Chapter 3
"Hey cutie, your mama's taking to uncle Vince she'll be back in a sec." Leon whispered to the child, fast asleep, at least he hoped it was sleep, in the bed. He ran a tentative hand over her tiny one, and his eye's narrowed, and he looked around the room, as if he expected to find some big bad demon to blame for what had happened to such a little girl.
"You know we're all down for anything girl," Vince's voice carried.
Letty nodded taking a heavy breath. "It's, my fault Vince." She'd meant to say 'It's genetic' but her instead she'd blurted that out, and tears sprung from nowhere into her eye's, and Letty felt betrayed. By her tears. By herself. She had no right to feel that way; Gabby was the one that had been betrayed.
"No, girl don't say that! It's not your fault, you couldn't help it." Vince said hugging her close his face screwing up with a pain, that couldn't be taken care of by punching something. This one was worse. This one was un-bearable.
"You don't understand Vince! You don't know the full story." Letty dismissed with a growl.
Vince stared at Letty bleakly letting her break free and stalk back and forth in the cold, clinical hospital waiting room. She walked to the window, watching Leon sit with her baby. This would almost be the first time in her life she had looked at her baby and not shrivelled inside.
This was the first time she felt love, pure, selfless and powerful, yet ohh so hopeless. She had discovered her daughter and she was too late to be teh mother she wanted to be. she had ruined everything in such a short time, yet she would never ever possibly be able to make it up to everyone she had hurt.
"Ohhh god, Dom!" She stuffed her fist into her mouth and waited for the tears to slowly stop washing down her face. "I ruined everything." She hiccuped.
She jumped having very nearly forgotten that Vince was there as he touched her shoulder, rubbing it gently, trying to ease the pain Letty was feeling. "You know Let, you know I'm not so smart. You know school was never my best subject," he joked then frowned, not really the time or place for that.
Vince turned Letty to face him. "I know it's not hard to confuse me. But you were right, I don't understand. Why would you tell Dom that Joy wasn't his baby? Why would you do that? You know how much he adored her. I don't understand."
Letty 's tanned face went pale, like the blood was drowning from her head down. "You know that?" Letty asked starting to feel that old familar feeling of sickness that spread in her strong, up down and all around her entire body, making her start to shake visibly.
"Letty! Are you alright? I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry, sit down, just sit down and forget I said anything. I'm stupid you know that." Vince muttered rubbing her back his eye's scrunching, his muscles bunching. He was so stupid.
"Vince," Letty said still shaking allowing herself to sit down. "Vince, I know everyone is confused, I know Dom is hurt... but... the only reason is because I didn't know how to handle it... I didn't want to tell him."
Letty hugged herself her voice hollow, she no longer was afraid of the thoughts, the memories, the scariest thing now was that her baby was sick and she was sure it was her fault.
"I know I should have told him as soon as I found out I was pregnant, Vince, it's so hard... you don't understand... it's just, I should tell Dom, Dom needs to know, but Vince the truth is... He really isn't her father. Its not his baby." Letty sighed and shuddered again.