3:09

CHAPTER 10 - THE CONFRONTATION

Cara left the hospital with her daughter in her arms. Her smile was boundless. The irreplaceable expression leapt off of her face onto nearby strangers walking in the vicinity. Aaron was seated outside, anticipating his first look at the new addition to the family. Upon seeing them leave the building, he rapidly stood up, walked over to them and hugged them in the hopes of never letting go. Aaron's eyes began to slightly water as he saw them leaving the front entrance.

"Honey, are you okay?" she asked.

He paused, admiring the moment and the new memory that had been created, paying little attention to anything else around him.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry, Cara. I... I shouldn't have left..."

She stopped him in his tracks. Moving in closer, looking at his distraught face.

"Let's get out of here..." she decided. "Here... hold her..."

Aaron shook his head and rubbed his swelling eyes with his cold hands. "I don't even deserve to."

Cara, not giving him a choice, gave their child to him as they started walking to the car.

He smirked at the little creation perfectly seated in his arms. He felt goose bumps as the hair on his arms and the back of his neck raised in a matter of seconds. "She's so quiet, so warm. Has she made any noises yet?"

"Well... there's the occasional squeak or hum" she announced.

*HHHMMM*

At that exact moment, Rose gave out a little humming sound. Bringing laughter to the both of them.

"See... she's already listening to us" he chuckled. "I love her so much honey. She's... she's... ah, what's the word I'm looking for...?"

"She's perfect" Cara responded. "She's perfect."

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Throughout the car ride home the two of them spoke like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. The words began to spill.

"What are you reading there, honey?" Aaron asked her.

"Uh... it's just background info on apnea in infants" she replied.

"Oh" he paused, breathing in heavily. "Are you sure you want to be reading that now? Maybe we should... I don't know... take our time with this," he doubted.

Cara suddenly felt a strange chill at the back of her neck. Her hands grew tense as she clutched onto the folder from the hospital even harder than before.

Cara took a loud and profound breath, "Well, if you didn't know, for SOME reason, we don't exactly have TIME, do we?"

He looked at her, squinting his eyes and flushing his cheeks. Aaron, trying to disarm the conversation said, "Okay, you're right. I'm sorry."

"No, no, no, no... I don't think a 'sorry' is gonna change what happened is it?" she imploded.

"Cara, can we please not do this now?" Aaron's voice grew softer and dustier as he prepared for the worst.

"Oh... don't you start with that bullshit! Let's start from the beginning, shall we? Tell me, does this sound familiar?"

Cara began to imitate her husband's voice. "Hey honey... I'm just gonna pop outside for a minute to move the stupid car! Tell me Aaron Rivera, who does that sound like?"

He said nothing, nor did he want to. He knew everything he said would be used against him and there was nothing else he could do except watch her ignite into chaos. Rose began to cry profoundly in the backseat. She moved her arms and kicked her little legs in the hopes of escaping the baby chair.

"Oh and get this... You knew about my breathing problems in the past and you knew that I needed you by my side. But you weren't there. You weren't by my side! How could you have just left me there! HOW!"

Cara's face reddened with flares on her cheeks as intense lines formed across her forehead. She clutched her fist and punched against the middle glove box, hurting her hand in the process.

"You... you... because of you, our daughter is gonna have a terrible life... because of you, our lives are never gonna be the same!" she screamed, not caring about the impact her harsh words would cause.

They arrived at the house and parked the car in the garage. Aaron rolled the windows up to try and mitigate Cara's ungodly outburst, but deep down he knew, there was no stopping her.

She cried infinitely. The pain in her voice was unbearable to listen to. "I hope you're happy Aaron. I want you to know that this is on YOU! You did this. I hope you feel guilty... I really do. I hope that this pain eats you up inside so that you can't sleep, can't eat and can't do anything. You don't deserve to be here after what you did. You're not a husband, you're definitely not a man and... and... you're not even a father..."

His expression was as cold as ice. There were no tears from him, no words, no movement or attention. He was simply calm, listening to his wife and taking it all in. He looked straight ahead at the front of the dark garage, emotionless and voiceless.

"You're not welcome at this house anymore" she declared. "I want nothing to do with you. Don't try to apologise. Don't call me, don't ring me and don't check up on me. I need space from you."

Aaron slowly turned his gaze to look at her. The pain was written all over his face. He turned to look at Rose in the backseat, knowing that there was a chance that it might be the last time he ever did.

He took a deep breath. "Where... will I go?"

Cara grabbed a couple a few tissues from her purse, wiping away the tears. "Anywhere but here..."

She quickly opened the car door and grabbed her daughter. "It's okay... shhhh... I'm here little one."

Before leaving she looked at her husband, who had already started reversing the car out of the garage. She couldn't believe her eyes. The man she once knew was no longer there.

Cara walked into the house, laying Rose on the couch and removing some of her blankets. She gently held Rose to her soft chest, reassuring her in a calm manner. Rose instantly stopped crying as she felt the warmness and love of her mother. A warmness that couldn't be felt anywhere else in the world.