“What the fuck were you thinking?” Todd bit the moment he
came into the café.
Sophie had text him as soon as Jess and Jay left and
although he had appreciated the heads up, he hadn’t been too pleased that she
had been the one to give everything away. His text back had been blunt,
demanding to know where she was before he quickly left the house so they
wouldn’t find him.
“You could have got me killed!”
As Todd took a seat down on the sofa beside Willow, she
naturally shifted away from him.
“I’m sorry! I didn’t know what to do. They were threatening
to hurt Willow.” Sophie stressed as his eyes then travelled down to the little
girl.
“They are going to tear that fucking place apart.”
Holding his hands out towards the two year old, Todd was
trying to urge her over to him but she was reluctant. Instead, she looked up to
Sophie before back to Todd’s arms, as though she was trying to judge her mum’s
actions around him.
Sophie always tried her hardest to reassure Willow that her
dad was a safe base. She wanted them to have a relationship and for her to feel
comfortable around him however, that was difficult to do when he didn’t put
much effort in himself.
He picked and chose his moments when he wanted to pay her
attention and be loving towards her therefore, she had built up an nervous and
unsure view of him.
“It’s okay.” Sophie tried to reassure Willow and help urge
her into Todd’s arms.
Taking her mum’s actions as a confidence boost that
everything was okay, Willow then carefully moved a little bit closer to Todd.
Her hand was still clinging onto Sophie’s as she did so and it broke her heart
watching how messed up their relationship was.
She shouldn’t fear or feel uncomfortable around her own dad
but their relationship had come to this due to the little effort he put in.
“Were they going to hurt you?” Todd asked as he took Willow
into his arms.
She was looking at him carefully, as though she was truly
studying every aspect of him. He was basically a stranger to her so she never
knew how to act with him.
“They threatened to hurt one of us and your mum chose me.”
Biting down on her lip, Sophie was instantly fuelled with
anger by not only Todd’s words but the tone in his voice. He was still angry at
Sophie for telling them where they lived, as though she had much choice.
It frustrated how he didn’t see things like any other father
would and didn’t have that natural inclination to protect his own little girl. Instead,
he was selfish and bitter, only putting in the effort when he felt like it.
“That wasn’t very nice was it?”
“Todd.” Sophie demanded his attention and Willow noticed her
mum’s tone so instantly began to pull and shove her way out of his arms.
Todd suddenly looked annoyed that she didn’t want to be with
him and tried to keep her close, yet she just refused. Pulling out of his arms,
she made her way back over to Sophie, who did not waste any time in letting her
sit the other side.
“Look baby, you haven’t finished this yet.” Sophie held her half-eaten
biscuit towards her as a distraction and a smile was then spread across
Willow’s previously distressed face.
“Thank you.” She grinned as she took it from Sophie’s hand
causing her to give a loving smile back in return.
“You make her hate me.” Todd accused as he watched the two
of them. “You complain that I don’t have a fucking relationship with her but
then you do shit like this.”
Turning back to face him, Sophie looked at Todd as though he
was insane. She never understood how he came up with the most bizarre
conclusions and never saw anything as his own fault. He was stuck in his own
head and was really good at throwing out blame to everyone else, with herself
being the main line of fire.
“How have I ever done that?” Sophie questioned, practically
demanding an explanation from him.
“You’re the one who does stuff to upset her.
You never even try and then when you do, you mess it up.”
“You don’t give me a chance. She never leaves your side.”
“No, you never try.”
There was silence for a moment while this ‘family’ of three
sat in this café among many other individuals going about their day. As Sophie
let her eyes wander, she took in the happy couples, the groups of friends and
families all enjoying an afternoon out in this unique café overlooking the sea.
However, when she looked back to her own table, all she saw was a broken mess,
a dysfunctional ‘family’ that stood out from all the rest.
It was one of the reasons she enjoyed coming in here with
Willow so often as she could sit back and imagine what her life could have been
like. She’d looked at the different families and imagined that was her. She’d
look at the couples and imagine what she and Todd could have been like if he
wasn’t the way he was. She’d look at the groups of friends and imagine what
life would have been like if she’d never even met him.
However, as she lapped up the fantasy of a different life,
she was always brought back to her own. She knew she would never change it for
the world because then she wouldn’t have Willow. However, she wished things
could have been so much different than they were with Todd. She wished she
could get up on her own two feet and not have to rely on him as much as she
did.
