You're Beautiful To Me

After breakfast I tell the kids to go brush their teeth and grab their bags and while they're gone I collect all the dirty dishes, taking them to the sink and Frank comes over and wraps his arms around my waist. "I think maybe it's time to consider getting help" he tells me softly and I nod as I turn around in his arms to face him. "Yeah, I think that's the smart thing to do." Frank offers me a small smile before leaning in to peck my lips but I want more so I lean in and deepen the kiss, my hands sliding up to gently tangle in the back of his hair and Frank sighs softly into my mouth as he steps forward, backing me against the counter as he presses against me, his hands sliding down to gently squeeze my ass. "Gross" we hear a small voice say and we break apart to see Miles standing in the doorway with one hand over his eyes and I smile at Frank before stepping away and crossing the room to Miles, wrapping my hands around my sides and lifting him off the floor, shaking him slightly as I say "Gross? Gross huh?" Before sitting him back on his feet and digging my fingers into his sides, tickling him and he squirms and giggles as he says "Stop dad." I tickle him for another few seconds before stopping and sliding my hands around to rest on his back, pulling him against me and he wraps his arms around my waist, cuddling me back. "You ready to go?" I ask and he nods as he pulls away, walking over to Frank to give him a hug goodbye while I leave the room and round up Anna. Once we're in the car I let Miles pick a cd, the kids coming to an agreement that they will take it in turns to ride in the front and pick the music after many mornings of arguing and I smile as the kids sing along to the cd he picked. When I pull up to the school Anna gives me a quick goodbye before jumping out of the car, running over to her waiting friends and I turn my attention to Miles who is staring out the window but making no move to get out. "You ready Allie?" I ask softly and he turns his head to look back at me and I see the uncried tears in his swollen eyes. "I don't wanna go daddy" he tells me, his bottom lip quivering and I feel my heart crack as my own eyes well with tears and I unbuckle my belt reaching out and pulling him into my arms. "Why don't you wanna go baby?" I ask and he pulls in a shaky breath before saying "Everyone is so mean, no one likes me." I feel my heart throb painfully as my hand gently rubs up and down his back and we fall silent for a few long seconds before I say "How about we go home then huh? We'll take the day off." Miles pulls back and nods, his hand coming up to rub at his eyes and I reach out and gently stroke my thumb across his cheek, wiping up the few tears that have fallen. "Alright Allie buckle your belt again" I tell him and once he's buckled in we head for home again, my free hand holding one of his and I gently squeeze, feeling him squeeze back.

When we get home Miles goes to his room and I go into the bathroom where I can hear the water running, finding Frank in the shower and he pulls the curtain back and smirks at me. "You're bringing that sexy ass in here right?" He asks and I smile softly as I shake my head before saying "Miles is here." Franks smirk drops as he asks "Why isn't he at school?" I take a deep breath before telling Frank what happened at the school and by the end he looks upset, turning the water off and stepping out. "We need to figure something out because I can't handle seeing him this upset" I tell Frank and he nods, drying himself off before saying "I'll see if I can get us a therapy appointment." I nod, stepping over and pressing a soft kiss to Franks lips before leaving the bathroom, going into Miles' room where I find him laying face down on his bed, his face buried in his pillow as he cries softly. "Hey baby it's ok" I say softly as I cross the room and sit on the edge of the bed, reaching out to gently rest my hand on his back and he kneels up, launching himself into my chest and I wrap him in my arms, shifting us around to lay on the bed together, Miles curled up against my chest with his face buried in my neck as he continues to cry and whimper. "Allie, baby tell me what's wrong?" I ask softly after a few minutes and he pulls his face from my neck and says "Everybody hates me, no one wants to be my friend. Henry said I'm a freak and everyone agreed and laughed at me and some of them pulled my hair." "You're not a freak baby, daddy and I love you very much and we're gonna help you figure this out ok? Daddy and I will always be here and I promise it's ok to be different, you can be whatever you want to be and it doesn't make you a freak." Miles falls silent after that, just cuddled up to my chest as I hold him close and after a few long minutes Frank comes into the room and kneels on the floor beside the bed, reaching out and gently stroking his fingers through Miles' hair. "Hey Al I was gonna go to the store, do you wanna come with me? We can go to the drug store and pick out some perfume?" Miles' face lights up, a small smile on his face and I smile too, sending a thankful glance to Frank and he smiles back, standing up before reaching down and helping me and Miles up off the bed.

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