Hey guys, I wanted to give you all a quick update tonight, hence the reason I am quickly doing quite a superficial proofread. Please ignore any typos/tense/grammatical errors, etc. I'll try and go back and re-edit at a later date but I just wanted to get a chapter up while I have the chance to.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. Also, thanks to everyone who joined in and had a bit of fun guessing! There was two guesses for Liam so that seemed to be a winner. I actually quite like that name... However, seeing as I've already written half of the next story with the baby's name I chose, I didn't really feel like changing that...
Chapter Twenty Six – Innocence Gained, Innocence Lost
"He's perfect. Absolutely perfect..."
After a long, grueling and painful experience for both parties, Cleo and Lewis have finally come out triumphant...Cleo, Lewis and their perfect, healthy, newborn baby son.
Outside, the city is in chaos with the natural disaster, its resulting hazards and damage from the storm and extreme winds both in full bore. Meanwhile, inside, at the same time, the two new parents and one of the tiniest little babies are completely oblivious to any such chaos, any such disharmony and any such worries or concerns. As far as the overjoyed and completely carefree new parents and the innocent baby of a matter of hours old, the world is just as perfect, problem-free and lightweight as they are feeling at the present moment.
The baby in Cleo's arms, the baby being looked down on by the proudest father is truly the picture of his father, with just a few visible genetic inputs from his mother.
Both parents are already besotted and completely in love with their adorable little bundle. Every detail is examined and absorbed, taking in their son's physical being until they can start to see facets of his personal being and the person he is. However, for now, his minuscule little fingers with the fingernails that seem too small to be possible, his tiny little lips that seem so full, yet so thin all at once; his fresh scent and smell that can only be put down to nourished and being previously amphibious for the last nine months. Every single facet of the little person in front of them was completely soaked up, cherished and loved by the proudest parents.
Little Lincoln Maxwell McCartney's 'hair' consists of little tufts of baby hair growing on his scalp and primarily bald head in a shade of brunette to match Cleo's. With his mother's nose, her cheeks and her big, bright eyes with his father's shade of light blue-grey that seem almost sparkly and bright for the newborn as he slowly became aware of his overwhelming surroundings.
In advance and during the gestation period, the brand new parents had shortlisted two baby boy names, and two baby girls to select from once they were able to see which name their new baby suited more. For the first names, they also had a male and a female middle name which they had been planning to use for either of the first names that they selected. Lincoln had been a favourite for both parents, while the other name was one that Cleo was completely insistent on had spent months trying to persuade Lewis on. The one name that was a definite was Maxwell… After the couple's close friend, Max Hamilton, who has helped Lewis to save Cleo's life, been an endless wealth of knowledge for them and encouraged the couple to get back together.
It is a monumental moment – just as nerve-wracking as it is exciting for the brand new parents. While the joy of a new life is exciting, it is just as scary, knowing the huge responsibilities and care that will be needed to nurture and protect the child until he is old enough to it for a lifetime, knowing from that point forward, whatever decisions you make and whatever mistakes are made are going to impact on that innocent little life as it grows up.
All the while knowing that innocence gained is just as easily lost.
That moment is like an eye-opener. I suddenly see all the instances, all the times in the past that I should have used as a warning. All of the times, that as a married woman, I should have backed off and extinguished the smoldering and the smaller sparks between myself and Kyle.
The thing is what I know more than anything is that if I don't stop myself right this second as Kyle and I near closer and closer together, I know very well what will happen next...
...
Rikki succumbs and she gives in to temptation, desire and the feelings that she has been trying to avoid acknowledging.
Deep inside, she knows how wrong it is. Deep inside, she hates herself.
However, in the moment of heat and in the moment of passion, everything is working against Rikki as she commits the wrong against her husband, albeit with her best friend's brother.
All the sparks between Kyle and Rikki which have gone without being extinguished by both parties… Rikki's loneliness that she hasn't dealt with since her husband refused contact with her after being imprisoned months ago… All of Rikki's pent-up anger and hatred of the man she truly loved.
The combination of emotions, unresolved romantic feelings and the heat of the moment is what leads to the unrestrained passion.
Gradually, the pair's kisses speed up, increasing in length and depth, racing out of control as the tryst is led to another room of the apartment.
It doesn't take long before the moment is speeding by faster and faster, until the point of no return, when it's too late to turn back and remake the decisions that Kyle and Rikki have mutually made.
But, most of all, it is too late to go back and undo what has been done – what has been done and the damage that has been made… Not to mention all of the further damage that will be caused as a result.
"Stay… The weather is bad. One gust of wind could rip the hinges off my front door, your car door… I want you here. Just stay, here" his face moves closer and closer to mine, I can feel the gentle, warm tingle of his breath as his head closes in on mine and I can see his intent focus, directed on my lips.
"Stay with me, Bella."
...
If I let myself linger for even just a moment too long, I can feel the pull and I can feel the temptation to just let come what may. The temptation to give in to my ex-boyfriend and the move he is in the process of trying to make on me.
