Payback

“What are you going to name her?” the midwife asks while checking her vitals.

“Ella Paige,” I reply through the tears of joy that are now falling.

“Six pounds on the nose,” she says while swaddling my little Ella in a blanket. She hands her to me and my heart falls in love all over again. “We have to take her to give her a bath, but I promise she'll be back in no time.” I nod and close my eyes in exhaustion.

The door is flung open, revealing a disheveled Ty. “Hey baby, have you had the baby yet?”

“Yes,” I hiss at him, biting my tongue so I don't cause a scene.

“Still a girl,” he asks, mirroring my hiss.

“Yes.”

I'm looking at him with disgust as the nurse and Maia wheel Ella back in. Baby girl Garrett, my last name, is written on the pink cardstock, with her little footprints below. Ty’s eyes grow wide when he sees her bright brown eyes and the long, dark fringe of lashes she has. “Olivia. We can name her Olivia. After my mother,” he says.

“She already has a name,” I scoff.

“You mean you named her without asking me?” His face is already growing red to match his bloodshot eyes.

“I've been here for almost ten hours and spent two of those trying to find you, asshole. I'll name her what I damn well want to, seeing as up until now, you’ve greatly expressed your disappointment in the baby being a girl.” His face grows dark, and he takes a step towards me as I hold my Ella closer to me, fear evident in my expression.

Maia comes in at that moment. “Cami, is there a problem?” I shake my head, never taking my eyes off Ty.

“Well, can I at least hold her?” he asks. I nod hesitantly before handing her over. Maia hovers around him with a look of irritation on her face. His phone begins to ring, so he hands her back to me. “I gotta take this,” he says, turning to leave the room. Maia sits on the bed beside me.

“You know you can be honest with me, right?”

I look at her and sigh deeply. “Everything will be fine,” I reply, lying even to myself. Ella begins to wiggle and whimper in my arms, and I bring her forehead to my lips.

“Sounds like somebody is hungry,” Maia says with a giggle. I smile and place the bottle that a nurse has made into her mouth, the cute little cooing sounds she makes melting all my troubles away. After she falls asleep, I hand her to Maia to go back to the nursery and close my eyes as exhaustion takes over.

With the sun filtering through the blinds, I wake to find Ty passed out in a chair. I shake my head and call for the nurse to bring Ella to me. Ty begins to stir when the door creaks open.

“Cam, I'm sorry for being such an ass,” he whispers, coming over to sit by me on the bed. I nod, unable to find the right words to say.

“I love you, you know that, and I love Ella too. She’s absolutely beautiful, just like her mother.” I smile at his words; the word beautiful hasn't been used to describe me in months.

Three years later

8

Jett

I need to get out of the house, away from all the eyes surveying my every move. It’s been four years. I should know that they’d still treat me like an eighteen-year-old kid, but I’m not a child anymore.

“I’m going out for a while. I need to clear my head,” I mumble to my mother as she sits at the kitchen table. My hand is on the doorknob when I think better of it. I walk back over to her and kiss her on the head. “I’m ok, I promise.”

She pulls me down into a hug. “I know. I’m just so glad you’re home.”

I'm sitting at the bar, drinking my beer, when I hear a familiar voice over the loud music blaring overhead. “Jett, is that you?”

I turn around, and there's my old friend Shawn Wilson. “Yeah, man, it's me,” I reply.

“How the hell are you?” he asks, holding his hand up for a fist bump.

“I'm great, man.” I know it’s a lie. I am not great. Hell, I’m barely holding it together, but I don’t need some crazy small town gossip about it.

“Did you just get back? I heard you did a full tour, that’s some crazy shit.”