The escape plan had been a flawed one, you now realized. But desperation overruled logic and you went with the plan anyways, escaping out of your bedroom window once Niki had began to trust you on your own. Of course she found you less than an hour later, you weren’t sure how she tracked you down, but she did. When you saw her, you knew you were in big trouble. Her face was both angry and sad, like she was holding back from crying and yelling at you at the same time. She said nothing the entire walk, gripping your wrist and leading you home.

“How could you?!” You remembered her yelling, “I gave you everything and you threw it all away! You’re staying down there for however long it takes for you to realize that you need me.” Then she threw a bucket of freezing cold water at you, and that happened every single day.

You heard the familiar sound of the basement door opening and gasped. You crawled to the end of the stairs, choking back a sob. She was right, you needed her, you were nothing without her!

“Stay down there, don’t go any further!” She shouted. You let out a sob once you saw the bucket of water. She walked further down the stairs, meeting you at the bottom.

“Please, please, Niki! It’s so cold, I can’t stay down here anymore!” You begged, your knees digging into the cold, hard basement floors.

“You should have thought about that before you tried to leave me.” Niki said, seeming completely unfazed by your pleads. She then tossed the ice cold water in your direction, completely covering you in it. You screamed and your arms went up to shield your face, though your hair wasn’t safe from the water.

“Please, Niki! I need you! It’s so cold, I need you! I can’t live on my own!” You pleaded, broken sobs leaving your lips as she looked down at you. Her face turned soft.

“You need me, love?” She asked. You nodded quickly, looking up at her. She then smiled, kneeling down next to you. “See how easy that was? That was all you needed to say!” You let out a sob. “Shhh… don’t cry, my love. I’ll get you a towel.”

She retreated up the stairs again, coming back with a faded pink towel. She kneeled behind you again, grabbing up your hair inside the towel to wring it out. You shrunk slightly at the contact. “Stay still, you’ll catch a cold if you don’t dry your hair.”

You listened, getting used to her gentle touches again. “I’m sorry, Niki. I shouldn’t of tried to leave.” She didn’t say anything for a moment, though you did feel her grip tighten at the thought of the previous situation.

“You’re right, you shouldn’t of.” She replied. For a moment you thought she was going to get angry again, but instead she continued drying your hair. “But that’s in the past, I forgive you now.”

You breathed a sigh of relief. You felt yourself relax into her touches, you missed her so much. Despite her often bipolar nature, she loved you! She would never hurt you without reason, without you deserving it.

“The world out there is a dangerous place.” Niki explained, putting down the towel and tracing patterns along your back. You shivered. “I’m protecting you, so you don’t need anyone else but me.”

You nodded slightly. “You’re right.”

She smiled and placed a soft kiss to the side of your neck. “Of course I’m right. I’m always right, my love.” Niki said, “Let’s get you into some warmer clothes, then I can read you a new story.”