Page 102 of Sexted By Santa
“Ah, honey. That’s not good to hide how you feel. We just want you to be healthy.”
She nodded, tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks. “I knew my sugars were too high, but I gave myself insulin to counteract it and told Christian everything was fine. I turned off my glucose alarm so he wouldn’t worry.”
Oh, damn. So the tech hadn’t malfunctioned. Tori had simply turned it off before anyone else heard it.
She continued, sounding a little defensive. “I knew he’d just call you, and Iknowhow to manage my blood sugar.”
“I know you do.”
She sniffed. “I’ve had high sugars before, and it wasn’t that big of a problem. I thought I took care of it, but I kept feeling bad.” She took a shuddery breath. “Christian said I had the flu. He gave me Tylenol and tucked me in, and I guess I fell asleep without having enough insulin.”
“Oh, baby,” I murmured.
I wasn’t angry; I was heartsick. This was my fault. My daughter had hidden her symptoms, which might have helped us prevent this situation, because of my hovering. My fears had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
“I know I worry, and I’ve been reluctant to leave you with other people…” I dragged a hand over my face, exhaustion plucking at me now that the high emotions had settled. “That’s my problem. I need to get over it. I didn’t mean to make you feel like this. I never want you to feel like you need to hide things from me.”
A few more tears trickled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry I didn’t say something as soon as I felt bad. I thought I could handle it.”
I bent to kiss her forehead. “I know, bug. The thing is, we all need help sometimes.”
Her voice was small. “Yeah.”
“I will make you a deal right now.”
She glanced up at me cautiously. “A deal?”
I nodded. “If you promise to always tell someone when you feel sick or your blood sugar is too high or too low—evenif you think you can handle it—I will promise to trust you more.”
“You won’t decide I can’t stay with Christian again if something happens?”
“I won’t.”
“Or that I can’t spend the night with friends anymore?”
I chewed my lip. That was harder to promise. I wanted to keep her close, with people I knew and trusted. But I had to loosen the reins. I couldn’t continue to suffocate Tori or keep her from living her life. “I’ll try.”
She frowned, sounding dubious. “You’ll try?”
I gave a shaky laugh. “Just give me time to adjust to the new world order, okay? This was scary.”
Tori lifted a hand, patting my cheek. “It scared me too, Daddy. But I’m okay now. You don’t have to be scared anymore.”
If only that were true. But…maybe it wasn’t healthy that I wasthisscared on a regular basis. Maybe I should seek out one of those support groups. “I’ll try,” I said again with a smile.
She beamed at me. She’d always had such a sunny nature. I should have realized her irritability today was about something more than her frustration with me. Even her deception hadn’t been designed to punish me, but rather to prevent my worry and prove herself. I wished she hadn’t done it, but I understood why she did.
I had to let go a little before she put herself in danger simply to find the room to breathe.
“Can I go home soon?” she asked.
“Sorry, no. They’re going to admit you.”
“But it’s Christmas. What about Santa?”
“Santa will find you, wherever you are.” I made a mental note to collect her gifts after she was settled in a room and sleeping. “You know he’s magic.”
For the first time, I saw doubt in her eyes. “Magic isn’t actually real, is it?”
