–"

"You have nothing to fucking be sorry for," Gabe shook his head. "It's my fault you ran. I'm fucking sorry for startling you. I was just mad because my brand new fucking machine for my shirts wasn't fucking working right. It ruined multiple shirts despite me fucking following the goddamn instructions and looking up fucking videos online. I was just livid and trying to get it out of my goddamn system. If I had known you were in the kitchen I would have just kept my fucking mouth shut. I'm so fucking sorry, Doc."

She looked at Owen who nodded then got off his lap and hugged Gabe. Owen let slip a small smile which Sean made sure to capture on his phone.