Page 159 of Double Daddies
“If you need anything, you can call me. And Nora?”
“Yes?” I whisper.
“If you want to talk to my wife or Miguel, let me know. We’ve been together for over twenty years. They will be happy to talk to you and answer any questions,” he offers.
“Thank you,” I reply, not fully comprehending what he just said.
Brix hangs up the phone and wraps his arms around me. “You’re okay,” he whispers. “Everything is going to be okay. We’re going to get through this together.”
Are we?
“Who are Mateo and Lainey, little bit?” Elijah asks.
“Y-you heard Lainey on the phone,” I whisper, looking at him.
I’m looking at him, but I also am not at the same time. I’m here with them, but at the same time, I feel numb and like I’m a thousand miles away. Am I okay? What’s wrong with me?
“And Mateo?” Brix asks, his warm hand running up and down my back.
I lean to my left, my head resting on his chest. His warmth makes me feel something. It makes me feel like I am actually here and not in some dream. Before I know what’s happening, Brix picks me up and places me on his lap, his arms going around my body.
“Little bit, who’s Mateo?” Elijah asks.
“My ex-boyfriend.” Finally, I make eye contact with him. “I broke up with him before I got in the truck with you guys. I should have done it a while ago, but I didn’t.”
“And why should you have done it a while ago?” Brix asks, keeping his voice even and gentle.
“He wasn’t very nice to me sometimes,” I whisper. “Nothing physical, but his words were sharp. Like Lainey.”
Elijah grabs my hands, giving them a squeeze. “And they knew you wanted to be with two people?”
Tears form in my eyes again, and I blink several times, trying to get rid of them.
“It’s okay to cry.” Elijah wipes some away. “We’re here to catch you.”
“Both of them knew. I said something to Lainey about a book I was reading, two Daddies, and how I always wanted that,” I explain. “She made fun of me and told me it wasn’t natural and was shameful. It’s been a while since I told her. She told her brother soon after. They’ve been giving me a hard time about it. That it’s wrong and I shouldn’t want any part of it. That I should go to a camp to correct my behavior or something.”
I squeeze Daddy’s hand as I say those words. I was worried they were going to call a place like that, if one existed, and force me to go to it. I had been on my best behavior, agreeing with them when they said it was shameful and not good.
I started to believe it, even if I still had the desires. But, deep down, I knew I needed to get away from them, needed to clear my head of what they were saying.
“Oh baby,” Brix gently says.
“They were giving me a hard time when you called. They had been the last day or two. I knew I needed to get away, so I applied to come stay here.” I play with Daddy’s hands. “I didn’t think I was going to get in. I definitely didn’t think I was going to get placed with two Daddies.”
I wanted to push them away and keep my distance, but they weren’t having that. I can’t make myself do it. I feel a pull toward them, a strong one. One I can’t explain.
“I don’t know if I can do this,” I whisper, doubt evident in my voice. “I don’t know if I can do this. I am so lost. I can’t go back to my town, to my apartment, I can’t. What if I get mugged? Beaten up? Killed?”
Daddy cups my face as Papa holds me tighter.
“I need to stop.” I wince.
“Stop what?” Da—Elijah asks.
I shake my head, his warm hands still cupping my face. I need to stop calling them Daddy and Papa in my head. It comes so naturally, but they aren’t mine. I can’t have two Daddies even if I want it.
“Nora,” Brix growls. “What’s wrong? Why do you need to stop?”
