Change of Heart (Fostering Love 2)

“It’s cold in here, Bram,” Ani murmured as I unwrapped Arielle.

“I’ll hurry,” I breathed.

She wasn’t wearing anything but a diaper, and her little umbilical cord stump was still gnarly looking, but that wasn’t what I was interested in anyway.

I lifted one foot and then the other, startling Arielle as I ran one finger over the soles and then counted the toes. Then I counted her fingers, letting the long digits wrap around my index finger.

“She’s got long fingers,” I said in awe.

“Yeah,” Ani said, resting her hand on my knee. “She’s got a birthmark too; did you see it?”

I looked Arielle over and finally noticed where her skin was slightly darker from just above her belly button to right below her sternum.

“It looks like Florida,” I said stupidly.

“Yeah, kind of,” Ani said with a chuckle.

My mom started walking toward us then, and all of a sudden, I felt extremely self-conscious. I wrapped Arielle tightly back up with trembling hands and lifted her to my chest.

“Can I have a turn?” Mom asked teasingly.

I wanted to tell her no.

“Sure,” I said, taking one more close look at the baby. Her eyes were blinking open and closed, and my heart thudded hard in my chest. “Here you go.”

Mom took Arielle and started cooing as I grabbed Ani by the back of the neck without a word and kissed her forehead. Then I walked away.

“Keys?” I asked my dad, barely able to get the word out. He nodded and tossed me his truck keys, and I got the fuck out of there.

Chapter 12

Anita

The papers were signed and notarized.

I was a mom.

I tried not to act giddy as I sat across from Bethy in her hospital room while she waited for our mom to pick her up. Arielle was sleeping in a bright pink car seat that Liz had brought me that morning, ready to go, but I couldn’t bear to leave Bethy all alone on a floor filled with crying babies.

“Do you think you could send me updates?” Bethy asked, watching Arielle sleep. “Not, like, all the time or anything, but once in a while?”

I chewed the inside of my cheek.

Our mother should be there. She should be comforting my little sister in a way that I couldn’t. I didn’t know her well enough to play the big sister card. Anything that came out of my mouth would sound false.

“Sure,” I replied, nodding my head.

“I won’t bug you or anything.”

“It’s fine, Beth,” I said gently.

“Okay,” she breathed, nodding her head. “Okay.”

The door to her room opened, and I glanced up to find Marcus and Richard walking into the room.

“Hey,” Marcus said quietly, going straight to Bethy. “I called your mom and told her we were picking you up.”

“You can stay with us for a few days, if you want,” Richard said in his rumbly voice, “let Sue spoil you a bit.”

Bethy’s eyes filled with tears as Marcus’s arm wrapped around her shoulders. “Thanks,” she whispered.

Her eyes came to me, and I couldn’t stop myself from climbing to my feet and crossing the room, wrapping my arms gently around her waist. “Take care of yourself, little sister,” I said into her ear, smoothing my hand down her corkscrew curls. “You’re going to do big things, Bethy. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but you’re going to be an incredible woman.”

She sobbed once and dropped her head to my shoulder.

“Let me know how you’re doing and kiss the boys for me?”

“Sure.”

She pulled away and let Marcus lead her out of the room.

“Thanks for taking care of her,” I said to Richard as the door swung closed behind them.

“We’ve been taking care of Bethy for years,” he said darkly. “And we’ll keep doing it until she doesn’t need us anymore.”

My throat tightened as I nodded. I’d had no idea that Marcus and Bethy had been friends for so long, but I was glad for it. They weren’t just a couple of kids that screwed up. They loved each other. Maybe it wasn’t adult love—there was no way they were mature enough for that yet—but their friendship obviously ran deep.

God, my mother was a piece of fucking work. The entire time Bethy had been in labor she’d played on her phone and napped. Fucking napped, like her fifteen-year-old-daughter wasn’t writhing on the bed and bawling her eyes out. She was such a piece of shit.

I shook my head and picked up the bag I’d packed for Arielle.

“Just you and me, princess,” I said quietly, lifting up the car seat.

As I left the room, I caught sight of Marcus and Richard leading the way out the front doors, a nurse pushing Bethy in a wheelchair behind them. I stopped in the door and waited for them to leave before I walked into the corridor.

“Ready?” Aunt Ellie called, waving her hands excitedly.