"Anna! I need your help!" My sister stormed into my bedroom. "What is it? And keep it down, I just put Jaxon down for a nap" "I'm sorry" she sat on the chair by my desk waiting for me to come over, "Alright, what do you need?" "I think I'm pregnant" "What do you mean you think?" I sat down on the bed, "My period is late and I need a pregnancy test" I got off the bed and went to my dresser. "What are you doing?! I have a crisis!" I handed her a pregnancy test. "Go take this and come back" she ran off to the bathroom, I heard Jaxon making noises from his room so I went to go check on him but he was just dreaming. "We have a problem. It's positive." She started crying. "What am I going to do?" "Calm down, I'll go with you to tell mom and dad. They need to know right away." "When should we tell them?" "Let's go right now" "I'm scared" "I know you are but you have to tell them. I was so scared before I told them." "They are going to be so mad! I'm only 17!" "Everything is going to be okay. Mom and dad really helped me through it all" I grabbed the baby monitor and walked downstairs with Michelle. "Mom, dad, can we see you in the office please?" We walked to the office. "What is it sweetheart?" I looked at them, "you guys might want to sit down." They sat down and looked at us, Michelle spoke up, "I'm pregnant" mom closed her eyes, "oh lord" "please don't be mad" I held her hand, "don't worry mic, everything is going to be okay." "You promise?" "Yes, I promise" "What are you going to do?" Mom and dad looked at us, "Well she can have my room." "And what are you going to do about a room?" "I'm actually going to be moving out" "when did you decide this?" "I've been thinking about it ever since Jaxon was born but this just makes it easier." "Thank you Anna. That's so nice of you but you didn't have to do that." "I know that but it's time for me to move out. Jaxon and I need a place of our own" dad stood up "Well let's find you a place and get you settled." "I found a couch that's really cheap that I can pick up tomorrow." "No no sweetheart, we are going to buy you furniture. It'll be your house warming present." "Yes sir" mom looked at dad "and what about Michelle and the baby?" "Michelle will start doing classes online and get into the doctor right away." Dad walked out of the office and mom followed, Michelle and I then went back to my room so I could check on Jaxon. He was just laying in his crib looking at the ceiling. "Well aren't you a good boy!" I picked him up and brought him to my room and sat on the bed. "Anna?" "Yeah?" "What did you think when you found out?" "I was terrified. I have never been so scared in my life." "How did you get through it?" "With mom and dad's help and Michael and some of my friends." "I hope I'm as strong as you. I never thought this would happen. I'm so scared." She left the room and Jax started playing with his toys when there was a knock on the door. "Come in." "Hey, got a sec?" It was Michael. "Yeah sure, what's up?" "What's going on with Mic?" "She's pregnant" "What?! I'm going to kill Austin!!" "Calm down" "I'm sorry" he sat down next to Jaxon "I can't believe this is happening" he continued playing with Jaxon when I got a text. *Hey, can we go somewhere and talk?* I looked at Michael, "Can you watch Jax for a little bit? I have some errands to run." "Yeah sure thing. Take as long as you want." "Thank you!" I grabbed my purse and jacket off the hook on the door and kissed Jaxon's head. "Be a good boy for uncle Michael" I grabbed my phone from my back pocket *Where do you want to meet?* *The cafe on the corner* I got in the truck and drove to the cafe, when I got out I saw Jacob sitting at a table. When I walked in he stood up and greeted me, "it's been a long time" "I know" "oh belle, don't be like that" "be like what? Be upset that your son is a year old and you haven't bothered to see him once? Of course I'm going to be like that" "I'm sorry" "what do you want?" "I want to see him" "who do you want to see?" "My son" "his name is Jaxon and I don't think that's a good idea" "why not?" "Cause you weren't there, you didn't want to be there" "I want to be there now" "he doesn't need you to be there. He has me and my family and Jason." "Ah yes, Jason will never leave your side because he's been in love with you since you guys were born" he rolled his eyes. "Well you know what, he was there for me and Jaxon when you weren't. He cared about him when you didn't." I have had enough, I got up to leave but he grabbed my arm "Bella please let me see my son, just one afternoon. I'll meet you anywhere you want. I just want to spend some time with him. I also wanted to tell you something" "what?" "I have a daughter" I wasn't shocked, "and?" "I