Page 15 of Losing Faith

“Dad!” Belle calls out before I can walk in. “The oven is off, you checked already.”

I keep my eyes on the oven and I want to let the obsessive need pass, but I can’t.

Isabelle comes next to me and taps my leg gently. “I’ll check on the oven and you run upstairs to check the water.”

I smile at how understanding she is. “Only tap the outside to see if it’s warm, don’t turn the nobs.” I voice before running upstairs. After checking my bathroom and hers twice, I head for the stairs. In the corner of my eyes, I see the guest bedroom and I tell myself that no one used that bathroom. It makes no sense for that faucet to be running, but I quickly check anyway.

Like I was hoping, the water is off, but I tap the nob shut four times and a sense of ease passes through me. When I reach the bottom of the steps, Isabelle is standing in front of the kitchen with a smile.

“The oven is off. Come on.” She holds her hand out to me and I take it while glancing behind her.

“Are you sure you checked well?”

“Yes, Daddy.” She pulls on my hand and I walk with her, my eyes still trained on the stove. “It wasn’t warm. It’s okay, I promise.”

I nod in return, but my heart rate quickens as we reach the door. I keep telling myself it’s fine, but everything else in me tells me it’s not and the house is going to be burned to the ground by the time I get home from work.

I force myself to let the feeling pass and hurry out of the house. Isabelle stays standing beside me as I lock, unlock, then relock the door.

“Okay.” She takes my hand before I can check the lock. “That’s enough. Come on.” She pulls my hand and I bite back a smile as I walk with her.

Scooping her into my arms, I kiss her nose and hug her close as the guilt begins to seep in.

“I’m sorry I’m making you late, penguin.”

She hugs me in return as she kisses my nose. “It’s okay, Daddy. I think your OCD is getting a lot better.” She kisses my cheek before tapping my head four times and I stifle a laugh at how sweet my girl is.

“How did I make such a nice baby?”

Her brows furrow as I open the back seat for her. “I’m not a baby.”

Holding back a sigh, I nod in agreement as I strap her into her car seat. “Right, sorry.” I kiss her one more time before climbing in.

“Do you want to see a quick surprise?”

I glance in the mirror and her eyes light up as she watches me.

“Is the new house ready?” She’s practically jumping in her seat and I stifle a laugh as I nod yes.

We’ve been building our forever home for some time now. I wanted everything to be perfect, so it took longer than needed, but everything is complete. While I haven’t taken Belle to the property, I feel bad for this morning and want to show her.

I pass her my phone and she gasps at the first picture. “You made apinkdoor?”

My laugh fills the car. “I sure did. That’s what you wanted, right?”

She actually does scream this time and my laugh only grows as I put the car in drive.

“Wait, can we please go see it really really fast?”

“I wish we could, baby, but a minute more and you’ll be late.”

She nods in understanding, but I can see the disappointment on her face.

“Look at the rest of the pictures and when you get out of school we’ll go see it,” I promise her.

She nods in agreement and squeals at every other picture as she picks out which room will be hers. “The one next to mine can be for Lola.” She mentions her baby doll, who she very seriously claims is her daughter.

“I think that’s a perfect idea.” I indulge her for the rest of the drive and by some miracle, we get to the drop-off line right on time.

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