Daisy sat quietly just around the corner of the kitchenette doorway. From there she could peek out and watch the hall for Daddeh’s arrival without being directly visible from either the front door nor the small barred windows in the big room. Daddeh was Out right now and Daisy was waiting for him. It was very important that Daisy wasn’t seen by anyone. That was a Rule. Daddeh said so. Daddeh said that if anyone but Daddeh saw Daisy in the apartment they would be kicked out on “The Streets” right then and there.
Daisy didn’t know what or where The Streets were, she’d never set so much as a foot past the apartment door in her entire life, but it sounded bad and Daddeh made it very clear it would be all her fault. Daisy was more afraid of letting Daddeh down than going to wherever The Streets were. Daisy loved their apartment and loved her Daddeh so she decided very early in on in her young life that she’d be careful to never be seen. She’d good. Nobody would ever see her.
Daisy wasn’t alone though. She had her pretty sister Rosie. Rosie was having tired sleepies now but as far back as Daisy could remember Rosie had been by her side. It had always been Daisy and Rosie hiding In the apartment with Daddeh coming and going every brite time. Their days were divided into two; when Daddeh was In and when Daddeh was Out. Daddeh was Out more than In but they had each other so it was okay. Out meant that it was just them and they didn’t need to worry about Daddeh.
Rosie was the bestest sister ever. She was so pretty and soft with her pink fluff, mane, and tail. She was smart too. Rosie figured out things so much faster than Daisy ever did and taught her so so much. Like one time when they were hungry and Daddeh had been Out for so long that the little bit of sky they could see through the small windows had gone bright, then dark, and then bright again. Rosie said Daddeh was gone “two bwite times”. Rosie knew where Daddeh kept the sweet crunchy nummies and even though neither of them could reach up on the counter by themselves Rosie knew than if Daisy gave her a boost they’d be able to reach it then. So up went Rosie and not long after they both had their fill of nummies. Daddeh was a little mad when he got back In but it was okay once they explained themselves. Daddeh said he was sorries and made Rosie and Daisy promise to never do it again, made it a Rule, and then everyone was happy.
Rosie also took care of Daisy. She gave Daisy lickie-cleanies between Daddeh’s bathies and helped her make good poopies and peepees so Daddeh wouldn’t get mad. Daisy still had accidents here and there when she forgot she needed to go but Rosie always cleaned up after her. If Daddeh was In and Daisy had an accident Rosie would take the blame. Sometimes Daddeh would believe Rosie and give her hurties but sometimes he caught Daisy in the act and would give them both hurties instead. Daisy got hers for making a mess and Rosie for trying to lie to Daddeh. Lying to Daddeh was a big no-no.
Daisy once asked Rosie why she lied to Daddeh about the accidents when either way Daddeh would give Rosie hurties. Rosie said it was because she was big fluffy and Daisy was still a little babbeh. “Gud big sissies hewp aww dah babbehs. Babbehs nu fo’ huwties su Wosie hab huwties fo’ Daisy.”
Rosie was her best friend and bestest big sister and Daisy loved Rosie the mostest, secretly of course. Even though Daddeh was Out more often than In he got big angries if he thought Daisy liked anything else more than him. There were times when Daddeh had big saddies that turned into even bigger angries. He would turn up the magic radio box or the Tee Bee and then start yelling. He’d yell about Daisy’s Mummah, calling her all kinds of bad words and saying the meanest things.
He also said lots of things about Daisy too. Sometime they were good. Sometimes he’d pull her up onto the couch next to him when he was watching TeeBee and then he liked to say that she looked just like her Mummah. He liked to say she was going to be so pretty just like her when she was all grown and big. Daisy always thought Rosie was much prettier with her soft pink fluff compared to her own rough drab brown and that Daddeh only said that because she looked like Mummah. He probably didn’t say anything about how pretty Rosie was because Rosie didn’t look like Mummah. He must have really loved their Mummah.
Daddeh didn’t always say nice things about Daisy and Mummah. A lot of times only bad meanie words came out of his mouthie. Daisy felt bad for Daddeh. She knew, because Daddeh told her once, that Mummah ran away from Daddeh a lot. Where she went Daisy didn’t know, Daddeh didn’t know either but he suspected that she “was out lookin’ for honest guys that didn’t know what a loose slut she was”, but she always came crawling back to Daddeh. Until Daisy and Rosie. Daddeh didn’t want Mummah to have babbehs. Daddeh said they weren’t ready yet, he didn’t have the monies for Mummah and him and anyone else. Mummah had done it anyways and left him Daisy and Rosie to take care of.