would like Jennifer and Jaxon to know each other, even if you hate me, don't take it out on Jen." "Who's her mother?" "She's not from here and she left. She abandoned her and left me with her so now it's just the two of us and I would really like it if my children knew each other" "how could she just leave her daughter" "she didn't want Jennifer and was going to abort her but as the father I stepped in and would not allow her to do that. I would never abort my child." "No, just abandon them" "Bella, I'm so sorry! I've never been so sorry in my entire life. I will keep saying sorry until I die or you let me in, whichever comes first. I might die first but I'll keep saying it." "Can I ask you something?" "Sure" "Why? Why did you abandon us? Why did you tell everyone Jaxon wasn't yours?" "Cause I was scared" "and I wasn't? I was terrified! And I had to do it all alone! You were scared? We almost died!" "What do you mean you almost died?" "There were complications during labor and we almost died." "I'm so sorry Bella. I'm sorry I wasn't there. I'm sorry I did this to you. I'm sorry, everything is my fault and I will make it up to you anyway I can. Just please let me see my son and get to know him." "Fine, meet us at the Jefferson Park on Friday at noon and then we can all get lunch." "Thank you so much. You have no idea how thankful I am." I got up to leave "don't be late" "yes ma'am" I left to go home to my son. I got home and in the house and I could hear Jaxon laughing so I went to go find him. He was in the living room with Michael and Ashley "Well you guys look so cute" "how was running errands?" "Okay, I'll tell you about it later. How was my little guy?" "He's an angel. He's always such a good boy." "Are you guys thinking about having a baby yet?" Ashley spoke up "actually, we were but I took a test this morning and it's positive" "yay! Are you guys excited?" "Yes we are! Would you mind if we babysit every once in a while?" "That would be wonderful! I have to do some house hunting this week, would you be able to then?" "Of course! Just text me when and I will make my day free." "How about Thursday? Would that day be okay?" "It'll be great!" "Thank you guys so much" Ashley went to stand up, "Well I'm gonna get going, I have some errands to run and I need to get them done" Michael kissed her goodbye and turned to me, "why do you want to move out?" "We need a place of our own. You guys are gonna want to do the same thing, maybe before the baby is born. But I need to talk to you about something." "What is it?" "Well I wasn't exactly running errands" "What were you doing?" "I went to see Jacob" "Why the hell would you do that?" "He wanted to talk and I wanted to know what he had to say" "Well what did dad of the year have to say?" "He has a daughter" "I'm not shocked" he butted in. "Her mother left her" "like she abandoned her?" "Yes, she was going to have an abortion but Jake talked her out of it so after she gave birth, she left." "So what does he want?" "He wants his daughter and Jaxon to meet and be brother and sister like they should be and honestly I agree." "Why would you let him do this?" "I'm not doing it for him, I'm doing it for Jaxon and Jennifer. I'm doing it for Jennifer, for the bond a brother and sister should have. I'm doing it for that. When she grows up she'll have him to talk to, to look up to, to go to when she has a problem. As much as I hate Jacob, I will not let Jennifer pay for his mistakes. She needs a family and we are her family as long as we are in her life." "Yes ma'am, at least let me go with you" "no, I can take care of myself" "I know you can but I need to protect you and Jax" "Michael, I will call you if I need you for anything." "You promise?" "Pinky promise" "okay, I guess I'll have to deal with it even if I don't like it." "Thank you, but can you do me a favor?" "Sure, what?" "Don't tell mom and dad. Mom will never let me move out and dad will kill him." "Ugh fine, I promise but if they ask me about it I won't lie to them." "Thank you, that's all I ask" I heard the front door open and keys being put on the table. "Mom?" "Yes honey, it's me." "Where'd you go?" "I had to go for a drive to clear my head. I don't know what to do about your sister." "I don't know either mom. I thought after she seen what I had to go through she would try her hardest to avoid this. I want to be able to help her anyway I can. My sister wasn't there to help me when I needed her." "Oh honey, she was away at school. She couldn't do anything." "She could've at least called or texted me, I needed her." "I know baby girl and I'm so proud of you for doing what you did, and bringing my beautiful grandson into this world is one of your greatest accomplishments. Your