Garrett is all smiles when he steps out of his car. Riley follows after, staying beside Garrett but sniffing the air. "Hey, Remington. Hey, Austin."
"Aussie!" Austin says, like he's had to remind Garrett of this a hundred times. Austin squats down to say hi to the dog and scratch behind his ear.
"Aussie, be nice," I warn him. He looks at me sheepishly.
"Sorry, Garrett," he apologizes immediately. "Can we show you where you're sleeping?"
"Lead the way."
I dig in my jean's pocket and fish out a key to hand over. Eugene handed them all to me when he gave me the one for our cabin.
"He's enjoying himself," Garrett comments as we trail behind Aussie and Riley.
"Yeah, he had a rough day yesterday with his family so I'm expecting he'll be in Little space for most the weekend. I wanted to talk to you about that, actually." We're walking a lot slower than Austin, who is halfway back to the cabins already before we even step off the grassy area. "His family brought up a bunch of stuff about his past with Paul. I know it scared him with how he's been acting today. He's been avoiding the real world since he woke up, with talking about this trip or reading a fantasy book. I'm half expecting him to regress more than he usually does. I'm actually kind of counting on it, so if it happens and I'm not around please call me. I don't care if it costs me this client."
Chapter Twenty-One
Thiscampisawesome!
The cabin me and Daddy are sleeping in is shaped like a teepee! And there's a playground right outside and sand we can build castles in. It's awesome. I'm having so much fun, especially when Quinton and Luke arrive. We run around together, laughing and playing games.
The only not awesome thing is when Daddy has to go with the owner to look around. I put on my bravest face for him, but not having Daddy around feels different. Garrett gives me all kinds of toys to choose from and Quinton and Luke also share theirs. We play with the building blocks first, holed up in Garrett's cabin. It's a little stuffy with all six of us in the room, but I'm not allowed to go outside without Garrett. Daddy said so. It's been over an hour since he went to work.
"Aussie, do you want a snack?" Rachel asks me. She's making Quinton and Luke something to eat. I peek up at what she hassitting on the table. It's veggies. I scrunch my nose up and shake my head.
"Daddy packed me apple slices," I say, remembering my manners. Daddy told me before that if I don't like something, I should still be nice and ask for something else. He knows what I do and don't like though, but I try to remember to be good until he gets back. "Can I have those?"
I watch Garrett move to the cooler that Daddy left before he had to leave. The longer Garrett takes to look through it, the more I can feel my heartbeat in my chest. I don't like the feeling. Did Daddy forget to pack them for me? Or maybe he didn't care and just left me anyway. I knock over the pile of blocks we are building at that thought. Daddy promised he wasn't leaving me.
"Aussie." Quinton's Daddy, Vaughn, is sitting next to Quinton and he's looking at me. His eyes are a lot different than Daddy's. I don't like them. "Can you tell me why you knocked the tower over? You and Quinton were both working on it."
"I don't want to play with blocks now."
I look down at the rug under my legs. I can feel tears heating the back of my eyes, threatening to spill.
"Aussie?" Garrett's voice is quiet and right next to me. "Sorry it took me a minute. Your Daddy packed them way in the bottom. I got your slices and a juice. Do you want to come sit at the table and eat?"
I look up at Garrett and try to remember my manners. But he isn't Daddy and I just really want him.
I can't hold the tears back anymore and feel them falling down my cheeks before I can say another word. "I just want Daddy."
"He'll be back in just a bit. Let's get you settled with the snack, okay?" Garrett holds out the apple slices. "I bet Riley will sit with you if you want."
I don't answer Garrett. I continue staring at the rug under me, at the space between my crisscrossed legs. I can hear Garrett and the others talking but I don't pay them any attention. I just want my Remi back. I shrug away when someone lays a hand on my shoulder. I know I'm being rude, but I… I don't like the thoughts inside my brain and the way my body feels. It's all itchy, like something bad is going to happen.
"I want Daddy," I mumble to whoever is sitting beside me.
"I know, Aussie. I'm going to call him for you, okay? How about you take this for now?" A sippy cup is put in my field of vision. I ignore the cup and start running my hand up and down the onesie that Daddy dressed me in. I'm also wearing a diaper. A thought crosses my mind.
I concentrate really hard. Daddy had me go potty before he left, but I know if I go again, he'll have to come back and clean me up. I can hear Quinton and Luke chatting at the table. The others are murmuring around me, but I still don't look up. I close my eyes and think of anything I can to make myself go potty again.
I sniffle through the tears that are still falling. I'm still clean, which should be a good thing, but it just means Daddy doesn't have a reason to come back to me. That makes me cry even harder and there's a new hand on my shoulder this time. It's Mommy Rachel. Her hand is smaller and I can feel her nails scratching my back.
"Aussie, honey, can you talk to me?" Her voice is calm and I know I'm being ugly. Daddy would tell me I need to apologizeand remind me that I am a good boy. Every thought about him makes me miss him more.
"I want Daddy!" I say louder than I meant. I recoil into myself. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just want my Daddy. I don't want him to leave me."
"He isn't leaving you, Aussie." Garrett is sitting in front of me now. He's younger than my Daddy but he's bigger. His muscles are big and he's taller too. His head is bald. He has a dark beard that is barely more than stubble. Not like Daddy's that I can run my fingers through. "He's coming back now, okay? I just called him."
