Chapter Three
1110 Words
Valentine's POV
When morning came, I woke at around ten, showered and got dressed in jeans and a white t-shirt.
I woke Jon up and he took a bath before I got him dressed and set him up on his bed.
"Okay, Jon, I need to talk to you about something."
"What, daddy?" I smiled.
"Well, while you were sleeping last night, something happened and I found out that I have a daughter, your sister." He instantly brightened up and showed off his pearly white teeth.
"I have a sister?!" I laughed and shushed him.
"Quiet down, she's sleeping in one of the guest rooms."
"When can I meet her? What's her name? How old is she?"
"Her name is Clary, she's three years old and you can meet her later when she wakes up."
A loud thump sounded down the hall and I stood up from Jon's bed, running into the guest room, seeing Clary laughing on the floor with the blanket wrapped around her.
"Clary? Sweetie, are you okay?" I asked and she looked up at me, her laughs fading.
She nodded and I leaned down, picking her up and laying her back down in bed.
"Are you ready to get up?" She nodded and sat up, wincing and holding onto her stomach. "I'll get your pain meds, don't move." I hurried downstairs and grabbed the multiple bottles of pills and a cup of water before returning to the room.
Jonathan was sat in front of her, talking to her about pointless things. She looked to me when I got out the six pills.
"Okay, so just tilt your head back-" She shook her head and held out her hand, so I handed her the pills and the water.
She took them two at a time and chased it each time with the water before handing me back the almost empty cup.
"Not your first time taking a pill?" She shook her head and looked down at her lap. "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" She shook her head again. "Want a bath?" The front door opened and closed and I sighed when she gave no response. "I'll be back in a minute."
I walked out of the room and downstairs, Maryse and Robert walked in.
"Hey, Val. She awake?" I nodded to Maryse.
"Yeah, sitting upstairs with Jon. She just took her meds, but I think she'd actually answer things if you talked to her." She nodded. "Maybe, ask her if she wants a bath. I tried that, but she didn't seem interested in me helping her bathe."
"I'll take care of it." I sighed and let her walk upstairs.
"You okay?" I chuckled at Robert's question.
"f**k no, I need a beer." I sat down on the couch. "I just want to hug her, or have her lay with me like Jon does, but she seems f*****g scared shitless of me. I can't even hold my own daughter."
"That'll change." Elaine walked in with a little brown haired boy holding her hand.
"Can I go see Clare now?" Elaine looked to me at the boy's question.
"Yes, she's upstairs." He ran up the stairs as quickly as he could.
"Look, Clary has trust issues, given the circumstances, it's understandable. But, she trusts me and she listens to me, so I'm going to try and talk you up."
"Thank you."
"But, you have to do certain things to make her feel comfortable."
"Like what? I'll do anything."
"No alcohol in front of her, she's like a bloodhound, she can smell it and if you smell like beer, it'll change any good feelings she has about you to bad. No yelling, try to refrain from anything as loud as a jackhammer."
"Okay, hide the beer, no loud noises. Got it."
"Alright, I'm going upstairs." I nodded and walked to the kitchen, starting on breakfast for everyone.
About an hour later, I had finished making bacon, eggs, sausage and pancakes.
"Breakfast!" I yelled and made plates for everyone before setting them out on the table.
I sat at the head of the table, while Jon sat to my right and Elaine held Clary in her lap in the seat to my left.
Clary every once and a while would glance up at me, but when I looked at her, she'd stare at her plate.
Her hair was still wet from her bath, which made her hair a darker shade of red.
"Clary, sweetie, aren't you gonna eat?" Elaine asked and my little girl looked up at me before extending her arms towards me.
"You want me to hold you?" She nodded and I smiled, carefully picking her up and setting her in my lap, moving her plate next to mine.
She began eating and I kept my hand on her back to keep her from falling off of my lap.
"Can we watch a movie?" Jon asked and I shrugged.
"Sure, after breakfast. What do you want to watch?"
"Cars?" I laughed. He's made me watch that movie so many times, I can recite the f*****g words.
"Okay. That okay with you, Clary?" She nodded and took a bite of her sausage before scrunching her face up in disgust.
I chuckled and raised a napkin to her mouth, letting her spit it out and move onto the pancakes.
When everyone finished, they retreated into the living room whilst I washed the dishes.
"Val, Clary wants to sit in here with you." Maryse walked in, Clary on her hip.
"Sure thing." I dried off my hands and took her from Maryse, setting her up on the counter to my right as I continued washing dishes.
"You're my- daddy?" She asked and I nodded, smiling at her wide and curious green eyes.
"Yes, I am. That's the first time you've talked to me."
"Don't- like men. Bad men." I sighed and nodded.
"I understand. Why did you decide to talk to me?"
"Laine." I smiled and nodded.
"What did she tell you?"
"You're- good guy. Not bad. You- love me." I put the dishes away and stopped in front of her.
"I do love you, Clary. More than you know." She smiled slightly and leaned forward, kissing my cheek.
When she pulled back, I kissed her forehead. "Watch movie now?" I nodded and picked her up, walking back to the living room and sitting down with her in my lap.
She leaned back against my chest and drank from the sippy cup I had previously filled up with apple juice.
Jon snuggled into my side and I wrapped my arm around him.
God, do I love my beautiful family......
- Writer
