Page 39 of Teach Me to Laugh

“I do.”

“Glad, beautiful.”

“Why do you call me that?”

“Cause it’s the truth. You’re beautiful.”

“Mmm,” she didn’t smile and I watched as her eyes flickered open and then closed. “I’m so dizzy.”

“You’re so drunk.” I leaned forward to flick on her bedside lamp. “Just in case you need it in the night.”

“You’re leaving?” There was a frantic quality to her question that had me pausing by the door.

“Yeah, baby.”

“Please don’t,” she was watching me, waiting. “Just stay until I fall asleep, kay?”

I felt her words in my dick, and in my soul. The heavy pulse in my cock and soft stirring in my chest warred for dominance. A war I ignored as I slid my finger over the light, letting the lamp do all the work of illuminating her pink, or in her mind, purple, room.

“Right.” I moved to the bed, sitting beside her. “Until you fall asleep.”

She scooted over, patting the pillows. “You can lay down.”

Holy shit, the woman was going to test every hold I had on my restraint, I was sure of it. Still, I let my back connect with the bed, “Better?”

“Yes.”

Silence. Uncomfortable and yet contented silence. It stretched for long minutes until I heard her soft sigh.

“What’s up?” My voice was deep, husky.

“Will you talk to me?”

“What about?”

“Anything.”

Again, making it easy on me. Yeah, I know, I’m a sarcastic bugger. “You feeling happy right now?”

“I think maybe I am.” She whispered. “Sometimes it’s hard to tell. I was unhappy for so long.”

“Why?”

“I had a bad life. I knew bad people who did bad things. Sometimes those bad things were done to me and sometimes I watched.” Her next admission was quiet. “Sometimes I did bad things.”

Fucking hell.What was she talking about?“You want to explain?”

“Not really.” She admitted, and then she surprised me by doing just that. “I grew up in the system. Sometimes bad things happen to kids who have no one looking out for them.”

“What about your social worker?”

“There are too many kids in the system to get the proper kind of care. A lot of social workers are stretched too thin.” Her chin dipped into the fluff at the panda’s head. “Most are stretched too thin and sometimes kids slip through the cracks.”

“Did you slip through the cracks?”

“Sometimes.”

“How?”

---