(A.N. Thank you for the feedback I've been getting, I really appreciate it. Let me know what you think of the story so far :) )
Gabriella walked into the daycare that afternoon and found Charlotte and Addison sitting in the quiet corner. She sat down next to them and both girls gave her a hug. "How was your day girls?"
"Good." They both responded.
"That's very good, what would you like to do for the afternoon?"
Addison spoke up. "My mom is coming to pick me up soon, she doesn't like leaving me at after school care, she says they're not real teachers but I wish I could stay so I could play with you and Charlotte."
Gabriella smiled sadly, having trouble believing some of the things that the mother tells her young daughter. "That's alright Addy, you have plenty of time to play with Charlotte during the day and I'll make sure to make some time to see you before you leave."
"Thank you Miss Gabi." The little girl was interrupted by her mother clearing her throat. "Hello Mom."
"Addison."
"Mom this is my friend Charlotte."
"Hello." Charlotte said shyly after some coaxing from Gabriella.
The mother nodded in response before turning her attention to her daughter. "It's time to go Addison, we have things to do this afternoon so say goodbye please."
Addison nodded obediently. "Goodbye Charlotte and Miss Gabriella."
Gabriella smiled softly at the little girl. "Bye Addison, we'll see you tomorrow."
She turned her attention back to Charlotte who spoke. "Addy's mommy isn't very nice. Are all mommies as mean as Addy's?"
Gabriella shook her head and pulled the little girl into her lap. "No Baby Girl, they're not all like Addy's. My mom is very nice."
The little girl nodded. "I wish you were my mommy." Gabriella's eyes widened and she stumbled on her words making the three-year-old look down. "I know Daddy says that you're not my mommy but you'd be a good mommy."
Gabriella moved the hair out of the girl's face. "Listen Charlie, I-I know it's hard that you don't have a mommy and daddy like the other kids but Daddy loves you very very much and I know that I'm not your mommy but I love you very much too." Charlotte seemed to accept that answer and they spent the rest of the afternoon together until Troy came to pick her up.
Gabriella walked into her house that afternoon. "Mom, Dad, I'm home." She heard a distant response 'we're in the dining room, dinner's ready.' She put away her things and joined her parents in the dining room.
Her mother - Maria – smiled at her daughter as she took her seat. "Hi Mija, how was your day today?"
"It was good, classes as the usual and I got to spend some time with Troy. Then I saw Charlotte and the kids in the afternoon." She hadn't told her parents that Charlotte was Troy's daughter so she always kept the topics separate.
Her father – Greg – rolled his eyes. "I don't understand why you spend every afternoon with those kids, it's your senior year and it's not going to help your future."
Gabriella sighed. "Dad, I've told you this, I like helping out with them. I'm on As in school so I'm not jeopardising my future but I'm not going to spend every free minute studying if I don't have to. I want to enjoy my last year and I enjoy spending time and getting to know the little kids. It's made me think that I want to work with them after I graduate, not necessarily as a teacher but in general."
"Mija, I know you want to enjoy your senior year but you should be doing that with people your own age not a bunch of toddlers. The only person your age I've heard you say anything positive about is Troy, you need to have some real friends, you can't just hang around your boyfriend 24/7. I know it sounds like I'm being unreasonable but I just want the best for you. I'm forced to work with kids on occasion at the hospital and some of the things that come up can be utterly ridiculous. I had one kid the other night, she was three and broke her arm from falling from the trampoline. A boy your age was with her and I thought it was her brother who was meant to be watching her, turns out he's the father, can you believe it?"
Gabriella inwardly grimaced, the description sounding so much like Troy and Charlotte and she knew that her father would not approve if he learnt that truth. Luckily for Gabriella, Maria intervened. "Alright Greg that's enough, we don't know this boy or his story so it's not our place to judge. Let's just have a nice family dinner please."
After the conversation started to pick up again, Gabriella decided it was a good time to ask her father. "Dad, you know the spray I take for my panic attacks?" He nodded. "Well one of the girls in the class I volunteer at gets panic attacks and since she's young, she has a bit of a hard time getting them under control before they get too much so I was wondering if she was able to have some of the spray or if there is an equivalent for younger kids, she's only three."
Greg sighed and thought it over. "I've rarely heard of children that young getting panic attacks... The one that you take she would not be able to but there's a kid version that she would be able to take but she'd only be allowed one spray instead of two and I wouldn't use it more than once in a day when she's having a panic attack because she is so young."
"Ok I'll tell them tomorrow."
Maria spoke up. "Mija, who is this for?" Gabriella responded with 'Charlotte,' making her mother smile. "You really adore that little girl, don't you?"
Gabriella shrugged shyly. "She's the cutest little girl and she's so sweet. She's very shy and I actually love spending time with her. I connected with her on the first day and I just love her, she's a little angel."
"Just don't get too attached because you are leaving at the end of this year. I'm glad that you're close with this little girl just keep in mind for both of you." Gabriella nodded and they got back to their dinner.