Chapter 30
Services
The EMTs rushed Jason in. They had managed to wake him up after performing CPR so much. But he quickly passed out as soon as he woke up. He looked so pale and frail. They wouldn't let Marco and I to the emergency room so we waited in the waiting room. I was cold since I'm still a little wet and only in my swim suit. We didn't have time to grab clothes.
"I'm going to call everyone." Marco said glumly. He got up and walked over towards a vending machine.
Bella sat on my lap, playing with her doll that I quickly grabbed for her. She's so oblivious of her brother being in the emergency. Babies are so carefree. They have no stress on their shoulders and no one expects anything from them.
After about 30 minutes, our friends and parents were here. My mom brought us clothes and I quickly changed into them. The first thing my dad did was charge at Marco. He slammed Marco against the wall and pointed a finger at him.
"You... you've only brought hurt to my family and now to yours! What are you good for?" My dad yelled.
"Release him!" Ms. Ramirez yelled at my dad.
"How can you be so irresponsible to leave the back door open?" My dad ignored Ms. Ramirez. "You have a pool now, you're supposed to be more careful! You can't even care for your own children! I want to hit you so bad for endangering my grandkids, but I can't."
"Go ahead." Marco said. "Like it would make a difference. I know I'm nothing but a screw up, but I try anyway. And even if you did hit me you'd still hate me. You'll hate me 'till the day you die. I try to treat Bailey right and raise my kids well, but you still hate me. I'm going to try and raise our third child just as well, but I'm sure I'll screw up somewhere along the way. And when I do, you'll be right there to rub it in my face and make me feel bad. That's all you're good for. So go ahead and hit me. It won't make a difference in the least."
"Third child?"
I forgot that my dad doesn't know that I'm pregnant again. I told Marco but forgot to tell my dad. My dad looked at me.
"Baby number three?" My dad said. He released Marco and came over to me.
"Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I'm 10 weeks pregnant with baby number three."
"You're still so young." He said. "Couldn't you have waited a while?"
"It was an accident. I stopped taking my birth control for a few months. I'm sorry to disappoint you."
"No, no, I'm not disappointed. I just wish you'd stop giving him more kids to raise. I'm afraid they'll turn out like him."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Ms. Ramirez stepped in.
My dad and Ms. Ramirez argued. I sighed and walked over to Marco giving him a hug.
"I'm sorry about him." I said.
"It's not your fault. He's just protective of you."
"Mr. and Mrs. Millet?" A woman asked us. I released Marco and turned to her. She was a very thin woman with long curly blonde hair and green eyes. She looked to be in her twenties and she wore a grey suit.
"Yes." I answered.
"I'm with social services. I'm here to talk about your son Jason."
"Is he alright? Can we see him?" Marco quickly asked.
"He's fine, but I need to talk to you before you can see him. Now are you two married?"
"Yes." I answered.
"Have either of you had to have anger counseling, marriage counseling, or any type of counseling?"
"No, what is this about?"
She sighed. "How did Jason end up in the pool?"
"We accidentally left the back door open when getting a snack and he wandered out."
"So you weren't paying attention and left them unattended. That doesn't sound like very good parenting, especially with toddlers. For now, your children will be placed in our facility until judgment. The judge will confirm it on Tuesday."
The woman walked over to Bella and picked her up. Bella didn't care since she likes everyone.
"You can't do that." My mom said.
"You can't take our children away." I said, beginning to panic. What if I never see them again? I could just curl up and die.
"I can and I will. See you on Tuesday." She began walking away.
"No! Wait, please don't do this." I grabbed onto her arm. "They're my kids. We're no t bad parents." Tears ran down my cheeks.
"I'm sorry." The woman said, trying to get away from me.
"Please, I beg of you! Please!" I shouted down the hall after her.
I felt dizzy and I began falling. I felt strong arms wrap around my waist and I instantly knew it was Marco. I fell to my knees and let the tears flow. Marco sat on the floor with me holding my close.
"It's okay, we'll get them back." He kissed the top of my head. "I promise."
"Don't make promises you're not sure you can keep."
