Chapter 19
Chapter nineteen
Emma
A beautiful blessing.
~ One Month Later / February ~
“Look at you go! You’re doing so well, Little Tulip!” I encourage Gracie as she crawls around the living room, making sure she doesn’t bump into anything or tip over like she does occasionally.
Gracie just turned nine months today, and the difference from when I first saw her to now is unbelievable.
She’s still a little baby, but her independence is growing more each day.
Most days, I let her crawl around in the living room with her toys, and she spends a good two hours without fussing.
She even wanders to the kitchen from time to time.
We’ve set up a baby gate with a door that opens in the middle at the bottom of the stairs and another at the beginning of the hallway, limiting her access only to the open space where we can see her.
Things are going pretty well between me and Greyson.
I think we’re dating now. I mean, we haven’t said the words ‘we’re dating' or called each other boyfriend and girlfriend, but he’s very affectionate in public and even more when we’re alone.
The man kisses me every chance he gets and always has a hand on me somewhere.
Since Dante’s birthday party, we’ve spent every night that he’s been home in his bed. He refuses to let me sleep in mine, even when he’s away. The first night when he video called me and saw me under my covers, he got mad and ordered me into his room. It was ridiculous but also super cute.
I never expected to get back into a relationship so quickly after my last. A part of me is happy to be moving on from that horrible relationship and finally being with a man who treats me right. But then there’s this other part in me that’s a little scared of falling for Greyson.
He has a seriously shitty reputation as a man whore, and has never been in a committed relationship. I don’t think it’s necessarily because he likes to sleep around, but more that he was enjoying life while the girl he thought he loved was in love with someone else.
Then there’s that, too. He told me he was wrong about his feelings for Cece, and ever since things started progressing between us, he’s been more distant with her.
But I’m afraid some part of him still feels something for her.
That maybe he’s just forcing himself to put some distance between them for my sake, but it’s not actually what he wants.
How can he be so sure that whatever he had for her is really over?
What if I’m just a plan B? A second choice…
I hate feeling insecure like this, but my feelings for Greyson are growing so fast, I can’t help it.
I’ve already fallen in love with his little girl, and I can feel myself falling for him, too.
I don’t know what I’ll do if I turn out to be just a way for him to pass the time.
If what he feels for me isn’t genuine, I hate the thought of leaving Little Tulip, but I won’t let another relationship destroy me.
The doorbell sounds through the house as I sit on the floor with Gracie and quickly look at the time on my phone. Greyson isn’t due to be home for another hour from practice, and none of the girls have messaged saying they were coming over. Anyway, when it’s them, they mostly just walk in.
I get up from the floor, making sure Gracie has a few toys around her to keep her occupied, and walk over to the front door.
When I pull it open, I find a nervous-looking brunette standing on the other side, biting her nails as she looks down the driveway.
My car is in the garage and Greyson’s isn’t here, so it’s empty.
“Hello?”
When she notices me standing by the open door, she drops her hand and straightens. “Hi. Umm, I was wondering if Greyson was here?”
What the fuck? If this is one of his old hookups, I understand why Aubrey was so desperate to move out. Who just shows up at your door uninvited because you’ve had sex once?
I look back in the house, making sure I don’t hear Gracie crying, then turn back to the woman with a frown. “He’s not. Can I help you with something?”
“Oh… um, okay. Well, I know you don’t know me, and you must think I’m crazy showing up like this. But Greyson didn't give me his number, and he never reached out either… after the incident.”
Wow, this girl has nerves coming here because he didn’t call her back. But why would she be showing up now? We’ve been together since the holidays practically. Unless it happened recently…
“I was just wondering how Gracie was doing… My name is Nadia; I’m Stephanie’s best friend. Well, was…” she continues when she sees my frown setting in place.
Oh, shit. She’s the friend who had Gracie when her mother took her life. Now I feel bad for thinking she was a skank hooking up with my boyfriend.
“Oh…” My brows shoot up as I take a closer look at her.
She doesn’t seem threatening in any way.
