Isabella: Our Adopted Baby

Chapter 15

Hey, everyone! I apologize for the long wait on this chapter. My new job is kicking my butt and I'm still trying to balance my time when I'm home in the evenings. Don't you just love change? But enough about me. I have a question for you all. I'm so bothered by the change in names as well as the title of this story. I'd prefer to keep her name as Isabella and not have any switching. That being said... if I just change 'Kelly' to 'Isabella', would you guys be fine with that? Also, do you all have any suggestions on a new book title? I have some in mind but I love getting input from you all. I appreciate your patience with me! You guys are the best. And on that note, enjoy the new chapter!

*Update: I got two comments about the name change so I did a 'find and replace' and changed her name. She will ONLY be called Isabella from this point on. I hope this doesn't get confusing for anyone. I've also changed it throughout the entire story so if you like to reread the story, you won't get confused with different names being in the story. I hope this helps!

---

I walked up the steps afraid of how Quinn would react when I saw her. She had every right to be mad at me. I had overstepped a huge boundary and while I didn't know that I was going to find a box with her deceased child's items, I shouldn't have handled it the way I did.

I stood outside of her bedroom unable to move. I needed to talk to her but I was so scared that she was going to be mad at me. I didn't want her to yell at me even though I deserved it.

I went to my room so I could figure out what I was going to do. I needed a little bit of time to get my nerves calmed.

Sitting on the cabinet with the diaper supplies was a hair brush. It was pink with white bristles. Remembering that my hair needed brushing, I grabbed it and headed to Quinn's room.

It was the perfect distraction. Either that or she would rip my hair out.

Fingers crossed that wouldn't happen.

I knocked on the door to Quinn's room and listened for a response from her. It took her a few moments before she spoke.

"Come in."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat and walked into the room.

Quinn was sitting on the bed with her legs crossed under her. There was a magazine sitting on the bed in front of her. It looked like a gardening magazine.

She looked over at me as I entered. When she saw it was me, her face fell from hopeful to disappointed.

I held up the hairbrush so she could see it. "Can you help me fix my hair?"

She looked back down at the magazine. "You don't need my help. You can take care of yourself."

Okay... she was still mad at me. I was going to have to change my tactic if I wanted her to be nice to me again.

"I can. But I want you to help me."

"You don't want my help."

I took a deep breath through my nose and walked over to the bed. I set the brush down beside her. "Please?"

She looked at the brush and then up at me. "Did Giovanni put you up to this?"

Lying, I shook my head.

She flipped the magazine shut and tossed it onto her nightstand. She patted the bed in front of her. "Have a seat."

I climbed up onto the bed and sat down in front of her. I crossed my legs under me, my feet hiding under my dress.

"What made you change your mind?" Quinn asked. She gathered my hair in her hands and pulled it behind my shoulders.

"I felt bad that you were so upset. I shouldn't have gone snooping."

She stayed silent as she began brushing my hair in sections.

"How did your baby pass?"

"If you're looking for more to use against me-"

"I'm not, I swear."

She stayed silent as she began to brush my hair. I couldn't tell if she was mad at me for asking or not. She had every right to be upset with me after I'd insulted her dead baby.

I just hoped she wouldn't punish me for it.

"I-I'm sorry if I'm overstepping. We don't have to talk about it."

"No, it's... it's just hard to talk about." Her voice sounded heavy, like she was holding back tears.

I didn't know what to say. I'd never lost anyone that meant anything to me, especially not a child. I didn't know how to comfort her. I didn't know the right, or wrong, things to say in a moment like that.

"Madeline was growing fine until the halfway point. One ultrasound, we discovered she had a birth defect that was causing her heart to not grow in proportion to the size of her body. The doctors monitored me for a few weeks and then I delivered the baby early. I only had a few hours with her before she died."

I stared down at my hands. Talking about her dead baby was uncomfortable. It made me wish I hadn't asked. But I opened that can of worms so I had to deal with the consequences.

Quinn took a deep breath and I heard the wavering in her breathing. She was crying.

I turned around to face her and was met with her teary eyes and pained expression. Her even opening up to me about her baby said a lot considering how things had gone between us just hours prior.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and hugged her. She was stiff as she tried to figure out if I was being genuine or not. After a minute of deliberating, she hugged me back.

She had a motherly touch to her and I realized it had to be hard for her to carry a child and then not bring it home. Her body probably didn't know so it presumably continued on as if the baby was healthy and happy. I felt sorry that she had to live through that.

She pulled back and wiped her eyes. "I need to finish your hair. I don't want you to look disheveled."

I held back a smile as I turned back around.

She began to comb my hair again, this time with intentions of actually combing it out. "You can go play or whatever you were doing before when we're done."

I folded my hands in my lap and stared down at the bed as she brushed through my hair. "Are you gonna stay up here?"

"What do you mean?"

"You don't have to stay up here because of me. I can go to my room so you can go downstairs."

She leaned around me to look me in the eye. "Do you think I'm gonna avoid you?"

"I hurt your feelings."

"That doesn't mean I don't want to see you. This isn't high school."

I nodded and looked away. Maybe they were right to pick me for their 30-day trial. Offering up $100,000 certainly made it more obvious that they wanted me. They could say it wasn't me specifically but I had my suspicions.

"I'm not mad at you, Isabella. You didn't know. Just don't let it happen again."