Five years later.
Maya POV
I placed the last box on the floor and closed the door with a kick, remaining with my eyes glued to the car seat in front of me. My baby slept blissfully, the pacifier between his lips, his favorite puppet squeezed between his hands. Willy the giraffe we call him.
A few tufts of light brown hair came out of the hat he was wearing. He was breathing heavily.
Axel had collapsed while we were traveling in the car, my little man was so devastated by this trip that he had not opened an eye even while I was carrying in our new apartment all the boxes I had in the car.
It wasn’t an easy trip from New York to Philadelphia, especially for a nearly two-month-old boy like Axel. We had to stop several times because the young man did not like the view that was in front of him.
I looked around the small apartment, which was my new home, the whole living room was full of boxes, as well as the kitchen table and the sofa.
It was so weird being back in Philadelphia after all those years of being away. After I left to study first in Boston and then in New York, where I had spent the last two years.
I sat on the ground and tied my light brown hair in a high tail behind the back of my neck, before taking a box and opening it. It was a Friday afternoon, and I didn’t have any plans until Monday morning when I started my first shift at the hospital. Thanks to my father, a retired orthopedic surgeon, I was able to get a job as a nurse in the emergency room of the Lankenau Medical Center and thanks to my mother’s help I was able to get that apartment near the hospital.
I started to pull several clothes out of the box, they all belonged to Axel, but I still had no closet to put them in. My phone rang so I reached out to get it in the bag on the couch.
\"Hello?\" I said by blocking the phone between my shoulder and my ear while I kept pulling out clothes.
\"Maya!\" cried my mother from the other line, \"Are home already at home?\"
\"Yes mom. I just put down the last box and I’m starting to pull out a few things, although I don’t know exactly where to put them.\" I said looking around.
\"Axel?\" he asked with a concerned tone.
\"He sleeps blissfully in the car seat, the journey tired him very much.\" I told her looking up at my child.
\"Have you heard anything about him?\" she asked with caution.
\"Mom...\" I say sighing, \"He hasn’t been around or heard from in the last year, do you really think he would do it now?\" I got up and grabbed the seat before I moved to the kitchen and put it on the table.
Brad, my ex and Axel’s dad decided to disappear when I told him I got pregnant, disappearing is an understatement. He yelled at me, calling me whore, that had tried to frame him with a baby so he could put a ring on her finger.
Brad and I dated for two years before I get pregnant. I met him in college.
The beautiful and dark boy that everyone wanted to have but had eyes only for me. He made me promises of love. He said once we finished college, we’d move in together, get married, and have a family. But after college, it was never the right time.
First, we had to get a job, then we had to find the time, then we had to stabilize until he stabilized between the legs of his colleague, and even then, I forgave him. Because I loved him, I loved him so much.
When I found out I was pregnant, I was so happy, that I couldn’t wait to tell him. I already imagined the tears of joy on his face, but I never saw them.
Brad threw the test at me by yelling at me and smashing the table in half, shouting that I had to get rid of that problem.
Problem.
I could never do that. So I told him to go to hell and continued that pregnancy on my own, alone. I continued to work until a few months before the birth, I was supposed to go on maternity leave and then continue to work, but shortly before returning my hospital fired me.
So, I ended up with a baby, a scholarship to pay back, an apartment to support, and no job.
My parents were so sad for me that they convinced me to go back to Philly, they helped me get back on my feet. They even offered me to go home with them, but I didn’t feel able to weigh on them, not with Axel in my life.
So, I rented a small apartment in a neighborhood not far from the hospital, enough for me and my baby, and I planned my new life.
Maya?\" I heard my mother’s voice.
\"Sorry, Mom, I was a little overwhelmed.\" then I picked up a box and opened it, and I started to pull out some kitchen utensils.
\"Later your father will come with your old crib and put it together so that you can put Axel more comfortable.\"
\"Oh beautiful. I must go buy some furniture too. I don’t have a changing table, I don’t even have a dresser for his things, the closet in the room is old and it stinks, I’ll have to buy a new one. And on Monday I had the first shift.\" I began to say exasperated.
\"Quiet, breathe. We have all weekend to deal with this. You don’t have to do it all by yourself, you know we’re here for you.\" my mother gently told me.
I took a deep breath and rested on the kitchen table as I watched Axel stretch imperceptibly, before falling into a deep sleep.
\"Why don’t you come with Dad? We can order a pizza so you can spend some time with Axel,\" I said quietly.
