He shakes his head. “I don’t know either.
“I’ve looked over your charts and everything seems to be fine now. The nurses will be in soon to check everything again.”
As if he’s conjured her up a nurse comes into the room and checks my vitals and my blood pressure. All the while Levi doesn’t leave my side. His presence is a comfort.
Levi’s family converges on me giving me hugs.
The door opens and I look to my left to see my mother standing in the doorway. The room immediately quiets. She doesn’t look anything like she normally does, her clothes are wrinkled, and her hair isn’t as pristine as it normally is, she actually looks normal.
And I can’t even begin to decipher the look in her eyes.
She clears her throat. “Can you all give me a moment alone with my daughter.”
My hands tighten on the sheets. I’m not in the mood to fight with her,
Everybody starts to file out of the room except Levi. He parks himself in front of my bed and folds his arms across his chest.
“No,” he says.
She looks taken aback.
I sigh “Levi.”
“No, Mia. I’m not leaving you alone with her. Every time you talk to her, she hurts you in one way or the other. That shit ends now.”
My mother flinches and something akin to guilt crosses her features.
I grab Levi’s hand and his eyes meet mine.
“I appreciate you sticking up for me, but I need to do this on my own. Please?”
He searches my eyes before letting out a sigh.
“Fine. I love you.” My breath catches in my throat. It’s the first time he’s said it out loud. His gaze holds mine and I can’t help but beam up at him.
“I love you too.”
His answering smile calms me. H places a kiss against my lips before backing away from the bed.
“I’ll be right outside the door.” He gives my mother one last warning glance before leaving.
“Well I don’t think he likes me very much,” she says approaching the bed cautiously.
I hold her stare. “Can you blame him?”
She looks away running a shaky hand through her hair.
“It’s occurred to me that I owe you an apology.”
I still. “For what?”
She sinks down into the chair beside my bed. “Everything,” she licks her lips before meeting my stare. “After you and Mya were born, I went through an ugly bout of postpartum depression. Your father tried to help me, but it was never ending. Anything and everything I did seemed wrong. Anytime I touched you would start crying, yet when your father would hold you calmed down. It made me angry. The depression continued for so long that I had to start therapy.”
I sit perfectly still taking in her words.
“Like I said I didn’t think anything would pull me out of it. And then Mya started to take an interest in pageants, and we bonded. I didn’t realize I was pushing you away in the process until it was too late. I didn’t realize how bad it had gotten until I saw you passed out in your father’s arms. It terrified me,” her voice breaks on the last sentence.
And I find my throat tightening with unshed tears.
She wipes under her eyes. “Anyway, I needed to tell you that to say I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t make up for all the horrible things I’ve said to you over the years, but if you’d give me a chance I’d really like to start moving our relationship in the right direction.”
I stare at her for a moment contemplating and absorbing her words.
It occurs to me that this is the first time I’ve seen her look remorseful. Ever.
“Okay, we can try.” The genuine relief in her eyes makes me feel like I’ve made the right decision.
***
LEVI
“Easy.” I murmur helping Mia out of the car.
Before she can even blink I have her up and in my arms as I make my way inside of my arms.
She gasps clutching my shoulders. “Levi, I can walk.”
“Why walk when you have me?” I say striding towards my building. Gabe steps in front of me to open the door.
She spent another night in the hospital for observation and was released a little while ago. Since there was no way I was letting her out of my sight for the foreseeable future we headed straight to my place with Gabe in tow and Mya went back to Mia’s place to pack a bag for her.
I’ve never been as terrified as I was when I got the call that she had collapsed. On the plane ride home, hundreds of scenarios went through my mind, each one getting worse and worse.
I didn’t take a deep breath until she opened her eyes. “But--”
“Just agree with him. It’s easier that way,” Gabe says.
Mia sighs and lays her head on my shoulder as I carry her towards the elevator. A few seconds later Gabe is letting us into my apartment. I take Mia straight to the couch and lay her down on it.
“Well looks like yall are good. I have a few clients coming in this afternoon so I’m out” Gabe says.
He’s a tattoo artist and piercer at the hottest shop in Chicago.
I nod to him “Alright thanks bro, I appreciate your help.”
“Of course.” And then he’s gone.
We curl up on the couch. Kissing her head, I pull her closer knowing that there’s no place I would rather be.
Epilogue
MIA
Six Years Later
I clutch the brown paper bag in one hand and my growing belly in the other as I step off the elevator.
“Hey Cara,” I say smiling at Levi’s assistant. She’s an older lady with a kind heart.
“Hey. Oh!