She honestly just looks worried more than anything, like a friend trying to look out for her late friend’s child.
I feel for her. She was most likely a part of Gracie’s first six months of life, and now she has no news about her.
I’ll have to talk to Grey about that. “Would you like to come in and see her?”
Her eyes widen with hope. “I can? Are you sure? I don’t want to upset Greyson.”
“Don’t worry about Greyson. He’ll be home in an hour, and if he’s upset, I’ll deal with him. You’re family to Gracie, I’m sure she’ll be happy to see you.” I take a step to the side and let Nadia in.
We walk over to where I left Little Tulip and pick her up. “Look, Little Tulip, it’s your auntie Nadia. Do you remember her?”
Gracie rests her head on my shoulder, peeking up at Nadia. She started doing that two weeks ago, acting like she’s shy, but it never lasts long.
“Oh, my… She’s grown so much! Her hair is really starting to come in. You look just like your dad,” Nadia says, looking at Gracie with wonder.
“You should see her aunt, Greyson’s sister. They’re identical,” I inform her with a giggle. “Would you like to take her?”
“Oh, please, if that’s okay?” Her hands move to take Gracie, but then she pulls them back to her chest, so I decide to help her out a bit and pass Little Tulip over.
“Hi, baby. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other. I missed you so much. Look at you, you’re growing so fast.” Her voice wobbles with emotion as tears begin to stream down her face. “I’m sorry, this is just a lot. I miss Steph so much…”
“You don’t need to apologize. I can only imagine how hard it must be for you.
You didn’t just lose your friend but Gracie, too.
” I smile sympathetically. “But we’ll change that, I’ll talk to Grey, and I’ll give you my number.
That way, you can call me whenever, and you’re always welcome to come see her.
” I place my hand on Nadia’s arm and give a reassuring squeeze.
“Why don’t you sit down, I’ll get you some tissue. Would you like a glass of wine?”
“That would be nice, thank you.”
I make my way to the kitchen and grab a box of tissues and pour us each a glass, then head back over to Nadia and Gracie. “Here you go.” I place the glass in front of her on the coffee table. Gracie seems to have come out of her shell now and is smiling and babbling off to Nadia.
“You know, I was there for the birth. Steph’s parents weren’t too happy about her having a child on her own since she was struggling mentally. But I was there with her for every appointment, all her morning sicknesses, and labor,” she says sadly, combing her fingers through Little Tulip’s hair.
“Can you tell me more about her? Stephanie? I know it’s something Greyson feels guilty about, not remembering her or knowing about Gracie for the first six months of her life.”
“Steph always struggled with depression. She would often go out to bars and get drunk just to feel something for a little while, but it never lasted. She’d always put on a bright face for everyone to see, but when she thought no one was looking, you could see how broken she really was inside.
I just wish I had gotten her more help,” she says quietly.
I put my hand on her knee. “I’m sure you did everything you could. But there’s only so much you can do for a person.”
“She struggled to keep a job or any friends, even her family started distancing themselves from her.” She looks down at her lap with anger, but it quickly fades away when Gracie tries to grab hold of her nose.
“When she got pregnant, she was different. She seemed happier, like this baby was giving her a new meaning to life. At first I was worried, but when I saw her glowing and smiling more, I thought this could be what she needed to get better. A reason to want to push harder in life.” She sniffles.
“And it did. Throughout the pregnancy, she was a different person.
She was back to her old happy self. It's why she named her Gracie, it means blessing. And that's what she was, at least while it lasted.” Her smile turns sad once more as another tear slips out, and I pass her a tissue. She takes it and wipes it away. “But then after she gave birth, it started again. She was even more depressed than before. I was at her house every day at that point because most days she wouldn’t even get up to take care of Gracie. I was worried about the both of them.”
God, I can’t imagine how hard that must have been. To watch your friend go through that and not be able to do anything.
“She never harmed Gracie in any way, but sometimes she would get into these fits of rage, and I just didn’t know what to do,” Nadia says with defeat while gliding her fingers down the back of Little Tulip’s hair.