Stay With Me (Come Back to Me #2)

Bonus Chapter #1

Justin

After hours of research and multiple consultations with the neurologists and doctors at Kelowna General Hospital about the possibility of the brain tumour I used to have being genetic, Addie and I finally made a decision.

It turns out, that what happened to me was simply abnormal and not genetic – thank God. Meaning, the possibility of my own children suffering in the same way I did was highly unlikely. It was a relief, especially after Addie and I got married at the age of twenty-four. I know it wouldn't have been enough to drive us apart because Addie was the first one to suggest other options, such as adoptions, when I admitted to being scared that I could pass it down, but I know just how much she wanted kids.

So when the good news was shared with us, we decided it was a good idea for us to start trying to have a kid.

That was when we were twenty-four. We're both twenty-eight now, with a beautiful daughter that we made together, out of love. Her name is Mila Helene McCallister and Addie was not the only one that started crying the moment she was born. I shed just as many, if not more, tears than my wife.

I've officially been labelled as free of epilepsy, but that doesn't mean I will ever forget what it was like to suffer through it and know that the future was up in the air. I never thought I would be where I am today: cured, happily married to my high school sweetheart and raising a little girl that shares our blood, working my dream job, and living in my own house. Epilepsy was a barrier that prevented me from believing in my dreams, in my future. And, from what I've learned, you don't really acknowledge just how special these moments are until you face them. Yes, I understood, as each day passed, that I really was cured, but the brunt of the realization has never hit me until a dream has come true.

Yeah, I sound sappy as hell, but it's the truth and I'm not ashamed of it. Since being cured, I appreciate everything on a whole new level, never taking anything for granted.

Like Mila's second birthday, which is today. August first.

Today, Addie and I are having everyone over for dinner and a birthday celebration. Everyone's coming – Addie's parents, my mom, Chris and his girlfriend, Jake and Alex, Sophia and her husband, Sophia's parents, and Jaymes.

Before, I would have thought this was entirely overboard, to be decorating the house, baking a cake, and all that – a two-year-old isn't going to remember it, right? But why should we give up celebrating the birth of someone who has brought Addie and I more joy than we could ever ask for?

"Justin?" Addie calls from the living room.

"Yeah?" I shout.

"Have you seen Mila's blanket? I can't find it."

Finished with the dishes, I throw the damp cloth over my shoulder and head into the living room. Addie is holding Mila as she checks between the cushions of the couch. "I think it was in her playpen. That's where I saw it last time, at least."

Addie straightens up and walks over to the playpen sitting in the middle of the room. It's filled with toys and stuffed animals, and as Addie rifles through it, I watch.

Years have passed since the day we met, but it seems like no time has passed. Though we've both gotten older, Addie is still just as beautiful as she was that day. And adding Mila into the picture amplifies it to the max.

Speaking of Mila, Addie says she's the perfect mix of us. But as the days pass, I find myself looking at a younger version of Addie. Mila may have my hair colour and sharp cheekbones, but she has her mom's heart-shaped face, blue eyes, and soft jawbone.

"Aha!" Addie exclaims. "There's the little bugger!" She grabs the blanket and hands it to our daughter, who giggles happily as she grabs the broken-in blanket, and then turns around. "What are you grinning about?" she asks me.