Page 35 of Savage

“What did I tell you to do if you had to go potty, little girl?”

“Ummm… I don’t remember.”

“I think you do remember. Try again, and don’t lie to Daddy.”

“You said to lets you know, and you’d take me. I no need you to take me. I’s a big girl.”

“You are a big girl; you are Daddy’s big girl. But you are also my little girl. Daddy has rules for a reason.”

“I don’t want no rules.”

“What you want and what you need are two different things, little girl. You need rules.”

“Nope. I don’t.”

“Not open for debate.” Savage raised an eyebrow. "What did we say about following rules?"

Savannah's pout deepened, but she nodded. "That good girls follow rules," she recited.

"That's right," Savage said, his voice firmer now. "And?”

“And good girls break rules when they are being naughty, but theys still good girls.” She could barely recognize herself as she spoke. She was definitely embracing her little head on.

“And what happens to little girls who don't follow rules?"

Savannah squirmed under his gaze. "They... they get punished?"

Savage nodded solemnly. "Wipe your bottom and then five minutes in the corner, princess. I’m going to set this egg timer on the dresser. When it goes off, you can come back to the living room and try again."

As Savannah trudged to the corner, she felt a confusing mix of emotions. Part of her bristled at being told what to do, but another part – a growing part – felt oddly comforted by the structure, the clear expectations that Savage, her Daddy, laid out for her. One thing was for sure, she hated corner time. It had to be the absolute most boring punishment in the entire room. And five minutes? Felt like an hour. Or two. Or maybe ten hours. The time dragged on so slowly with the tick, tick, tick of the stupid egg timer. She was tempted to run over to the dresser, pick it up and move it forward a few minutes. He’d never know. He was in the other room. But, deep down, she knew he would know. Daddy seemed to know everything. So, she decided to be a goodgirl and stand there, bored out of her ever-loving mind. Finally, a loud ding pierced the air, and she hurried back into the living room.

“Good girl,” Savage told her. “What did you learn from your timeout?”

“That corner time is the mostest boring punishment in the entire world.”

Savage chuckled. “That’s not what you were supposed to learn. What did you learn about rules?”

“That they are dumb, but I have to follow them, so I don’t get bored.”

“Savannah!” She heard the warning in his tone.

“Is just joking, Daddy. I learned I’s supposed to follow them.”

She sat back down on the floor, picked up her purple crayon and resumed coloring her picture. "Look, Daddy!" she exclaimed, holding up her finished masterpiece. "I stayed in the lines this time!"

Savage's lips curled into a big smile. "That's my good girl," he praised. "You did a beautiful job, princess. Let's put it on the fridge."

Savannah beamed at him, as Savage hung up the picture with a magnet to the front of the fridge.

"Can we watch 'The Little Mermaid' now?" Savannah asked. “You said we could watch a movie today and it's my favorite!” She loved the songs in the movie and had a particular fondness for Sebastian. In her opinion, he was the most underrated character in the entire show.

Savage chuckled. "Of course, sweetheart. Go get comfy on the couch while I set it up."

As the familiar Disney tunes filled the room, Savannah curled up against Savage, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. She relaxed into his side and soon, was fast asleep. He woke her a bit later for lunch and the rest of the day passed in a blurof laughter, play, and tender moments. Before she knew it, the sky outside had darkened, and Savannah was stifling yawns. It’d been way too long since she’d rested comfortably. When her mom was sick, the alarms kept her awake. Savannah worried about her passing in her sleep without her by her side. After, Savannah worked several jobs trying to pay off her debts. Since the debts had been called up by The Rejects, she’d been too terrified to sleep. Her brain wouldn’t shut off.

Yet, here, in Savage’s house, she wasn’t having any difficulty sleeping at all. She was safe and there was something incredibly freeing about it.

"Time for bed, little one," he announced, scooping her up effortlessly.

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