by G. Bailey
"I drugged him at that party and kissed him when I knew you were near. I sent the messages to make you leave him alone. Arthur paid your mother to take you away so he would be mine!" she growls the last words into Maisy’s face, looking crazier than ever.
I should have known something was up when I saw her with Arthur the first time. It doesn't surprise me that he used this poor girl to mess with me. I have to admit, it worked for a while. I fought harder, lost myself in his cage with girls and with alcohol.
"Why?" I ask, wondering why Arthur would help her so much. He could have chosen any girl, not some random teenager.
"He's my uncle. He promised I could have you. He said he owns you, so he needed you in the family. He told me to get pregnant, but I don’t want that. This baby will do." She shrugs off my question with an answer that makes little sense. I’m glad I always wore protection with her. I wonder if Tristan and Allie know Elena is their cousin.
"Let's go then. Just me and you," I tell her, taking another step into the room, holding my hand out to her. I don't look at Maisy because I can’t risk Elena seeing my expression.
"No, she needs to die." Elena pushes the knife into Maisy’s neck a little, causing her to bleed.
I rush forward, pulling Elena to the ground with me, and try to grab the knife from her. She ends up cutting my arm in the struggle, but I eventually get the knife off her as Maisy screams at us. I throw it away, holding Elena on the floor. Elliot and Izzy rush into the room.
"I got her," Elliot says, taking over and holding Elena down while she screams.
Izzy is holding Jake as I get to my feet, and she looks terrified as she calms Jake by rocking him. A few midwives rush into the room, looking beyond shocked at the situation.
"Take him out of this room," I tell Izzy gently, rushing to a shocked Maisy, who's holding her neck.
Doctors rush into the room, talking about sedating Elena and saying that the police are on the way.
"I got you," I say as I pull Maisy into my lap in the bed. Elena’s screams die down as she is injected with something, and Elliot lets her go.
"What the hell?" Allie asks, coming into the room.
"No one’s allowed in here, go and put the ward on lock down. Only the police or family are allowed in here. Let the other mothers know to stay in their rooms," voices say around the room.
A doctor is standing by the door, stopping Allie from coming closer.
"I swear I’ll go crazy on all your asses if you don't let me see my girl." She glares at the doctor, who swiftly moves.
"Maisy, you okay?" Allie asks, going to stroke Maisy’s cheek.
Allie glances at Elena passed out on the floor and Elliot who is holding the knife, putting it on the side table.
"Yeah, I think so. I want to see my son," she says, and I pull her hand away from her neck.
Thankfully, the cut isn’t bad, and I clean it up with some wipes. When it stops bleeding, I pick her up and walk out of the room, ignoring the midwife’s protests. I find Izzy pacing the waiting room and holding Jake, who is fast asleep in her arms.
"Oh my god, are you okay?" she says loudly, waking up a now screaming Jake.
Maisy nudges me to put her down, and she takes Jake from Izzy, giving him a kiss and swaying him from side to side.
"I'm so sorry, Maisy." I look down at her holding Jake as I wrap an arm around her shoulder and lead her to a seat. She sits down carefully, with a slight wince at the pain from her stomach, I think.
"It's not your fault. You saved us both, Sebby." She smiles up at me, and I take the chance to give her a hungry kiss.
"Hey, none of that or there will be another one on the way," Allie says from next to me as she sits in a chair. We all laugh, and it helps with the tension.
The next few hours are filled with us giving statements. Maisy finally gives me Jake so she can have the cut on her neck looked at, but they say it doesn’t need any stitches. My arm, on the other hand, needs five stitches, which I make the nurse hurry up, as I don't want to be away from Maisy.
I'm sitting, watching her sleep, while Jake is snoozing in my arms. I can't believe I came so close to losing her again. I know there are tears running down my face as I look at the woman I will spend the rest of my life with. I plan on telling her I love her every day. She deserves more than me, but I'm too selfish to ever walk away from her. I kiss my son, gently pushing his black hair out of his face. He is so perfect, and I can't wait to take them both home.