"Come on, let's go home."
"No, I want to see Jason. I need to know that he's alright."
"They won't allow it, you know that. Let's go home and get some sleep. We'll deal with this tomorrow. Okay?"
"No. I want to see Jason. I need to see that he's okay."
"You can't, let's go."
He forced me up, but my legs were weak and I just fell back down. He picked me up and I wrapped an arm around his neck.
"Are you going to be okay at home?" My mom asked us.
"We should be fine. If not, I'll call you." Marco said.
Marco drove us home and I just stared out the window. What if the judge takes Jason and Bella away from us? They could be put into foster care and we'd never see them again. We wouldn't be able to raise them like I want and we'd be left with our third child. Or would they take this baby too? They think we're unfit parents so they'd probably take it away.
I trudged into the house which seemed extremely empty and quiet without the twins. I miss them already and it hasn't even been an hour yet. How am I going to last four days without them?
"You alright?" Marco asked me.
"No, I'm not alright! Our kids just got taken away! How are you not freaking out about this? You have to be the worse father ever."
"How can you say that? You're just upset right now. You just have to keep a positive mind. We're going to get them back, don't worry."
"You don't know that."
"Let's just get to bed. You might feel better in the morning."
We went upstairs and I changed into my pajamas. I slowly climbed into bed and pulled the covers over my head. I felt Marco slip in next to me and he put his arm around me.
"It'll get better."
"Don't talk to me right now."
He sighed. "Fine."
Marco's P.O.V*
The next morning I woke up to the alarm clock. I groaned and sat up turning the alarm off. I looked over at Bailey and she was awake, but just laying there.
"How long have you been up?" I asked her.
"A while."
"Why aren't you out of bed?"
"I don't feel well. I think I'm just going to stay in bed all day."
"You have to get up. You're pregnant remember? You have to feed the baby."
"I will when I get hungry."
"Well I have to go to work. But I don't want to leave you here."
"Go, I'm fine."
I reluctantly got ready for work. Bailey seems like she's going back into that depression. I think this is the worse time to leave her. But I took of for a month so I know boss won't let me take off today.
"I'll try and come back for lunch, okay?" I gave Bailey a kiss on the cheek.
"Okay."
I got to work and checked in. Hopefully it isn't a busy day today and I can leave for lunch. I just need to be sure that Bailey is okay.
"Hey Marco." Stan Herman said. "It's been weird without you here. How was the trip?"
"Not what I expected it to be." I muttered.
"Hey, you alright?"
"I'm not in such a good mood today."
"Sorry, man. Anything I can do for you?"
"Not really, but thanks for offering."
I stood at the cash register 2 and waited for someone to come check out . So far it's not so crowded so I might be able to leave for lunch.
"Hey Marco." Jamie greeted me.
"Hey Jamie."
"I told you I want to know all about the honeymoon when you get back. You're back so spill."
"Well Bailey was in a bad mood for the entire trip and she kept wearing sweatshirts. Turns out she was pregnant."
"Again! How far along is she?"
"10 weeks."
"Have you told Jason and Bella? I'd bet they didn't understand what you were saying."
"Actually we didn't get a chance to tell them."
"What do you mean you didn't get a chance? Are they okay?"
"Look, you're my friend and all but I don't I should tell you every detail of my life."
She just stared at me. Then she sighed and walked away. That came out meaner than I wanted. I sighed and leaned against the register.
"Is this register open?" Someone asked.
I sighed. "Yeah." I stood up straight and looked at the person at the register. It was the two girls that always made sure to come to my register, or act like they couldn't find something when I'm around. They have a crush on me and they seem like they're in high school. School just started up again so they're not in here as much as they were during the summer.
I checked out there things which wasn't too many things. They could've gone through the express isle.
"Can I ask you a question?" The girl with long brown hair asked me.
"Sure."
"Are you in high school?"
"No I just graduated."
"From what school?"
"Kennedy High."
"That's the school we go to. I thought you looked familiar. We're juniors this year. You had twins with that girl... what's her name?"
"Bailey? Yeah, what of it?"
