Chapter Twenty Five
He came out of the delivery room like any proud father would, a smile on his face. They had a beautiful, perfect, healthy baby boy. Life was good!
“How’s she doing?” Brandon asked, on his feet immediately, concerned for his sister. After all that had happened during his niece’s birth, he was worried for his sister.
“Everything’s good. Both Jen and the baby are perfectly fine. They’re cleaning both of them up now and then she said she’d like to have visitors so that she can introduce y’all to the newest addition. He’s perfect guys,” JC gushed, a smile on his face. “I can’t wait for y’all to see him.”
One by one, the visitors filed into the room where Jen was resting, her baby boy in her arms. His little eyelids fluttered open as he had a look around, getting used to his surroundings, taking everything in. It was quite a change.
“What name did you guys decide on?” Julie asked as she leaned over the bed, cooing over her baby brother. He’d completely stolen her heart away at first glance.
“Jackson Riley. We’re going to call him Jack for short though,” JC explained, bringing his hand down to his son’s head, smoothing back the head full of hair he already had.
“Riley?” Abbi piped up, making a face. “Ew, Riley’s a girl’s name,” she said, scowling at the little boy in her mother’s arm. No one seemed to hear her.
“Can I hold him?” Julie asked, giving a hopeful look to her father. Looking over to Jen to make sure she was ready to pass the baby off to another family member.
“Sure honey. Sit down in the chair over there. Make sure you hold his head though,” Jen reminded her, giving her a smile. She nodded to JC who removed little Jack from her arms and deposited him carefully into Julie’s arms.
“You know what I just noticed?” Julie asked with a laugh. “Someone must have a thing for ‘Js’. We’ve got Josh, Jen, Julie and Jack… only Abbi’s the outcast,” she pointed out with a giggle.
Though her parents shared a laugh over the realization, Abbi did not. In fact, she thought it was rather rude that her sister had pointed it out.
“Guess I’m just not ‘portant enough then,” Abbi grumbled angrily, but once again, no one seemed to hear her. Slinking over to the empty chair on the other side of the room, she planted herself in it, arms crossed over her chest angrily. Stupid baby.
~*~
She was standing outside of the hospital, cell phone pressed up against her ear as she attempted to dial Joel’s number yet again. She’d been trying to call him for over two hours now and he wasn’t answering. He always picked up when she called him. With a sigh, she left yet another message for him and hung up, pasting a smile on her face as she headed back into the hospital.
Her father’s friends had arrived shortly after the birth of her brother, though she was pleased that Brianna had not arrived with Joey and Kelly. Ever since the incident with the alcohol, Brianna had been making her life a living hell.
“Did you get a hold of him?” JC asked once Julie had returned to the delivery room. Shaking her head, she shrugged and took a seat next to her step-mom’s bed.
“His loss,” she said dryly, though it was obvious that she was more bothered by it than she was letting on. “Hey, do you think it would be okay if I headed home for a few hours? I could use a nap and a shower,” she said, biting her lip.
Looking over to Jen, he saw that his wife was on the edge of sleep. She deserved some rest and it really wouldn’t hurt for the girls to get out for awhile. “Sure honey. Just take Abbi home with you. I’m sure she needs some sleep too.”
With a nod, Julie forced a smile and leaned over to kiss her step-mom’s cheek. “I’ll see you later,” she said, before hugging her father and getting her little sister.
~*~
She had just stepped out of the shower and was towel drying her hair when she heard the doorbell sound downstairs. Though she had planned on getting some more rest before heading back to the hospital, Julie headed downstairs and pulled the door open, her eyes wide when she saw him.
Joel was standing on the porch, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He looked up when the door opened and offered Julie a tired smile. “Hi,” he greeted softly. “Can I come in? There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
With a nod, Julie opened the door wider with a smile, inviting him in. “I tried to call you this morning,” she told him. “I was at the hospital almost all night.”
“Yeah… yeah, I know. Umm… can we sit?” He asked, nodding to the couch. He knew that what was about to happen was going to break this girl’s heart. He just knew it. And the thought killed him.
After the two got situated on the couch, he looked down at his hands, unable to look at her face. “Last night, well… I told you about the party I was going to.”
She nodded, unsure of what exactly he was going to start rambling about. “Yeah, you told me about that,” she said with another nod.
“I did something really dumb, Jules…”
“Okay…?”
“I had some drinks, you know? Just trying to loosen up. I guess I had more than I thought because the night is really a huge blur but I woke up this morning and I… I did something bad.”
Though Julie had an idea of what he was trying to tell her, she didn’t dare open her mouth. Tears had sprung to her eyes as she looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate.
“You know Brianna Fatone, right? Well”“
“Oh God, Joel… Oh God…” He didn’t have to say it. She was right in her assumptions, he didn’t have to finish the thought. “Oh God… of all the… Get out!” She demanded, pointing to the door.
“Julie if you just”“
“No. There’s nothing… Just get out!” She told him, grabbing him roughly by the arm. She shoved him to the door, ignoring him as he was trying to apologize. Shoving him onto the front porch, she slammed the door in his face before giving in to the tears.
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