𝑳𝒆𝒐𝒏 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅𝒚| ɪᴍᴀɢɪɴᴇꜱ ʙᴏᴏᴋ 2

The Stories Are True

I finish preparing dinner then put it in the oven to cook, all that's left is to wait for mine and Leon's dinner to cook. I embrace the silence for a few minutes, it isn't often that I actually get a few minutes alone without my little girl or husband wanting my attention or help. When a high pitched squeal echoes around the house my closed eyes shoot open, I panic and rush to the bathroom where Leon's currently bathing our little one. I stop just outside the door, shoulders slumping when I hear his fatherly voice.

"...and then the police officer got chased by this massive alligator. Bigger than a bus, with moss all over its back and jaws snapping-" Leon emphasises, clapping his hands together slowly edging towards our girl. She giggles and scoots away in the bath, the bubbles splashing everywhere as Leon chuckles and eventually stops. I smile, leaning against the doorframe still unnoticed.

"What else has the police man fought?" Our daughter asks innocently. Leon smiles at her in silence for a second, as if fighting off that frown he has when he thinks about the past too much.

"Well," Leon begins, a playful grin tilts his lips as he dips his hand under the water. Our daughter has her eyes wide, searching under the bubbles before Leon quickly arches his hand up into the air, water dripping everywhere as he makes a growling kind of noise. "A giant salamander once tried to eat the man, with slippery skin and a mouth so wide it was like a cave."

Our daughter looks amazed, still innocently thinking it's all made up and that her father is the best storyteller. He is, and I think moments like these help him to talk about the horrors without actually talking about them. All the stories are true, but she won't learn that until she's old enough to understand, and considering she's four, that won't be for a while.

"I think if you stay in there any longer you'll end up looking like a salamander." I finally speak, entering the bathroom and kneeling next to Leon, his eyes meet mine and I just know that he knew I was there the whole time. Leon stands, drying his hands and giving our daughter a quick kiss on the head before leaving to take over dinner watch. I help our daughter out of the bath and get her dried and dressed before then putting her to bed.

Or at least I try. She's restless, and refuses to even lie down. I give up in the end, scoping her up and carrying her into the kitchen where Leon's dishing up our food. "Uh, what are you still doing awake sweetie?" Leon softly asks, narrowing his eyes at our girl.

She frowns, mirroring Leon's infamous look, then I set her down where she just crawls to the sofa and sits. Leon and I eat our late dinner before heading to the sofa, settling to watch a Disney movie rather than my choice of film. Our girl crawls onto Leon's lap, cuddling into his chest as he wraps one arm around her and one around me. I too snuggle in, relaxing after a long day.

Eventually a small snore fills the room. I look up to see Leon biting back a laugh, watching our daughter as she sprawls out completely out of it. "She gets that from you." Leon whispers.

I huff, standing as Leon follows. "I do not snore. At least not that badly." Leon just gives me a pointed look as he carries our daughter and carefully tucks her into her bed. We both watch over her for a second, Leon pulls me into his arms and kisses the top of my head in a silent act of love.

"I think you're gonna run out of crazy stories to tell her." I whisper up to Leon as he rubs my back and leads me out.

"I hope so. Maybe then I can start ripping off actual movies." He chuckles.