Lost Without You

Chapter 22

Jay looks down to his watch: "Oh! I gotta go pick up Kinsley"

I nodded, beaming from ear to ear: "Okay"

Jay turns around and gives me a kiss before running out the door with his keys. I watched him go, feeling a sense of warmth in my chest, he would be a great father. He honestly made me more excited. I look down, I'm carrying a baby, in my stomach. That's crazy! I closed my eyes and imagined what our child would look like. Would the baby have Jay's curly brown hair when he was little and my blue eyes? Or his emerald green eyes? I couldn't wait to find out.

30 minutes later

The door opened wide, Kinsley ran towards me, hugging my legs tightly. Jay's face is saddened, shaking his head. I looked down to Kinsley, she looked very tired and her eyes were puffy. I knelt down to her level,

"What wrong Kinsley?"

Kinsley wailed: "I'm tired"

She hands me her hearing aids and clung to me. I could feel her body trembling with exhaustion. I lifted her and held her close, rocking back and forth. 

Jay whispered to me: "She told me that she had fun at school, just tired. I think today was a lot for her, going to a new school"

I pulled Kinsley back and signed to her: "Quiet time?"

Kinsley nodded, pulling me back. I set her hearing aids down on the counter, and walked over to the couch. I leaned back against the couch, holding Kinsley close. She rest her head on my chest, and slowly drifted off to sleep. Jay sat down next to me.

He sighed: "The file did say that Kinsley was struggling in school"

I looked toward him: "Did she have an interpreter? I made sure that the school had an interpreter for her"

Jay thought for a moment before speaking: "Yeah, I saw her interpreter when I picked her up. Maybe we could talk to her teacher and see if there's anything we can do to make things easier for her at school."

I nodded again. "That's a good idea. I will do some research and we should also try to get her more involved in activities outside of school. Maybe that would help her feel more involved."

I looked down at Kinsley, her small body curled up against mine: "She hasn't said much about her past or anything really"

Jay: "Yeah, I noticed that too"

Jay got up from the couch and asked me what I wanted for dinner.

"We could do mac-n-cheese. Kinsley love that"

Jay nodded as he began grabbing the ingredients. As Jay began to prepare dinner, I sat with Kinsley, watching her sleep. Her breathing was slow and steady, and her face was peaceful. I stroked her hair gently, hoping to provide some comfort. As I did, I noticed a small scar above her left eyebrow. It was barely visible. I wondered where it came from. I sat there for around 30 minutes before turning to Kinsley. I rub her arm to wake her up and she stirred awake.

I signed to her, "Eat?"

Kinsley rubbed her eyes and nodded. I lifted her up and carried her to the kitchen, where Jay had set the table. We all sat down to eat, and Kinsley happily dug into her mac-n-cheese. She stayed quiet, Jay and I looked at each other in silent agreement that she needed some space. After dinner, we went into the bathroom, preparing for bath. I filled up the bathtub with bubbles and added some toys. Kinsley stood in the corner, staring at the bathtub. 

I signed to her: "Ready for bath time?"

Kinsley looked like she didn't want to at first, but she slowly nodded her head. I picked her up and placed her in the bathtub. I noticed she had a long scar that ran down her chest. She played with the toys for a while, but then she started to cry.