Let Go

Epilouge

I stare at myself in the mirror. Looking at every curve. Luke comes up behind me, laying his hands on my waist. His lips touch my neck gently.

"I'm so fucking scared." I breathe, allowing my hands to trace over my stomach.

"Everything will be okay, I promise. The doctor said you're perfectly healthy." He rubs his hand along my stomach.

"That doesn't help with the fact that I'm about to have a baby, Luke." I say, our eyes connecting in the mirror.

"I'll be by you the whole time. I promise." His lips touch my cheek.

"What if something happens? What if something goes wrong?" I ask, mostly to myself.

"Everything will be fine. The doctors are going to take care of you. They've done this hundreds of times before." He reassured me.

"I know, but-" He cuts me off, stepping in front of me and connected our lips for a brief moment.

"The car is packed. The car seat is in. Everything is ready." He tells me.

"Everything but me." I glance up at his eyes.

"Don't be worried. Okay? Do it for me."

I nod my head, and slip on my shoes. Luke holds my hand as he leads me out to the car, and helps me get in. As I wait for him to come around to the driver's side I look in the rear view mirror at the car seat in the back. Then I glance down at my stomach. I feel as though if I look hard enough, I'll be able to see my baby boy inside.

"Here we go." Luke smiles at me, lacing our fingers together.

My phone rings from the cup holder next to me. "Hello?"

"Hey, have y'all left yet?" Jett's voice asks.

"Just pulled out of the driveway." I comment.

"Okay. My plane just landed but it's like a thirty minutes drive from the airport." He tells me.

"That's fine. I don't think they'll let you in the delivery room anyways."

"Yeah, but I still want to be there when he comes out." He says flatly.

"Ew."

"What? Is it bad that I want to see my nephew?" He defends.

"Well no, but when you put it like that.." I trail off.

It's silent for a moment before he says, "I can't believe my baby sister of having a baby." His voice is full of shock.

"I'm not a baby, I'm twenty-six." I pout.

"Yeah, but you're still my baby sister." He says with finality.

"Yeah, and you're baby sister is having a kid before you. Keep that in mind. Also keep in mind she's married and you don't even have a girlfriend." I point out, chuckling to myself.

"Hey, rude." He replies, "Sorry I'm focused on my career."

I roll my eyes, "Mhm, yeah. Being a dentist is so hard."

"Hey, you wouldn't believe some of the breath I've smelled."

"Again, ew."

"Alright, alright. I gotta focus on driving. Take care of my nephew." He says.

"Gee, love you too." I laugh.

"You'll do great, okay? Love you." He says before hanging up.

It's silent until we pull into the parking lot. "I can't do this." I say with dread.

"Yes, you can. I promise. Out of everything you've been through, this will be easy, okay?"

"Well yes, but still." I say. It's quiet for a moment.

"She would be proud of you." He almost whispers. Immediately I know who he's talking about. "She would be proud you made it this far." His thumb strokes my knuckles.

"I know." I whisper. "I can do it."

Then we both get out of the car, and he takes my trembling hand in his, and we walk into the hospital together. This time, I'm here for the right reasons.

~

It's a couple hours before my c-section finally ends. And as they transfer me into an overnight room, Jett finds us and follows us in. "Look at my little sister all grown up." He says, a proud look in his eyes. Before I can reply we're interrupted by two nurses, one holding my new son.

"Would you like to hold your baby?" She asks. I nod my head shyly, and then take the cooing baby into my arms.

"What was his name for the birth certificate?" The second one asks.

"Elijah Thomas Obenham." I tell her, not lifting my eyes from him. She smiles at me, nods her head, and then scrambles out of the room with the other nurse.

As I gaze into the big blue eyes of Elijah, I realize there's only one thing that I want for this baby. I want him to be just like his father. I want him to be kind, and gentle. I want him to have compassion for the broken. I want him to have the heart to help people. I want him to look for the best in others. I want him to be the person that everybody wants to be around, not because he's popular, or because he's a star athlete, but solely because he's a good person. Just like Luke Obenham.

Luke's fingers graze over the dark hair of Elijah as I lift my eyes to look at him. "Do you want to hold him?" He nods his head, and gently takes the swaddled baby from my arms. As I watch the two interact, I can't help the swelling of my heart in my chest. He holds him for a couple minutes before Jett sticks his nose in.

"Well don't hog him, let Uncle Jett see him." He whines. With an eye roll Luke passes him over to Jett who then proceeds to tell him a bit of life advice, "Listen, I'm the cool Uncle. Okay? I'm gonna give you some advice that you can take on through your life. If you get a good leather jacket, the ladies won't be able to resist you. That's really all you need to know." I can't help the chuckle that spills from my mouth as I reach for Luke's hand. Luke turns his attention from Jett and Elijah to me. Without a second thought he bends down and kisses me gently.

"I love you." He tells me.

"I love you too." I tell him.