●be mine, valentine●

chapter one

"D-don' wan' mommy t-to gooooo." Valentine's two year old son wailed as he desperately tried to get the boy to calm down. Every second the crying persisted it broke Valentine's heart even more.

He reached down, gently prying the boy's hand from his own and hoisting his small weight onto his hip. It was getting harder and harder to do this everyday, the farther along he got into his second pregnancy. "I know, sweet boy, I'm so sorry. I wish I could stay with you all day but mommy has to go see some nice men that might be able to help us out." He looked at Luca, his sweet baby boy, with a teary eyed smile on his face, trying to convince the boy, as well as himself, that it would all be okay.

He was interviewing for a position as a personal assistant for an architecture company today so he wouldn't be gone for long, only a few hours. He just wasn't used to leaving his boy. As of right now he only worked night shifts at a diner near their apartment. Luca was always asleep and safe at home with Valentine's best friend, Avery, when he left for work so he'd never felt nearly as bad as this morning. All he wanted to do was wrap him up in his arms and keep him there forever. 

But that wasn't realistic. 

He needed to provide for his family and if that meant leaving Luca for a few hours this morning then that's what it would have to be, no matter how badly it hurt the both of them.

"I love you so much, sweetheart. I'll be back so soon for you, I promise." He said quietly as he glanced around the room, rubbing his son's back in small, soothing circles in an effort to ease the tears that seemed to be ever lasting.

The daycare that he had Luca placed in wasn't the greatest in the city but it was the best he could afford. It was in a perfectly safe part of the area and it looked like it had lots of toys and happy kids inside. He'd made the right choice, even if it meant he'd have to skimp on things for himself to afford it.

"Mommy stay p'ease." The sound of his child broke Valentine from his thoughts and brought a new rush of tears to his eyes. Seeing his boy so sad and distraught brought on a wave of nausea that made him want to die. He just wanted to be with his baby in the safety of his own apartment. But he couldn't, he needed this job whether he liked it or not.

Valentine knew how quickly pregnancies passed him by, he had to save as much money as he could before the baby came. After all, it would only be five months now.

Five months until he had to juggle two babies all by himself while somehow managing to provide for them and himself.

"Luca, baby, I love you to the moon and back. I'll be back for you as soon as possible, little love. So soon you won't even know that I'm gone. And you're gonna have so much fun here, look at all the blocks they've got." He paused, showing his son around the room for a moment and stopping when Luca had cracked a small itty bitty smile at the sight of a few of the toys. "See? Everything's gonna be just fine." He said, placing a light kiss on Luca's adorable button nose that seemed to match his own perfectly.

Valentine and Luca haven't ever been apart for very long. When he was pregnant with the boy he spent a lot of his time alone in the house, just him, his thoughts, and his constantly growing stomach. Christopher didn't like it when Valentine went outside, he said he wanted the young man all to himself. 

While that was concerning to most, Valentine's 17 year old brain just thought Christopher really loved him. That's all he wanted. He strived for that love and fought for it his whole life, so when Christopher told him to drop out of high school and come live with him, who was he to complain?

Valentine didn't like school all that much anyway. He was smart and he enjoyed learning but he got bullied a lot. So, without either of his parents to hold him back, he agreed. He had only been seeing Christopher for a a few months when he moved in. The man was so nice to him at first. So sweet and attentive. He had no clue it would end the way it did.

Maybe he overlooked the signs, like all of the times Christopher had raised his voice or grabbed his arm just a little too hard. You couldn't blame him though, he was desperate.

He'd experienced that love when he was younger and his father was still alive. He'd been the best dad Valentine could have asked for. Taking him to the park, telling him stories, and simply loving him unconditionally. Sadly, his dad passed away when he was ten due to a heart condition, leaving him to live with only his mother. She wasn't the greatest, often forgetting he existed and neglecting his care. And when she did remember him she seemed to have a short temper, always getting mad at the smallest things he did wrong and yelling at him if he wasn't to her liking. He learned how to make himself invisible. He'd sneak out before school and sneak back in afterwards. He got used to not seeing her, so he assumes it wasn't too big of a deal when he moved out. He doubts she even noticed.

"Everything's gonna be alright." He whispered out as his thoughts came to a stop, mostly to himself more than Luca. Everything would be okay. "I'll see you later, baby boy." Valentine spoke, placing one more chaste kiss to his son's nose and then to both cheeks before walking over to one of the workers who had had outstretched arms, seemingly watching the prolonged exchange.

"We'll take good care of him, don't worry." The worker spoke softly. Valentine took note of his name tag, Oliver. He seemed quite nice but he wasn't quick to trust just yet.

"Thank you." He said quietly, ruffling his boys' hair lovingly and giving him a small, probably not very convincing, smile before turning on his heels and quickly leaving out the front door of the daycare. If he stayed much longer he's not sure he would be able to leave.

He had somewhere to be though and he's almost certain that being late to the interview wouldn't be a good look. But then again, the thrifted blouse and dress pants he was wearing weren't all that great either. They practically fell off of his body even being the smallest size he could find and being four months pregnant. He'd put a little dab of vanilla extract behind his ears though so at least he knew he smelt okay.

If he was being honest with himself, he was really nervous for this interview. He really needed it to work out. If it didn't he didn't know what he'd do.

No, all he knew was that he had to make this work. The health of his babies depended on it. 

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author's note ~ hi loves!! sooo this is what i've been working on for the past few weeks. i've got a few chapters written so far and i'm really enjoying it! as of right now updates are gonna be every friday but that could change so bare with me!! 

anywho, i really hope you liked the chapter, lemme know what you think! feel free to leave a comment with any questions about the story or feedback and don't forget to vote :)) ps. for notifications when i update in the future you can always follow me on here <3

also, i made a recent announcement on my page about the status for my other books, so if you were wondering about those check there !!

i hope you all have a lovely day/night and i'll be back soon !!