Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 70
Crying and fussing for attention wasn't new for Ella. As much as he loved his daughter, Edward wouldn't be able to deny that Ella was a cranky child. She craved constant human contact and threw feats of rage if it wasn't given to her immediately.
Edward, ever the indulging father, was prone to caving to her demands whenever he was at home. His heart clenched at the thought of how his precious daughter was being deprived of the most fundamental of all gifts most infants received without asking; the gift of a mother's love.
He felt as though Ella could sense the lacking element in her life even without ever having the chance to enjoy it, and fruitlessly sought it from those around with the only means she had at her disposal; through relentless wails and tears.
He berated himself for failing Ella at such a basic level. He knew he could never bring to the table what only a mother could, but an overwhelming sense of inadequacy pushed him to at least try and fulfil both roles during the limited time he had to spend with his daughter.
Not surprisingly, it took longer than normal for him to comfort her to sleep that day. Once he had laid her down in her crib, he gently wiped her face and inspected her tiny form for bruises and injuries, or any telltale sign of shaking.
He was relieved to find none.
What was Carmen thinking?
His anger returned as the scenario of the evening played back in his mind. Ella could have been smothered, she could have suffered an asthma attack brought on by prolonged crying. Any number of things could have gone wrong.
Carmen claimed that she didn't mean to hurt Ella, and perhaps she didn't intend for any harm to fall on their baby, but that didn't excuse her showing such utter disregard for Ella's safety. Nothing did.
He marched on to their bedroom to find Carmen quietly weeping on the bed. Her makeup had smeared and was running down her face like a spiderweb of ink.
The sight didn't rouse sympathy in Edward. He was well past the point of caring.
"What exactly were you thinking, Carmen? How long were you planning on leaving her locked up in that soundproof box?" he asked in a steely voice.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.
Thanks to the awesomeness that are the ladies from the FB Angst group. I'd like to hug you all!
Much of what is to come in the next few chapters is heavily drawn from life. If you have any questions about it, I'd be happy to answer.