Making Decisions
Chapter 23
Addison’s POV
My grandmother was the first to re–enter the room and alone. She hurried over to me to hug me. “Addison, I didn’t know what all you had gone through. You didn’t have to try to protect us, honey, but it is wonderful to hear that you wanted to do that for us. I lost your mother. I refuse to lose you, too. Don’t you worry about a thing. Monty and I will ensure that if anyone dares to mess with you, they will feel the full weight of our entire family. You don’t have to go through this alone. We are right here with you. We love you, and we will protect you.” Her hug and her words were a great comfort to me, but the tears came back.
When she stepped back, my grandfather stepped forward. I hadn’t even noticed him entering the room. “Your grandmother is right. You do not have to worry about us disowning you, Addison. I know that you were concerned about that. Your aunt could tell you are scared, and I don’t blame you. Threatening Ana was the worst mistake of my life. I won’t be making the same mistake again. I did it from a place of concern. I didn’t know what a good man your father was until it was too late. Just know that we have loved you since Ana sent us your picture when you were little. I promise you that I will never allow anyone to hurt you again. I didn’t know what all you had to deal with, baby girl. Now that I do, Alexandra was right to keep it from me. I would have destroyed them all for what they did to you. I will let her deal with it for now. But if something else happens, I will personally step in and deal with it myself. You will always have our backing, Addison,” he told me, and my sobs grew louder.
I hate saying it, but this was the outcome that I had hoped for. I didn’t want to be alone in this. Having people who love and support you in your life is essential. I needed them but wouldn’t drag my family’s name down with me. “I am keeping my baby,” I told them quietly.
“Honey, we already knew what you had decided. You were holding your stomach protectively when we entered the room. I did that, too, once I realized I was pregnant with Ana and Alex.
Knowing that you have a life you created inside you makes you more cautious. We were going to support you no matter what your decision was, although I am glad you decided to keep your
baby. Having a great–grandchild in our lives will be a wonderful blessing. You won’t have to
worry about a thing. We will all chip in to help. I can’t wait to go shopping for baby clothes,” my grandmother chirped happily as she held my hand.
“I just wanted you two to know that Aunt Alex only hid it because she was concerned that you
would be upset. It was my fault. I made a bad decision, and the rest directly resulted from it. I
should have known better. I am smarter than this,” I told them as I wiped the tears from my
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eyes. I am disappointed in myself for forgiving Garrett so quickly, only to see that I meant nothing to him.
“You did nothing wrong, Addison. You loved him, and you had just suffered a great loss. I know you are blaming yourself, but he bears just as much blame, if not more. You were not in the right mindset to make that kind of decision. But your grandmother is right. We will all help you take care of your baby. Are you going to tell Garrett?” my aunt asked from the doorway before walking over to take my hand in hers.
“No, I don’t want him to be with me out of guilt. If he did that, it would kill his affection for me. I couldn’t bear it if he broke my heart again. I can care for my baby, especially if you are willing to help. I will gladly take you up on it. I don’t want him to blame me if he can’t accomplish his
goal of being a pro quarterback,” I answered.
I could feel my stomach tighten at my words. My baby clearly disagreed with me, but it was for the best. I know what Garrett wanted more than anything else in his life. It has been his
dream since he was eight years old. At least, that is when he had voiced it to me. I won’t
prevent him from realizing his dreams.
“Well, I know that between me and Bryson, we will be the best uncles your baby will ever have. I will wait until the baby gets older before I make you come to a self–defense class again. We will just have to stay with you to keep you safe until then. You, Mom, and Grammy will have to take the lead if it is a girl. But if it is a boy, my brother and I, along with Dad and Papa, will ensure he learns everything he needs. We have you covered,” Evan told me with a smile. He
was happy about the baby and not disappointed in me. I felt the last of the tension leave my
shoulders.
Bryson and Nash both nodded that they were good with Evan’s suggestion. I could see my grandfather tear up at the thought of a great–grandchild. He hugged my grandmother to his
side and kissed her temple. “We look forward to meeting the newest member of the family. I
can promise you that they are already loved.”
