Finding Us (25 page)

Two years later…

I sit back in the rocking chair with my beautiful baby girl. She’s just had a bottle and now her little eyes are barely staying open.

I rub her little cheek with the back of my pointer finger, “Close your eyes princess.”

We rock for a while until she falls asleep. Knox and I have been though a lot these last few years.

When I left Knox in bed after his confession I was hurt, so hurt. I didn’t trust him or believe anything he’d ever said to me. We didn’t see each other for a few weeks. I needed to let things settle.

Summer showed up with Rex one night after everything went down. Rex explained that he told Knox not to do anything and that karma was a bitch and Vivian would get what she had coming for her. Rex doesn’t hold grudges and could never understand where Knox was coming from. I told him that I forgave him and thanked him for being on my side.

“Hey Rex?” I stopped him one night on his way out with Summer.

“Yeah?”

“Do you really think that Knox’s feeling for me are genuine?”

Rex smiles, “Jas, I know they are. He’s different with you. I’ve seen him in love before but with you, he’s different. He’s a good guy Jas, he was just hurt.”

I nod and go back to my mindless television.

One night, a few weeks after my talk with Rex, I found myself riding the elevator up to Knox’s apartment.

I knocked a few times, no one answered. I went back down the hall and waited for the elevator. When it opened Knox was standing there shirtless, his chest glistened and sweat dripped down his face.

“Hey.” Knox greets me as he steps off the elevator.

My heart pounds against my chest, “Hey.”

“You want to come in?” Knox asks over his shoulder as he unlocks his door. My eyes close for a second when they find his heart and angel wing tattoo on his back. The date makes sense now, it was the day he lost most of his family.

Deep breath Jasmine.

“Sure.”

Things were strained, we both knew it but you couldn’t deny the energy in the air between us.

That night Knox held me and swore that his love for me was real. I barely talked, all I did was cry. I believed him but I needed him to prove it to me.

We started our relationship over, a clean slate.

Knox proved himself over and over again. We made new memories and reflected back on some old ones, but not the painful ones. I held back from having sex with Knox for a few months. I couldn’t do it.

Knox helped me work through my feelings about Marie being my real mother. I’ve always wished that Marie was my mom and not Vivian, funny how that worked out. I visited her a few times alone and sometimes with Knox. Those first few trips with him and Marie were hard. I felt left out when they spoke of Savanna but I got to know a little about her.

A few days after I found out about Marie I went home again and spoke with my father and Vivian. I told them I knew everything and that one day they would go to hell, it’s where they deserved to be. That was the end of any relationship I would ever have with them.

Knox helped me move Marie into an apartment in my building six months ago. We are working on building a mother daughter relationship. I felt like we had missed out on a lot of things and I don’t want to miss out on another minute. We’ve already lost so much.

Knox and I have been dating for about a year now and things were going great. It was Fourth of July weekend and we were heading back down to the shore house in South Carolina. No one knew what had happened between Knox and I and that was just fine with me. Things were the same with everyone and Ava was growing up to be a pretty little girl.

Knox was acting funny one night. We were going on a date to Brookgreen Gardens again at my request. That night, right under a great big weeping willow tree that was lit up with white lights, Knox got down on one knee and asked me to spend the rest of my life with him.

Six months later, Knox, me and the whole gang were on a tropical island getting married. Knox didn’t want to wait and I didn’t want a big wedding.

Knox walks into the bedroom and leans against the door frame to the baby’s room. Watching Knox with the baby brings me to tears every time. He’s been amazing these last few days since she made her arrival. The minute she was placed in his arms, he cried. We both cried for the loss of Knox’s unborn baby and for our new bundle of joy.

I watch as my gorgeous wife rocks our beautiful baby girl to sleep. Nevaeh Savanna Mitchell was born just a few days ago and she couldn’t be any more perfect. She was born with a head full of dark hair, a cute little nose, chubby little cheeks and pouty lips. Nevaeh, heaven spelled backwards, came into this world screaming. She gave her mom a run for her money making her appearance into this great big world.

Our honeymoon gave us something we weren’t expecting. Jasmine and I were out shopping one night when she suddenly stopped in the aisle with condoms, lube and pregnancy test along with other things.

She turns towards the pregnancy test with her eyes burrowed.

“Baby, what’s the matter?”

Jasmine reaches for her purse and digs her phone out. She taps it a few times and then her eyes widen.

“Knox, my period is late.”

We decided to stop using them during our honeymoon after we ran out of the ones we brought with us.

“Okay, let’s get a test.” I say nice and calmly.

“Okay.” Jasmine walks over to them and then looks back at me. “Which one do I get?”

I shrug my shoulders, “One of each?”

I didn’t go through this with Savanna, she just came over one night and told me we were having a baby.

“Okay.”

Jasmine throws one of each test in the cart and we leave. We never got what we came for. When we got home Jasmine and I went into the bathroom and took the test.

“The test says to wait five minutes and it’s best to take it in the morning.” Jasmine says when she throws the box in the trash can.

I glance over at the test, and I smile.

“What are you smiling at?” Jasmine asks as she comes over to look at the test that’s sitting on the sink.

When she sees that it’s positive she turns to me and cries tears of happiness. I’m nervous and scared that this is happening again.

