Mason Schmidt

*Vivienne sniffles and she keeps sobbing, freezing as she feels his hand on her shoulder, quickly lowering her sleeves, and covering her legs too, so that he can't see the bruises, but those on her face are very visible.*

*Mason's gaze softens with heartache, and he deliberately looks away from the bruises to focus on her eyes.* Sweetheart, look at me. *His thumb gently strokes her shoulder.* You don't have to show me. But please, let me help.

*Vivienne sniffles and she slowly raises her sleeves and lowers her socks, revealing bruises and marks she got at school, she looks down, feeling very ashamed and guilty for not being able to protect herself.*

*It's 8 AM, and Mason is in the kitchen, sitting at the table, reading the newspaper.*

*Vivienne is only 6 and years old and she is his granddaughter, she has brown long hair always tied up in a ponytail with a white hair ribbon tied around it, big brown eyes, she has autism but she's not as serious as some other kids, she's just very sensitive to loud noises and she has a hard time communicating with other kids. Vivienne walks in from the front door in the living room, her head is down, her hair is messy, and it's never messy, she has bruises on her face, arms and legs too, she drops her backpack and she then runs to her room, closing the door, falling on her knees and starting to cry.*

*looks up from the newspaper, heart dropping at the sight of her bruised face before swiftly following to her room, voice gentle* Vivi? Sweetheart, can you let me in? *kneels by the door* I won’t ask questions yet, just…let me hold you.

*Isabella sniffles and she buries her face on his shoulder, and she whispers in a quiet voice, as her tears run down her cheeks* I-I'll being strong, dad...

*Mason holds her close, he can feel her trembling and he knows that she's trying to be strong. He says in a comforting voice* It's okay to be sad sometimes, dear. You don't have to be strong all the time.

*Isabella nods her head and she giggles* Mh!

*Mason smiles and he says in a playful voice* I remember when I was a kid, we had to listen to music on the radio or on records. *He shakes his head in amazement* Technology has come a long way since then.

*Isabella smiles sadly as she remembers the good old times, and she sets her phone down on the counter, walking over to the living room, and sitting down on the couch, looking down at her hands, sighing, she's probably feeling a little bit of nostalgia, or something else, but she tries not to show it.* *Lorenzo tilts his head confused and he watches her from his high chair, with his big blue eyes.*

*Isabella winks and she says in a playful voice* And also! You can put on some funny and silly filters on this Snapchat app and share them with us! *she pauses, opening the snapchat and selecting a funny filter, then taking a picture of herself and him together and she shows it to him* Like this! See?

*Mason laughs and he says in a playful voice* That's so funny, dear. I love it! *He looks at the picture and he can't help but smile, he loves seeing his daughter happy and enjoying herself.*

*Isabella laughs and she then opens another app and she says in a gentle and caring voice* And I always love trying new apps and games! Such as this one, which is used to download songs for free and listen to them!

*Isabella winks and she says in a playful voice* And also! You can put on some funny and silly filters on this Snapchat app and share them with us! *she pauses, opening the snapchat and selecting a funny filter, then taking a picture of herself and him together and she shows it to him* Like this! See?

*Mason laughs and he says in a playful voice* That's so funny, dear. I love it! *He looks at the picture and he can't help but smile, he loves seeing his daughter happy and enjoying herself.*

*Isabella nods her head and she takes out her phone from her pocket and she turns it on, she says in a gentle and caring voice* Okay, then! So, this "WhatsApp" app is a thing to send messages, both text and voice messages, and you can even make phone calls, video calls, and send emojis, that are exactly like stickers! *she pauses and she opens a game on her phone* And... this is my favourite game, dad, it's called "Block Blast" and it is very satisfying to match the colors, even though if it can become a little bit addictive... But I love it!!

*Mason listens intently as his daughter explains the features of the phone. He's amazed at how much technology has advanced since he was a young man. He says in a curious voice* Wow, that's incredible. And you can do all that on this little device?

*Isabella laughs and she says in a gentle and caring voice* Mh! Yes! Even watching videos on the Youtube app and follow me on TikTok! *she pauses* And also... record videos, make photos, and much more!!

*Isabella smiles softly and she says in a gentle and caring voice* Yeah, like, back then modern phones and PCs still didn't exist, so I loved to spend hours on the radio.

*Mason laughs and he says in a playful voice* Well, times have certainly changed since then. *He continues to dance around the kitchen with Lorenzo, he's having so much fun with his grandson.*

*Isabella winks and she says in a teasing and playful voice* Yeah, and you still need to adapt to modern phones, but I can teach you, dad, if you want to!

*Lorenzo pouts again and he does cute toddler sounds, starting to like it.*

*Mason chuckles and he says in a playful voice* I think he likes being held by me. *He kisses his forehead and he says in a gentle voice* You're such a sweet little boy.

*Isabella laughs and she sighs, as she turns on the radio, wanting to play some music, she switches to "Starman" and she says in a gentle and caring voice* That's one of my favourite songs, dad... You remember this song? By David Bowie, I used to sing it a lot when I was 13 in the 80s.

*Lorenzo pouts again and he does cute toddler sounds, starting to like it.*

*Mason chuckles and he says in a playful voice* I think he likes being held by me. *He kisses his forehead and he says in a gentle voice* You're such a sweet little boy.