Surviving The Aftermath [Book Three]

Twenty Six

Kobe

The first door I got to that was closed was the downstairs bathroom. I gently knocked before I pushed it open and found Ayla sat in the bathtub, curled up in a ball.

"Hey Peanut" she didn't move as I stepped further into the room and took a seat on the floor by the bath. "Hey" she grumbled and shoved my hand away as I went to touch her. "You made mommy really sad out there" she didn't move, she just continued to pout. "Mommy loves you very much, Ayla. We all do, including me. I've been with you since you were a baby" I stared off at the wall as I went back a couple years.

"No want baby brother or sister."

"Why not, Peanut?"

"I get forgot" my heart ached in my chest.

"Why do you think you'll get forgotten, Ayla?"

"Daddy said" I suddenly felt myself getting angry. What has Max told this little girl to scare her into thinking that if me and her mom have a baby, she'll get forgotten?

"What did daddy say?"

"Daddy said that baby make me go away" my eyebrows furrowed. "He said baby take mommy away and I get forgot."

"We could never forget you, Ayla" she slightly shuffled in the bath and sat up. "You're our little peanut. You have Kyra, Beautiful, and she's your little sister" her lips formed a pout as her eyes met mine briefly. "Daddy was wrong to say what he said. We wouldn't forget you. You're still our baby, Ayla."

"Daddy don't like you" I released a light laugh. "But I like you."

"I'm glad you like me" she lightly giggled as I poked her tummy. "Shall we go and say sorry to mommy?" she nodded. I pushed myself up from the floor and helped her out of the bath. I followed her into the living room. Ayla climbed onto the couch beside Demi and cuddled into her side. I watched as Demi's lower lip quivered and she wrapped her arm around Ayla.

"I sorry, Mommy" Demi's tear filled eyes met my gaze.

"Thank you, Baby. But we don't slam doors because you could get hurt okay?" she nodded and held up her pinkie. Demi's lips twitched into a smile as she linked her pinkie with Ayla's. "You want to see a picture of your baby brother or sister?"

"I want a brother" Demi lightly laughed as she handed Ayla the bauble so that she could see the sonogram.

"We don't get to choose unfortunately, Peanut" she pressed her cheek against the top of Ayla's head and glanced over at me. "Thank you" I gave her a smile and shook my head.

-

"What did she say?" Demi was pulling on her shirt and I smiled as my eyes ran over her bare stomach. "Kobe?" I jumped from my stare and glanced up to meet Demi's gaze. "Were you staring at my stomach?" I nodded, beginning towards her. I ran my hand along her belly. She watched me, biting down on her lip.

"Our baby's in here" her lips twitched into a wide smile.

"And this baby needs to be a boy. I don't need another sassy Ayla. I need a break from girls" I chuckled and pressed my forehead against hers, lightly caressing her tummy.

"I have faith in my sperm, they know what I want" Demi laughed loudly, the sound music to my ears. We shared a brief kiss before Demi pulled away and headed towards the clothes rack. "What did you ask earlier?"

"What did Ayla say to you?" she briefly glanced back at me. I released a sigh before I spoke.

"Apparently, Max told her that if me and you had another baby then we'd forget about her" Demi turned to me and if this was a cartoon, she would have smoke coming out of her ears.

"What the fuck? He actually said that to her?"

"That's what she said."

"That's fucked up. You don't tell your 4-year-old daughter that if her mommy has another baby then she'll be forgotten" I could see that Demi was becoming emotional, on top of angry so I knew that I needed to try and calm her down.

"She knows that we won't forget about her. I told her that her daddy shouldn't have said that."

"No, he shouldn't have and I'm going to..." I took a hold of her shoulders. She was practically shaking with rage.

"You aren't going to do anything, Dem."

"He needs to know that he shouldn't be telling his 4-year-old daughter that her mommy will forget about her if she has another baby. He's fucked up. He doesn't even see her half the time. There's so much shit I could tell Ayla about her daddy but I don't because she's 4. She doesn't need to know that her daddy's a fucked up asshole."

"Demi, language" she was breathing heavily and was angry. It was silent around us for a moment until she started sobbing. I released a breath and wrapped my arms around her, cradling her against my chest as she balled her eyes out. I ran my fingers through her hair and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. She clutched at the back of my shirt as she slowly calmed down. She sniffled as she pulled away from me, wiping at her cheeks. I cupped her face in my hands and pressed a kiss to her lips.

"I wonder if she got the attitude from Max too?" I quickly wiped at her cheeks with my thumbs.

"It wouldn't surprise me."

"I hate him" I nodded and pressed a peck to her lips.

"I know, Baby, but despite what he tells her, we'll make sure that she always knows the truth. We'll make sure that little girl grows up happy, okay?"

"I love how much you care and love her and Kyra."

"They're a part of you, Dems. I love their mommy, so of course I'm going to love them too" she leant up to brush our lips together. "We're going to have another baby, Baby" Demi squealed as I locked my arms around her waist and twirled her in a circle, happy that she was finally laughing.

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