“Baby, are you okay?” Jasmine reaches up and cups my face.

“Yeah.”

“You look a little pale. Maybe you should sit down.”

Jasmine pulls me to the bed and makes me sit while she runs back in the bathroom to take another test. She said that she just wants to make sure.

That night when we were lying in bed I confessed my fears to her that my life would repeat itself. She made love to me that night and washed the fears away. She promised me that everything would be okay and she would stay glued to my side.

Jasmine shifts, trying to get comfortable in the rocking chair. She winces as she does and I walk over to take the baby from her.

“Are you in a lot of pain? I can go grab your medicine.” I say as I cuddle Nevaeh to my chest. She takes a deep breath and I freeze, hoping she doesn’t wake up when I place her in her crib.

Jasmine sits in the chair, tears leaking from her eyes.

“What’s the matter baby?” I help her up from the chair and into my arms.

“I…I can’t even…I can’t even explain what I feel inside as I watch you with her, Knox.” She stutters out before burying herself into my neck.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jasmine is my true soul mate. I thought I’d found that with Savanna but I was mistaken. I’ve let go of the past and moved on to bigger and better things. I’ve got my girls and that’s all I’m worried about.

Summer and Rex are off and on. You never know from one day to the next, I stay away from that relationship. Hopefully they’ll work it out sooner or later. Summer and I had a heart to heart while Jasmine and I were taking some time apart. I explained to her the story of my life and why Rex didn’t say anything to her about it before. While I think she still hates me I know deep down inside that she doesn’t or she wouldn’t have let her best friend marry me.

Rhea and Tanner are married and expecting their first child any day now. They are still living in Myrtle Beach, a few houses down from ours.

Cade, where do I even start? He’s still the same guy he was a few years ago, sleeping with a new girl almost every night. I’m surprised he hasn’t caught anything or knocked someone up by now. I love the guy but damn.

Jeremy is having a hell of a time with getting custody of Ava, who is five now. That little girl is going to be some heartbreaker in a few years. Jeremy’s ex got involved in some pretty heavy drugs and he doesn’t want Ava growing up like that. I don’t blame him; no one should have to grow up like that. So for now they are taking it one day at a time.

I help Jasmine back into our bedroom in our new brown stone that we purchased when we first got married. Neither of us wanted to live in an apartment any longer. Our house has four bedrooms and two baths with plenty of space for our growing family.

Jasmine leans against the bed looking exhausted. I stroll over to her and reach for the hem of her shirt. I pull it off and then help her take her yoga pants off. She’s still recovering from the delivery and dealing with the pain but for some reason she refuses to take the pain pills. When she’s down to her bra and panties I pull back the covers and help her in. I turn the monitor on so that we can hear and see our little girl while she rests. I take my clothes off and walk over to my side of the bed and climb in beside her.

Jasmine sighs as she burrows back against me. “I love you so much Knox, and that little girl too.”

“We love you too. I told you we would find us one way or the other. We just needed to find our way.”

Jasmine sniffles. Her hormones are all over the place since having Nevaeh. I run my fingertips up and down her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

My cell phone starts ringing.

“Who the hell is calling this late at night?” Jasmine asks as I fumble around until I get my phone out of my pants.

Unknown Number. I’m about ready to throw my phone back on the floor but answer it anyway in case it’s something important.

“You have a collect call from…Jeremy…If you accept please push one, if you decline please push two and you will be disconnected.”

“Jeremy?” I say as soon as I press one.

“Dude, I need you. I need you and Jas to take Ava for a few days.”

“What the hell is going on? Where are you?” I sit up and start pulling my pants back on.

“I’ve only got two minutes and that’s not enough time to explain everything. Just go to Rhea and Tanner’s and pick up Ava.” Jeremy curses. “Some fucking crack-head slapped Ava across her face. I went to go pick her a few hours ago and saw the hand print on her face. I fucking lost it dude.”

“Fuck. Alright, alright, let me get Summer and Rex over here to help Jasmine and I’ll be on my way.”

“Thanks man.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you in a few hours.”

I toss my phone on the bed and pull my shirt over my head. Jasmine is sitting in bed looking at me, waiting for me to explain what the hell is going on.

She loves Ava as much as our little girl and this is going to crush her but I need to prepare her for when I bring Ava back with me.

I grab my wallet from the nightstand and put it in my back pocket. “Jeremy’s in jail. I have to go and get Ava.” I watch as Jasmine’s eyes tear up. We were all afraid that something was going to happen to her. “Someone hit her, Jas.”

A tear falls down and I wipe it away with my thumb. “I know baby. I’m going to go get her and bring her back here. Can you call Summer and see if she’ll come over? I don’t want you alone.”

She nods and reaches for her phone. She calls Summer and explains what going on.

“She’ll be on her way soon.” Jasmine gets up from the bed, slowly.

“Where are you going baby?” She really needs to get some rest.

“I just want to be closer to Nevaeh.”

I understand the need for that. I want to wrap my little girl up and never let her go.

I grab my keys and help Jasmine lay down on the bed in the baby’s room.

Jasmine is tucked in and sleeping before I leave to go help my best friend and my little niece. I hope that whatever is going on will work out for Jeremy so he can start finding happiness.