Daddeh liked to tell them the story of how they happened. Daddeh had just gotten Out of a Bad Place that he called by many different names, so many that Daisy didn’t realize that he was talking about the same place until Rosie pointed it out to her, and then after a long long time had been put “out on The Streets”. Mummah had been somewhere else the entire time Daddeh had been In the place, with someone else Daddeh said. Maybe even multiple someone elses.
Daddeh said there weren’t many places that he could live after he got Out, he didn’t have monies or a job any more and people didn’t like him much anymore. His own Mummah and Daddeh didn’t want him anymore. Daddeh was able to find a housie for people like him who had gotten Out from the Bad Place and had nowhere else to go. Their apartment! But Daddeh had to follow so many rules to keep his new housie. No drugs, no alk-a-hole, no kids, no pets, no sleep overs, no nothings. No Daisy or Rosie according to Daddeh, even though the rules didn’t say anything about Fluffies.
Daddeh had to spend a lot of time Out so he could have monies to be In their apartment. Nobody wanted Daddeh because of the Bad Place even though Daddeh worked really really hard. So Daddeh had to work even harder. Then one brite time Mummah came back to Daddeh! She couldn’t stay at Daddeh’s apartment but they spent a lot of time together. Daddeh was very happy to have Mummah back even though everything was so much harder now. Daddeh loved Mummah and Mummah loved Daddeh. Everything was good and happies for many forevers.
But Mummah wasn’t good at being good, Daddeh said. Mummah liked to wander and then one brite time after having bad words with Daddeh Mummah ran away again. Mummah was gone for so many forevers that Daddeh didn’t think she would ever come back. Mummah did come back though and that time she had Daisy and Rosie with her! Daddeh was big angries, the biggest angries ever, because no babbehs! Mummah cried and begged and pleaded and promised Daddeh it was only for one dark time.
Mummah lied. Mummah left Daisy and Rosie with Daddeh and even after many more forevers never came back for them.
Daddeh said that Daisy better never ever ever grow up to be like Mummah, even though Daisy looked more and more like Mummah every brite time, and that she’d never ever be allowed to leave like Mummah. Which was fine in Daisy’s opinion. Out was The Streets and bad scary things and In was the apartment and Daddeh and Rosie.
Daisy peeked around the wall again. Still no Daddeh. She was getting hungry and thirsty now. It had been a long time since Daddeh went Out and therefore a long time since he gave her and Rosie any nummies or wawa. A movement in the corner of her eye and the sound of hoofsies shuffling on carpet had her turn her head the other way. Away from the apartment door, kitchenette, and big room was Daddeh’s room, the bathroom, and the little closet space that she and Rosie shared. Rosie was quietly shuffling down the little hall towards her.
“Wub yu.” Daisy greeted once Rosie was close enough for her whisper to reach, eliciting a happy tail wag in response.
“Wub. Wub yus mowe.” Rosie returned as she gently head-butted her sister. She flopped down in a fluffy pink heap next to Daisy. Her voice was a bit muffled, thicker sounding maybe. “Nu Daddeh? Out?”
“Yeh.” Daisy looked back towards the door to make sure Daddeh hadn’t magically appeared in the couple of seconds she had looked away. Still no Daddeh.
“Daddeh Out wong time nao.” Rosie commented as she squinted at the small windows across the way in the big room. The sliver of sky that they could see through it was steadily getting darker. “Nu be muchies wonga. Daddeh be back soon. Get nummies den.”
“Yeh.” Daisy replied. Her tummy was hurting now though as it gurgled and made other hungry noises. She kept her eyes fixed hopefully on the door.
“Am gonna be gud nummies. Daddeh hab pwetty cwoths on. Pwetty and pwetty smellin’. Dat mean it am monies time.” Rosie added, talking whisper quiet to fill the silence between them. “Daisy am gud babbeh, make nu messies aww dis bwite time, wait su gud, am gud. Dadddeh be su happies. Gib Daisy gud nummies.”
“Yeh.”
