Homecoming

Chapter 11

I woke up in a shockingly bright recovery room. A machine beeped next to me and as I came to, I became painfully aware of a pain across my lower stomach. My hand moved to touch and a soft hand touched mine to stop it. My eyes fluttered in confusion and focused slowly on my mother's aged, beautiful face.

"Ma?" I croaked dryly.

She moved a straw to my lips, and I sucked graciously, the water spilling over my tongue and clearing my throat. I grunted as I shifted and looked down at the blue cast on my arm. I scowled at the clunky plaster and then spotted the bassinet beside the bed. I froze and felt my mom touch my arm as I touched my now empty stomach.

"They had to give you an emergency C-section, Honey." She said softly.

"Is she..." My voice trailed off.

"She is perfect." Ma said in a softer tone and I turned to look at her.

She stared at me and then sat beside me as she explained what had happened. Rachel had called the cops. She had a bad feeling after Fynn gave her a call and when Jenson and his partners got to the property, Fynn was lazily buried in back yard. They rushed to the scene of Jason and I in a rush, expecting me to be dead as well, but Jason was on his knees, sobbing. He went with the police calmly and had confessed to killing Fynn in cold blood.

I rubbed my thumb across the thin hospital blanket and stared at the fabric as tears fell against the white sheet. His words played in my head, and I wished for a moment I had thrown the results away. Fynn wouldn't be dead. Jason would have never found out. I could have moved forward. Ma hugged herself as close to me as she could be and then moved around to the bassinet and picked up my newborn daughter.

She placed her softly in my arms and I stared down at her soft, caramel features. She was darker than I and her hair sat against her scalp in thick curls. I rubbed a finger across her cheek and she smacked her lips, cooing. My sadness broke like a mirror, the pieces of my past behind me as I felt myself stepping forward into something new, something good.

"She is perfect." Ma repeated, smiling down at me.

"Her name is May." I said softly, looking at mom.

Her eyes softened and she squeezed my hand as we admired May's sleeping face. Her lips puckered and I touched her bottom lip with the tip of my finger. She was new to this world and didn't know the harm of what our actions could do yet. I hoped she never has to find out.

"Welcome home, Julia." Ma said softly, kissing my head.