“Good, so drink your water like a good girl.”
She started to suck it down slowly but he didn’t hurry her. She was doing what he’d told her to. She drank most of it before turning her head away with a sigh.
“No more, Daddy.”
“Good girl. I’m very pleased with you.”
She smiled up at him.
* * *
Ellie was feeling really grumpy. She wasn’t sure why. She wasn’t a grumpy person by nature. Most of the time she was pretty happy. But as she sat up in bed and looked down at the porridge Bear had made for her breakfast, she felt the urge to throw it away and pout.
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Something wrong, baby girl?”
“No.”
For some reason his patient tone just made her even grumpier.
“You’ve got a face like a thundercloud and you’re not eating your porridge.”
“Don’t like it.” She curled up her lip. What was wrong with her? She loved porridge normally. And she had no reason to be so awful to Bear who had been nothing but kind to her. God, he’d spent the last few days trying to coax her into eating and drinking, carting her back and forth to the bathroom and giving her medicine.
Maybe that’s why she was upset. She wasn’t used someone doing everything for her. He still wouldn’t let her out of bed and she wasn’t allowed to go to the bathroom on her own yet.
She just felt ridiculously out of sorts.
“I could try and find something else to eat.”
“No.”
“No, thank you,” he said. Her insides trembled at the stern note in his voice. He came over to the bed, took the porridge and put it on the nightstand and sat facing her on the bed.
“So, you want to tell me what’s going on? This isn’t like you. Why are you being so snappy and rude?”
To her horror, and his, she guessed by the look on his face, she burst into tears. He immediately pulled her into his arms, rocking her gently. Which just made her cry all the more.
“How can you be so nice to me when I’m being so horrid?” she wailed. “I’m an awful, terrible person.”
“No, you’re not. And I don’t like hearing you say such mean things about yourself.”
“But it’s true, I’m being so awful to you and you’ve been nothing but nice to me. You’ve taken care of me, done everything for me and I…I…”
“Yes?”
“I just feel so grouchy. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”
“Shh. Shh. Let it all out.” He rubbed his hand up and down her back soothingly until s
he’d quieted down. Then he lay her back down and got up. She had to fight the urge to call him back to her. It was ridiculous, he only went as far as the bathroom and he quickly returned with a roll of toilet paper in his hand.
“Going to run out of this stuff soon if we’re not careful,” he told her with a grin as he wiped her face then held it to her nose. “Blow.”
“I can do that myself.” Sheesh, she might have been ill but she wasn’t an invalid.
He gave her a stern look. “Put your hand down, little one, and blow.”