Rosie looked up slyly at Daisy before leaning over and blowing a raspberry into her belly. Daisy squeaked with laughter, quickly reaching up to cover her mouth and muffle her happy sounds. Emboldened by Daisy’s reaction Rosie pressed on with her tickle attack and soon the two were rolling back and forth across the linoleum kitchenette floor. Quietly of course but it was a good distraction and one that Daisy really needed. Their fierce tickle war ended in a draw once Daisy was thoroughly winded and Rosie was left panting hard.
Rosie was right about Daddeh. Daisy knew that. Rosie was always right about things like this. But she couldn’t help but feel worried. Something wasn’t right. It was dark now in the apartment and the only light that came in through the small windows was a dim yellow glow from street lamps far below. Brite time was over.
Beside her Rosie let out a wheezing hack of a cough. It was loud, very loud. Daisy was so startled by the sudden noise that she stood up and stumbled back from Rosie. Her feet squeaked on the linoleum. No no no, that wasn’t good. “Shhhhhhh Wosie. Nu noisies.”
Rosie did her best to muffle the following cough. Daisy held her own breath. Together they stood in the dark kitchenette in paralyzed silence and listened. Their eyes met and hearts pounded in unison as they waited to hear if a nay-bore had heard Rosie’s short coughing fit.
In addition to not being seen they had to be quiet too. When Daddeh wasn’t there Daisy and Rosie needed to be so quiet that it was like nobody was home at all. It was a Rule. Daddeh said it would be just as bad if their nay-bores heard them while he was Out. Daddeh used to leave on something he called a radio while he was Out and Daisy and Rosie used to spend all day listening to the magical voice maker. When the radio was on they didn’t need to be as careful to be quiet. They could talk quietly instead of whispering and giggle and tell stories as they played. But one day while Daddeh was Out there was a terribly loud banging at the apartment door. An angry voice that wasn’t Daddeh yelled mean, bad words at the door and Daisy was so scared that she could barely move. She made bad scared pee pees right there on the kitchenette floor. Daddeh would be so mad.
Eventually the banging stopped. When Daddeh was In much much later he was so angry. The banging and mean words had been from a dreaded nay-bore, Daddeh said. Daddeh asked Daisy if she had made any noise, if she had said anything, done anything that would alert a nay-bore to their presence.
Daisy said No! Daisy was good! Rosie was good! They didn’t know why the nay-bore was so angries and shouty. They had been good. As quiet as a squeaky friend.
Daddeh went and talked to the nay-bore and after that there was no more magic radio box when he was Out. Daddeh made Daisy and Rosie promise to never be loud enough to make the nay-bore angries again. They promised.
Now they listened. When all was quiet they could sometimes hear into the other apartments around them. Sometimes they could hear a TeeBee playing, sometimes nay-bores talking, sometimes loud vroooo noises, sometimes loud banging, but mostly nothing at all during their brite times. Now they heard a TeeBee but it was above them and more importantly they heard nothing from the space behind the kitchenette wall. They were okay.
Daisy exchanged a look with Rosie and together they exhaled. Daisy’s legs wobbled and she sat down on the floor. Listening like that was tiring! Her heart was still thundering in her chest and she knew Rosie’s was too. So scary! What if Daddeh had been at the door?
“Wosie sowwy…” Rosie mumbled. “Stiww wub?”
“Wub.” Daisy scooted over to Rosie and gave her the biggest huggie. Rosie felt warmer than normal so Daisy just hugged her tighter. The extra warmth was nice. “Wub fowebah.”
It was fully dark in the apartment now. Daisy’s tummy had settled by then, giving up on sending hunger signals for the moment and instead she was so very tired. She yawned into Rosie’s fluff and then after a moment felt Rosie pull away.
“Daisy gu gud potties an’ den sweepies.” Rosie instructed. “Am dawkies nao, am sweepies time.”
Daisy pouted. “Buh Daddeh-“
“Nu. Am sweepies time. Daisy am sweepies.” Rosie was sterner now. She lightly took one of Daisy’s matted curls into her mouth and tugged to get her moving. “Gu gud potties. Nu make dawk time messie in nestie. Wosie am waities fo’ Daddeh. Wiww wakies Daisy when hab nummies.”
Daisy knew there was no arguing with Rosie. With one last glance at the front door, hoping that by some miracle that Daddeh would walk in right then and there, Daisy turned and trudged off to the bathroom. Making good potties was important she knew.
