With Me by Gabbie S. Duran Read Free Book Online Page B

knowing I won’t let her challenge me. The minute I hear the door close I attack him. “Don’t go getting her hopes up about things like that. She’s only four. She’s going to take those things seriously,” I quietly snap at him, trying to keep my tone down so Josephina doesn’t hear me.
    His eyes grow wide. He probably wasn’t expecting me to get angry with him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was a big deal. She told me she loves fish and wants to visit the ocean one day. When I told her I live by the ocean, it sort of slipped out. I don’t see what the big deal is,” he claims, making me angrier.
    “The big deal is that when you tell a little girl something, she expects it to happen, especially Josephina.”
    “She’s four, she’ll probably forget about it in a couple of hours anyways,” he casually states, as if it’s no big deal.
    He might not think it’s a big deal because he hasn’t been the one raising Josephina. He doesn't understand how her little mind works, or what her expectations are. He’s obviously never been around little children long enough to understand that not all of them will probably forget about it . Josephina is definitely not one of them.
    Before I can tell him as much, Josephina comes running back out of the bathroom with a smile on her face, forcing me to stay silent. I don’t want her seeing me fight with him, but I already know she’s not going to forget about his promise, and I have a bad feeling Josephina won’t be the only one left disappointed by Joseph when he leaves once more.
     

 

     
     

     
     
    AS MARK DRIVES away, I see a saddened Josephina waving goodbye to me. Waving goodbye to her hurts. It’s the second hardest thing I’ve had to do in a very long time. The first was the morning I had walked away from a sleeping Kasey. That morning it took every ounce of strength I had inside of me to leave. I didn’t want to walk away from her that night; the night we had conceived our daughter.
    Our daughter . It sounds so surreal.
    That night I realized how hard I had fallen for Kasey Wilson. Before then, she’d always been the girl next door. The girl who I’d keep an eye on, knowing that because of her parents, I’d never have a chance at touching her. I wasn’t good enough for her. At least I’d always thought that, until the night she gave herself to me. It was then I knew I wasn’t going to let her go. I was coming back for her.
    When I did come back for her though, she was already gone.
    That day I felt like my heart had left with her.
    Had I known I left her pregnant, I would’ve searched to the ends of the earth for her. But, it’s my own fault for not considering it. I should’ve known she could’ve been pregnant, but I was young and stupid. It never crossed my mind.
    Still thinking about Josephina, I smile. Knowing I helped create that beautiful little girl brings me joy. I always knew I wanted kids, but I didn’t think I’d have to play the absent parent when it came to my children.
    I push the thought from my head. I might not have been there for Kasey when Josephina was born, or the last four years for that matter. I do know one thing for sure, I wasn’t going to miss seeing Josephina grow up from this day forward. I don’t know how I’m going to do it, but come hell or high water, I am going to be there for this little girl. I refuse to play the absent parent.
    Ashley turns her body in the front seat to better face me. “So is what Mark told me today true?” I hear her ask, tearing my focus from the scenery outside the window, drawing my attention to her.
    Kasey had offered to give me a ride back to Mark’s house, but Mark had been hounding me all afternoon with text messages wanting to know more details about this afternoon. I wasn’t going to have the detailed conversation he was expecting with a couple of text messages, so I asked him to come pick me up instead. Plus, I didn’t like the idea of Kasey going out late at night