Raura's Daughter

thirty five.

Laura's POV

"What do you mean you're all out of pink birthday cakes?" My mom yelled from the kitchen.

I was sat in the living area with a mug of hot cocoa in my hands, a purple blanket wrapped around my waist and a pair of mismatched fuzzy socks on my feet. Cece and Trisha were sat across from me on one of the couches with their eyes widened as the three of us sat in silence listening to my mom's third phone call to one of our local bakeries.

"Is she... is she okay?" Cece asked awkwardly as another grunt and mutter came from the kitchen down the hall.

I shrugged my shoulders and took a sip from my warm drink. "Um, that's Ellen Marano for you... a complete control freak."

Isabella was sleeping soundly in her crib in the middle of the living area with an array of toys surrounding her. I hadn't let her out of my sight since the whole incident with Jesse had occurred and much to my dismay my mom had called up the school to give them a piece of her mind about allowing some random guy to take Isabella home with him from their on campus nursery. I mean, I couldn't blame her, but again, control freak.

"I can't believe Bella is going to be a one year old in less than twenty four hours!" Trisha quietly squealed as a huge grin spread across her face. She reached into the back pocket of her blue jeans and handed me three different pieces of paper which were covered from back to front with notes and sketches. "I think we should throw a huge birthday party for her in your backyard, kind of like the gender reveal and take loads of pictures so that she has memories of her first ever birthday in this world!"

I smiled at her and scanned my eyes at some of the ideas she had mentioned.

● A bouncy castle.

● A play area for other toddlers and babies.

● A buffet with all different types of food.

● Pictures to be taken by a professional photographer.

● A HUGE cake.

"Aw Trish, I love all of these ideas." I said as I continued to admire all of the hard work and detail she had put into her pages of lists for Isabella's party. "But I'm not sure if I even want to throw Bella a huge party anymore."

Cece and Trisha gasped and quickly shook their heads at me. "No party?" They both asked in disbelief.

"Well... yeah." I murmured, watching as their facial expressions changed into complete horror and confusion. "It would just feel strange now that Ross isn't here. I'd rather throw a little party for her when he gets back."

"Laura." Cece stated as she held her head in her hands. "Ross isn't going to be home for another five months. Bella's birthday is literally tomorrow!"

I sighed into my pillow and held it close to my chest. "I know... I know. But he's still her father, he deserves to be here to celebrate with her... right?"

The three of us glanced at Isabella who was gurgling in her sleep, holding her pink unicorn close to her chest just like always. I bit my lip and began to play a game of tug and war in my mind. We could either go ahead with Isabella's birthday celebrations or wait for another five months to celebrate to allow Ross to be apart of it all.

"I love Ross but Bella will never turn one again, Laura. Tomorrow is a special day for her and it's going to be a huge step into her life. I think we should throw her the most amazing party ever." Cece excitedly said, holding her hands in a prayer like stance and fluttering her long eyelashes at me.

I groaned and shrugged my shoulders with a smile. "Okay, okay... I'll have to run it by Ross first but ladies, we have a party to organise!"

"Hell yeah we do!" Trisha exclaimed before jumping up from the couch opposite me and running into my arms. She grabbed the lists that she'd made, placed a quick kiss on my cheek and leapt up once more heading towards the kitchen. "Ellen! We've got some stores to search!"

Cece smiled at me, holding her cup of hot cocoa tightly in between her fingers. "How are you feeling, Laur? You can be honest with me. You don't have to pretend that you're okay or anything."

I cradled my legs close to my chest and nodded at her happily. "I'm good Cece. I really am. I miss Ross more than anything and I wish that he could be here to celebrate Bella's birthday but I'm so excited for his future. It's the most important thing for him right now."

"My cousin is a good guy, Laura. I promise you that he won't hurt you or Bella ever again. This tour is important to him but so are you two. I'm sure he misses you more than you'll ever know." She whispered before leaning forward and holding my hands gently in her own. "Just remember that tomorrow you have a whole team of family and friends behind you to celebrate Bella's birthday, just because Ross won't be there doesn't mean nobody else will be."

I wrapped my arms carefully around her waist and exhaled gently. "What would I do without you huh?"

As we pulled away from each other, Trisha reentered the room and had a huge grin on her face. The both of us raised our eyebrows in question as she handed us both our purses. "Come on! Ellen is taking us to do some shopping!"

"Wait, for real?" Cece asked in disbelief. "I thought Ellen was out here trying to save lives and give us medication."

My mom appeared at the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest and smirked. "Oh girls, I had fun back in my day. I'm not as serious as you think."

I nodded my head in Cece and Trisha's direction. "You should see how many fake ID's she has in her purse."

After a quick giggle between the four of us, my mom snapped her fingers and gestured towards the front door. "Come on girls! We've got a party to buy for."

"Okay give me five minutes to grab Bella's stuff, okay?" I said with a smile. Cece, Trisha and my mom nodded and grinned at me before heading out of the front door with their purses in tow. I exhaled and quickly ran up our wooden staircase, lightly pushing my bedroom open with the tip of my finger. I knelt down on the wooden flooring of my bedroom and pulled out the stack of the remaining five letters Ross had assigned to me for each month, "Okay letter number two... let's see what you say."

I slowly opened it up with quivering fingers and began to carefully read every word, my heart aching each second for Ross who I had tried so desperately to push to the back of my mind.

To my dearest Laura,

By the time you're reading this it should be the second month of my tour. I can't tell you if it's good or bad, or even if I'm enjoying it because this is in the past. But what I can tell you is that I love you so much Laura Marie Marano and I love our little girl too. 

I want to wish Bella a huge happy first birthday and I promise I'll bring her something amazing back from my time on tour.

I love you both always,

Stay safe for me.

Ross x

"Oh Ross..." I sighed. "I miss you."

***

a/n

BELLA'S FIRST BIRTHDAY IS COMING UP IN THE NEXT CHAPTER OH MY GOSHHHH

all my love

b x