Promise, A.Somers [mobile ebook reader .txt] 📗

Prologue—

I sighed. I put him down and turned to walk away. I couldn’t believe I was leaving him. Tears gathered in my eyes and I turned around to look at him again before I left. I walked quickly back to him, kissed his forehead, and whispered in his ear, “Momma loves you baby.” I walked back to the door, and left before I changed my mind. I was anxious about leaving him for the first time in 6 weeks. He had been by my side since the day he was born, never left my sight. Not being able to see him for an entire day scared the living hell out of me. I walked down the stairs slowly enough that I could get myself together before seeing the rest of my family. I cleared my face of tears and tried to hide the fact that they were there to begin with.

Chapter One—

Sitting in the hospital room, I thought back on these last few days. I had gone from just a regular teenager to a mom in just two days!! I looked over to the little body in the plastic bin beside my bed. He was sleeping peacefully, his tiny breaths even and steady. He was mine; today he was coming home with me. I slid over and adjusted my body so that it was stable on the bed. I picked him up and cradled him in my arms, just as the nurses had taught us the day he was born. “Bradley Caleb,” I whispered, “Are you ready to go home baby?” I smiled as he stirred in my arms, awaking from his nap. “We’re going home today. You get to see your new home. Are you happy?” He opened his little eyes and yawned. I smiled looking into his eyes. I picked up his tiny hand holding it in mine. The door creaked open and Brad stepped in. I looked up and whispered to Bradley, “There’s your Daddy. There his is baby.” Brad smiled at us and walked over to us. He showed me the discharge papers in his hand. I smiled and signed them. He handed me the diaper bag and kissed me before kissing Bradley, then walked out the door to take the papers to the nurses’ station. I opened the diaper bag, took out a nursing blanket, a diaper and the wipes, and light blue footy-pajamas. I spreaded the blanket across the bed in front of me and laid Bradley on it. I unbuttoned his onesie and took it off of him. I changed his diaper and got him dressed carefully. Brad walked in with a nurse and the doctor as soon as we were done. “You’re good to go Alison. The nurse is here to tell you a few things about how to care for Bradley when he gets home and things to expect,” the doctor smiled at us, shook Brad’s hand and left. The nurse walked up to me, and began to explain what the doctor had told her to. She told us to take Bradley to the pediatrician after two weeks. He would need his shots. When she was done she smiled at me, wished us luck, and left. “I’m going to need help babe,” I told Brad. He nodded and grabbed my bag. He got out my sweatpants, t-shirt, underwear, bra, socks, sweatshirt, and Uggs. I put Bradley in his carrier and grabbed Brad’s hands so that he could help me get up from the bed.

I got dressed with Brad’s help. When we were done, I made Bradley four bottles incase he got hungry on the way home. I packed up his stuff and handed our bags to Brad. He took them and left the room to get the truck and to tell the nurse that we were ready to leave. Shortly after he left, the nurse came in with a wheelchair because I couldn’t walk all the way down to the parking lot. She pushed me while I held Bradley’s carrier in my lap. When we got down to the door where the truck was parked, Brad took the carrier and put it on the driver side of the backseat. The nurse helped me out of the wheelchair and I thanked her as I got into the truck. She smile and walked back into the hospital. I sat in the backseat with Bradley. Brad was careful while driving. “It’s different, huh?” I asked him. “He looked at me through the rear view mirror, “Yeah. It makes you alert with him in the car.” I nodded. He drove slowly. We finally got home where my mom was waiting to help us in the driveway. She had put blue balloons on the mailbox and by the door. She opened the door to where I sat and hugged me tight. She took my hands and helped me out of the truck. Mike was by my side as I walked to the steps, where he helped me up. Brad carried our son inside behind me. I walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. Brad put the baby down beside me and took him out of the carrier. He handed him to me and went to go get his swing. I cradled Bradley in my arms. Looking down on him, I studied his face trying to see who he looked like. I saw my eyes, Brad’s nose and mouth, my mother’s shape, and an unfamiliar touch too. I loved everything about him. He was so adorable, and he was defiantly mine. There was no denying that. He was absolutely perfect in each and every way.

My mom and Mike took turns holding him for a while. Brad chimed in to feed him every 2 hours. We looked at my parents on the other end of the couch, admiring them. They loved Bradley too. But who couldn’t? He had puffy cheeks that were irresistible, lips that were so soft and full. His eyes were the most beautiful thing on him. He had dark, sparkling green eyes that he had gotten honestly from me. They matched, exactly. Brad wrapped me in his arms as we sat on the couch. He kissed my forehead and ran his fingers through my hair. My mom, talking to Bradley, brought him over and placed him in my arms. “Hey there buddy,” I said to him. I grabbed his little hand and he wrapped his fingers around my index fingers. I smiled at him.

Chapter 2—

The days flew by, then weeks, and before I knew it Bradley was a month old. Brad was going to school every day, and coming home at night, letting me sleep as much as possible. I wasn’t allowed to go back to school until Bradley was six weeks old, and I was dreading the day that it came. I was thankful for the baby monitors I had put all around the house, because I hate it when he cries. It makes me anxious and jittery when I hear it. I rush to him when he cries during the night. He rarely gets put down at all during the day. I constantly hold him. My mom has to remind me to put him in the swing every once in a while, so that he doesn’t get too used to it. Nicole comes over at least 4 times during the week to see Bradley and me. My mother thinks that I should call my dad and tell him about his grandson but I refuse. I’ve never met the man. What would I say to him if I did call him? Hey dad, it’s me, your daughter that you never met? I didn’t want to. But she thinks that I should do it anyways. Mike works during the day and my mom works at night. Brad stays with us most nights and I like that. My mom doesn’t mind, as long as everything stays clean. I rarely get dressed at all, only when I have to take Bradley somewhere. I stay home all day, take care of Bradley, take a shower when Mike gets home, and take care of Bradley until he goes to sleep.

As I was feeding Bradley his last bottle before I put him to bed, I thought back to his first week home. Brad and I had given him a bath, making a huge mess in the kitchen. Bradley didn’t like taking bathes. He cried the entire time we had him in the sink. When he finally stopped crying, I thought I’d never want to give him a bath ever again. I just let my mom, Mike, or Brad do it. I can’t stand making him cry. I giggled to myself as I burped Bradley gently. I laid him back in my lap, propping his head up on a nursery blanket, and gave him his bottle. Brad reached for him from my lap, and took him to the nursery to finish his bottle, change his diaper, and put him to bed. I kissed Bradley on the head as we approached the door to his room. I went off into our room and climbed in on my side of the bed. I stretched out widely and slid over to give Brad room. About fifteen minutes passed and I was nearly asleep when I heard Brad climb into his side of the bed. He turned over to face me and wrapped me into his arms, kissing me softly. His hands wondered across my back. I pulled my face back from his, looking into his eyes and said, “I love you babe.” He brushed back the hair that had fallen into my face. “I love you too,” he said. He kissed my forehead, and lay back down. I fell asleep quickly. I was awaken four times during the night by Bradley, and scurried to comfort him as he cried. I had made bottles before going to bed, and was grateful that I did. It took less time for me to feed him and go back to sleep. The next two weeks flew by, and before I knew it, I had school the next day. I was so