“Whatever. I need to get the fuck out of here.” Todd then
remarked as he noticed that particular blonde heading into the café.
It was Juliet.
She had her hair scraped back into a tight ponytail, her usual
black leather attire on and knee high boots which made her entrance noticed the
moment she walked through the doors.
Standing to his feet, Todd was looking at Sophie as her
attention had now drifted to Juliet. He could see the lack of appreciation in
her eyes because of her presence, causing him to sigh.
“Don’t go back to the house, alright?” He leaned across the
table to press his lips to hers.
Sophie kissed him back but there was a lack of emotions
behind it.
“Keep her away until I text and say it’s safe.” Todd
continued as he made his way over to Willow.
The little girl instantly froze, as she was not sure how to
react. However, Todd persisted to get closer so he could press his lips to her
forehead. This was the first time Sophie had seen him pay her any real
affection for a long time and it sent a wave of butterflies to rush through her
stomach.
That ‘fatherly’ presence was all she ever wanted. She didn’t
ever want Willow missing out on that.
“Okay.” Sophie muttered as she just watched them both but
her ‘in the clouds’ moment was suddenly cut short when Juliet approached.
“You ready?” She asked Todd as her hand was placed onto his
shoulder.
Turning around to look at her, Todd gave her a quick nod as
his own hand wound around her waist and urged her into a hug. Sophie couldn’t
help but feel sick with jealousy every time he was around her. He would act and
touch in the most inappropriate ways considering he was supposed to be in a
relationship, causing Sophie to feel more insecure than ever.
“Well done for tipping them off.” Juliet then looked to
Sophie with a sarcastic tone in her voice. “I did warn you.”
“I had no choice. It was either that or my daughter.” Sophie
quipped; not prepared to be talked down to once again.
“Ah, I would have chosen the girl. She hasn’t been around
for that long so she wouldn’t be missing out on much.”
“I hope you’re joking!” Sophie quipped with anger as she
began to stand to her feet.
Todd instantly reached out to place his hand against her
shoulder as he tried to urge her back down to her seat but it didn’t work. Sophie
continued to try and push and shove him before he had to physically hold onto
her body to calm her down.
“Stop. She was fucking joking. Just sit down.” Todd ordered
as his hands then cupped the bottom of her face as he tried to get Sophie to
look at him.
He was fuming by this point but she didn’t care because so
was she.
“She wasn’t joking. I know she wasn’t.”
“All I’m saying…” Juliet began as she leaned over Todd so
Sophie could see her clearly. It was difficult to miss her though considering her
usual bright pink lipstick was glaring at her in the face. “…is that you were
being a tad bit selfish only thinking of your daughter. You’re supposed to be
looking out for this guy too if you expect him to do the same for you two.”
When Todd didn’t even jump to his own daughter’s defence,
Sophie felt her whole body give up. She didn’t expect Juliet to understand but
Willow was Todd’s own flesh and blood yet he still acted as though she was
nothing.
“We need to go, so sit down and relax.” Todd ran his thumb
across Sophie’s bottom lip before guiding her back to her seat. “I’ll text you
later.”
Taking one last glimpse at Willow, Todd then took hold of
Juliet’s hand before guiding her out of the café in a rush. Sophie watched as
they both ran off down the street before jumping into his car and driving away.
She just sat completely still and silent as she let the
emotions wash through her and cause so much pain and unhappiness. She didn’t
know what she was doing with her life. She had completely lost all sense of
direction and felt like each day she was losing more and more of herself.
She wanted things between herself and Todd to work. She
wanted them to be like one of the happy families she saw come in here on a
daily basis but it never worked that way. Instead, she was watched him act so
selfishly and run around with other girls while she stupidly sat back and
didn’t say a thing.
“Mummy?” The quiet and innocence voice of Willow was heard
as she climbed onto Sophie’s lap.
Her small hand reached out to touch her cheek as Sophie
turned to look at her.
“Yes baby?” She asked and it was in that moment that the
tears began to fall from her eyes.
“Mummy.” Willow repeated as her bottom lip pouted in sadness
for the misery she was seeing in her mum. “I love you. I love you.” She kept
saying on repeat as Sophie tried to recollect herself and say it back.
She didn’t want Willow to see her like this. She wanted her
little girl to be protected from all this hurt and for her to believe that
everything was okay. She deserved that after everything she had been through
yet it was getting more and more difficult to hold onto that act.
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