I nod. I’ll only call her if it’s absolutely necessary. No need to hand her any more reasons to doubt me.
Minutes later, I exhale slowly as I roll out of the hospital car park and into traffic. I’m driving like an old man, white-knuckling the wheel with Peach in the back. Every bump feels like a threat.
A car behind me honks as I take the corner too slowly. I glance in the mirror and see Peach still fast asleep. When my eyes flicker to the cocksucker behind me, my jaw clenches and my fingers dig tighter into the steering wheel, but I force the anger down.
“You’re lucky I’ve got a baby on board, fucker,” I mutter under my breath. “For that reason alone, you get to live another day.”
Chapter 5
Dominic
When I pull up out front of my place with Lil’ Peach, it feels surreal. Me with a baby; I never thought I’d see the day. Kids were never in the cards. Hell, nothing soft ever was. Yet here I am.
I take a slow breath before exiting the vehicle, moving towards the back door. She’s there, my sweet little niece, fast asleep with her tiny hand curled around the strap of her car seat, like it’s a lifeline.
Somehow, this kid has managed to worm her way straight into my heart. From the moment I saw her, she had me. And I already know there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for this little girl. No line I wouldn’t cross to keep her safe.
My stomach knots as I stare down at her. I’m again reminded how fragile she is, and it doesn’t seem possible that something so tiny can cause such chaos in my head.
She’s been to hell and back since the moment she entered this world. I had to stand there powerless as I watched her tiny body shake through withdrawals she didn’t deserve.
My sister’s done some pretty shitty things over the years, but this one feels different. It cuts deeper than any ofher other betrayals, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forgive her for it.
The fact that she never once came back to the hospital, never asked about her own kid or tried to fight for her, makes my blood boil. She just walked away like it was nothing, like this tiny life didn’t matter. And now here I am, picking up the pieces she left behind once again.
Peach was forced to stay at the hospital longer than normal, all because that selfish bitch cared more about her next hit instead of the life growing inside her. It was careless, reckless, and inexcusable.
The doctors thankfully helped Peach through the worst of it. They gave her small doses of morphine to ease the pain and wean her off the drugs in her system safely. It almost fucking broke me, knowing a baby so small had to go through something like that. She never asked for any of it, but she fought anyway. She’s a survivor.
The nurses said Lil’ Peach was tough. That she was stronger than most grown men they’d seen, and I believe it. She had no say in how things started for her, but she damn sure fought to stick around anyway. I’m in awe of this tiny little human.
“We’re home, baby girl,” I whisper as I lean in to place a soft kiss on her forehead. “I’m going to try my hardest to make sure you’re happy living here with me, and you have a good life.” And although I can’t be sure of any of that, that’s a promise I intend to keep.
The old lady across the street is outside watering her garden as I carefully undo the straps on the car seat and lift Peach into my arms. I’m pretty sure she waters more often than she needs to. She’s a busybody, and I get the feeling she’s really out here to keep an eye on the comings and goings in the neighbourhood. It’s like she has nothing better to do, and it pisses me off.
When I stand to full height, cradling the little pinkbundle against my chest, my gaze flickers across the street again. My neighbour eyes me sceptically when she notices what I’m holding.
The hose in her hand now hangs limp by her side as water pools around her feet, and the sight has a tiny growl bubbling in the back of my throat. Even from this distance, I can feel her sharp suspicion.
I may be used to being scrutinised and judged daily, but for some reason, this stings even though I pretend it doesn’t. I give her a curt nod but don’t bother looking long enough to see if she returns my gesture. It doesn’t matter anyway.
I’ve never talked to my neighbours. Never saw the point. They keep their distance, and I keep mine. I know what they see when they look at me, the same as every other judgmental fucker I’ve met. The tattoos, the scars, the face that says I’ve seen too much. They’ve probably already written my story in their heads and think I’m a thug, a screwup, or maybe worse.
Let them. They can whisper, they can judge, they can stare all they want. I don’t give a fuck. I am who I am and make no excuses for that.
When I reach the front door, I balance Peach in one arm like a football—which isn’t hard given her size and the fact that she probably weighs about as much as the black hoodie I’m wearing—and unlock it.
I pause just inside the doorway once I step over the threshold, my eyes moving around my space. I’ve never cared much about material things. When you’re shuffled around from home to home, you don’t get a chance to accumulate stuff, which is why the furniture in here is minimal.
I have what I need and nothing more. A recliner lounge, a coffee table, a TV, a bed, a chest of drawers, and a nightstand. When Mary came, she had to sit on the lone stool at the breakfast island to go over the paperwork, while I stood beside her.
I didn’t skimp on Lil’ Peach’s things, though. She has everything she needs and more. I can only hope this works out so she has a stable place to grow up in.
I’ve been going it alone for a week now, and up until this moment, I was beginning to think I might actually have this whole baby thing figured out. Lil’ Peach has drunk every bottle I offered her, slept soundly in between feeds, and even gave me what I swear was almost a smile earlier today.
The one thing I’m yet to master, though, is the sleep deprivation. It’s relentless, a quiet kind of torture that seeps into every aspect of your life. I’ve pulled all-nighters before, but this is different … it’s deeper, heavier. It’s given me a newfound respect for mothers and the sheer endurance it must take to live like this for months on end.
I honestly feel sorry for any cunt that’s going to have to face me when I finally return to work, because even when I’m well rested, I can be terrifying. I can only imagine what will be left of them once my last bit of mercy has burnt away.
