Chapter 140: Bonus Chapter 2: Toya and Hannah
Toya
I smiled at Hannah as Mom and Grandma got us ready. Tonight our daddies were going to go with us to the daddy-daughter dance and we were so excited. Elena and Priscilla had already gone to their dance with their daddies. It was our turn now. I twirled in front of the mirror and giggled when my pretty blue dress flared out around me. I quickly sat down, laughing harder when it created a poofy ball around me.
“I love my dress, Mommy!”
She dipped her finger into the gel and added some more to the skin between my braids to force stray hairs to behave. She smiled at me.
“You are such a little princess, baby. You both are.”
I stood next to Hannah, frowning as I looked at our reflections. Her skin was so much paler than mine and our classmates had teased me a lot, saying that we couldn’t be siblings. My eyes filled with tears as I turned back to my mother.
“Mom, why do we have to look so different?”
She squatted next to me. “What do you mean, sweetie?”
“Osprey, Gerald, Scila, Lena, Annie and Hannah are all white.” I pulled at my dress as tears coursed down my face. “I’m not. I don’t belong.”
She pulled me onto her lap. “Who told you that?”
“Everybody.”
She tilted my face up. “You do belong with us, baby. You may look more like your daddy, but you are half me, too.”
I scratched at my skin. “I’m too dark. I hate being different,” I screamed.
I jumped up and ran to the bathroom. I slammed the door before climbing into the tub to wrap my arms around my legs. I burst into tears, sobbing loudly. The door opened and someone entered. I was lifted up out of the tub and I threw my arms around my dad’s neck.
“Daddy!”
“Hey, baby girl. I heard you were feeling a little sad tonight. Do you want to talk about it?”
I buried my face in his throat. “I hate being different.”
He chuckled a little before setting me on the sink. He turned me around to face the mirror.
“What do you see when you look in the mirror, Toya?”
I stared at myself. “An outcast.”
“Want me to tell you what I see?”
My shoulders slumped. “I guess,” I mumbled.
“I see a beautiful little girl. I see intelligence, kindness and a lot of love to give. I see your mother’s eyes and my eyebrows. You have your mom’s nose but my lips.” He touched my cheek. “This cheek is your mom's and this one is mine.”
I giggled and pushed his hand away. “Daddy!”
My mom appeared in the mirror next to us. She had me kneel on the sink and put her cheek beside mine. My Dad pressed his cheek against my other one.
“I don’t want you to feel bad, honey. You are perfect. You see how you are the perfect mix of me and Daddy?” I nodded. “It’s the same as your siblings. They all look like both me and their dads, too. I know it’s hard sometimes, princess, but you have to ignore kids. They are mean. You are loved just like your siblings.”
“But-”
“No buts, baby.” She turned me on the counter so that I was looking into her eyes. “I never loved your daddy any less because of the color of his skin. I never loved you any less. Yes, you look different but all your siblings look different. Osprey is the only one with brown eyes. Gerald is the only one with grey eyes. Hannah is the only blonde and Annie is a redhead. Lena has one brown eye and one silver eye. Priscilla has extremely prominent cheekbones. None of you guys look exactly like the others. And every single one of you belongs here with the rest of us.” She took my hands. “If other people didn’t tell you that, would you feel like you belonged with us?”
I nodded. She hugged me.
“Well, let me tell you, we are the only people that matter. That and the sleuth. They would never say that to you.”
I looked at my dad. “Do you ever feel like you don’t belong?”
He took my mother’s hand before placing mine in the middle on top and covering it. My mother put her other hand on top of his.
“I did one time. When we first started hunting with your mother, I thought they would try to find a way to make me quit.”
“Did they?”
“No. They were my best friends before and now they are my mates. Daddy Tim and Daddy Jamie used to beat people up for bullying me.”
I sighed, swinging my feet. “Do I have to go to the dance? I don’t want to go.”
“No. We can do a dance here. If you want.”
I perked up. “Can all our daddies come?”
She nodded, laughing. “If you want.”
“YES! YES! YES!,” I screamed.
“Alright. They said let them get dressed.”
I hugged her. “Thank you, Mommy.”
She squeezed me. “How do you feel?”
I smiled at her. “Better.”
“Good. If you ever feel bad about anything, you can come to us.”
“I will.”
My father held out his pinky finger. “Promise?”
I linked my pinky with his. “I promise.”
He helped me down and walked out of the bathroom holding my hand. “Just do me a favor. Don’t tell your big brother. The last thing we need is an angry teenage bear running around eating people who made you cry.”
I smiled widely. “I promise.”
“Good.”
Hannah came over to stand in front of me. “Can I have a hug?”
I opened my arms and she ran into them to hug me.
“I love you, Toya. Next time someone is mean to you, I will punch them.”
I closed my eyes. “I love you, too, Hannah. I’m sorry I got sad.”
She pulled back. “Don’t be sad anymore. You’re the prettiest girl I know.” She glanced at the door. “But don’t tell the others. They’ll be jealous,” she whispered.
I giggled. “I won’t. Thanks, Han.”
“Welcome, Toya. Now, let’s go dance with our daddies.”
I took my dad’s hand again and took a deep breath. “With all of our daddies.”