The truth was, I needed my mother. Since everything happened with Brad, I had never asked anyone for help, I wanted to manage on my own, I had been alone, I had not allowed the people who loved me to be with me, and I had pushed everyone away. When I got fired, I almost fell into a depression, if I hadn’t had Axel, my reason for living, I wouldn’t have been able to get up again.
It was time to let the others help me, and that was the first step.
\"Really?\" my mother’s voice was hopeful, I dare not imagine what she had to face because of me.
\"Sure. The house is not the most comfortable, not yet, but we can arrange something. So, we can create a program for Axel and for when I start working.\"
\"I think it’s a good idea!\" she said enthusiastically, \"I can bring something I saved of yours, I can also pick up milk powder!\"
\"No need, I’m still breastfeeding, and I still have the breast pump that my colleagues gave me at Axel’s baby shower.\"
\"You should start taking it off your breasts or you’ll end up with swollen tits while you’re at work.\"
\"When the time comes, it has not yet arrived.\" I told her as I began to put the plates in the cupboard.
\"Yes, I am sure. I will begin to prepare what I need!\" she said cheerfully before she hung up.
I looked for a moment at the now black screen, before putting the phone on the coffee table and starting to fix everything.
By the time Axel woke up crying, I’d already fixed all the boxes with the kitchen on them.
Immediately I untied him from the car seat and took him in my arms, while he cried desperately grabbing the collar of my shirt with his little hands, clearly trying to get to his food source.
Immediately I lifted my shirt and discovered a breast before Axel rushed over it with voracity, eagerly drinking milk while looking at me with his blue eyes like the ocean.
I moved to the living room and sat on the couch, moving some boxes while I took off his hat and put it on the coffee table.
Axel drank until he was full and then he fell off, I rearranged my shirt and bent my knees, resting on it my little wad waiting for the moment my parents arrived.
The bell rang, rumbling around the house as Axel watched his hands carefully.
I got up with him in my arms and I went to open the door, finding my mother full of bags in front of me, and she went into the house like a fury, leaving everything on the ground and rushing on Axel.
\"Here he is, my little prince.\" she said, taking him out of my arms and filling his face with kisses that he accepted happily.
\"Where is Dad?\" I asked looking out the door.
The hallway light on the floor was on, but there was no sign of my father.
\"Oh he’s unloading the car. Right? Grandpa is coming\" she continued with a sharp voice as she watched Axel relax blissfully in her arms.
\"And you left him alone?\" I asked in dismay.
\"She’s not 80, he can do it, just chill out.\" she says on the way to the kitchen.
I rolled my eyes and followed her meekly, ready to be run over by my mother’s storm.
The next day I got up early, although Axel woke up several times, I felt rested enough to finish the boxes. The day before my parents had helped me enough and most of the work was over, I just had to fix a few dishes and the clothes I kept keeping closed. That day I was supposed to go looking for a closet but first, I had to go shopping first, I had my fridge completely empty and I had to buy some supplies for Axel, otherwise, my mother would panic. Speaking of the devil. The silence was broken by the ringing of the doorbell. Right on time to wake up Axel immediately began to cry in despair. I opened the door and ran into his room, finding him in his cradle completely red and his face streaked with tears. I immediately picked him up and went to the kitchen with him. My mother was already trying to turn on the coffee machine while Axel was reclaiming his food again. I sat down on a stool and immediately settled down before I attached it. \"You have nothing.\" said my mother, opening
Nate I parked my car in front of my parents\' cabin and turned off the engine. I had absolutely no desire to participate in that family lunch, but Jess would get married soon and our mother wanted to see us all before we set up the last things for the wedding. The night before, I had gone to a party with the boys after leaving the studio, and we had stayed up late at night. I was pretty sure the night signs were still there, including the ones on my back. I rubbed my red eyes and put on my sunglasses before I got out of the car and headed for the front door. Andrew’s car was already parked there. I didn’t envy that man at all, dealing with a woman was already complicated. The complication tripled if it was that beast of Jess, and she became even more when she found out that I had banged one of her bridesmaids before the wedding and that her after I showed no interest in anything other than her p*ssy, she had left the bride just before the sweet event. My sister stopped talking to