sister may not have been there to support you but you had us and all of your younger sisters and they love Jaxon." "Mom, she hasn't even met him and he's a year old. I don't think she cares honestly." "I'm sure she's just busy" "okay" mom walked into the kitchen "do you guys want lunch?" "No, we aren't hungry right now." "Okay" I grabbed Jaxon from playing with his toys and went to our room. We sat on the floor and he started playing with his toys again. "What am I going to do baby? I'm in a jam here." My phone dinged *Can you send me a picture of Jaxon? I would like to tell my parents about him." I sent him a picture of Jaxon *I don't know if that's a good idea yet* *I'm not gonna do it now. I'll do it after the park." "Okay." "Thank you again Bella. Once again I'm so sorry for putting you through everything I did. I wish I wasn't such a coward back then. I wish I could go back and change it all, I would've taken responsibility for him and I would've never left you.* *We can't change what happened but we can change how the future will end up.* *I have so much to fix with so many people.* There was a notification on my screen, it was a picture of Jacob when he was two and a picture of Jaxon and it said "he's definitely my son. Thank you Annabelle for my beautiful boy. You've done such a great job. I can't wait for him to meet his sister!" It brought tears to my eyes and then I got another text "Please don't cry. I've made you cry too many times in the past, I don't want to hurt you anymore* *I was crying with happy tears. The Facebook post you posted, I didn't think you'd accept him in public* *I've already made too many mistakes to keep going the way I have been. I will never reject him ever again.* *Thank you Jacob. You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. For his father to be his father.* *i know Bella and I'm here. I will always be here. I will never ever leave again* I got another text but from a number I didn't recognize *Hey* *Who's this?* *Your sister?* *Abby?* *Who else would it be?* *Well I haven't talked to you in about a year* *Over a year* *Yeah well, who's fault is that?* *I know, it's mine and I just wanted to say I'm so sorry for that and I love you.* *you don't get off that easy.* *What do you want me to say?* *I want to know why I haven't heard from you in over a year?* *I got into a jam and I couldn't contact anyone* *Not even your family?* *No* *But now you can?* *Yes* *Doesn't make sense but alright.* *Please, just give me the benefit of the doubt* *When are you coming home?* *I'll be home next week* *Well you'll have to come visit us before you get home* *us?* *Me and Jaxon* *Is Jaxon your boyfriend?* I was actually dumbfounded. *My son?* *What? When did that happen?* *Well he's one. Mom didn't tell you?* *No, she didn't say a word. Well I look forward to meeting him. What else is going on there?* *Well let's see, Michael and Ashley just found they're gonna have a baby. Michelle is pregnant and I'm moving out.* *Michelle is pregnant?!* *Yup, found out this morning.* *Who's the father?* *Austin* *And Jacob is Jaxon's father?* *Yes* *How's that going?* *It's not* *What do you mean?* *He didn't believe Jacob was his so he labeled me a slut and abandoned his son.* *I'll kill him* *Don't worry, Michael already vowed to do the job should it present itself* *He's such a good boy, how do we feel about Ashley? Is he happy about the baby?* *He's very excited to be a father and we love Ashley! They are going to live here until the baby is born and Michelle is going to take my room.* *Where will you go?* *Dad is looking for a house for me as we speak. They refuse to let me live in an apartment by ourselves.* *Makes sense. Sounds like dad. They really didn't want me moving away for school but I had to get out of there. I feared I was going to end up like mom.* *What's wrong with being like mom? She's got a husband that still loves her after 30 years and she has 12 kids. That sounds like a wonderful life to me.* *I'm not saying it's a bad life for her but I don't want it. I don't want to get married or have any kids.* *Being a mom is the greatest thing in the world but okay. I got to go, I have to go feed Jaxon. He's getting cranky.