50
Maisy
"Welcome home," everyone shouts as I walk into the house smiling, a week after having my son. I drop my bag onto the floor next to the door and hug Luke, who's the nearest.
"Thanks guys," I say, smiling at everyone I can see in the lounge and kitchen.
"Aw, there's the little man," Allie says as Seb walks in holding Jake in a car seat. He carefully takes Jake out, cuddling him.
"Let me have a hold," Harley says, holding out his hands as he nudges Luke out of the way. Seb scowls for a second before I wrap my hands around his waist.
"All right, but you have to give him back." Seb laughs.
Harley has been the most shocking around Jake. He is really good with Jake, and, well, he never wants to put him down. Not surprising with all the family around, Jake is never put down for long.
"I want a hold," I hear Izzy moan from the kitchen.
"You should have your own, then," Harley replies with a wink at Blake.
"Don't give her ideas, man," Blake says. I turn to look up at Seb, who is grinning at me.
"I love you, Sebby," I say, reaching up to kiss his cheek.
"How are you feeling?" he asks as he pulls me closer.
Seb has been very overprotective since the birth and Elena trying to kill me. I don't blame him, but it's a bit overbearing at times to be constantly watched.
"I'm okay, Seb. Everything is okay," I tell him, staring into those bright green eyes of his. He shakes his head at me and looks away.
"Can we talk alone for a minute?" I ask him.
He nods, walking us up to our room before shutting the door.
"What did you want to talk about?" he asks.
"You are feeling guilty about what happened," I say carefully.
His face pales before he sits on the end of the bed, with his head hanging down.
"Me being stupid and selfish with Elena almost got you killed, Maisy. I don't deserve you," he tells me.
I go and kneel between Seb's knees. My stomach hurts from the movement, but I push it aside.
"It wasn't your fault. Look at me?" I ask kindly.
When his beautiful, green eyes stare into mine, I hold back a gasp at how attractive they are.
"I don't blame you, and I want us to have a future. No one is to blame other than Elena, and, even then, it's not her fault because she is ill." I kiss his head, and Seb pulls my face into his hands as he kisses me. I sigh when he lifts me gently off the floor, cuddling me to his chest.
"Damn, May, I really don't deserve you, but if you want to keep me, I’m always yours." He sighs.
"Well, I don't know. You do forget to put the toilet seat down sometimes, and then there is the dishwasher which you–" I stop to laugh as he tickles me under my arms.
"You, little madam." He laughs.
There's a knock at the door that stops our laughs before it opens.
"Hey, sorry, but I've got to go. Tristan and my dad are arguing again, something about that cage place in town. I hope Tristan hasn't gotten himself involved in any shit." Allie shakes her head, coming over to stand in front of us.
"Seb, I know you guys fight sometimes in The Cage, but can you keep an eye out for my brother? I can't protect him if I don't know," she asks, and I tense, feeling bad that I can't tell her. Seb looks down at me with a slight shake of his head before he looks at Allie.
"Sure, but you should talk to Elliot," Seb says, trying to smile a little at her.
"Yeah, that's not going to happen. The jerk wo
uldn't help me anyway," she mutters the end part, but I can't help but frown at her a little.
"He would," I tell her.
"You must be tired from Jake or something, so I will ignore that." She winks, as she ignores what I said. I stand up to give her a hug before she leaves.
"I will walk you out," I say.
"I will try to find our son." Seb laughs, knowing he has a fight on his hands to get Jake back from whoever is holding him.
"How was the date last night?" I ask her. I know Allie went on a date with some guy she met in the hospital who was visiting his mother. I said it wasn’t a bad idea for her to try dating men again, but she said it would just be something to do.
"All right, but I promised him another date." She wrinkles her nose at me, pushing her shoulder-length, blond hair over her shoulder. Her hair is now dyed a dark-brown underneath. It really suits her.
"Do you want to see him again?" I ask her.
"Not really, but he is a good kisser, so I’ll give him one more chance." She winks.
