Mistake
Chapter 25
Mike smiled at Hannah as he knocked on her bedroom door. It was open but he would still wait to be invited in. She nodded at him and walked in and sat next to her on the bed.
"With your hair down like that, you remind me of your mom. She had long hair when I first met her. She cut it when Katie was born and never grew it back out. Kind of made me sad." Mike explained.
"I only remember her with shorter hair." Hannah remarked.
"Yeah. By the time you came along, she had cut it even shorter." Mike said.
"Did you need something?" Hannah asked with narrowed eyes.
"Actually, yes. Or no…" Mike started.
"Dad?" Hannah asked again.
"Hannah, what happened yesterday was…horrible. It should have never happened, but I also haven't been treating you the best even before. And I know you are worried about me being angry that you left Katie. You were a small child yourself and you were responsible for yourself and Billy." Mike started.
"Dad, you apologized. I would rather not keep rehashing it." Hannah said.
"And I appreciate that but…this can't stay between us. Yes, I apologized and you said you forgave me but you are still fearful when Billy is around me and you are scared that I'll blame you for Katie. And another thing, I should not have asked you to lie about it." Mike said.
"Yeah, but Katie would have come unglued if she found out about it." Hannah remarked.
"True, but it is still not right to ask you to lie about it." Mike answered.
"Dad, I choose to lie about it. I…want this family together. Not fighting against each other. And believe it or not, I want this over between us. I will try harder to trust you with Billy. I know how much you love him." Hannah said.
"He isn't the only one I love. I love you too, sweetheart, even though I've been terrible at showing it lately." Mike said.
"I love you too, Dad." Hannah answered with a smile. Mike pulled the necklace out of his pocket and smiled at her.
"So, you mentioned liking lockets to Maddie and remembered your mom having one. This is it. I got it for our first anniversary and she wore it a lot." Mike explained.
"Shouldn't Katie or Billy have that?" Hannah asked.
"I have other things for Katie and Billy is too young. This is for you." Mike said. The chain was long and Mike stood up and put it over Hannah's head before kissing her forehead
"Is this because of what happened yesterday?" Hannah asked.
"No. I probably would have given it to you anyway." Mike admitted.
"Thank you for this." Hannah said. Mike nodded at her before squeezing her shoulder.
"You're welcome, sweetheart. Come out and join us." Mike said. He smiled at her before walking into the living room. A few minutes later, Hannah joined them, still wearing the locket. They found a movie and Maddie made popcorn. For Mike it was perfect. Billy fell asleep on his lap and Hannah asleep with her head on his shoulder. Maddie winked at him from the chair he usually sat in.
"Everything is going to be okay." Maddie said.
"I think so." Mike agreed. Katie was also asleep on the other side of the couch and Mike was happy. He still had some work to do with both her and Hannah but he had a lot more hope than even twenty-four hours before.