chapter 008

Baby Steps - Chapter Eight

Kris smiled slightly when his little girl walked around the house. “Mommy?” She constantly said.

How would he explain to her that her mother wasn’t here?

The mansion was empty and they were home alone. Maybe it was about time he told her a little something.

He picked her up and walked into his room. Kris pulled out a photo album and brushed the dust off of it. He took a deep breath, he wasn’t ready to relive all the memories of Cara and him, but for the sake of Camellia’s understanding, he would.

He flipped the book open and felt the back of his throat burning already. With shaky hands, he pointed to a picture of Cara. “That’s mommy.” He whispered.

Camellia sat in his lap and pointed. “Mommy?”

Kris nodded. “Yes Camellia, that’s mommy.”

She turned around; Camellia was confused; that looked nothing like Claire. She shook her head. “No…No…No…No…” She shook her head. “No…”

Kris sighed and pushed the album away, instead, he fell next to him. A picture of them from a month before her death fell out. Camellia picked it up and held it in her hands; she had a bad feeling in the back of her head. Yes, she was just a little girl but for some reason she was afraid to show this to Kris. What would happen?

She slowly turned the picture around.

Kris eyed the picture and smiled while nodding. A tear slid down his cheek. “Yeah, that’s mommy too.”

Camellia dropped the picture and went to wipe his eyes. “No…No…No.” She mumbled softly. Kris had to admit, she sounded adorable. “No.” She furrowed her brows out of concern and continued to wipe his tears away. “Daddy…no…”

Kris bit his lip and let all the tears run once again. There was something Camellia and Claire had in common; they were both great at making him cry.

He looked down at his lap and watched all of his tears drip down.

Claire stood by the door and watched. She had come home early, Sehun had a sudden meeting in the middle of their date and everyone else was still out running errands. She felt burn as well. She eyed the pictures on his bed; she saw all the dusty photo albums on the floor and the pictures of Kris and Cara.

It hurt her so much to see a confused Camellia who watched her father break down and cry. Camellia couldn’t understand why and she wouldn’t, at least not for a while.

Claire covered and silently closed the door before walking down the halls with tears down her cheek. It was quite sad, Kris had to reveal the truth to Camellia someday and even though it was a good time to do it now, Camellia simply had a hard time understanding why Cara was gone.

Camellia stood up on his lap, she was tiny for her age and surprising, wasn’t as tall as people expected her to be being that her father was the six feet tall giant. She hugged his neck gently and rested her cheek on her shoulder. She looked over just to see Claire walk out silently in tears. She frowned and pulled away.

Kris looked up; his voice was groggily from crying. “What’s wrong?” He turned around. “What’s wrong?”

He rubbed his eyes. It’s been a while, and he knew that there was no way Cara was coming back. Kris has cried so much in the past month that when he cries, sometimes, nothing comes out. He’s drained; he doesn’t know what to feel anymore.

Did he cry because he missed Cara? Or simply because she passed away from cancer? Did he cry because Cara was gone? Or because he thought he was sad? Is he sad?

A dozen questions ran through his mind.

Camellia pointed to the door and made some noises. Kris couldn’t decipher what she was saying.

“Mommy!” Then she put her hands on her eyes before pointing to Kris’s.

“Huh?”

She put her hands on her eyes dragged them from her eyes to her chin.

“Crying?”

Camellia nodded before pointing to the door again. “Mommy!”

Kris stood up and opened the door; he walked down the hall and found Claire in tears.

“Hey…Are you okay?”

Claire looked up. “I think I should be the one asking that.” She mumbled.

“I…I tried to tell Camellia.”

Claire nodded, tears still running down her cheeks. Kris reached over and pulled her into a hug. “I’m…sorry. It’s probably my fault. I know I don’t have the best luck with girls but when you make a girl cry, the guy’s supposed to apologize.”

“I just…It hit me kinda hard…seeing you like that…Seeing Camellia like that. It’s sad.” She wiped her tears away. “I’ll be okay. Are you …?”

Kris looked down and nodded. “I feel like when I cry nothing comes out anymore. Yes, there are tears but I don’t know why I’m crying. I think it’s because I’m sad but…I don’t know.” He said softly.

“Maybe it’s time you move on.” Claire whispered. She pulled away. “It’s…Camellia’s nap time.”

Kris walked into his room, Camellia was by the door. Was she watching the whole time? “Mommy!”

He picked her up. “Nap time…with daddy.”

Camellia stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. She was in Kris’s arms, she laid there for a while just admiring her father’s features. She put her small hands on his cheeks a few times.

“Daddy.”