Free Second Chances by Evan Grace Page A

said as she started walking to the door to open it for him.
    “Works for me, sugar.” Dustin leaned down and kissed her forehead before he turned and walked to his truck.
     
    ***
     
    Chloe woke up to go potty. She never had accidents because she was a light sleeper. Her daddy and papa were so proud of her for being a big girl and getting up when she had to go to the bathroom at night.
    Her Tay Tay was sleeping next to her and reminded Chloe of a princess. She was so pretty and had the biggest, prettiest brown eyes that Chloe had ever seen. Tay Tay was her best friend. She crawled out of bed, trying not to wake her.
    Chloe opened the door and closed it behind her as she turned to go into the bathroom. The light was on already. Tay Tay didn’t want her getting confused looking for the bathroom.
    She stepped into the hall and let out a frightened squeak when she saw someone standing in the hallway.
    “Who are you?” the deep voice asked.
    Was that Tay Tay’s friend? He knew who she was. “It’s me, Chloe.” She watched as he moved closer towards her. “Aren’t you Tay Tay’s friend that was here already? Are you spending the night, too?”
    He got down on his haunches in front of her and she knew it wasn’t the nice man from earlier. This one scared her—there was something wrong with his eyes. She backed away from him, closing her eyes and hoping she’d wake up and find it was just a bad dream. When Chloe opened her eyes, the man was still there.
    “Where is this friend now?” he asked. His voice so low and soft she barely heard him.
    “I don’t know. I fell asleep on the couch. Why? Are you her friend, too?”
    “Yep, I’m her very special friend, but I’m going to go since you’re here. Don’t tell Stacy I was here.”
    “Why?” Chloe wanted to know.
    “Because it would ruin the surprise,” he said, but the way the man said it made goose bumps break out on her arms.
    “I should go get her now,” Chloe said, but as she turned to run to Tay Tay’s room, the man stuck out his arm so she couldn’t go by.
    “Unh-uh. You will not tell her you saw me here. If you say one word to Stacy or anyone, I’ll hurt her. Do you understand?”
    Chloe nodded her head and tears started to run down her cheeks.
    “Good. Remember: I’ll hurt your Tay Tay if you tell anyone about me.”
    With that warning he turned and walked towards the living room and out of the front door, and for the first time Chloe had an accident.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter 7
     
     
    Stacy put the finishing touches on her makeup. All she needed to do was get dressed and she’d be ready by the time Dustin got there at six.
    What a day it had been. Stacy had woken in the middle of the night to find Chloe crying in the hallway because she didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. Once she got her cleaned up, Stacy carried Chloe back to bed and the girl clung to her like a spider monkey, her little body trembling. When Stacy asked her what was wrong, the girl just shook her head and snuggled close.
    Stacy woke up in the morning with Chloe still wrapped around her. She tried to get her to tell her what was wrong, but Chloe would just shut down. Maybe she was just upset that she had an accident.
    By the time they went to the hall so Stacy could rehearse the songs she was singing with her family, Chloe still was clinging to her. Stacy voiced her concerns to Garrett and Ian and they thought maybe she just missed Stacy.
    They were shocked to learn that she had an accident since she hadn’t had one since she’d stopped wearing pull-ups to bed when she was four.
    While Stacy sang, Chloe sat on the floor right next to her, never far out of reach. When she was done with the boys, Chloe threw a fit when Stacy tried to leave.
    It broke Stacy’s heart when Chloe started sobbing and reaching for her when Ian carried her back into the hall. Stacy was such a wreck when she got home that she curled up on the couch racking her brain,