Doctor Daddy’s Holiday Little by Scott Wylder
CHAPTER THREE
Peyton
“He’s here!” Cynthia shouted from the living room window. I frowned and looked over at her.
“Who is?” I asked, hitting pause on the movie we were watching. She was bouncing in excitement with her head peeking through the curtains as she stared into the cold, dark outdoors while the headlights of a vehicle pulled into the driveway, signalling the arrival of somebody. She turned to look at me.
“Santa Clause,” she retorted sarcastically with an eye roll. “Who do you think?” She leaped away from the window and raced for the door, and I followed her, wondering how many Christmas sugar cookies she had snuck from the kitchen. As I reached the front door, she threw the door open and raced out into the cold. “Daddy!” She leaped into Nathan’s arms, nearly knocking him into the ground.
“Hey there, Little One,” he said affectionately as he regained his balance, keeping them both from falling into the snow. “What are you doing out here? It’s too cold to be out here without your jacket.” Next to him, watching with a raised eyebrow, was whom I assumed to be Gregory, Nathan’s brother.
Like Nathan, the man was tall and very muscular. He looked like he had either been a professional athlete or in the military due to his strong body and short cut hair, but, in the dark, that was all I could really tell physically. He looked very serious and intimidating, and I felt a nervous flutter in my stomach as I was reminded that I was supposed to try to get him to be my Daddy. As I stared at him, feeling as though he would never want to be with me, he looked away from Nathan and Cynthia and over at me, a strong look of either disapproval or criticism on his face. Meanwhile, Nathan and Cynthia entered the house, and he followed hesitantly.
“You okay, Peyton?” Nathan asked when he saw me standing there, frozen in fear. Taking a deep breath, I smiled and turned to face him.
“Yes, I am,” I reassured him. “Sorry I wasn’t able to stop Cynthia from running outside like that.” Cynthia stuck her tongue out at me playfully while Nathan waved a hand dismissively at me.
“It’s nothing to worry about,” he reminded me. “After all, she’s too fast for her own good.” He then stopped and looked over at the man next to him as the door shut behind them. “Gregory, this is Peyton, Cynthia’s sister.” He then looked back at me. “Peyton, this is my brother.” I forced a smile as I waved at him.
“Hello,” I said, trying to hide the fear in my voice. “It’s nice to meet you.” The man nodded curtly as he offered me his hand to shake.
“It’s nice to meet you, too,” he said formally, and, seeing that he was waiting for me to shake his hand, I did so politely.
My hand wasn’t even half the size of his, and his grip was soft yet firm. It was both exciting and frightening to know that he was the man who would likely end up being my Daddy, and he didn’t look like he liked me right away. In all honesty, even though I knew he was likely to be my last hope, I wasn’t even sure if I liked him. I’m sure he was more than capable of supporting and taking care of me, but he looked like the kind that was serious all the time and liked to punish Littles for any form of misbehavior. To sum everything up, he scared the crap out of me. Saving me from the awkward silence of meeting Gregory, Auntie Patty came in from the kitchen and smiled at all of us.
“Oh, good, you’re all here,” she stated as she looked at each of us individually. “Dinner is ready.” Cynthia jumped up and down, clapping her hands together.
“Yay!” she exclaimed as her pigtails bounced up beside her. “I hope it’s chicken nuggets and mac and cheese again!” As she raced to the kitchen, I stayed behind, walking normally alongside Auntie Patty, but I could feel Gregory’s cold stare following me like a shadow as I walked.
He didn’t seem like the Daddy type, in my opinion. Daddies were serious around everyone but Littles. When it came to Littles, Daddies always smiled and treated us like kids, not like a nuisance. That’s what I felt like now more than ever: a nuisance. The way Gregory kept watching me had proven that my life as a Little was coming to a close. I did everything within my power not to let everyone see how his silent judgement was affecting me as we all sat down at the table.
Much to Cynthia’s dismay, we didn’t have chicken nuggets and mac and cheese. Instead, we had baked chicken with mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and bread rolls with butter. It was a grown up mean, most likely made for Gregory’s benefit than our’s, and Cynthia wasn’t happy about it. She pouted as she stared down at her plate, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
“I don’t want this,” she announced as she turned to Auntie Patty. “I want chicken nuggets.” Auntie Patty gave her a patient smile.