* I threw my phone on my bed and Jaxon walked over to me "Mama, you kay?" "Yeah baby, I'm okay. Let's go downstairs, okay?" "Ya!" I grabbed his hand and walked him downstairs. "Mom?" "Yes sweetheart?" "I'm going to make Jaxon his supper and then we need to sit down and talk." "Okay love, just call me when you're done" I put Jaxon in his high chair and started Mac and cheese and hot dogs. Michael came in and sat down next to Jax. "Guess who I just got done talking to?" "Who?" "Abby" "She called you?" "No texted me. She's coming home next week. I gave her the low down on everything. Mom never told her about Jaxon. She was very confused when I brought him up" "She never told her?!" "Never!" "I can imagine how confused she was" "But I can't believe mom didn't tell her. Jaxon is her grandson, she should've told Abby she had a nephew." "So ask her about it. I'll watch Jax and make sure he eats all of his dinner." "Okay." I walked into the living room "mom can I talk to you?" "Sure honey, what is it?" "Abby is coming home" "when did you find that out?" "When she texted me. I don't know how she got my new number though" "Oh I gave it to her" "but yet you forgot to tell her about Jax?" "Oh my goodness! I did? I didn't even realize honey" "yeah, she was very confused when I was talking about him." "Honestly honey, it completely slipped my mind." "Well she gets to meet him next week when she comes home cause I told her all about him." "Okay" "Mom? Can I ask you something?" "Sure honey." "Are you happy with your life?" "Yeah sweetie. I really am." "You wouldn't change anything?" "No." "Nothing at all?" Mom grabbed my hand and looked at me "Where is this coming from?" "I love Jaxon, I really do but sometimes I wish things would've turned out differently. I wish I would've gotten married before I got pregnant. Sometimes I feel like I'm a huge disappointment to this family." "You have gone so far in your life and gave us a wonderful blessing. Jaxon was the best thing you have ever done and one day you will give us more grandchildren. I have never been so proud of anyone than I am of you." "Not even Aiden? He joined the military. He married Lydia and has four kids." "Honey I am so proud of Aiden for turning his life around but you are the most I am proud of. You got pregnant in high school and even though we weren't happy about that, you still graduated with honors. We are so proud and we know you will do wonderful things." I started tearing up and mom hugged me "I love you so much my baby girl." "I love you too mama." I got up and went back into the kitchen by Michael and Jaxon. I got a text from Jason "Hey sweets!" "Hey" "What are you doing Friday? Wanna take Jax to the zoo?" "Sorry Jase, I already made plans for the two of us. We'll be busy all day." "Oh it's alright. Next time then!" "Definitely next time!" "Where are you guys going if you don't mind me asking." "I'm taking him to meet his sister." "He has a sister? How?" "Jacob contacted me asking if his daughter could meet Jax." "Oh god, Anna don't do this to yourself." "I'm not doing it to myself, Jaxon and his sister should meet and be friends. That's how they'll get through all the rough times. My brother is my best friend and he helped me through everything." "Okay okay, I'm sorry." "Damn right you are 😝." "What did he say?" "He just told me how his daughter's mom abandoned them." "Kind of like he abandoned you." "Not like that actually, she didn't want the baby. She was going to abort her." "Oh my goodness, what stopped her?" "He did." "What?" "He stopped her. He Convinced her to keep the baby and he told me he wants Jax to be in his life." "You buying that?" "He put it on Facebook, he told the world about Jaxon." "I still don't buy it." "Whatever. I'll talk to you later, I need to put Jaxon down." I shoved my phone into my back pocket, now annoyed. "What did mom say?" "She said she completely forgot to tell Abby about Jax and with everything that happened it slipped her mind which I definitely understand." "Definitely understandable." "She's coming home next week." "Cool, I miss her." Jaxon was nodding off in his high chair. "I'm going to put Jax to bed." "Alright, goodnight. Love you." "Night, love you too." I grabbed Jax from his high chair and went to the bedroom to put him down. I put him to bed and went back to my bed and I got a text from Jacob. "Hey beautiful" "Hey stranger" "Can I ask you a serious question?" "Sure, go ahead." "If I wouldn't have been an idiot/moron/jackass, do you think we'd still be together?" I hesitated for a little bit before I answered, "Honestly I thought about it a lot and I think so." "Would there ever be a chance of us ever getting back together?" "Jake please don't." "Belle, I'm serious. I've done so many bad things to you and I swear I will never ever do anything to harm you or Jaxon ever again. I know I broke your heart but give me the chance to put it back together. You deserve so much more than what you've been given and I want to give you everything you deserve. I love you still so much and would like to make you happy again." "Jake I've waited so long for you to come to your senses but I don't know. You broke my heart, I don't know if I can give it to you again." "I understand all