Chapter Nineteen #2
“Bella, can I talk to you alone, please?” Marco asks.
“Over my dead fucking body!” my dad roars.
“Cooper, let’s give them a few minutes,” my mom says, pushing him toward the door.
“What? No! He had sex with my little girl and knocked her up. He’s never going to be alone with her again.”
“Coop, Bella is almost twenty-one years old. She’s not a little girl. Let’s go.”
“We’ll give you guys a few minutes,” Caleb says, and a few seconds later the room is empty except for Marco and me.
We both stay silent for a few minutes, neither of us having any idea how to start this conversation. Finally, Marco breaks the silence. “She’s beautiful.”
“You saw her?” I know he came in just before she was taken out, but I didn’t think he was able to get a good look at her.
“My mom sent me a picture. She looks just like Chloe as a baby.”
“I was too young to remember what Chloe looked like, but she definitely looks all yours.” I shake my head. “Funny how I carried her for nine months and she comes out looking just like you.”
Marco chuckles. “What’s her name?” I guess we’re going to ignore the important shit for right now.
“I haven’t named her yet. I was scared to say her name…afraid people would put two and two together.”
“What do you mean?” He has a seat in the chair next to my bed.
“I wanted her to have a piece of you. So, I wanted to name her Micaela, after your last name. I remembered one time when we were talking, you said you loved your last name because it represented the best part about you…”
“Hayley and Caleb,” Marco finishes, his eyes filled with unshed tears. “Even after everything I said and did, you were still going to name her after me?”
“Of course, she’s the best part of the both of us. I wanted to remember the good in you, the you before the drugs.”
Marco comes around to the side of the bed and takes my hand in his. “I’m so sorry, Belles. I never should have said the shit I said. I was in a bad place and I wasn’t thinking.”
“I know, but it still hurt. You broke me, Marco.”
“What do we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to be a part of this baby’s life. I know you and Tristan are together, but maybe we can work something out, some way I can be there as well. I know it’s going to take time to figure it all out, but I’m here now.”
“Tristan and I—” The door swings open, cutting me off, and in comes the nurse, the doctor, and the baby.
“Here she is.” The nurse wheels the baby in and then hands her to me. “We had to give her a small bottle of sugar water during the transfusion, but you can breastfeed now. The doctor will explain everything to you.”
I take my baby in my arms and look her over.
Her eyes are open wide, staring at me, her lips making a sucking motion.
Not caring about anybody else being in the room, I pull my nursing gown down and latch her on the way the lactation specialist showed me, then pull the light blanket over her so she can eat in peace.
I look up and see Marco staring at me with a look of…awe? I’m not sure.
“The blood transfusion went through without any complications,” the doctor says. “Normally the IV is taken out, but because she is a baby, we’ve taped it up and are keeping it in, in case she needs anything. We ran her blood and her red blood cell count is up.”
“Is there anything I need to do for her?” I ask.
“You’re breastfeeding and that will help with the anemia. We’re going to monitor her for the next twenty-four hours. If we need to, we’ll put her under the UV lights. To prevent jaundice, you will want to expose her to the sun light. Have her sleep near a window, take her for walks.”
“Okay, thank you.” I peek inside the blanket to make sure my daughter is breathing and eating okay. I have a feeling I’m going to be hovering over her for the next several weeks—maybe months—making sure she’s okay.
“I’ll be by later to check on her.” The doctor and nurse both excuse themselves and I lift my daughter up over my shoulder to burp her.
“Can I hold her?” Marco asks.
“Not on your damn life.” We both look over and see Tristan stalking in. “You think because you suddenly show up, you’re just going to have access to her? That’s not happening.”
Tristan walks over and stands next to me. I latch the baby onto my other breast and cover her with the blanket.
“You can’t keep me from my kid,” Marco says.
“The kid you told Bella to abort?” Tristan scoffs.
“I didn’t know she was mine.”
“That may be true,” I say, “but you looked right at the blonde you were snorting coke with and told her if she ever got knocked up, she better be ready to have an abortion.”
I hear a gasp from the door and see Hayley and Caleb as well as my parents all standing in the doorway.
“You did not say that, Marco. Please tell me you didn’t.” Hayley has her hand over her heart. I didn’t mean for them to hear that.
“I was fucked up. I can’t take it back, and I’m not trying to make excuses, but I wouldn’t have said it if I wasn’t high.
I know I need to take responsibility for the shit I said and did while high, and I have every intention too.
But the problem with words is, I can’t take them back.
I can only try to make it right,” Marco pleads.
“You told me plenty of times you didn’t want to have kids, Marco. You told me you didn’t want kids because according to you, your bloodlines are tainted, and you weren’t high when you said that,” I point out.
“I know that! I know what I said—” Marco rubs his face with his hands, clearly frustrated “—but that was before we created a baby.”
“I need some time,” I say. “I need to focus on Micaela. Right now, she’s all that matters.”
“Micaela?” Tristan questions.
“Yes, her name is Micaela. Spelled M-I-C-A-E-L-A.”
“You’re naming the baby after the guy who said he didn’t want her?” Tristan looks at me incredulously.
“Look, why don’t we take a step back?” my mom suggests.
“Emotions are running high. We don’t want to say things we can’t take back.
Marco and Tristan, why don’t you both go home for a little bit.
Let’s give Bella some time with Micaela.
She’ll be discharged in less than forty-eight hours and we’ll sort this all out then. ”
Both guys nod in understanding and walk to the door not daring to argue with my mom. Hayley comes over and gives me a kiss on my forehead. “I think her name is beautiful.”
Caleb gives me a small smile before they both leave.
“Bella, for what it’s worth, I agree with Hayley. I think it’s a beautiful name,” my mom says.
“Thank you.”
My dad doesn’t comment on the name. He simply says, “You’re moving home.”
“What?” I lift Micaela up and burp her once more.
“You’re moving home.”
I place Micaela back in her bassinet and make sure she’s wrapped up tightly before I say, “That’s a decision I’ll have to make.”