━━━━𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒆.

     𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐎𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐎𝐎𝐊 her head, standing from the couch as Joel called after her.

"No!" She tells him once again, her father trailing her up the stairs.

Tommy and Maria had decided to have Jackson's annual get together that night, and like every year prior, Joel was failing to convince the little girl to attend. The man walked into the brunettes bedroom, finding her burrowed under her covers. With a heavy sigh, he moves to sit by her feet, looking down at his hands.

"It ain't gotta be for long," He starts, glancing at her. "Stay an hour, chat with your aunt and uncle." The father once again exhaled a heavy breath, tapping his foot against the wood flooring. Maisie slowly poked her head out of her comforter, peering at Joel with her baby blues. Slowly, she moved to sit on the man's lap, laying her mess of hair against his chest. The young Miller nods her head, the urge to see her family growing.

"You wanna go?" Joel confirms, a shocked expression plastered among his face. His little girl nods once again, playing with the buttons of his flannel. He pulls away from his daughter slightly, inspecting her outfit before speaking.

"Don't have ta change, brush that hair of yours, though. Looks like a bird's nest." Joel comments, making a bigger mess of Mason's short brown locks as he ruffles them.

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Maisie held Joel's hand as they walked, just standing above his waist. The girl's free hand had her stuffed dog, gripping it tightly. Her shoes kicked at the dirt beneath them, leaning farther into her father's side as they approached the bar. Music sounded from the inside, residents of Jackson dancing and getting caught up with one another.

As Joel felt his daughter's anxiety, he gave her small hand a squeeze of reassurance before gently pulling her up the steps and through the doorway. As the pair entered, the little girl immediately spotting her aunt and uncle, pulling the man with her as she walked towards them.

Tommy smiles down at the little girl who wraps her arms around his torso, leaning into his side.

"So, how long did it take you to convince her?" Maria asks Joel while looking at Tommy, who says something to their niece, making her giggle.

"Almost three hours." Her brother-in-law says, looking down at the drink in his hand. The blonde sent the man an apologetic look, the little girl's anxiety had been progressing, getting worse with each passing day. Mason rarely left the house; it had taken her uncle almost an hour to get her to come for target practice.

"It'll get better." The woman reassures, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder.

Joel gave her a fleeting smile, gaze returning to his drink.

━━━━━━

Mason kicked her legs under the table, an empty cup of water before her as she held her dirty dog to her chest. The two Miller brothers converse with one another, the little girl drowning them out as her focus is on her pants.

"Maisie, we'll be right back, stay right there," Joel calls to her, walking towards the bar with Tommy, and the little girl goes to stop them, only to lose sight of the two men in the crowd.

Mason's heart rate begins to pick up, how long had they been gone? To the little girl, it feels like hours, but it had only been five minutes in reality. Her breathing deepens, blue eyes frantically scanning the faces of the people around her, the Miller family nowhere in sight.

They left you just like mama!

Maisie's voice screams, the little one's hands pulling her stuffed toy deeper into her chest. Her chin begins to tremble, and it's then when she starts hyperventilating. Tears rolled fastly down her cheeks, a dull ringing in her ears, her heartbeat echoing through her head. Scrunching her eyes shut, she tucks her nose into Bear's fur, breathing out of rhythm.

When gentle hands touch her shoulders, Mason's eyes snap open, ready to push the stranger away but soon calms when she sees her aunt Maria standing above her. The woman says something to her, but the little girl hears nothing but the ringing in her head. Maria takes her niece by her arms, leading her outside, sitting next to her on the steps.

"Daddy." Maisie whimpers, clutching her stuffed toy like a lifeline. Her aunt reluctantly leaves her, running back into the bar in search of her brother-in-law.

The little girl sits on the porch, heavily breathing as she cries. When a pair of arms pull her into their arms, she melts into their arms, feeling the familiar comfort of her father.

"I have you, kiddo." Joel holds his daughter to his chest, her tears staining his flannel.

"You left!" Mason sobs, holding tightly to her father. The man's heart breaks as she sobs, holding her tighter.

"I know, baby. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

As she calmed down, the panic fading away incredibly slow, Mason closed her eyes, the exhaustion wearing her body down.

That night, nightmares infiltrate her sleep, and as Joel held her once again, calming her from her night terror, she only prays for one thing.

Make it stop.