of that. I'm willing to wait forever and do whatever it takes for you to let me in. See you Friday beautiful." "See you Friday." "I can't wait to see my son." His son, he called him his. He's finally becoming the father I knew he could be. I got another text but this was from Ally "Hey girl" "Heyyy" "So what was that post about earlier?" "Jacob contacted me earlier today...." "What? Why?" "He has a daughter and he wants them to know each other and he wants to know his son." "Wow! Holy shit!" "Right dude! It surprised me too." "Are you going to let him?" "Yeah I am. I know it sounds crazy but I'm doing it for Jax." "You're doing it for yourself too." No I'm not." "Oh yes you are. I know you all too well. You still love him." "Okay yes, I still love him but I'm guarding mine and my sons hearts. I don't want him hurt." "I totally get where you're coming from." "I'm heading to bed now, I'll talk to you later. Night." "Night dear." I put my phone on charge and went to bed. I woke up to screaming. Jaxon was screaming bloody murder from his crib. I picked him up and he still wouldn't stop. I tried his sippy cup and he just threw it. "What's going on?" Michael asked coming in my room. "He won't stop screaming and I can't figure out why. Go get mom and dad!" I continued to walk and bounce him but he still just kept screaming. Mom and dad rushed in "What's going on?" "He won't stop screaming and I can't get him to stop." "put him in the car, we're going to the hospital." Mom went to wake Michelle so she can watch the younger kids. I wrapped him in a blanket and grabbed my phone. We got in the car with Jaxon on my lap still screaming. I pulled out my phone and texted Jacob, "911! Something is wrong with Jaxon! He won't stop screaming. We're going to the hospital!" Not even a minute later he replied "I'm leaving right now. I'll meet you there!" "I'm with my parents and Michael" "I don't care. That's my son." We got out and ran through the doors of the hospital, he was still screaming. The nurses came out from behind the doors and was talking to my father. Just then Jake came through the doors with Jennifer in his arms. "What the hell is he doing here?" Dad demanded as his voice was getting louder. Mike came up to us, "Want me to take her?" "No that's okay. She can come with us." We turned to the nurse and ignored my dads objections. "Are we ready?" "Yes ma'am." We followed the nurses to a room, they put Jax on the bed. They checked him over and the doctor came in. "Alright, what seems to be the problem?" I looked at him dumbfounded as I sat there with Jaxon in my arms while he was bawling his eyes out. Jake could tell I needed some help so he spoke up "Jaxon woke up to pain and everything Bella tried to soothe him didn't work so we rushed here." "Alright, we're gonna run some tests." He rolled his chair over to us and Jaxon turned toward him and coward into me. I seen Jennifer move and take Jaxon's hand and squeezed it. Jaxon turned to her and held her hand. "You got a good little sister there." Jake and I looked at each other "Yeah he does." "So what I'm going to do is just press on his tummy." He pressed on his stomach with both hands and Jaxon yelled out in pain and snuggled into me. "I think I know what it is but let's run some tests just to be sure." "Okay." "The nurse will show you to a room so he'll be more comfortable and maybe get some sleep." "Thank you Doctor." He got up to leave and I turned to Jake "Thank you for coming. You don't have to stay." "I told you, I'm never leaving you or Jaxon ever again so please don't push me away." He grabbed my hand to hold it so I let him. I readjusted Jaxon and Jake readjusted Jennifer but the two kids never broke their grip on each other. We followed the nurse to a room and she took some blood and left and then we made Jaxon comfortable, Jennifer wouldn't let go of him so we put her next to him and they finally fell asleep. There was a knock on the door and the doctor came in "How's everyone doing?" "The kids are finally asleep, thank god." "Good good." He sat on the chair and looked at us "Well the tests came back and as I thought, he has a appendicitis." "So what does this mean?" "This means he is going to need surgery to get his appendix removed." I took Jake's hand, "Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening." "I would like to do the surgery tomorrow, if we wait too long his appendix will burst." "Yes of course." "Okay, the nurses will bring some extra pillows and blankets in and I will see y'all tomorrow." The doctor left and Jake looked at me "Should I go get your family or do you want to?" He chuckled "Ha, I should probably go tell them what's going on." "Don't worry, i got him." I got up so I could