Devotion C.B

7

*Leighton's POV*

I stared at my sweet baby girl who now had an oxygen mask over her mouth and nose, her face full of dried tear stains, the moment being etched into my brain forever.

My thumb caressed the top of her hand as she clutched to the stuffed cow Colby brought her.

"She's going to be alright Leighton" Gabe tried to reassure me, having been sat on the other side of her.

"You didn't see her" I whispered, not taking my eyes off my daughter.

"I know, but we knew she had poor lungs when she was a baby. I'm not surprised things are starting to show up" He commented, my eyes snapping over to him to see him leaning back against the stiff hospital chair, staring at Gemma who was asleep.

"You're not surprised?! My baby couldn't breathe Gabe! I watched my daughter struggle to breathe!"

"Our daughter, Leighton! Our daughter!" He hissed, moving to lean forward in the chair as my jaw clenched.

"You left us. You weren't fucking there when I watched her fucking breathe all night long the second that damn oxygen tube came out of her nose! You weren't fucking there so excuse me if I'm a little more sensitive about seeing another fucking oxygen mask on our three year old!" I whispered yelled, glancing towards Gemma, not wanting to wake her.

"You can't keep holding me putting myself first above my head. I wanted to give her a better life Leighton"

"I'm not doing this. Not here. Not now."

"Then when? When Leighton? Because you don't talk to me" His voice raised, earning a glare from me.

"I don't have to talk to you. You're my daughter's father. Not my boyfriend. All I care about is her health and happiness"

"You wanted to get rid of her!" He threw in my face, letting the unwelcome memory begin to play in my head.

"I was in a different place Gabriel. Yes, I thought about putting her up for adoption, sue me" I quietly hissed, leaning back against the hospital chair, my right leg crossing over my left as my right foot began to bounce.

Was he really trying to pick a right whilst our three year old lays helplessly in a hospital bed?

"How do you think that will make her feel when she's older? You can't say that me leaving her when she was a newborn to go to college to better her life is worse than when you wanted to put her up for adoption!" Gabriel continues.

"Oh my god. Can you fucking stop? You weren't there!"

"You never let me be there! It was always Sam this Sam that, Colby this Colby that. Don't you think I deserved to be in the fucking loop with my own daughter?"

"You. Never. Showed. Up. So excuse me for taking the help handed to me! You never went to her OBGYN appointments so sorry if I felt alone. If she asks me about it, I'll be honest with her. I don't regret thinking that. I regret it right now, knowing Gemma now and being in the place I am now, but I do not regret wanting the best for my daughter. You aren't an addict. You weren't alone. You weren't even there, so don't you dare make me feel guilty for looking at all my possible options when you fucking left across the country the second she was born!"

"You always think you're all that, don't you?" He snickered, his ankle now resting against his knee, reminding me a lot of Colby which made my nose wrinkle as I looked away.

He reeked of cockiness and it made me want to punch him in the face.

"Our toddler is laying in a god damn hospital bed right now, and you want to pick a fucking fight about whose right and wrong? Yes, I played into it, I fell for your stupid game, and I apologize.. but how immature do you have to be do throw out that bait whilst our daughter has an oxygen mask over her face?"