"No, Dan. No. You had your chance and you screwed it up. I'm with Will now and I can't do this to him."
Terror fills Bella as she recognises the need to get out of there. Now. Now, before she does something that she will regret later. Before she starts to consider how just moments earlier it had been like 'old times' and the 'early days' with her former boyfriend.
She knows that she doesn't want to spend too long dwelling on old feelings and old times when so much has changed, including her relationship status and the fact that she's seen the other side to her former boyfriend. That is another frightening terror that Bella recognises, not wanting to dwell on it for too long. She knows the sort of person that Daniel can become when tried and tested, when he doesn't get his own way and especially when he feels threatened.
Bella saw the first changes in her boyfriend when herself and Daniel had begun to drift away just a little while after the 'honeymoon period' wore off from the relationship that they had thrown themselves into hard and fast in the first place. Then, the first time that he hurt her came when Daniel's friend had seen her with Will, out for lunch on the first time seeing each other after their breakup.
Although she hasn't seen any of his bad side yet, she knows he can be erratic in his behaviour and his mood and just because she's been safe from him the last eighteen months, it doesn't mean that she still is.
Instantly, she moves away and heads for the door with Daniel following close behind her.
"I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry for trying to make a move, but you'd have to be stupid to go out there in conditions like that, in that weather. It's dangerous! You could be exposed or get yourself killed – I'll leave it up to you to decide which one of those is worse. Just stay here, I promise that I'll leave you be."
Daniel Shapiro is a lot of things. However, he does not fall under the banner of 'dumb'. Bella knows that he has a valid point.
"Fine. I'll stay until the storm clears up."
Despite the fact that she wants to be anywhere but there, the functional and logical side of Bella's brain kicks in enough to make enough sense of the fact that Dan is right and if she does go out there in those weather conditions, she could very well be making a mistake that will get herself killed and ending up in a body bag. However, just because she is confined to her former boyfriend's house it does not mean that she is completely isolated.
So, Bella picks up her phone, tucks away her guilt for getting herself in such a position in the first place and prepares to protect herself from any of her own weaknesses and resistance around her ex as well as protecting herself from any erratic behaviour coming from that ex.
"Hey you... What are you and our girl up to?"
After waiting a good few hours, the storm finally dies down just enough for Bella to be able to safely leave Dan's house. She is able to make it from the house to her car without the chaotic wind and rain exposing her, the conditions being safe enough to drive herself home safely enough without unpredictable flying and falling debris posing a risk and compromising her safety.
Walking up to the door of her apartment that she shares with her daughter and temporarily with her brother, Bella fumbles through her bag for her house keys. Despite her efforts to forget, she is still shaking from the events of the afternoon, guilt-ridden for even getting herself into that position and at that crossroads in the first place. However, she has the peace of mind of knowing how much worse the events of the afternoon could have transpired.
After plucking the keys out of her handbag, the lingering shake of her hands makes it difficult for her to press the key into its custom and personalised hole on the door handle. As soon as she inserts the key, with a twist of her wrist to simultaneously turn the key and open the door she calls out to her brother, hoping he will provide the distraction she needs to get her mind off of her own guilt from the afternoon.
"Kyle? Are we talking again? I'm home... Kyle?"
As her brother emerges from a room in her apartment, Bella quickly learns that he is not alone, seeing one of her best friend's cowering behind him shamefully.
To Bella, to any stranger or passer-by and even to blind Freddy, it is crystal clear and more than obvious as to what Kyle and Rikki's activities have included over the afternoon.
The pairs flushed cheeks.
Kyle and Rikki's skew-whiff attire.
The duos individual disheveled hair.
It is like a great, big neon sign, lit up and illuminating the path to one conclusion.
The sister and the friend of the cowering couple stands just metres away. Across from them, she feels her stomach drop.
"Don't tell me this is what it looks like... Please tell me that there's another explanation..." Bella pleas, even though she knows just as well as the couple standing across from her does that there isn't. No matter how much any of the three of them wished that there is.
What's done is done. Now, there is no going back. Not for anyone.
It all happens just like that. Just as the innocence of a new life and a fresh start is gained with a new life; especially that of baby Lincoln's, just as easily is that innocence lost as is the case with Rikki and Kyle unforgivable acts and unrestrained self-control…
There you have it! I was conscious of the fact that the cliffhangers have been spread out over the last two chapters so I wanted to resolve it for you sooner rather than later.
I really hope you liked the chapter. It was quite allusive, since I knew that I didn't want to write Cleo's birth or Rikki & Kyle's affair explicitly so I hope that alluding to it all came across okay.
Now its time for your thoughts! On the baby name, Bella/Daniel, Rikki/Kyle or how it affects their counterparts. Really just let me know anything!
Next chapter: Sparks fly between siblings, couples and friends in the aftermath of the affair, while Will also learns of Bella and Dan's rendezvous.
365 reviews for chapter 27.