The bathroom just past the big room and directly across from the little closet that their nestie was in. The bathroom was narrow and even darker than the kitchenette and big room. It had no windows to let in streetlight and even if Daisy could reach the light switch she wouldn’t have used it. Daddeh said no lights while he was Out so Daisy was left to navigate the little room by touch alone. It was okay because she pretty much had the small room memorized by then.
Daisy wasn’t allowed to turn the water on either because Daddeh said the nay-bores might hear, water was bad for Fluffies anyways, and that meant that even though Daddeh tried at one point to teach Daisy how to use the tall litter box she wasn’t allowed to pull down the little knob that made all the scary water move and make scarier noises. It was just easier to share the shallow little litter box next to Daddeh’s tall litter box with Rosie. Wedged between Daddeh’s tall litter box and the dreaded bathies tub Daisy could just barely manage to squeeze herself into place to do her business. The litter box was so small that even Rosie had problems fitting in it too, often just turning around and backing into it with her front hoofies staying outside on the bathroom floor.
Daisy looked over at the bathie tub while she did her thing and frowned at the head-high collection of shampoo bottles. She didn’t like bathies. Neither did Rosie. Rosie always said water was bad for fluffies but Daddeh didn’t care. If she didn’t smell pretty he’d toss them both in and spray them down with too cold water until they smelled pretty again. He’d done it just the other brite time and the unpleasant memory was still fresh in Daisy’s mind. Poor Rosie had been half drowned and Daisy had the worst cold shakies by the time he threw a towel at them. The worse part was they had to be quiet during bathies too.
Bathies were the worstest. Daisy shook her head and refocused on making sure she did good potties.
With her potties taken care of Daisy crossed the hall and slipped into the closet. To her surprise Rosie was already there waiting for her. “Wosie nu am waities fo’ Daddeh.” she accused.
Rosie rolled her eyes and went back to fluffing the collection of pillows that was their nestie. “Wosie am hewpin’ Daisy hab sweepies, den waities fo’ Daddeh. Wosie pwomise.”
Daisy crawled into the nestie and found that Rosie had made it up just right for her. Her special blankie was pulled back and her favorite stuffie friend was propped up and waiting for her. She laid down and curled up, pulling Fuzzy Bunny close. The pillows were soft and perfectly fluffed and oriented for her to lay on. Already her eyelids were beginning to droop. “Wub…”
////
Rosie carefully pulled the blankie up over Daisy until only a few curly locks and Fuzzy Bunny were left poking out. She tucked Daisy in as best she could before setting about to close the closet door. Fluffy hooves weren’t meant to open and close doors but with the right kind of pawing she could get it to swing inwards enough so that it was only slightly ajar. Good enough. Now Daisy wouldn’t wake up if Daddeh came home and turned on the lights.
Crawling up onto her own pillow next Daisy Rosie gave Daisy a good sleepy time lickie-kissie through the blanket before settling in for the night. She would keep her promise and watch for Daddeh… but she could do that from the closet where she could also keep an eye on Daisy. Thankfully Daisy was always quick to fall asleep and was already out cold. Rosie hoped her sleepy time pictures would be full of good things like toys and nummies and friends and skettis.
Daisy was a good babbeh. Rosie loved her with all her heart. Nothing gave her bigger heart happies than when Daisy was happy, healthy, and smiling with her. But Rosie was just a fluffy and there was only so much she could do. So much of Daisy’s health and happiness relied on Daddeh.
Rosie wasn’t, and would never be, a mummah so she didn’t have the means to feed Daisy on her own. So during darkie times like these when Daddeh was nowhere to be seen and there were no nummies to be had she couldn’t even make a little bit of milkies to fill Daisy’s empty tummy. Even though Daisy was much too big to drink milkies anymore Rosie wished that she had something, anything, to feed her with. Knowing Daisy was going sleepies with tummy owies gave Rosie the worstest heart hurties and made her she feel like a failure of a big sissie and fluffy.
“Daddeh bwing nummies in bwite time…” Rosie promised as she watched Daisy sleep. “Daisy hab aww dah bestes’ nummies den an’ gwow big an’ stwong.”
She hoped that Daddeh wouldn’t make her a liar.