They seemed to be very excited about the baby, and it made me smile. Their words made me
relax after the shock of finding out that I would have a baby. I froze as I said it again in my head. I am going to have a baby. My smile grew as I wondered what it would be. As soon as
they saw me smiling, the slight tension in the room evaporated. It hit me that they were
worried about me.
They had all been waiting to see how I felt about it after they told me that they would support me no matter what. They had been worried about how I felt. They might have worried that I would return to Garrett since I was pregnant with his child. That was not going to happen. My
trust in him is gone. How could I continue to love him if I couldn’t fully trust him?
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My heart still aches as it plays out scenarios of us being a little family. In my mind’s eye, I could see us going out to dinner, getting pictures taken, and going to the park. I had to close my eyes as I could almost feel his lips on mine, telling me how much he loved me for giving him our child. I was glad when my aunt spoke again and quickly took me out of that image. I had to give that dream up. It was never going to happen.
“Addison, you don’t have to decide today. But your mother made rules for us about you. We couldn’t approach you until she was ready to introduce you. That is what I was considering you could do for Tandy and Russell. They will be this baby’s grandparents. They have been there for you your entire life. Speaking as a woman who looks forward to having grandchildren, don’t punish them for Garrett’s sins. Just give it some thought. You can decide what rules you need them to follow. I can be the intermediary between you. But it is
completely up to you,” my aunt diplomatically stated.
I stiffened up at hearing her suggestion. It made me nervous, but she was right. They have always been good to me. Once Mrs. Tandy knew what Tammy, Tripp, and Alden had done, she
immediately had her husband kick them out of her home. She comforted me in my darkest
hour and was completely on my side when she found out what Garrett had done.
Mr. Russell had always been friendly to me. Allowing me to tag along with him and Garrett on
most of their adventures when we were younger. He was always kind and taught me so much
over the years. He never complained about me going with them. He was someone who
willingly stepped up as a father figure to me. He even came to my father/daughter’s dance
when I thought I couldn’t go. They have loved me my whole life. I have made the decision
already. How could I take this away from them?
“I only have one rule. I don’t want their children to find out about the baby. I am fine with
letting them know I am pregnant once we get further along. There’s no sense telling them just
yet. It would be easier if you called her in September once their children returned to school.
Garrett will be leaving for college next month before the middle of August. That is my only request. One day, I will let him know about the baby, but I want to allow him to have the opportunity to live his dream,” I told her.
“You still have plenty of time to think about it. We will wait and revisit it in September. I won’t
call them until you give me the go–ahead,” she promised.
They were saved by the doctor, who returned to the room, surprised by the number of people in there with me. “Good to see you smiling, Addison. It seems as if you just overdid it. We don’t see any issues with allowing you to leave here tonight. You just need to take it easy. No calisthenics until after you deliver. Your blood work looked good. You just need to set an appointment to go to the OBGYN to see how far along you are. Give me about twenty minutes
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and we will get you discharged. I hope you don’t end up here again, Addison. Take care of yourself,” he advised, before exiting the room.
An hour later, we were headed home. My uncle asked my aunt which room she wanted to turn into a nursery. Bryson and Evan had already volunteered their rooms for the baby to take, but I wasn’t going to have them do that.
“Actually, I wanted to have the baby stay in my room with me. I didn’t want either of them to lose their bedroom. My room is big, and it would probably help to keep them near me,” I said.
“It is no problem, Addison. Bryson rarely comes home these days. When he and Evan come over, it is to eat, visit, and then return to their condo. They don’t spend the night at our house anymore,” my uncle Nash replied.
“I know. I appreciate everything you and Aunt Alex have done for me. I don’t want to disrupt your home or displace my cousins. It won’t hurt to share the room with the baby. I think that it would give me comfort,” I answered.
“If you change your mind, let us know. We want you to stay with us until after you graduate. It would be easier for you to rest properly if the baby had its own room. I can’t wait to have a little one running around the house,” my aunt replied, and my uncle hummed in agreement. I leaned against the door and yawned. I was done making decisions. I will worry about it later. Right now, I just want to rest.