I panic a little when I see Elliot's angry face in front of us before I realise he must have heard what Allie said.
He looks at Allie once, like he is trying to work something out before he storms out the door.
"What's his issue?" Allie asks, noticing him leave.
"Can't you guess?" I smile at her.
"No, I can't and don't want to. I’ll let you find your man and very cute baby." She hugs me again before we separate.
I walk around until I find nearly everyone in the kitchen, eating a cake by the looks of it. I smile when I see Izzy holding Jake, giving him kisses on his head. I notice Blake leaning against the wall by me, watching her with a loving look. He must have noticed me looking at him.
"I know that's not our baby, but seeing Izzy holding him makes me look forward to our future." He smiles before looking at me.
"I'm sure she feels the same way," I tell him.
"I hope so." He grins before walking over to Izzy.
"Allie made you a cake, so I saved you some." Harley comes to my side with a slice of cake on a plate.
"Thanks." I grin.
After one bite, I nearly moan at how amazing it tastes. Allie is great at cooking, and I would hide the whole cake from everyone if I knew about it. I'm about to put another piece in my mouth, when Seb pulls my fork into his mouth with a pop and then releases it.
"Just wow." He grins. I notice he has Jake, who I smile at.
"Don't steal my cake." I wink at Seb.
He and Harley laugh. "Well, I have a way of getting us a whole month of cakes," Seb says with a grin.
“Not without your twin attempting to kill you,” Harley warns, making Seb laugh.
"How?" I grin back, and we start discussing our great plan. Seb explains about the bet he made with Allie. I love the fact that he will share the cakes with me if I help, like he had any chance of not sharing them with me in the first place.
"Your plan is evil and could really go wrong." Harley laughs at us.
"The best plans are always evil." I wink at him.
Jake starts crying, demanding a feed or nappy change.
"You two rest, I've got him," Harley says, taking Jake and walking to the bottle maker to put one on.
"Who knew he’d be so good with babies?" I whisper to Seb.
"It doesn't surprise me." Seb looks at Harley, with what I can only describe as respect. Even though Seb hasn’t gone into much detail about his growing up, I know Harley saved him a lot and made him the man he is today.
"Hey, sis." Izzy comes over, giving me a short hug. Blake is at her side holding her hand.
"Hey, I was going to ask you later, but would you be my bridesmaid?"
Before she can answer, Seb speaks up. "Blake, you’re my groomsman," he says, not really asking.
Blake grins, nodding as Izzy answers, "Yes, I can't wait."
I get another hug from her and nearly fall over as she smiles at me. Izzy may be a little small, but she is strong.
"Come on, baby, I want to show you something at home," Blake says, pulling Izzy back into his arms.
Izzy kisses Blake before turning back to us. "Got to go. I will be over tomorrow, if that’s okay?" she asks.
"Sounds good, sis," I say, causing her to smile widely.
"About time." Seb pulls me to him, kissing my cheek.
My phone goes off in the pocket of my stretchy jeans, and I see it’s my dad.
Dad: just checking you still want me over tomorrow. I don't want to get in your way but I can't wait to see my grandson and daughter x
Me: yes I want you over and I'm looking forward to introducing you, too. Plus I have some other news that I want your help with.
Dad: I will help with anything. Do you need me to bring anything over?
Me: No thanks, I'll see you tomorrow x
Dad: Can’t wait Maisy.
I glance up at Seb, who is chatting to Luke. I walk over, giving him a tight hug, and then kissing him deeply. He groans, pulling me away a bit.
"Not that I didn't enjoy that, but why?" He smirks at me.
"I'm just a lucky girl." I kiss him again, and, this time, he runs his hands into my hair. I am aware we are in a crowd, but I couldn't care less as I kiss the most amazing man I know.
51
Maisy
"You sure you don't want me to stay?" Seb asks as he fiddles with his tie in the mirror of our bedroom. He looks amazing in a full suit, showcasing his big build, and it makes him seem a lot older.
