Page 62 of Daddy's Little Cupcake

Charlotte nodded and took her head off of his shoulder.

“Do you have anything for your little that you want before we leave your house?” he asked.

She thought about it for a second but couldn’t think of anything.

“I d-don’t know,” she whispered.

Daddy rubbed her back. “It’s okay. If you forget anything, we can come back and grab it.”

Charlotte nodded her head and relaxed in his embrace.

“Okay,” he whispered. “We’re going to have a sleepover at my house for a couple of days. We’re going to get you all better. We don’t want you feeling icky any more, and I’m going to take care of you and make you all better.”

Snuggled in his embrace, Charlotte relaxed fully as he walked out of the house with her bag of things. Her hold on Moody was tight as they walked through the dark because she was scared and her eyes were closed.

“It’s okay,” Daddy softly spoke to her. “You’re okay. We’re almost out of the house. Daddy’s got you.”

The breeze brushed against her skin as they stepped outside.

“We’re outside now. You can open your eyes,” he said.

Charlotte didn’t open her eyes though. The exhaustion had seeped into her body as she relaxed into her Daddy’s embrace.

“Tired,” she mumbled as her head rested on his shoulder.

He gently placed her into his car seat and buckled her in.

“Daddy’s going to need to get you a booster seat,” he said and kissed her on her forehead.

“Nooo,” she whined.

Finn chuckled but didn’t say anything. “You can sleep now. I’ll carry you into my house.”

Snuggled into the car seat, Charlotte held Moody close to her and fell asleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

FINN

Finn didn't know what to think as he drove them back to his house. There were so many alarms that went off in his head as he walked through her house and talked to her more.

He knew she was definitely sick. Charlotte had kept zoning in an out, not understanding, scratchy voice, hot and shivering, and not moving fast at all. He had her in his arms the whole time, but when she moved her head to his shoulder and off his shoulder, it was slow like she was in pain.

How had she gotten sick? Why was she so exhausted? Why did her electric and water get turned off? Why did she stay outside and wait for him?

So many thoughts ran through his head that he started to feel a headache form. The pressure built up, and he knew when he got home that he was going to have to take medicine. But first he needed to make sure that Charlotte was okay.

She always came first.

He didn't like that she waited this long to call him. It had been hours since they had gotten off the phone, and that's when the water and electricity turned off.

Hours of her being in the dark when she was afraid. Hours of her getting sicker and not being taken care of.

Finn wanted to beat himself up for it. Maybe he could have Marco spar with him soon, and Marco could beat the shit out of him. He needed it because he had done a bad job of taking care of Charlotte. He let so many things slip because he didn't want to overwhelm her and scare her off, but he knew he made a mistake.

He should've gone with his gut and pushed a little harder, gotten her to allow her to come over before she fell asleep so he could take care of her.

Finn knew for next time. Well, there wasn't going to be a next time if he could help it. Charlotte wasn't going to go through this again, and he promised himself that.

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