"Nothing. I was just wondering."
"Is it true you two got married?" The girl with short brown hair asked me.
"Yes it's true."
The two girls left after I checked them out. I turned the light out at my register and took my phone from my pocket. I called Mrs. Hartlem, knowing she would be up by now. The phone rang a few times and she answered.
"Hi Marco, how are you?"
"I'm okay. But Bailey isn't doing so well. I was wondering if you could stop by the house and check on her."
"Of course. I was planning on stopping by later anyway."
"Thanks. She seems a little depressed. It's quiet in the house without the twins. I'm worried about her."
"I understand. I'll leave right now."
"Thanks."
I hung up and stuffed my phone back in my pocket. At least I know she'll be okay since Mrs. Hartlem is checking on her.
"Hey Marco, boss wants us to put this stuff away and price check them." Stan said, setting a box on my register.
"Alright."
Stan and I put away boxes of soap and checking their prices. I hate when I have to do things like this.
"Do you have to work at the corner store today too?" Stan asked me.
"No, I don't start back until next week."
"That's good. So why is Bailey depressed? Where are Jason and Bella?"
"How do you... you were listening to my conversation." He shrugged. "Yesterday Jason almost drowned in the pool because I wasn't watching him. When he was at the hospital a social worker came and talked to us. They took them away from us. We have to go to court Tuesday."
"I'm sorry." He placed a hand on my shoulder. "That's rough. I know you must miss them a lot."
"You have no idea."
Work was finally over and I headed home. I didn't get to go home for lunch because it had become crowded. Mrs. Hartlem hasn't called so I guess everything was fine. Hopefully Bailey has been up moving around. And I hope she's eaten something.
I got home and parked in the garage. I went inside and heard the TV on. I walked in the living room and saw Bailey sitting on the couch with Mrs. Hartlem. Bailey held a cup of coffee in her hands. Mrs. Hartlem and Bailey looked up at me and smiled.
"Hey. How are you feeling?" I asked.
"I'm okay. We went to an ultrasound today and I got some more pictures. Wanna see?"
"Yeah, of course."
She jumped up and ran to go get the pictures. I sat down on the couch next to Mrs. Hartlem.
"How did you get her up?"
"I scheduled an ultrasound appointment. Seeing the baby cheered her up."
"Here." Bailey came back in the room and handed the pictures to me.
I examined the pictures and saw a small body, head, hands, feet, legs, and arms. In each of the pictures, it was in a different position.
"It's so cute!" Bailey exclaimed.
"Yeah. I'm glad you're feeling better." I gave her a kiss and handed the pictures back to her.
Tuesday
I drove Bailey and me to the court house. I have a good feeling about today. I'm sure we'll get the twins back.
"You alright?" I asked Bailey.
"For now, yeah."
We stood in court with the social worker on one side and Bailey and I on the other. The judge came out and sat in his chair.
"Okay, let's get this over with." He said. "You go first." He said to the social worker.
"Well I gathered the information from the Millets and they're not very good parents. They don't watch their kids. They just leave them to roam. Their son Jason almost drowned in their pool because they weren't watching them like they should've. I don't think it's safe for their children to be in their custody."
"Alright. Mr. and Mrs. Millet let me hear your side."
"I know it was foolish not to be paying attention." I said. "But I did bring them back in the house with me. I was distracted when making a snack and wasn't paying attention. But I tried to save his life by performing CPR. I mean, he's my son. I love him with all of my heart."
"How old are you?" The judge asked me.
"My wife and I are 19."
"You're young. You're both still new parents. You're still trying to get used to life with babies, am I right?"
"Yes sir." I answered.
"Give these people their children back. Mistakes happen and I'm sure they won't let it happen again."
"No sir."
We waited in the hall for Jason and Bells. I held Bailey gave my hand a small squeeze. The social worker came around the corner holder the Bells in her arms and Jason's hand. She released Jason and put down Bella. Bailey and I crouched down and put out our arms. They walked over to us and we took them into a hug.
"I told you we'd get them back." I said to Bailey. "You just have to keep a positive mind."