"No, you need to go and help Harley. It's only my dad," I tell him as I come over to stand in front of him.
Jake is sleeping in the Moses basket by the bed, after a long feed. Seb watches as I pull my dress back over my breasts, and his eyes darken. With the help of my local midwife, I finally got Jake breast-feeding instead of just feeding from a bottle. Jake is a greedy boy, so he likes to have them both, which surprised the midwife and us. Well, not Seb, who said he is like him about food.
"I'm suddenly very jealous of my son," he tells me as he steps closer.
"Really?" I laugh as he kisses me. The kiss is sweet, with enough pressure to let me know how much he wants me.
"Yes," he says and moves away to the door.
I follow him downstairs, being sure to grab the video baby monitor and switching it on.
"If he so much as says anything bad to you, I want to know," Seb warns as he opens the front door.
"He won't. I know this is difficult, but I'm giving him a chance. Like I did with you," I say.
He presses a gentle kiss on my forehead as he says, "Any man is lucky for a chance to be in your life, May."
I blush under his compliment, and he chuckles. I give him a playful shove toward the door, and he relents by finally going out. As soon as the door shuts, I start worrying about this meeting.
I'm lucky that my dad pulls up a few moments later, and I open the door for him after he knocks.
"Hey, Dad." I smile.
"Can I come in?" he asks, looking nervous.
Dad looks much better than I've ever seen him. Dressed in his usual brown suit and checked vest over a white shirt, but his usually pale skin is darker, and he doesn't look so tired. The main thing I notice is that he doesn't smell like alcohol, like he typically does.
"Yes, you look good, Dad," I tell him, and I walk into the lounge, and my dad follows.
He sits on the couch, looking around the room. The room is slightly messy, with baby blankets on the sofa and some cups I have been meaning to take out.
"The house suits you, Maisy. I'm glad you look so happy," he tells me.
"Thanks. Seb asked me to marry him, and I said yes," I start the conversation I wanted to have with him. I show him my ring, and my dad starts grinning. I look down at my ring, it still feels strange to see it on my finger.
"I'm glad he asked. That boy is good for you,” he says. “What happened to that girl who threatened you?”
“She is in a local mental
hospital getting treatment. Once her parents found out what was going on, they came back and we came to an agreement. We agreed that they are taking her away once she is out, if I don’t press charges,” I say, but I don’t add that we found out that Elena found Arthur when she looked for her real parents.
Arthur and his sister grew up in a bad neighbourhood, and his sister put Elena up for adoption when she fell pregnant, and she died not long after due to drugs. Elena’s adoptive parents told us all this, and we were a little shocked. Seb wonders if the mental illness Elena clearly has runs in the family, and that might be why Arthur is so crazy.
“I’m glad she is getting help, but, honestly, I want to kill the girl for hurting you,” he says, and I nod.
“I understand that. Just the thought that she could have taken Jake, and I couldn’t have stopped her keeps me up at night,” I tell him.
“I want to tell you something, if you will let me," he asks.
"What?" I ask as my dad gets up off the other couch and takes the empty seat next to me. I let him take my hands into his as he starts to talk.
"I was a terrible father, and I was lost to alcohol more than I could admit before. I've not touched a drop for ninety-two days, and I won't." He sighs as I gasp, a little in shock.
"I'm in a little, local group, which I attend every week, and I have put our old home up for sale. Your mother isn't taking it well. I have bought a new house in town. It's a small two bedroom house by the bakery, and it's good for me," he says, waiting for my approval, I think.
"That's, well, I'm shocked, Dad," I blurt out.
"I don't expect you to forgive me, or want me in your life. But, I'm going to do everything I can to be a real dad to you," he says.
"I do forgive you, Dad," I tell him, and he bursts into tears.
I wrap my arms around his chest and hug my dad as he cries. Eventually, he stops, and I start telling him why.
"I'm proud of you for everything you've changed in your life. I know it wasn't easy, and I want you in my life. I want my dad to walk me down the aisle, and I want my son to know his granddad."