As the forevers dragged on Rosie dozed off once or twice or more but was quick to pick up her head whenever it touched the pillow. She’d slept the whole brite time away in a too warm stuffy nosed blur, she wasn’t even hungry after, and even now sleep called for her. But Rosie promised. She’d try to stay up all dark time waiting for Daddeh if needed.
Thankfully Rosie didn’t need to stay up all night. Somewhere in the realm of midnight Rosie’s ears picked up the unmistakable sound of keys scraping against the door and muffled bad words of Daddeh struggling to get in. Her ears flattened back and she cast a sideways glance at Daisy to make sure she was still asleep. The bad meanie words were a bad sign. Daisy would be better off staying sleepies.
Rosie squeezed her way out of the closet to greet Daddeh just as he managed to wrestle the door open. Yellowed hall light flooded the apartment entry and Rosie squinted against the sudden brightness. Backlit and standing smack dab in the middle of the doorway Daddeh looked large and imposing and very much like the munstah he could sometimes be. Then the door closed and the apartment was cast back into familiar darkness and Rosie couldn’t see him anymore. But she could hear him.
Daddeh was still muttering bad words under his breath as he shuffled along the wall towards the kitchenette. Rosie heard the fabric of his pants rubbing against the wall as he leaned on it, groping blindly for the light switch that always seemed to be just past where he remembered it being. There was an unmistakable crinkle of a paper bag. Nummies! Rosie couldn’t smell it yet but she was sure. Daisy would be so happy!
Daddeh found the kitchen light switch, flicked it on, and was rummaging around in the cabinet over the running sink for a drinking glass by the time Rosie crept over to sit by the doorway. Immediately she noticed the grease stained paper bag sitting on the counter and wagged her tail in anticipation. She knew that bag, it was a nuggie nummie bag! Daddeh brought them nuggie nummies! The smell finally reached Rosie and she knew there were fry nummies in there too. Nuggies and fries, wow!
Rosie waited patiently for Daddeh to notice her. It was hard because the nummies were right there and smelled so very very good, but Rosie knew that if she rushed Daddeh he might not give her the nummies for Daisy. That would be the worstest.
Rosie watched as Daddeh found a clean glass and filled it with water. He looked tired. Rosie waited. Daddeh drank the whole glass in big gulps and then set the cup aside with a clunk. He turned off the running water and then reached up to close the open cabinet. Finally he turned, already reaching for the fridge door and spotted Rosie sitting in quiet expectation.
“Jeebus!” Daddeh groaned, taking a half step back in his surprise and bumped his hip into the counter. The water glass wobbled and he had to turn quickly to catch it. “Fuckin’ hell below. Can’t fuckin’ have a second in this gawdamn shithole without one of yous pesterin’ me.”
“Hewwo Daddeh.” Rosie greeted. Her eyes flicked between him and the greasy bag on the counter. “Am wate. Am dawkies out.”
“What.” He turned back to Rosie and stared down at her disapprovingly. Rosie just smiled and wagged her tail across the carpet.
“What the hell do you need it’s-“ Daddeh checked the microwave clock. “-it’s fuckin’ midnight. I’m tired. Let’s wrap this up before the brat bothers me too.”
“Nee’ nummies fo’ Daisy.”
“Fuckin’ of course.” Daddeh reached back and snatched up the fast food bag. The paper crunched and crinkled as he swung it around in front of him, hand fisted around the crumpled down top and his arm full extended. He brandished the bag at Rosie who stood up excitedly and tippy tapped her front hooves on the linoleum tiles.
“This shit is all you want from me. ‘Nummies fo’ Daisy this’ and ‘Nummies fo’ Daisy that.’ How about you eat less you fat pink bitch.”The pitch of his voice rose mockingly and Rosie shrunk back to cower on the big room carpet. Daddeh gave the bag an angry shake. “Because maybe, maybe this is my dinner. Ever figure that? Gawd knows I’ve been working hard all day, don’t you think that maybe I’m tired and hungry and want to eat in fuckin’ peace? Huh?”