“We don’t have any more chicken nuggets,” she replied calmly. “You ate the last of them for lunch, remember?” Cynthia shook her head and pointed at me.
“No, Peyton did,” she lied, and I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth to turn to stare at her.
“No, you did,” I reminded her. “I had to eat grilled cheese because you ate all the chicken nuggets." She pouted and turned to Auntie Patty.
"Can I have a grilled cheese sandwich?" she pleaded. "Peyton got one. She said so herself." I turned red and lowered my gaze, embarrassed by the way Peyton was using me in her argument. As soon as the words left her mouth, both Nathan and Gregory exchanged looks, and Nathan shook his head.
"That was at lunch, Little One," he told her, his voice calm and stern. “This is dinner now, and Peyton is eating her dinner.” Cynthia turned to look at him, and I knew that she was going to throw a tantrum the second I saw the look in her eyes.
“That’s because she’s not a proper Little,” she argued, and my fork clattered to my plate as I stared at her, feeling both hurt and betrayed by her words. “She’s practically a grown up. She should be an Auntie!” No one spoke at this point.
Both Auntie Patty and Nathan were staring at Cynthia in both shock and disapproval, and I had lowered my gaze, my hair curtaining my face so that no one could see how close I was to bursting into tears. Cynthia had always promised that she would never use my age against me, and she had just broken that promise in front of another Daddy all because she wasn’t getting what she wanted. After a long silence, Nathan took a deep breath and shook his head.
“That is enough, Cynthia,” he told her, his voice much colder than before her declaration. “If you don’t like what’s for dinner, you can go without dinner and spend the night alone in your room.” Cynthia’s jaw dropped as she stared at Nathan, who had never been this cross with her before.
“That’s not fair!” she shouted as she stared at him. “I want to sleep with you!” Nathan’s eyes narrowed, and she went pale as she sat back down. Seeming to not want to anger Nathan any further, she picked up her fork and started eating, but the damage had been done. My stomach twisted and churned until several knots formed, and I realized that I wasn’t going to hold back the tears that threatened to pour down my face at any second.
“May I be excused?” I asked, keeping my head down so no one could see the look on my face. “I’m not feeling so good.” Auntie Patty frowned as she tilted her head to the side.
“Are you sick?” she asked as she reached over to put a hand on my forehead. Seeing no other way out and knowing that everyone would see my tears, I nodded hurriedly in response.
“Yes, I’m sick,” I lied immediately. “My head hurts really badly, and I just want to go to bed.” Rather than asking further questions, Auntie Patty nodded her head.
“You want me to tuck you in?” she asked as she picked up my plate. I shook my head as I rose to my feet.
“No thank you,” I told her politely. “I can manage. Thank you for dinner, though. It was good.” Before anyone could say another word, I left the kitchen and went upstairs, fighting to keep the sobs back until I made it to my room and buried my face in my pillow so that no one could hear.
Betrayed by my own sister… Over some stupid chicken nuggets? She embarrassed me in front of Nathan’s brother just because she didn’t like dinner? Hot tears soaked my pillow as I let muffled sobs escape me. I hated her… I hated her for betraying and embarrassing me. I hated her for being a brat. I hated her for being a “proper” Little with a Daddy who was going to be with her forever while I might have to resort to life as an adult! There was a gentle knock on the door, and I hurried to dry my tears and pull out my pajamas.
“Don’t come in!” I called out, my voice hoarse from sobbing. It made me sound sick, which actually helped my case. “I’m still getting changed.” Once I was in my footed pajamas that Auntie Patty had put out for me before dinner, I went over to the door, glancing at my reflection at the vanity by the bookshelf to make sure I looked sick, not upset. When I opened the door, I saw Gregory standing there on the other side of the door. As soon as he saw my face, he frowned, a gentle look of concern on his face.
“Are you okay?” he asked as he reached to feel my forehead. “You don’t look so good.”
