Have Faith in Me (Ianthony)

Chapter 18: I'll Do Anything!

 Anthony hesitantly raised his fist to the door of Apartment 212. After a hellish night of guiltily tossing and turning, Mari had yet again called and woken him up. However, this time, he was truly thankful. She'd given him a very important and useful address and as soon as he'd scrounged up some clothes and brushed his teeth, he was out the door and headed to the Easttown Apartments. If Mari was right (and she always was) this was the key to getting Audrina — and Ian — back for good. 

Taking a deep breath, he rapped lightly, waiting impatiently for someone to answer. He stood outside for a good moment before he tapped more loudly on the door. He jammed his hands into his pockets as the door swung open. 

There stood Kara, the 'mother' of his child and the bane of his existence. She looked much different from the day she'd dropped Audrina off. Her hair was clean and combed into a bun, she wore makeup, and she wore a jacket and skirt with pumps. She looked professional and almost...happy. 

She glared at him. "Anthony...? What are you doing here?" 

He gulped in a breath quickly and before she could stop him, stepped into the apartment. His eyes scanned the room for any signs of the little girl that he and Ian had grown to love over the past few months. He thought solemnly to himself that she'd be a year old soon. 

"What are you doing here?" Kara repeated, clearly growing annoyed with him. 

Still looking around, he answered, "isn't it obvious? I want my daughter back." 

Kara snorted. "Your daughter? You mean our daughter? And you can forget about that, Anthony. Do you know how much government aid I get from being a young, single mother? Do you think I'd just give that up?" 

He stared at her for a moment, glaring. "That. That's what you're worried about losing. Some fucking food stamps and WIC? That is such shit. Does Audrina mean nothing to you?!" He threw his hands up and began to pace.

 She rolled her eyes. "If you're gonna insult me, get the fuck out of my apartment. I don't have to listen to this shit." 

"Where's Audrina?" he asked bluntly. 

She shrugged. "Why should I tell you? All you've done is barge into my house, uninvited, I might add, and disrespected me." 

   "Fine," Anthony said, gritting his teeth, "will you please direct me to my daughter?"

 She snorted. "Sure, thing." She directed him to a door down the small hallway. "You know, It's a good thing that you're here and not Ian. Because if he said that, I'd just laugh." 

 Anthony gave her a hard look before turning the knob. "Really? Because Ian was more of a father to her than I ever was and ever could be. And you know what else?" he asked, opening the door, "he's twice the mother you could ever dream of being."  

 Kara quirked an eyebrow, seemingly unfazed at Anthony's words. "Who the fuck are you to say that? You don't know me at all!" 

He snorted. "Yeah? Well, here's what I do know: you got pregnant, had the baby and neglected her, left your kid with total strangers, took her back when she finally got settled, and now you're only keeping her to uphold your government assistance... and if I didn't know better, it's also just to spite me." He shook his head one more time before opening the door and letting himself into Audrina's nursery. 

It was bland, but he was glad to see that it was functional. There was a crib, a changing table, and some drawers, which he hoped contain clean clothing. His heart absolutely broke when he looked into the crib and saw Audrina. 

Her eyes were shut tight and her fists were balled at her sides. She looked tired, physically and mentally. 

Anthony wanted to cry, but he fought back the tears and whispered to his daughter: "Aud-Audrina? It's me...It's Anthony. I guess you could call me Daddy now, considering I am, biologically, that is. We both know Ian's your dad in every way that counts...," he trailed off, swallowing.