Chapter 14
Ariel
Waking up felt like Christmas morning. Right beside my door, it looked like the pregnancy fairy-definitely not a thing, but it should be- threw up. There’s a basket of snacks, a big pillow that is shaped like a U, some nausea relief, a cover, some socks, some shoes that look adjustable, and a mini fridge.
Teddy
I bought two mini fridges. If she is thirsty or hungry in the middle of the night, she will not be walking all the way downstairs to get snacks and a drink. She’s pregnant for fucks sake.
Ariel
Going downstairs, I find a plate with scrambled eggs and toast. Next to it is a note that just says “Eat”. A little demanding, but who am I to turn down a delicious breakfast?
After breakfast, I head to the office where I find a new chair that looks far too comfortable, another mini fridge- this one is plugged up and filled with water, apple juice, cranberry juice, and orange juice- and another basket of snacks. I know this was all Teddy, and it makes me feel cared for for the first time in years.
I leave the office to go find Teddy, and when I find him, I run and throw my arms around him. “Thank you.” For a minute, he just stands stiff in my arms, but then he wraps me in his arms. His embrace is warm and if I could, I would stay there forever.
“There’s no need to thank me. This is your home now, and you deserve to feel comfortable here.” After years of being told how to act, what to do, never doing anything, and being punished for everything, hearing that I deserve comfort, and I belong somewhere… it’s too much. I couldn’t hold my sob in even if I tried. “Shit. did i say something wrong?” I can’t talk at the moment so I only shake my head. If I could speak, I’d tell him that he’s doing everything right. He’s making me feel truly safe and happy for the first time in a long time. Shocking considering how much he seems to purposely ignore me. We stand there, me crying in his arms, for what feels like hours, but in reality it’s only 10 minutes. When I pull back, he reaches over and wipes my tears away. As he wipes them one by one, he stares at them like they personally offended him. I can’t help it, I giggle like a little school girl.
“You men and your aversion to tears. You know I’m pregnant and these hormones will make me cry at the drop of a hat right?”
“It’s not the tears that made me upset. You can cry all you want. What makes me upset is that a nice comment effected you so much.” His hands stop wiping my tears, and instead cup my face. “Who made you cry like that? Who hurt you? I want a name, an address, and I want it now.” He’s practically growling.
“What are you going to do?”
“Send him to the hospital, maybe send him to a grave. I don’t really care. As long as he learns that hurting you was a big fucking mistake.”
“While I appreciate your need to defend my honor, you don’t have to do that. His name is Greg if you’d like to curse his name though.” He kisses my forehead, and removes his hands from my cheeks.
“Let’s forget about him for a minute. Right now, I want to make sure you have everything you need. Was there anything I left out of the things I got for you?”
“I think you have everything covered. Thank you again so much. I’m not used to someone being so nice to me.”
“Well get used to it baby.” He freezes after he says it. It’s obvious it just came out, and all I want is for him to keep calling me that. “Well I’ve got to get back to work. Let me know if you need anything else.” And with that, he walks away.