Alexander

Wedding Bells and Eiffel Towers

Alex

My eyes stayed close, but I could still hear the the rotation of the gun, right before the trigger was pulled. This was a sound I learned to get use, as a matter of fact, I had been use to it for years, but right now it haunted me in my sleep, and sounded in my ears when I continued on with daily activities. The only time I didn't hear it was when I was with Alexa.

I watched in amazement as Dakota would feed our daughter, and play with her. Whenever she smiled, or giggled I couldn't help but sit there and think: that's my daughter, I created her. WE created her.

Whenever I held Alexa, it was if my past didn't exist. Everything I had been through, everything I had once seen just washed away. Those that I were close to that had been taken away seemed to be given back to me through Alexa. I use to feel as if I no longer had anything to fight for, Blane was dead, I took over his business, I was getting married soon. My whole life now had a meaning, one other than blood, violence and money. Alexa gave me a purpose.

"I still can't believe we're flying everyone out to Paris for our wedding." Dakota walked towards the suitcase in the living room, carrying onesies.

"Not everyone." My voice drifted off into a faint whisper and I looked up at the picture on the table, of me and Phillip hanging out by the lake. A sadness overtakes my body and a lump forms in my throat.

Dakota wraps her arms around me and looks at the picture. She kisses my cheek and holds me tighter. I can't help, but take her hand and kiss it. Dakota always builds me up when I'm feeling down, but her affection will never fill the void in my heart from losing my best friend.

"Lori and Maria said they'll meet us there. They're taking the first flight down there tomorrow morning. You'll finally get to meet my mother."

"I get to meet the lady that created the most beautiful woman in the universe. The woman that keeps together my universe." I pull her around to sit on my lap and she pulls me in close. I kiss her neck repeatedly, until I hear the cries of my world.

"I'll get her." Dakota whispers against my lips as I slowly pull apart from her. "She's probably hungry."

"No, I've got her. You just finish packing." Dakota kisses my lips and nods. As she disappears into our bedroom, I sigh away my pain and head towards Alexa's room.

Picking up my daughter, I stare deep into her grey eyes and she stares back. The tears that remain on her face are like the waves that the ocean makes when it's not at peace. That ocean reminds me of the waves of the water that kept me sane for so long. I lay Alexa over my shoulder and run her back gently.

"Look who woke up." I whisper to her. She whimpers a little as she tries to calm herself and I sit in the rocking chair.

As soon as she's finally calm, I move her from my shoulder and she looks me in my eyes. She definitely has Dakota's warm, gentle stare. "You don't have to worry, Alexa, it's just your daddy. You know, I don't think anyone could ever meet a baby as beautiful as you. I promise you, darling, I'll give you everything you deserve, even if that means the end of me."

"I knew you'd be a great father." Dakota smiles at me like she always does when I bond with Alexa. "At first I was afraid, with the lifestyle we were living, but I knew we could do it." She walks into the room.

"The moment you let it slip that I was going to be a father, I thought: this is it. Blane is going to kill me and take my child away from me. I knew at that moment that things couldn't end that way. I didn't want my child to grow up under a lifestyle of always being on the run, I didn't want my child to have to go through and see the same things I was forced to see, I didn't want them to be use to the sounds of people screaming and a gun going off every five seconds. I promised myself they'd have more, and here she is." Dakota walks over to the chair, where she kisses my cheek and rubs Alexa's back.