Maya POVI put Axel in his crib and turned on the baby monitor before I left and closed the door of the room. My guests would be arriving soon, and I still had to make dinner.That day Axel had gone all foursome, probably knew that from the next day I would start working and so he asked for maximum attention today.I stretched and looked at myself. I had my shirt still dirty with vomit and sweatpants, so I decided to go to the room and change.I opted for a pair of black leggings and a tight T-shirt. Fortunately, after childbirth, I was able to lose most of the pounds I had taken in pregnancy and those that remained were proportionate in the right places, so I did not complain much.Brad would object to that too, he didn’t like the bodies a little round, he loved perfection, maybe that’s why he didn’t love me.I was finished tying my hair when the bell rang.They were an hour early, strange for Jess. The girl I knew loved to wait for hours.I ran to open the door so they wouldn’t ring
Nate POVMy sister’s wedding was approaching, only a few days were missing, and that evening the young lady had decided to give a party at our parents' house. She called the caterer, a band, and set up a dance floor.She decided to do something big.I fixed my black tie as my suit and pants, and I went down the steps leading to the garden. I hated getting dressed up for these stupid parties, all to fill Jess' huge ego, I didn’t want to be part of this either, but when she announced it in our office to all our colleagues, she approached me and smiled at me maleficially."Do you know who’s gonna be there?" she asked me to look me right in the eyes, those damn green eyes that seemed to be able to read your mind."No, Jess, I don’t know," I said, looking up.Jess’s smile had widened, as had the evil glitter in her eyes, her hands resting on the wooden table in front of me and looking straight at me."May May," she said before turning her heels and going back to where she had come from, lea
Nate I was stuck watching Maya. She sat on a bench in the garden and held the child, Axel while chatting happily with Lucas at her side. The child had his back resting on Maya’s chest and with his tiny hands, he played with the bracelets that the girl wore on her wrist. In the hour that passed the child had passed from arm to arm, welcoming anyone who wanted to give him a little attention and then returning to the arms of his mother, arms that claimed every time someone approached her, especially when it came to men. By the time Lucas held him, Josh had approached Maya, with the intent to woo her, and the child, not happy with that approach, had begun to scream like crazy, claiming her for himself. Maya had immediately abandoned Josh and rushed on to her son, while my colleague was blindsided like a fool. She had done the same with Chris and Zeke. Maya had dumped any suitor at the time her son claimed her. One part of me was surprised, the other was relieved that she refused an
Maya I wet the paper under the water and then I put it on my hair, eliminating traces of Axel’s regurgitation. Thank you very much, now my dress is ruined, the beautiful hairstyle made by Lucas is completely gone and I smell of vomit. I came out of the bathroom and went back into Jess’s old room, finding her lying on the bed on her stomach while kissing Axel’s bare stomach. I undressed him to change him, and as I put his diaper back on, Jess came into the room and offered to dress him up again while I cleaned up my vomit. \"You still smell like vomit.\" said Jess as she leaned over Axel again and gave him another kiss on his tummy making him laugh. \"Thank you so much, Miss Perfection.\" I said while I was still trying to clean the vomit stain on the dress. \"You never complained about your patients\' puke.\" Jess said, kneeling on the bed and putting Axel up. \"One thing is when they vomit on a lab coat, another is when they vomit on a dress that cost you an eye of the head,\"
\"What?\" replied Jess surprise, \"Are you serious? May!\" scolded me. \"That’s not true!\" I defended myself. \"Oh but please, you may be a mature woman and a mother, but I know when a smile says I want your tongue in my mouth.\" Lucas replied lying next to Jess. I opened my mouth again, but I did not replicate it. From the moment I saw Nate again, all I could think about was having his tongue back in my mouth, and in other parts of my body. God, what was wrong with me? He was so cool, he was so tall, and he had that damn smile that really pushed me to rip my clothes off and beg him to take me in front of everyone. And he came there, next to me. He started talking to me, with his damn blue eyes, that screaming body of his that I longed to touch without any clothes. Then he picked up Axel in his arms and at that moment I felt my legs crumble. How stupid could I be? The man broke my heart, took it, and threw off a 30-story building without worrying about what I might feel or thi
Maya 9 That day got off to a bad start, I started my shift after lunch, and I was supposed to be working until 8:00 that night, but the emergency room was full. There had been a huge accident that had caused many injuries, so I decided to stay in the hospital as much as I could possibly, or at least as long as I could stay with a small child at home. It was almost midnight when I went to the nurses\' locker room to change, my uniform was completely dirty with blood, again, and I only had one spare. That meant tomorrow I had to go to the laundry early in the morning. Next week, Jess and Andrew were getting married, and apparently, I got stuck as a bridesmaid with a super happy Lucas. Axel would be there, and Jess made a point of buying him a stylish suit even though I repeated over and over again that it was not necessary because it would get him dirty immediately. But my friend didn’t care. So, I had this little James Bond outfit hanging in my closet for my little Latin Lover who