Page 23 of Inked Heart

Fuck. I forgot how much work babies are. I used to help Carrie with DJ all the time and now that I am doing it for Ham tonight, I remember not sleeping part sucks. Thank God, I had just put up the crib for my baby girl this morning. I know Kitty is not here but whether we get back together or not; when I have my little princess, she will need a bed fit for royalty and I was not going to put it off till the last minute.

After putting Ezra down for what I hope is the night…. lord willing, I hop into the shower to decompress from the wreck that has been my day. I have no idea what is going to happen. All I do know is that I cannot make her see that what we have is different and worth fighting for. There is no battling a ghost. Especially one that is so far buried in her head, she cannot find the grave to dig it up. She must want it for herself as much as I want it for us.

Walking down to the kitchen I am shocked to see Kitty holding baby Abby in my foyer.

“Baby?” I know she can hear the incredulity and concern in my voice, but more than that I am struck by how beautiful she looks holding a baby in her arms and carrying one in her belly. It brings my biggest vision to life. Right here in front of my very eyes.

“Where is Ezra?”

“In the crib. I put it together this morning.”

“I’ll just put Abby down with him, then we should talk.”

No matter the situation, my dick sees its mate and springs to life. It doesn’t help that her ass has become quite round carrying my kid and I have had a lot of fun with it as of late. However, she is right we do need to talk. Because I will not go through this back and forth and I won’t put my baby through it either. With that thought, I grab a shirt off the chair, throw it on, and wait for her to come back down.

When she finally descends from upstairs, she doesn’t seem as confident as when she went up; as evident by her hands wringing and the way she has her head down. I want to go to her and make her feel better. Tell her I love her, want this with her, and will always protect her; but this time, she has to come to me.

“So, you said you wanted to talk.” I know I sound a bit edgy, but shit…my future is on the line and I take that shit seriously.

Her eyes get wide when she looks at me, because I am sure by now she has figured out I am not going to try to smooth this out for her. This is her show and she must prove to me that she wants this. I have feelings too.

“I-I’m sorry El. I am sorry I overreacted at the shop and I am sorrier that I have been holding back. I have been overwhelmed my whole life since it happened and inundated with the vision of them lying there, that I forgot about everything that came before. We were a happy family El. I mean really. happy.

My father used to come home from work and he and my brothers would wrestle on the floor every evening, before sitting down and helping us with our homework and or asking about our day. He would play tea party with me and let me dress him up, and he would genuinely have a good time. I remember one night waking up out of my sleep to the sound of music and I snuck downstairs to see my parents standing in the middle of the foyer, slow dancing to one of my dad’s records.”

“Somehow, I forgot, they had real love and it was beautiful. Until it wasn’t. I think they were equally obsessed with one another and that is why it eventually imploded. And as tragic as it ended, I want what it was in the beginning. I want the all-consuming, cannot live without you, you are the reason I breath kind of love. And I want that with you.”

She says all of this and as each sentence falls out of her mouth, her desperation and tears are overwhelmingly heart wrenching; I do the only thing I can, I engulf her in my arms and tell her how much I love her. I take a moment to inhale the scent that is all her, jasmine and peaches. I rock her back and forth telling her it will be ok. Her tears will break me if she doesn’t stop.

“Come on baby. Stop crying. It’s not good for the baby or you. You took the first step to cementing our future. Now just let me prove to you, you didn’t’ make a mistake. I knew from the moment I bumped into you at the baby party, you were going to change my life. And I wasn’t wrong. I searched for you and when I had lost all hope of finding you, fate stepped in and brought us back together to show me we had created life. I have asked you before, but I now know you weren’t ready. So, I will ask you again. Katherine Erin Heart, will do me the incredible honor of being my wife?” With no hesitation or provocation, she yells.

“YES!” and flings herself into my arms. It’s about damn time. Fuck. Finally, everything I have ever wanted is in my arms. Where she belongs. If it wasn’t for the fact that we are in the middle of a crisis with the Crawford’s, I would strip her right here and fuck the shit out of her on the floor.

But for right now, it is enough to know, she is finally all MINE.

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