Page 43 of Saving Little Jenna
Suddenly she stopped sobbing. "You mean it, Daddy? You really love me? No one's ever said that to me before, not even my family. I've never been loved and I thought I'd die unloved."
She continued sobbing but this time from happiness. I lay soft kisses until she calmed down, wiping away the tears off her cheeks.
"Aw, my baby girl is so emotional. No more tears, darling."
"Are you sure that you love me? You can't take it back now!"
Her face lit up when I nodded and she buried her face in my chest, peeking up at me with big eyes. Giggling, she wiggled her butt in my lap.
"I love you too, Daddy."
I leaned over to give her a searing kiss on the lips. "So do you understand why you had to be disciplined?"
"Yes." She bobbed her head up and down. "I knew you disciplined me because you cared enough to correct me, that it came from a place of love. But there's this voice in my head that's learned to assume the worst. It was a necessary tool for survival back then, but now it just lives in my head rent-free spouting negativity. I need to tell itSilencio, Bruno, like that kid does in the animated filmLuca."
I sighed in contentment, enjoying the warmth of her body so close to me. "Aren't you glad you told me the truth? Truth sets you free. Just when I thought we couldn't possibly grow any closer, now it's brought us closer than ever."
She nodded with a bright smile and yawned, this time a genuine one. When she rubbed her eyes, I carried her upstairs to the bedroom. She cuddled into me as we went to sleep. Knowing she loved me just as much was the best feeling in the world. Having her so close to me in my arms where no one could harm her gave me one of the best sleep of my life.
The next day we couldn't help smiling at each other all day long. We had confessed our love and the joy was physically hard to contain. In the evening we drove over to John's house.
"But I thought Michael was grounded for being naughty, Daddy." Jenna clutched Doggo to her chest with one hand in the seat next to me, a binky in the other. "Uncle John told us yesterday that we couldn't have a sleepover until he was a good boy again."
"Well, John called me a few hours ago and told me everything." I looked at her sweet face before swiftly turning back to the road. "Michael told his Daddy that he pranked Kristen because he couldn't watch her bully you. Obviously, I told him I already know. So just like that, the sleepover is back on. What you both did was wrong, but at least now it doesn't look like a cruel unwarranted prank."
"Are we going to get a second set of punishments for hiding Kristen's rude behavior?" She winced and held her breath, probably imagining the pain from yesterday.
I chuckled and shook my head. She instantly blew out air through her mouth and wiped imaginary sweat off her forehead.
"There's only so many spankings a girl can take before I permanently need to avoid sitting."
The moment Michael opened the door, Jenna got on the floor next to him and gave him a long hug.
"How is your bottom today?" Jenna asked when she broke the hug.
"Sore." Michael winced as they crawled inside. "I keep wincing every time I remember. How about you?"
"Same." She carefully took a seat on the floor by the couch and Michael did the same. "Not as bad as you, thankfully. It was Daddy's first time and he went easier than I expected."
When the doorbell rang, I opened the door to find Kristen smiling at me. I could no longer tell if her smiles and laughs were genuine after what Jenna had told me.
When she stepped in and walked towards the couch, the Littles gasped in horror and held onto each other.
"What is she doing here?" Jenna asked with a frown, letting go of Michael and crossing her arms. "There's no way I'm gonna have a sleepover with her after what she did to us."
John cleared his throat when Kristen's smile faded. "That's right, Kristen. They've told us all about your bullying. What they did to you wasn't right, but you started it. I need you to apologize to them. If you don't, I'm telling your Daddy and you'll never see them again."
"He's right," I said. "Being a rebellious Middle reliving her teen years is one thing, but how the hurtful words you told them was outright bullying. We can't have such negativity around our precious Littles. They've been through enough bullying for one lifetime and we won't let them go through it again."
Putting a hand on her hips, Kristen rolled her eyes. "Fine. I'm sorry for being so mean to you. You guys are alright and I still want to hang out with you."
"We forgive you," Jenna said and turned to a surprised Michael. "Yes, Michael. It's the right thing to do because it's what our Daddies want. How can they be wrong when they love us to death and only want the best for us?"
"Fine." Michael imitated Kristen's dramatic eye roll. "We'll give you a third chance, Kristen. But there won't be a fourth, so tread lightly."
John and I got on the floor next to them and gave them a combined hug, joining Kristen in.
"Now, who's excited for a sleepover?" I asked.
