Wanting My dear Iris

Chapter 1

On one morning when the birds were chirping happily and the sun was shining brighter than usual, Iris heard the familiar sound of a car's horn blaring in the distance. Although it had been a while, she could still somewhat recognize it. She quickly looked out the window and as expected, the heavy gates were opened to allow a sleek black Mercedes to enter the mansion grounds.

She hurried down the stairs to greet her father whom she hadn't seen for more than half a year and as soon as butler Bastion opened the doors for them, she froze.

She was just nine years old when her father, Jonathan Spencer, came home with a young boy holding his hand. The boy looked like an angel with his pale skin and snow white hair. If it weren't for the emptiness she saw in his crystal blue eyes, she would've have mistaken him for a fairy.

"Iris, say hello to your brother, Noah." Her dad knelt down to her level and patted her shoulder. There was exhaustion at the corners of his brown eyes and a hint of sadness. "He's a year younger than you and will be staying with us from now on."

She looked at her father who was holding the boy's limp hand in his sturdy one; she noticed how his usual sleek black hair and meticulous attire were now disheveled, a clear sign of his long trip. This one had lasted for more than half a year and instead of focusing his attention on his daughter who was deprived of parental affection, he brought home another child.

Iris felt tears stinging her eyes. "Why? I didn't ask for a brother," she mumbled and took a step back from her father. "Daddy doesn't want me anymore, is that it?"

Thoughts of being replaced were running through her mind and she felt threatened by this new presence in her house.

"Of course not, cupcake!" Her father was quick to reassure her. "It's just that Noah has experienced something particularly painful and since I knew his parent's well, I felt obligated to take care of him in their stead."

A brief spark flashed in Noah's crystal blue eyes at the mention of his parents but that spark was extinguished just as quickly as it appeared. Iris' eyebrows scrunched into a frown and she stubbornly yelled, "I don't care! I don't want a brother! I don't want anyone..." A sob slipped past her lips and she rubbed her amber eyes to wipe the tears before they even fell. "I just want my daddy. I want you to be home with me more."

Understanding dawned on his face but before he could appease his daughter she had already rushed past the flight of stairs to her room. He rubbed his face as an exhausted sigh escaped his lips. He called the butler and told him to carry Noah's luggage to his room. "Bastion will show you to your room," he told Noah with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for my daughter's behavior, Noah. She's normally a good kid."

It is partly my fault, thought Jonathan.

Noah didn't respond and didn't care what his new older sister thought of him. He only followed the instructions given to him like a mindless doll with no thoughts or emotions. Jonathan looked at this pitiful child and gently patted him on his head. "Give her sometime, son, I'm sure Iris will heal your broken soul." Noah blinked when Jonathan called him 'son' and turned to look at him curiously. Jonathon only smiled and said, "She got that from her mother."

With that Jonathan left Noah in the care of his butler and went to assuage his neglected daughter.

*

*Knock* *knock*

Iris looked up from her giant pink plush bear which was wet with her tears and snot and told whoever was outside to go away.

"It's your dad, cupcake," her father spoke in a placating manner and twisted the door knob to enter inside. "I'm coming in."

She angrily turned her back on him and faced the other way. She felt the bed sink under her father's weight as he came to sit next to her. He didn't say anything and simply hugged her small shoulders from behind. She was only nine years old and had no one she could openly rely on in his absence. "I'm sorry, Iris, I've been a bad father."

At his words she began sobbing again hugging the pink plushy tightly in her arms. He noticed it and remembered who had given it to her. "Have you been taking good care of Mr. Golem while I wasn't around?"

She shook her head. "No, daddy, it's Mr. Golem who has been taking care of me."

He saw the countless tear stains on her doll and gently rubbed her head with his chin, replying, "I'm glad."

After a moment in his warm embrace, Iris stopped sobbing and turned around to look at her father with red eyes. "Daddy, why do you go away for so long?" she clutched his shirt crumpling it in her tiny fists. "I miss you."

A pained expression settled on his face but he managed to quickly conceal it. "I'm sorry, cupcake. I want you to know I miss you too, a lot more than you know. It's just that sometimes in order to take care of those that you love, you need to make sacrifices. When you grow older you'll understand what your daddy means."

"Mommy used to say the same thing." her doe eyes looked up at him and there was no trace of anger left in them. "She told me that daddy has to work so that we can live comfortably. It's just⁠ that—" she murmured, on the verge of tears again, "I get so lonely when you're not here."

He hugged her tightly again. When she talked without any restraints like this she always managed to pull at all his heartstrings. "Oh, cupcake."

After a moment of coaxing her and stroking her black hair, he said. "I know I was wrong and I'll try to be better a dad but, honey, you can't vent your anger on Noah like you did earlier." He pulled away to look at his young daughter's face and said, "Just like how you lost your mother, he has lost both of his parents. While you still have me, he doesn't have anyone."

Her surprise was apparent in her eyes as they rounded at the sudden revelation. She sputtered, "How?"

She remembered the day her mom left her forever like the back of her hand. She still woke up from nightmares of watching her weak emaciated form lying on the bed motionless without a sliver of life. To think that this young boy knew the pain of losing not one but both of his parents shook her greatly.

"It was an accident."

Regret flashed through her heart and she whispered, "I'm sorry."

He smiled; his daughter was truly a pure soul much like her mother. "Be sure to apologize to him too. Since he feels even more lonelier than you right now, we have to take extra care of him. I'm sure that's what your mother would have wanted as well."

She nodded and sniffled, cleaning her snot on her daddy's shirt. "I'll apologize to him but I'm not sure if I can make him like me."

"I'm sure if it's you, he'll like you in no time."