Never say forever (Never series Book 1) (25 page)

I put my shoes on and met my dad out in the car. I get in the car and he starts talking right away.

“
Your mother was a firm believer in life insurance. She had a policy on herself for a million dollars. I told her that was too much but she insisted. She said that she had to make sure we were taken care of if something were to happen. Your mother was always overly cautious, but I don’t need to tell you that. You already know.”

I don’t even say anything back. I can’t. I’m at an absolute loss for words. What can I say? Today I got to read a letter my mother wrote to me while she was alive and I found out she left me money. Today is definitely a day that I never thought would happen. A day that has overwhelmed me. I just sit in the front seat looking out the window playing the “what if” game. What if my mother was still here? What would she say when she found out I was having a baby? What if she found out I was back in football after that killed her? What if I fail and she can see everything I do? Would I be a disappointment? What if I never played football, would she still be here? I’m going out of my mind asking these what if questions that can never be answered.

We finally pull up to a house. I look at my dad with question. Please don’t tell me I have a brother or sister I never knew about. The possibilities of what lies behind that door could be anything and that’s what scares me the most.

We walk out the car and my dad walks to the door and unlocks it with his key. What is going on here? I’m almost afraid to walk in, but I do anyways. I follow my dad who stops in the middle of an empty room.

He turns to me, “This is yours.”

Whoa! What?!

“
What do you mean this is mine?”

“
I also got $500,000 from your mother’s life insurance plan. I didn’t need that much since I am working and I got money from selling the last house so I bought a house and I was going to give this to you as your graduation gift. I only needed half that money. I want you to be set when you go to college. I don’t want you to struggle. Knowing that you have a house that’s paid for and money from your mother, I know you can succeed at anything you do, and I’ll know that you won’t be on the street trying to make it through college. I wasn’t going to give this to you until graduation but you need a home for your family.”

Wow, again I’m at a loss for words.

My mother and father were perfect for each other. They were two great role models for any child. I would like to think that I got my good manners from them. I know how to treat my girl because I learned from the best. My heart is literally floating around a sea of happiness because of the love that I have clearly seen from my parents today.

I walk up to my dad and hug him. I hug him hard as the tears flow again. I don’t contain them though because I’m not ashamed. I’m not ashamed to feel the way I do because of the love I have received. My dad hugs me back and I can feel tears coming from his eyes as well. This is definitely a father son bonding moment that I will never forget.

My dad pulls away. “We still need to get some work done. I have been
touching up here and there, obviously you need furniture too, so that check will come in handy.”

“
Yeah, I can’t believe this. Please don’t tell anyone. I want to get this whole house ready and surprise Serena with it. She has no clue what’s going on and I want to keep it that way. I hope to have this done by her birthday so I can give her this as a present,” I tell him.

“
Your secret is safe with me. I’ll help with whatever you need me to. Actually, when I am at home, I’ll start building a crib for the baby.”

I am so happy that he decided to do that. I know he will make the best crib. Better than any other company can make. My baby will have a crib built with love, and that’s more than I can ask for.

“
That would be great. Thanks so much, Dad, for everything. This all means the world to me.”

“
No problem, Son. That’s what I’m here for.”

I sure hope I am as good of a dad to my daughter as my dad is to me.

Serena comes back in the room and I tell her everything. I don’t skip a beat. The only thing I haven’t told her was that I carry that letter from my mother around in my wallet everywhere I go. I feel as if she is always with me when I carry it, and its good feeling knowing she’s there with me. By the time my story ends, she is in tears.

“
I’m sorry to be crying like this. I’m kind of jealous of you. You had these awesome parents and I had a father who cheated on my mother and left without a goodbye and my mother barely shows affection. I would die to have parents like yours. I am so sorry about your mother. She sounds pretty amazing and I wish I could meet her.”

She is still crying, probably because of the hormones making her cry more than she should but to me she looks angelic. I love looking at her no matter what’s going on.

“
It’s okay Baby Girl. We have a place to call our home. Oh and by the way, my father built the crib.”

I smile widely because I am so proud.

“
Get the hell out of here! Really? Oh my gosh, that has to be the best crib. I thought it was a designer crib, it looked so amazing. Wow, that’s wonderful.”

Here come the tears again.

“
I know sweetie. This was his present to us for the baby, he insisted. I couldn’t turn him down because I know it would be the best crib in town.”

I smile and kiss her on the lips. I have never really felt at home since my mother died, but here right now, I feel more at home than I’ve ever felt.

“
Did you tell your mom about the house?”

“
Yeah, I had a pretty lengthy conversation with her. At first she was trying to think of anything to keep me home but she sees that this is my home now. I think she’s more afraid of the fact that I’ll be out of the house and that reminds her of what happened to Cadence. I smoothed it over with her though and she’s really happy. She said she can’t wait to see the house. She knows you’re a good guy and she really knows now how happy I am with you.”

She smiles at me and then pulls me to the bed.

