Toxic Love

No right

Ava pushed silently, every once in a while letting out a pained whimper but for the most part silence. The oxygen mask around her face fogging and clearing as she deeply inhaled and exhaled. She'd been in labor three days. Damien held her legs and wiped away stray hairs from her eyes. "You can do it babe, just breathe."

Ava looked at him with tears in her eyes, "Damien it hurts so bad...my baby can't breathe." Both Ava and Faith experienced rapid drops in heart rate and Ava's blood pressure dropped significantly over the last few days. "Y'all are gonna be fine babe, just keep pushing, she's almost here, I can see her head."

Ava nodded wearily and pushed one last time.

Faith Jackson was born at 8:47 am on January 24,2018. "My baby isn't crying.. Why isn't she crying?!" Ava began to panic.

"Mrs.Jackson please calm down!" Dr.Durron tried to tell her. Ava's heart rate rose and plummeted. They laid the silent baby on her chest. "Mrs.Jackson she is fine! She is perfectly fine!" Ava looked into the tiny baby's face, large eyes stared back at her and Faith puckered her mouth,ready to eat. "Oh wow...Hi baby..Hi momma's baby." Faith's eyebrows scrunched and she cooed back to her mother. Damien leaned over the railing of the bed slipping his large finger in Faith's tiny fist. "Can I hold her?" He whispered?

Ava placed the baby in his large hands, he carefully and slowly craddled her to his chest, holding her as if he were afraid she'd break. Thirty minutes later they were moved to the room Ava would be staying in for the next four days. The ice storm had Atlanta in a sort of panic so she didn't mind staying. The nurse was giving instructions. "Most importantly don't sleep with the child in the bed or on the guest couch." Ava and Damien nodded their heads. As the nurse left Ava said to Damien "Do you mind holding Faith so I can shower?" Ava hadn't torn and was already up and about walking even though she was exhausted and beyond sore. "Yea I can watch her. Do you need anything else?"

"Kind of, I want to go to sleep after, can you take care of her then too? I'm so freaking tired." She said.

"Yea I can do that" he assured her.

Ava came out of the restroom clean and ready for sleep. In her bed Faith and Damien we're both out cold. Ava tapped Damien gently. "Can I have my bed? I really need some sleep."

Damien nodded and then closed his eyes, falling right back asleep. Ava was taken aback. After two more attempts to get back her bed she gave up and curled up on the little couch, her body screaming in protest. Fifteen minutes later Faith was also screaming at the top of her lungs. Damien snored, not budging. Ava took Faith, changed her diaper, and swaddled her. She put the tiny baby in the bassinet the hospital provided.

The morning after

Ava filled out the paperwork for Faith's birth certificate, tediously making sure every detail was correct. Damien walked into the room laughing loudly. "Yea bruh, we're in room 2016. Yea, see you in a minute​."

"Who was that?" Ava asked, rubbing her tired eyes. Ava had been up the entire night with Faith.

"It was Tony, he wanted to come see Faith."

Ava became sightly frustrated. After being in labor for three days she was absolutely exhausted. Ava was far from rested and not in the mood for visitors.

She shuffled towards the bathroom, "Sure..whatever." she said.

Ten minutes later Tony came in. He held Faith and examined her tiny face. "Daaaaaamn Damien, she looks just like you man!"

Damien laughed, soon the conversation between the two changed to sports and music. "Baby me and Tony gonna to the gas station, is that alright?"

Ava instantly got upset. "Damien the lady from vitals and​ records will be here in fifteen minutes to collect the rest of the paperwork for Faith's birth certificate."

"We'll be right back it's right down the street. Please?"

Ava shook her head.  "Be back in fifteen."

"Alright I'll be here! Thanks babe!"

Fifteen minutes later Ava was signing the birth certificate alone. Damien would be listed but he would have to sign on his own or push to have the final draft revised at the office of vital records when they printed​ off Faith's copy.

Forty minutes later he and Tony came waltzing into the room. "Hey did the lady come yet?' Damien asked.

"Yes Damien. You were supposed to be here fifty five minutes ago to sign your daughter's birth certificate. You can actually just go home because OBVIOUSLY this isn't where you want to be."

"No babe we just lost track of time, I'm sorry, for real. Gerald and Ally want to come up is that okay? They want to apologize and see Faith."

Ava was entirely too tired to argue. "Fine Damien"

Minutes later Gerald and Ally came into the room, both giving what was obviously forced and generic apologies. Ally stood behind Damien as he leaned against Ava's bed, never taking her eyes off of Faith, making Ava uncomfortable and defensive. Gerald sat on the guest couch droning on about getting his GED and the stress of paying bills for Ally and her mother.

When they left Ava put Faith back in her bassinet, ready to go home and get away from all the people who had no right to infringe on her recovery time. Including her ever absent husband.