Rosie didn’t know what to say or if Daddeh even wanted her to say anything. Sometimes saying nothing was the only right thing she could do. Her eyes flicked nervously between Daddeh’s angry face and the partially closed closet door. Of course she didn’t want to take Daddeh’s nummies from him, Daddeh needed nummies too, but Daisy… “Daddeh nu angwies pwease. Wosie am sowwy. Nu yewwies? Daisy am-“
Daddeh made a disgusted noise and with sudden violence threw the paper bag down. It split open along one particularly greasy seam on impact and fries went spinning across the floor. Rosie didn’t dare move. She barely breathed. She was pretty sure that she made bad peepees but it wasn’t worth checking. Not while Daddeh was glaring at her. She didn’t move when Daddeh wordlessly stalked past her, past her and Daisy’s closet, and entered the bathroom. Rosie didn’t move even when Daddeh came back holding the litter tray.
Daddeh squatted down in front of Rosie and placed her litter tray before her. He was too close, looming over her with an almost tangible weight to his cast shadow, and Rosie was afraid of what was to come next. She tried to look anywhere but Daddeh or the litter tray but eventually her eyes locked on the box’s contents. Daddeh didn’t change it every day and between Daisy and herself it got dirty quickly. Rosie huu’d fearfully.
“Eat it.” Daddeh said.
Rosie wrinkled her snout and began to tear up. She didn’t want to! Poopies weren’t nummies. But her gaze drifted past the litter box, past Daddeh’s legs, to the abandoned bag of nummies. For Daisy…
“Eat and I won’t toss out the perfectly good chicken nuggets you made me waste.” Daddeh seemed to know exactly what Rosie was thinking.
Rosie hesitated still a moment longer.
“Eat.” Daddeh hissed, grabbed the back of Rosie’s head in one hand, and shoved her face first into the litter box.
This time Rosie definitely made bad scaredy peepees from the shock of being manhandled but she knew better than to struggle or scream or otherwise make a scene. She would do nothing that would make a loud noise. Instead she went limp and allowed Daddeh to press her face into crusty cold shit without so much as a peep of protest. Her eyes and nose ran from the stench of the litter box up close. Even with a diminished sense of smell it was eye wateringly rank.
“Eat. It.” Daddeh was starting to raise his voice.
Rosie looked over the rim of the litter box towards the slightly ajar closet door as best she could. For Daisy. She opened her mouth and took a bite. It was just as awful as it smelled. “Am n-nummin’.” She wheezed and gagged around the horrible mouthful. “P-pwease nu yewwies D-Daddeh. Am nummin’.”
Daddeh released Rosie’s head and watched her critically as she choked down the shit one mouthful at a time. One full turd down and Rosie felt her stomach churn. Poopies were not nummies she knew and now her tummy knew too. Hunched over the litter box she retched and felt her throat burn as the nastiness she had just consumed came rushing back out well lubricated with bile. Rosie hacked and coughed and snorted as even her nose got a caustic helping. She braved a pleading glance up at Daddeh.
Daddeh looked even madder.
Rosie adverted her gaze and ducked her head back down as she continued to dry heave into the litter box. She squeezed her eyes closed. She had done a bad. How could she fix this? What could she do? Daddeh was going to take away the nummies, nummies for Daisy, but she was having the worstest tummy and throat and mouth hurties. Could she-
The litter box was ripped out from under Rosie with such force that she went tumbling forwards onto her face and scuffed her sensitive snout on the rough carpet fibers. She had only just managed to avoid biting into her own tongue on impact and her teeth ached deep in the root of her gums. She huu huu’d quietly, barely audible really, covering her stinging snout with her hoofies and tearfully looking around to see what had happened. Where did the litter box go?
Daddeh was already walking back to the bathroom with the litter box in tow. Rosie could hear him saying more bad meanie words under his breath. Moments later she heard the big litter box flush and then the rain like bathie tub water get turned on. She stayed put, knowing that things could get much worse if she tried to hide from Daddeh. You didn’t hide from Daddeh. The first place he’d look would be the closet and Rosie didn’t want him to wake up Daisy.
Daddeh took a little while but after what felt like an anxiety fueled forever the water noises stopped and Daddeh came back out of the bathroom. He looked less mad than when he went in, just more tired. Rosie’s first impulse was of that biologically programmed into all fluffies; offer Daddeh huggies and love. Rosie stayed right where she was. It had taken a lot of forevers but eventually Rosie realized Daddeh didn’t want her huggies and love. Daddeh didn’t want Rosie and only ignored her or hurt her.
