Everett didn’t give an immediate reply. He knew full well that Dorothy was tipsy. Otherwise, those words would never have slipped past her lips. But he went back anyway and took her hand in his.
"You should be asking when | don't miss you." Dorothy on the bed scrunched her brow, unclear if she even heard him. She turned over, pulling her hand away from his grasp.
Everett stood silently by her bed for a long while before he finally switched off the light and left the room.
Outside, Abigail and Langston were wide-eyed with curiosity.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Why'd you stop playing?" Everett walked over and ruffled their heads affectionately.
"Daddy, did Mommy fall asleep?" "Yep." "So where's Mommy taking us to play tomorrow?" That was typical of Abigail, who was always eager for adventure.
"Where do you wanna go, Abigail?" Everett settled into the couch, naturally lifting his daughter into his arms and gently tousling her curls.
"The candy shop! Mommy promised to buy me a whole bunch of sweets!" Langston put away his laptop and joined them, "Dream on! Mommy always keeps tabs on your sweets. It's not like you don't know that." "But what if Mommy says yes?" Everett couldn't help but give a helpless smile.
His daughter was so easy to please. A few lollipops could lead her anywhere.
"Abigail," Everett's brow furrowing slightly as he thought that over, "if you want something, you come to Daddy. Don't take anything from strangers, okay? You tell them your daddy will buy it for you." He had to instill this lesson early to prevent his little girl from being lured away by some boy with candy in the future.
Abigail, oblivious to the deeper meaning, clapped her hands in glee. "Okay, okay! | love you, Daddy!" she exclaimed. She hugged his neck and planted several smooches on it.
"Alright, bedtime for you both! It's late." He rose from the couch, one arm holding Abigail, the other scooping up his son.
"Just a little longer!" "No can do! You need to sleep early tonight. Daddy still has to take care of Mommy. She's alone in her room, and I'm worried." "Oh, alright then." Whenever Everett had time, he'd be the one to tuck the kids into bed.
But tonight was different. His concern for Dorothy was too strong, so after making sure the children were snug under their covers, he left the nursery.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHe gently pushed open the guest bedroom door and peered towards the bed, guided by the faint nightlight.
It was empty! He immediately strode over, flung back the covers and confirmed it: no Dorothy.
Panic-stricken, he dashed to the bathroom and found her dozing off on the toilet seat. He had no idea how long she'd been there. But seeing that she didn't throw up in the toilet, Everett carefully lifted her, wiped her mouth, and placed her back into bed.
How could he leave her like this? With a heavy sigh, Everett grabbed his laptop from the master bedroom and set up a makeshift workspace at the desk.
Sleep was out of the question; he might as well tackle the jet lag head-on.
He was grateful to have returned to Eldorria City that day. After settling the kids, he had headed to Dorothy's apartment, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.
The place was dark, and his gut told him something was off.
A call to his company's staff revealed that the fourth project team had a team dinner that day.
Everett shuddered to think what might have happened to Dorothy if he hadn't shown up.