Pretty Baby novel · Chapter 16 of 24

Chapter 16: Pickle

We told her that night, on the carpet of her room, among the crayon bridges.

Stefan had asked me to do it with him, and I had said I would rather walk into traffic.

Then I had said yes.

Mabel sat cross-legged in her rabbit pajamas with Pickle in her lap, looking from one of us to the other.

"Is it a grown-up talk?" she asked. "Because I'm good at those."

"It's a talk about you," Stefan said. "About where you came from."

"From a hospital."

"Yes. And before that."

He looked at me.

I had practiced it in the car, and in the shower, and I could not find a single word of it now.

"Mabel," I said. "Do you remember when I said I was from far away?"

"You said you were from a long way."

"I was. I was looking for something the whole time."

"What?"

"You."

She did not move.

Her eyes went to the mark behind my ear, where my hair was tucked back.

"Daddy told me my mommy went to the stars," she said slowly.

"He said it because he believed it," I said. "Someone told him a story, and it wasn't true."

← Chapter 15 · All chapters · Chapter 17 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend