Page 17 of Baby Me

I allowed her apology to placate that anger that simmered just under the surface, and not for the first time tonight, I wondered what the hell I was doing here.

Then the thought of where I’d be, if not out with June, smacked me in the face. There was a part of me that tired of watching everyone else live their lives. The night spent with Davina back in October before she left was the last one I’d spent with a woman. There was plenty of pussy at the club, but it wasn’t the same as having someone to come home to.

The night I’d spent with Davina had been half spent just talking about our days as we lie there together after some of the best sex I’d had in ages. Unfortunately, no one had heard from Vina. She never kept in touch. Even if she had, a relationship between us would never be an option for all the reasons that made me talk myself out of going there before. Nothing had changed. I’d walked away before starting something more with her for good reasons.

“The past needs to be kept in the past.” I managed to say to June as she continued to sip her wine and wait on me. “I won’t keep rehashing it. If that’s a problem for you, then we can both walk away now.”

“It won’t be a problem, I promise.”

I nodded and we finished our food. Instead of talking about Kim, my kids, the club, or June’s husband, we spoke about the little things in between those giant obstacles.

Eventually, the night came to an end, and I took June back to get her car and before she leaned down to get inside, she stood on tip toes and tried to plant a kiss on my lips. Her efforts were thwarted with a quick turn of my head. Instead of the open-mouthed kiss she had been going for, June ended up with a mouthful of my stubble for her troubles.

“You are still married. I was serious about what I said earlier.”

She blushed, from what was clearly embarrassment, and then climbed into her car and took off. There was a part of me that wondered if I’d even hear from her again. The nagging feeling in my gut made me believe that would probably be for the best anyway.

Chapter 8

Davina

“What does that mean?” My voice shook as I smoothed my daughter’s hair back from her forehead. It had grown so much already, even though it felt like I gave birth to her just yesterday.

“We’re concerned about Coral’s health and safety…”

“So am I. That’s why I brought her in here to find out why this is happening,” I explained. The look of disdain on Dr. Markham’s face angered me and I couldn’t even understand why. Something was happening that I just hadn’t pieced together yet. There were two nurses in the room with us, instead of the one that was usually there.

My heart fluttered in my chest as the door to the exam room was opened and a woman in a sleek, but rumpled business suit stepped inside. As my attention was drawn to her, one of the nurses swooped in and grabbed Coral from my arms.

“Stop!” I yelled. “What are you doing?” I reached to pull my daughter back into my arms when Dr. Markham grabbed me and pulled me forcibly to the opposite side of the room.

“Heather is going to take your daughter to another room,” he muttered in my ear.

“No! Why are you taking my daughter?”

As soon as Heather left the room with my daughter the door opened again to reveal two police officers.

“What is going on?” I asked as tears flowed down my cheeks and my heart hammered a panicked beat against my ribs. “Where are you taking my daughter? What is happening right now?” I begged someone to give me answers as the female officer moved forward, grabbed my arm, and twisted it behind my back.

“You are under arrest for child abuse and endangerment of your daughter, Coral Rose Perrish. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court.”

“What are you arresting me for?” I asked again.

“Child abuse,” was the simple answer, but I didn’t understand.

“I don’t understand. My daughter… Where are you taking her? I brought her here to get help and you’re taking her away and arresting me? This doesn’t make any sense.”

“Dr. Markham contacted me about suspected abuse of your infant daughter.” The woman in the business suit looked smug as she spoke down to me like I was garbage.

“Suspected abuse? I brought her here because she keeps getting bruises all over her tiny body for no reason. If I put them there why would I bring her in here to find out why it was happening?” I yelled at her.

She simply looked down at the tablet in her hands and typed something in. “Coral will be remanded to the foster care system for now. Don’t worry, she’ll actually be taken care of while she’s there.”

“Excuse me? What? You can’t put her in foster care. I was in foster care, and they did awful things…”

“Maybe you should have gotten some therapy then, so you wouldn’t do those awful things to your own daughter,” the woman snidely remarked.

“Now, Sandra, that’s not necessary,” Dr. Markham corrected the woman. How was what he had done any better? I’d brought my daughter to him in the hopes of figuring out why her skin kept bruising for no apparent reason. I put her down to sleep at night and in the morning, she would have more bruises.

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