I lie down next to her and pull her as close as I can so I can feel both of our hearts beating as one. I could lie in this bed cuddled with her all day and night and never tire of it. This feeling is amazing. I fall asleep with my arms wrapped around the one that stole my heart.

             
Chapter 16

Serena

One Month Later

I rise out of our extremely comfortable big bed. Aiden is on his morning run already. I would love to join him but since I am now six months pregnant, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have now popped some more. I have a bigger belly, which is starting to make it more difficult to do certain things. I can manage most, but once I sit down, I don’t want to move.

I have the same routine every morning. I rise from bed and I know I really shouldn’t eat my breakfast in my bedroom, but I do. I sit down at my window while eating my oatmeal and reflect on my life as I watch the beauty of the waterfall Aiden built for me. I never realized the calming effect it has on me until I had it in my own backyard. I can think about anything in the world and I will stay calm as long as I have that. It’s even better than I had imagined when I first thought I would love to have this. I never imagined it to be like this.

Today, I am eating my oatmeal as usual and thinking about everything this past month. It’s crazy how a month can fly by. It feels like it was yesterday when Aiden showed me this house but it has been a month. The first night was amazing. I woke up wrapped up in his arms, feeling the warmth of the love he has to offer. That was the first night we spent together. I assumed he hadn’t told my mother about the house ahead of time because I would have probably found out and Aiden’s surprise would have been ruined.

I called my mom that night and told her everything. I’m not really sure what I was expecting but it didn’t matter. If she didn’t like it, oh well. I had a new home and I was seventeen. I could freely move out of my parent’s home. I told her everything and she didn’t want me to leave at first. Once she realized how happy I am she became excited. I wasn’t really expecting that response. I expected her to maybe put up more of a fight because her last child is leaving. Now she will be alone. She did get a little teary-eyed but she did tell me that she was happy that Aiden was stepping up and being a true father. I think she may have been a little bit jealous because of everything that happened between my parents. What I have with Aiden, I don’t think she had that with my father. I don’t really know much about when they first met because she doesn’t talk about it, so I don’t know if he was anything like Aiden is right now, and that sometimes scares me.

I have no doubts in my mind that Aiden will be anything like my father but there’s always that voice in your head that tries to smother your brain with crazy thoughts. The night of my big surprise was the first night Aiden and I spent in our new home. It was a new change that I am still getting used to. Aiden is very attentive to my needs. Anything I need, he is at my beck and call. I sometimes feel sorry for him, for dealing with me and my hormones. Pretty soon, this will be over and we can share our joy and love over our new baby girl.

Aiden doesn’t know this but I go into the baby’s room everyday just contemplating everything. I sit in the rocking chair and imagine what it’s going to be like when our baby is here and rocking her to sleep. I imagine having to come in here for the late night feeding. I will not enjoy getting up in the middle of the night but I will enjoy seeing my baby, so it makes it all worthwhile. I look around the house at all the love displayed on the pictures hung throughout the house, my heart expands. Just a year ago, I never knew what love was and now I feel so overflowed with it. It’s crazy how things can happen in a blink of an eye.

I finish my bowl of oatmeal and look out at the waterfall and reflect on our first time at the waterfalls. Everything about that night was magical. I will always think of that night every time I look at the waterfalls. I can now feel Aiden’s presence. I turn around and he is standing at the doorframe leaning against it. I love looking at him. I hope our baby looks like him and has his integrity and motivation. He accomplishes anything he sets his mind to.

He smiles that bright shiny dimpled smile I fell in love with.

“
Admiring the waterfalls again?”

I blush, “I seriously can’t get enough of it. It’s like we are back at our secret place every day. We don’t even have to go anywhere and it’s magical, just like our place. It’s absolutely amazing. I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that you made this.”

He walks over to me and bends down so he is right in front of me, face to face, his blue eyes to my violet eyes.

“
I had the opportunity to do it and I seized it because I know it’s something you really wanted. Besides this place wouldn’t feel like home without it.”

“
You’re right about that. I just love waking up and having this to look at. Even though it’s not the same as our place, it still brings up the most amazing memories of us.”

I turn my head back to the window and look out. I feel him rise and lean over to kiss my forehead. I turn my head and he kisses my lips instead. I could drown in his kisses.

“
My last game is tonight. You feeling up to being my cheerleader tonight?” he teases.

“
Of course. I wouldn’t miss your last game.”

A week after we moved into the house, he got the quarterback position because Jeremy had failed one of his classes so he is unable to play until he picks his grades up. Good thing because I didn’t want to see him play. I just want to see Aiden play.

“
You in the stands will make me win this game. You’re the only cheerleader I need at this game.”

He smiles and kisses me. We make our way to school. We only have a month left until school is out. Good thing for that because I don’t know how much longer I will be able to walk class to class without sitting down. This baby is literally sucking the life right out of me. I deal with it though because I love this baby more than anything.