Page 65 of Daddy's Little Survivor

Monroe hadn't thought about that. What if shewasfeeling the same way?

She hadn't had a friend in a while, and she was nervous about it. What if she was a bad friend? What if she didn't know how to interact with her? There were so many what ifs and she started to get overwhelmed.

“Let's make a deal,” Daddy said. “How about we go in and if after a couple of minutes, you want to go home, we can go home, but if you want to stay, then we can stay. Does that sound okay?”

She looked down at her hands and thought for a second.

“Will she be hurt if we go home? I don't want to hurt her feelings but what if I get too overwhelmed and just can't handle it?” she asked.

There had been several moments in her life in high school where somebody had insisted she do things and she had been unable to refuse or back out even when she became overwhelmed. She’d had to push through her feelings several times and it had always made her feel exhausted for days after.

“She may be sad, but that’s okay. I don’t want you to push through it so if you get overwhelmed and you can’t handle it, you let me know and we’ll go home. Charlotte will understand because she’s quite shy and has had to leave some things early,” Daddy explained.

“Okay,” she whispered. “I think I’m ready. Well, I don’t think I’mreadyready, but I don’t think I’ll ever be really ready to do this.”

“My brave Little Bunny,” he said. “Come give me a hug and then we’ll go knock on the door.”

Daddy opened his arms and she flew into them, loving every second of having them around her. She felt like she could conquer the world when he gave her a hug.

“Okay, ready?” he asked.

She stepped back and waited for him to stand up. A groan escaped his lips as he came to his full height, gripping one of his knees.

“Oh, no! Your knees! Are they okay? Do they need to be kissed to be better?” she rushed out.

She had completely forgotten that he had been on his knees this whole time. No doubt they hurt right now since the ground was super-duper hard.

“Daddy’s okay. He just forgets he’s not twenty anymore and can’t do the same things as when he was,” he said, kissing her forehead.

“How old are you?” she whispered. Her eyes went wide and her hand flew to her mouth. “I’m sorry! Don’t answer that!”

With her hand over her mouth, it sounded muffled and blurred together.

“Don’t worry, Bunny. I’m thirty-eight,” he told her. “Not old but not all that young, either.”

“I’m twenty-seven,” she responded.

She felt like it was the least she could do since she asked what his age was. How rude of her to have asked that question.

“Alright, ready to go and meet Charlotte and Finn?” he asked.

She nodded her head and they walked up to the door, Daddy pressing the doorbell. The door opened quickly and arms flew around her, throwing her off balance. She might have fallen if it hadn’t been for her Daddy standing behind her.

“Whoa,” he said.

Monroe stood rigid, not knowing what to do.

“Charlotte! I told you not to open the door without looking to see who it was through the peephole!” a man yelled. “You’re in trouble! This is the fourth time I’ve had to tell you this week and the fourth time you’ll be getting punished for it.”

Monroe didn’t know what to do but stare at the angry man coming toward them with wide eyes. He sounded really mad and she didn't really understand why.

Charlotte let go of her and took a step back.

“I'm so sorry. I was so excited to meet you that I just couldn't contain myself,” she rushed out. “Hi, I'm Charlotte.”

Monroe grabbed her Daddy's arm and hugged it, overwhelmed with everything going on. Daddy squeezed her arm and she looked up at him. He gave her an encouraging smile and she took a deep breath before she looked back at Charlotte and waved.

“Hi,” she whispered.

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