tell my family what's going on. When I came out to the waiting room and they came over to me. "What's going on with our little guy?" Michael asked before mom and dad could chime in. "He has appendicitis, he is going to be having surgery tomorrow to have his appendix removed." "Our poor baby." Mom came and hugged me and dad spoke up. "What's going on with Jake?" "He's here for Jaxon and he wants him to be in his daughters life." "Where's the mother?" "She left them. She abandoned them." "Do you know who she is?" "No, he won't say. Just keeps saying I wouldn't know her so I've let it go. So can you guys at least be nice? For me and Jaxon, be nice." Dad came and hugged me, "Okay darlin, we'll do it for you." "Thank you." Dad kissed my head "Can we see him?" "Sure, he's sleeping right now." "I just need him to be safe so I'd like to see him." The four of us walked back to Jaxon's room. When we came in Jake stood up and shook my dad's hand. "Jacob, how have you been?" "I've been doing good sir. Got my hands full with Jennifer but I love it." "There's nothing better than being a father." "How about being a husband?" "That's something special. You have to fall in love with the right one. Once your kids are grown and gone it's just you and your love, forever." I caught Jake starring at me, "I definitely want to experience that." Dad turned to my mom "Alright sweetheart, I think we should get back to the kids." "You're right honey." Michael came over, "I'll be back tomorrow." "Well if you're not I think Jax will be pretty upset." "Yes he will." He chuckled and hugged me, then turned to Jake and stuck out his hand. Jake of course shook it. "I know you guys have had a really hard time but I'm happy you're stepping up now. He needs his father in his life." "I couldn't agree more. I know what I did made you really hate me but I hope we can mend our friendship back to what it was." "I'd really like that too. I'll see you guys tomorrow. Give my nephew a hug for me when he wakes up." "I will." Michael left with my parents, mom didn't say a word to us. Just kissed Jax goodbye and left. "Don't worry, she'll come around." "I don't know about that. She really doesn't like me and honestly I don't blame her. I would've never done something like that now." "You grew up a lot Jake." "I had to but so did you. You were always more mature than all the other girls in school but something about being a mother changes you and I see you so much differently." He came in close and kissed me. I didn't want it to stop, I missed this so much. It's like we just picked up where we left off. "I missed you so much." "Really? Why didn't you come back sooner?" "Honestly I didn't think you'd let me see Jax." "I probably wouldn't have. I was so angry." We were sitting on the sofa together and he turned to me, "Bella?" "Yeah?" "Will you go on a date with me?" I looked at him, "I don't know Jake." "Please let me show you I've changed. My love for you hasn't." "Very well then, when?" "Saturday." "Alright." He kissed me and we fell asleep with his arms around me. We woke up to crying, Jax was crying again. "Mommy, tummy hurts" the doctor came in, alright let's get ready for surgery." Nurses came in and we picked Jen up off of the bed so they could wheel Jax out. We walked with them to the room, the doctor turned to me, "Alright, mom if you come with us and we'll get started." Jake turned to me, "Keep our boy safe" and kissed me.
The doctors were finally done with the surgery and brought him back to his room. "Well mom and dad, we got it out and he should be just fine." Jake hugged me and Jen crawled up onto Jaxon's bed and cuddled with him. There was a knock on the door and my parents and Michael were there waiting to come in, "How's our boy?" "He's perfect." "No complications?" "The doctor said he was the perfect patient." Mom walked over to him. "What a brave little man." Dad spoke up, when can he come home?" "He should be able to go home tomorrow" the doctor spoke up. Mom and dad were in the corner talking and when I walked over they stopped. "What's going on?" "Nothing at all sweetie." Dad said but mom looked upset. "No, something is wrong. Mom what's going on?" "I was just explaining to your father that I don't think you should be moving out now that Jacob is back in your life." "Mom, please don't." "Don't what? Be worried about my daughter and grandson. What if he breaks your heart again or worse, Jaxon's?" "That's not gonna happen mom. I've seen the way he is with Jennifer and he says he's changed. I believe him." "And I was telling your mother that we are going to stand by you. You're an adult and can make your own decisions." "Thank you, at least someone has confidence in me." "I still don't trust him."
