Page 37 of Mercy
Her bottom lip covers her top with the most heartbreaking pout I’ve ever seen. This would all be too much for an adult but for a child? It’s simply too much for a small child to handle.
“I’ll be back, I have something to take care of that can’t wait.”
He glances at me as he rubs the stubble on his jaw, his teeth clenched so tight, I know he’s grinding his molars. There’s no question for me what Liam needs to take care of. Those nurses are about to get their asses handed to them, rightfully so.
Walking over to me, he whispers in my ear, “Be a good girl for Daddy,” and then kisses me on the forehead and leaves.
This man. All it takes is a few words to have my heart pounding like a drum.
Ivy looks at me and giggles.
“Don’t you start,” I say, with a grin.
“You are his girlfriend!”
“No, Ivy, I’m not.”
“He kissed you.”
I shake my head, “Ivy one day you’ll see, grown-ups are weird and complicated. Do you want to watch a movie? I have my tablet in my purse.”
“Yes!”
“Something with princesses?”
A huge grin spreads across her delicate features.
I open up my purse and grab my tablet and downloadDisney Pluswhere I know I’ll find all the princesses.
“Which is your favorite?” I ask.
She puts her finger on her chin, thinking hard. “I want to watchyourfavorite princess movie,” she beams at me.
“Well, you’re the one who just had surgery,” I chuckle, “But my favorite isCinderella.”
“Oh, I loveCinderella,” she exclaims.
I search forCinderella, move my chair closer to the head of her bed, and settle in for a movie. I don’t think I’ve seen it since I was Ivy’s age.
Something peculiar happens when the first scene with the evil stepmother plays.
“She’s so mean,” I say.
“Well, she’s notsomean,” Ivy says in a small voice.
“How is she not mean?”
“She doesn’t hit her.”
I wince at her words, “What do you know about that?”
“Nothing,” she says quickly, focusing her gaze on the movie.
I pause the movie and put the tablet on the bed below her feet.
“Ivy, what do you know about being hit?”
She shakes her head no, and her lips form a tight line.
