AUSTIN:
I looked at some old pictures on my computer of Brooke and I. One picture was of us right before senior prom at my parents' house with Dez and his girlfriend, Carrie Lainfield. Carrie had on a baby blue dress and Dez's tie matched her dress, while my tie was black and Brooke's dress was black. Another picture was of the photo booth- Brooke had a gold plastic tiara on and I was pretending to kiss her hand, another picture was of me in a Dr. Seuss hat and her in nerdy glasses, in the third picture, she was kissing my cheek and in the last picture, I had a nifty disguise on and she was pointing to me. During senior year, my relationship with Brooke was a little more official before we broke up for good.
Another picture was of Brooke and I at graduation- we were in our caps and gowns and I had my arm around her. Another picture was a few weeks after graduation when Brooke and I went skinny dipping in the lake at Venetian Pool Coral Gables (nothing beyond Brooke's shoulders were visible though). In another, we were on a date to Dave and Buster's and eating the carnivore pizzadilla. In another picture, it was when Brooke was about three months pregnant with Isaac and I had my hands around her waist while her hands were on her pregnant belly. We found out we were having a boy when she was seventeen weeks.
In another picture was of me in the hospital room with Brooke while we were delivering Isaac Emerson (my great grandfather's name was Emerson Moon and he died just a few weeks before Isaac was born) Moon and I was holding him for the first time. I knew I was going to have a tight bond with him because when he was born, he held onto my finger and when I gave him his first sponge bath, that was when the bond between him and me got started. There was a picture that my mom had taken of me rubbing baby lotion on him and we sometimes would nap together. By the time Isaac was two months old, Brooke and I started having issues- I think it started with her having postpartum depression but she was looking for answers in all the wrong places- she started smoking marijuana, smoking crack with her friends and the last straw was when she was having sex with that guy and then we broke up for good. But the only things worse than her cheating on me were when she ignored Isaac in the crib to smoke weed and crack and drink and watch porn and have sex with sketchy guys and when she was arrested was drunk driving and drug possession.
I felt sorry for Isaac that he didn't have a mother who cared about him because everyone deserves a mother who loved them unconditionally, and he wasn't even two years old yet. But I was still there to teach him, love him and cuddle him. I didn't like that Brooke cheated on me and neglected our son for drugs and alcohol and sexual promiscuity, but I felt kind of sorry for her too- she didn't get to see his milestones- learning to walk, in fact he was a very early walker. He started standing and crawling at eight months and then he started walking at eleven months and now he was walking and running and loved to roam around the apartment, and by the time he was crawling he didn't want to be picked up and cuddled all the time anymore and instead he wanted to be down and roam the apartment.
But for me, being a dad was about so much more than just feeding and bathing and making sure he was taken care of like a plant- it was about giving him you. Giving your child you was the best thing you could give them. I felt some slight patting on my leg and I looked down to see Isaac before me and he was holding his teddy bear and his bunny rabbit and I picked him up, putting him on my lap. I whispered,
"Hi, buddy,"
And I kissed him on the top of his blonde hair. Isaac came a little closer and he was trying to give me a kiss. He put his laps against my face and he didn't press but he said,
"Mwah."
"You trying to give Daddy kisses?"
I puckered my lips together and I said,
"Do this with your lips,"
Isaac puckered his lips and I said,
"Now touch Daddy with your lips."
He kissed me on the lips and I kissed him on his cheek. I felt a vibration in my pocket under my ass and I pulled out my phone and saw I was getting a FaceTime request from Ally. My phone was a jet black iPhone 7 covered in a green camouflage case and my lockscreen was a picture of me standing outside of the Zoo Miami entrance, in aviator sunglasses while I was with my sister Leah and I was holding Isaac's stroller, while he was sleeping in his stroller covered in blankets and sucking his pacifier just a few months ago when I went to Zoo Miami with my parents, my son and my sister, while my background was Isaac in his costume from last halloween- he was cub Simba from The Lion King and he was drinking his bottle. I answered Ally on FaceTime and I said,
"Hey, beautiful."
She said,
"Hi, Austin."
Isaac was looking at my phone and he said,
"Hi."
"Hi," was one of his favorite things to say to people. Ally smiled.
"Hi, what's your name?"
I said,
"Isaac."
Ally smiled.
"Isaac. How old are you, Isaac?"
I asked my son in a playful voice,
"How old are you, buddy?"
Isaac held up one finger. I said,
"Yes, you're one. You're so smart."
I kissed my son on the cheek and he climbed off the sofa and started to toddle around the apartment, like he loved to do, and Ally said,
"Your son looks like you."
I laughed.
"Aw, thank you. I'm glad you called. How are you doing?"
She giggled a little which was an immediate indicator she was in some kind of emotional state.
"Honestly, I could be better. I got my problem diagnosed and I have Lupus, which is like cancer's ugly stepsister."
I asked,
"Lupus? As in the sickness that that old Disney Channel girl, what's her name again- Selena Gomez has?"
When I was younger, I used to watch Selena Gomez's old Disney Channel show Wizards of Waverly Place. I was about thirteen when the show premiered and it made for a good guilty pleasure and my sister loved it when she was younger. It made me a fan of Selena Gomez, too, and when I heard she had Lupus, it broke my heart. Now Ally had Lupus, and I was hoping she'd get the treatment that she needed and deserved.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: Fun fact- Selena Gomez having Lupus and getting a kidney transplant from Francia RaĆsa was what inspired me to write this story)
Ally looked at me sadly, clearly trying not to cry in front of me.
"Yeah. I'm exhausted because I cried myself to sleep twice yesterday because of it and as you can tell, I'm not doing a very good job of coming to terms with it."
I said,
"There's no wrong way of coming to terms with trauma. As long as you have people to stand by you and support you."
Ally smiled a little and she giggled a little.
"You're right."
"I promise, I'm never going to leave you. I'm going to stand by you and be there when you need me."
The pretty girl smiled.
"Thanks, Austin."
OK Chapter 4 is all done! If you guys like the story remember to favorite, follow and review! Love you all to the moon and back!
