“Why did you stop calling me little one?” He blinked at the odd question, twirling her hair around a finger again. “Little one was what I called you when I needed to remind myself you weren’t mine. Or that’s what it was supposed to do. It was a code only I understood. It worked for a little while, but by the end…” He trailed off, then sighed. “When I realized it wasn’t working anymore, I stopped using it, I guess.”
