CHAPTER 7 Sky Sleeps with Steve

"Sky, please sleep," Steve said.

Steve repeated this phrase almost third time. Sky again nods her head in negative, cutely.

She was sleepy and drowsing, still, she was not sleeping and keeping herself awake.  

Her eyes were about to close when she opened it once again and paid attention to tv screen towards the Tom and Jerry cartoon show, broadcasting.

Steve shook his head and once again divert his attention to the laptop screen.

Steve has an important meeting the next day, that’s why he is working till late even after dinner, and Sky was drowsing sitting on the couch. 

After some time once again, Steve noticed Sky’s eyes are closed and her head is dropping at one side. He mounted up, wasting no time after shutting his laptop down.

“Damn, this girl, no matter how much sleepy she is, but she will not sleep until and unless I will make her sleep," Steve mumbles to himself. 

“Sky.”

Steve walked towards Sky while calling her name.

Sky opened her eyes with a jolt listening to Steve called her name. As she saw he was coming towards her, she immediately stretched her hand holding the remote control and switched off the television, and lay down on the bed hugging her soft toy.

Steve sat beside her, and she hugged him from the waist. He started caressing her hair to coax her to sleep, and within 5 minutes she was in deep slumber.

‘This girl is damn crazy and stubborn with her habits. No matter how much sleepy she was, but she will not sleep until and unless I will coax her to sleep.’

Before it was Rita without whom she would not sleep, but for few days she stared sleeping with Alex in his room.

A few days back Rita went to her home in the country for an emergency purpose. Although Sky is closed to Rita she didn’t miss her much the entire day.

The entire day without Rita beside Sky was not as problematic as everyone was imagining.

In fact, Steve was also wary on the first day of Rita’s absence, but it moved on smoothly with the help of Ruby and her nurse Feria.

Sky was as usual happy, giggling and enjoying with everybody, and Steve also spent much of his time with her.

The problem starts at night, when Sky refuses to sleep without Rita and it became almost impossible to deal with her.

Flashback

The day Rita went to her home, Feria was trying hard to coax her to sleep, but she was only ranting Rita’s name.

"Anne Reet, I want Anne Reet, I can't sleep, I want Anne Reet." Sky said.

Sky is not loud and noisy who cry and irritate, but she was sobbing nonstop.

Steve came to Sky’s room as per his daily routine to check on her before going to bed, but her sob made him uneasy.

“What happened to Sky? Why is she crying?" Steve asked with concern and a frown face.

“Young master Steve, miss sky don’t want to sleep without aunty Rita. She is missing her and crying." Feria said.

Steve beckons Feria to move from Sky’s side.

He sat beside her and held her face in the cup of his palms, and mumbled "Sky is a big girl now, she is a good and understanding girl, right?" Steve first diverts her attention from Rita, and she nods her head between sob.

“Then try to understand Sky, Anne Reet went to her home because her daughter is ill. But she promised me she will come back soon and till then I will take care of Sky, did you get it?" Steve was coaxing her like a little kid. 

He tried to make her understand, and she also nods her head like an obedient child, but the next moment she realized she can’t sleep without her Anne Reet.

“Sky is also dot (daughter) of Anne Reet. Stee, you ask her to come back, I can't sleep." Sky said.

For the first time, Sky was stubborn.

Steve releases a sigh feeling helpless. He was a pity for the innocent girl, who doesn’t have many demands. But he can’t do anything.

Rita’s only daughter who was expecting to be a mother in one month suddenly encountered some critical problems in the country. Rita has no choice but to rush.

She was also tense for Sky, but the situation’s demand made her leave, but she promises she will be back soon.

“Sky, listen to me, Anne Reet will come back in a few days till then you have to adjust. Can't you do this little favor to your Anne Reet?” Steve tries to make her understand, and she nods her head in positive but reluctantly.

"That’s like a good girl, then will you listen to me?" Steve asked.

Sky bobbled her head nonchalantly, but her eyes filled with water. Steve’s heart pained seeing to her teary eyes but he was helpless.

"Then please sleep early, alright? See Veve is also sleepy like you." Steve said while pointing towards her soft toy.

Sky named her soft toy Veve.

She glances at her Veve, and once again bobbed her head in positive. She lay down on the bed and hugged her soft toy tightly near her chest, and within a few minutes she dozed off.

Today, her face is not having her regular peaceful smile, but a kind of fear. She is lacking a sense of security.

Steve observed her for a few minutes before getting up from beside her.

‘The only god knows what problem that poor girl faced back in the fast, which lacked a sense of security in her? How much she has suffered drives her crazy. Even her subconscious mind doesn’t want to trust people.

Other than aunty Rita, her mind doesn’t want to accept anybody around her in sleep.’

"Thank you, master Steve, for your help. She obeys to you that’s why she slept." Nurse Feria’s voice brought him out from his thoughts.

“Hmm, take care of her,” Steve said and stride out of her room after beckoning the nurse to be wary.

Steve was also not getting sleep today. Her fearful place was not leaving his thoughts and making him uneasy.

He closed the lights and lay down on the bed. After trying for a long he couldn’t able to sleep, he was just tossing and turning but couldn’t able to delete her innocent but fearful face and teary eyes from his mind.

He stood and sat on the bed, fetch of a cup of water, gulped it down in one go, and release a sigh after keeping the cup aside. He was about to lie down again when he heard some sobbing sound.

Steve stood up knowing the reason behind the sobbing sound, and strode towards the hall. He switched on the lights and encounter the scene, as he expected. 

Sky was sitting on the couch in the living hall while hugging her soft toy and sobbing.

She was so pitiful, sitting on the couch in the darkroom all alone like an abandoned child, and sobbing silently seems don’t want to disturb anybody.

Steve’s heart was aching for her. He moved towards her and sat on the couch beside her.

 “What happens Sky? Why are you not sleeping?”

Steve is aware of the reason still asked.

"Veve is missing Anne Reet, not Sky. Sky is a good girl." Sky answers in a meek tone.

Steve couldn’t help but smile widely at her answer.

“Parents’ understanding and caring girl, don't want to disturb others for her problems.’ Steve thought.

Steve wanted to coax her again, but he knew she is not in the state to understand. In fact, it’s not her fault, but her mind is not accepting the situation that she will not have aunty Rita beside her while sleeping.

She has some unknown fear deep inside her heart.

Steve thought for a minute and asked, “Hmm, Alright, if Veve is missing aunty Rita, then would Veve and Sky like to sleep with me?"

Sky nods in yes.

Steve took her and her Veve towards his enormous chamber and made her lay down on the bed. She hugged him from her waist and he started caressing her hair to coax her to sleep.

After a few minutes, he realized from her calm breath that she slept peacefully.

Steve didn’t forget to make a safe pillow partition between them and he also slept after staring at her regular smiling for few minutes. Her smiling face gives solace to him.

From that day Sky used to sleep beside Steve only after he coaxes her to sleep. She was getting used to his care more and more, and he also cares about her the most.

It was going on for few days until Rita is back from her country and objected Sky to sleep with Steve.