Daddeh stood there in the hall and just looked at Rosie. Rosie did her best not to look back at him and make him mad all over again. She tried so hard to keep these moments of Daddeh being munstah-like as far away from Daisy as she could. Daisy loved Daddeh and there were times where it seemed like Daddeh liked Daisy too. Rosie didn’t want to ruin that.
Eventually Daddeh turned away and went to his room. Rosie didn’t budge, didn’t relax, until she heard the quiet ‘click’ of the door locking. She shuddered as her entire body unclenched.
The sudden release of tension provoked another coughing fit and Rosie pressed her scraped snout into the carpet to try and muffle herself. She grabbed a mouthful of carpet and bit down as her sides heaved and her nostrils flared. Her mouth already tasted very not pretty and the carpet wasn’t much better. The rough fibers hurt her mouth and teeth and tongue but Rosie didn’t let go until the fit subsided. She didn’t want Daddeh to come back out.
“Am otay.” Rosie whispered to herself once she had the breath to speak. Her chest had a wet kind of hurties deeper inside than it had ever had before and her throat felt raw. “Am otay. Nu am sickies. Jus’ hab bigges’ scawdies. Am otay. Hab nummies fo’ Daisy.”
Rosie took a few steps towards the kitchenette, then froze and peered over her shoulder at Daddeh’s door when she heard something creak. Daddeh didn’t come out. She scurried the rest of the way to the abandoned fast food bag and nearly slipped on the fry greased linoleum in her haste. Rosie wasn’t a fluffy that let things go to waste though. She circled the bag and licked up the salty fat trails left in the wake of the scattered fries until she hunted down each and every one. The saltiness hurt her mouth a little but it helped chase away the lingering not pretty taste in her mouth.
Whatever pieces were big enough to poke back into the tear she returned, the smaller pieces she nummed for herself. Daisy wouldn’t want to num the fry bits that Rosie had in her mouth anyways. Rosie always found it silly how fussy Daisy could be about nummies and where they had been, it must’ve been something Daddeh taught her because Rosie certainly didn’t! Rosie knew Daisy couldn’t afford to be so picky if she wanted to grow up big and strong. Nummies were nummies and that was that.
With the parts of floor licked cleaner than it had been in months, and not a single stray fry piece in sight, Rosie trotted back to the nummies bag. Carefully she grabbed the rolled up part that Daddeh used to grab it in her mouth and began to drag the bag behind her. It was slow going. Rosie had to stop and regrip the bag multiple times when the spot she held got too wet from her mouth and started to tear on her or when the fries she had put back decided to fall back out of the torn side. She had to stop and put them back in each and every time. It didn’t help that even a paper takeout bag with just fries and chicken nuggets inside was still a heavy burden for a fluffy. Rosie was rasping and gasping for breath by the time she made it back to the closet with the nummies in tow.
A quick peek inside revealed that Daisy was still blissfully sound asleep, tucked in under the blanket with her stuffy friend. Rosie melted at the sight. Daisy really was such a good babbeh. Rosie loved Daisy more than she loved anything in her life. More than her own fluffy Mummah, more than the brothers and sisters in her memories, more than Daddeh, more than Daisy’s Mummah, and more than any other human she had ever met. Daisy was the only reason she stayed.
Rosie carefully pulled the nummies bag behind her into the closet. She deposited it right next to Daisy so it’d be the first thing she saw when waking up. It was too late to wake Daisy up, especially since she was already sleeping so soundly. The nuggies would be a more than welcome brite time surprise when Daisy woke up. She’d be so happy! Rosie almost couldn’t wait, her tail swished in happy anticipation, but she resisted.
Rosie crawled back up onto her pillow and circled, tamping down any unwanted lumps and bumps underhoof before settling back in. She yawned, gave Daisy one final good sleepy time lickie-kissie on the head, and rested her head between her front hooves. Her tummy wasn’t quite settled and she had many kinds mouth hurties, so many that it was hard to even single one out from the throbbing of the rest, but as the stress of the evening dissipated Rosie found that sleep came easy to her tired mind. She sighed and melted into her pillow, relieved to know that tomorrow would be a new, and hopefully better, brite time for both Daisy and herself.
One brite time at a time until Daisy was grown up big and strong and finally able to leave Daddeh. Rosie could wait. They’d get through it all so long as they had each other.
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So here we go, another story that I may or may not finish but the idea bugged me until I put it down into words.
Enjoy!