Beg Harder by Artemis Dianne (web based ebook reader TXT) 📕

BABY

It's true what they say: nothing can ever prepare you for the overwhelming sense of responsibility that comes with becoming a mother. It has only been recently that I have been able to sleep through the night after three months of averaging just five hours of sleep each night. 

Motherhood

Being in one gave me a whole level of respect for all mothers. I'm simply grateful that I live with my sister, who has provided me with all of the assistance I've needed with my growing son, particularly when the doctors determined that a C-section was necessary due to the placenta obstructing the hole for the baby's birth.

After two months, the scar has begun to heal, and I'm relieved that all of my weight gains had disappeared by the second month. Perhaps it's due to nursing, or the half-hour walks I take with the kids in the afternoons, but today we were forced to miss all of our normal daily routines. Because of our appreciation, we organized for the team's reunion, just a small get-together. We owed our new lives to these people. Our newfound family.

The party downstairs is becoming too noisy. This is without Astor for he couldn't make it, working on another project. I guess the party would be ten times louder if he was around and the consumption of alcoholic beverages must have been a poor decision when you have a baby and a toddler in the house who are attempting to sleep. 

Keeping up with the team was a breath of fresh air; it was comforting to know that everyone was doing well despite the fact that they were pretending to be living a regular life. We were able to sell the Nanogex on the illicit market for a very great price and split the proceeds evenly between us.

As fun as it was, I had to excuse myself for it is been a tiring day of cooking all morning and entertaining everyone was another entirely different story. 

I make my way up to my son's room to give him a much-needed bath. I had a strong impression that the team suffocated him with hugs and kisses. After the bath, I sat down in the comfortable chair and rocked my kid to sleep, completely oblivious to the fact that I had fallen asleep with him. I was just awakened by the sensation of a gentle wind on my breast.

I discovered that my son had finally unlatched himself from my engorged breast. My other nipple has leaked milk on my shirt and has soaked it through with his sucking. When it comes to this liquid gold, I have a true gift for it. I have been able to fill my refrigerator with so much breastmilk that I have had to give half of it to a local hospital since I have run out of space. As I felt the stickiness, I let out a sigh of relief; this had been my life after every breastfeeding.

I gently placed him in his crib and then closed the door to try to reduce the noise in order to avoid waking my son who was sleeping peacefully now.

I jumped in the shower in preparation for a hot bath. As soon as the hot water touched my skin, I felt a sense of immediate relaxation throughout my whole body. Even as I washed the shampoo out of my hair, I couldn't help but grin, knowing that I had finally been set free.

It had been precisely a year since I had managed to escape Charles, and his death anniversary had been transformed into an independence celebration for the whole team. It's an inside joke between us all, having to spend a whole month last year to watch each other's back gave us a stronger bond. It's as if we're really blood-related family.

I saw that the sink adjacent to the shower was full of used baby bottles. My work is never-ending, but I brush it off since, at the end of the day, it is very gratifying. I had completely forgotten that I had run out of baby bottles until it dawned on me. Cleaning the bottles is essential to preserve the breastmilk I'll be expressing later today from my breast. 

I immediately rinsed off the remaining soap from my body and exited the shower, covering myself with a towel since I was in a hurry. I had just finished washing all of the used baby bottles and was about to put them away when I heard my son crying. He must have woken up from the noise downstairs. 

I ran to the bedroom and quickly saw the door open. My instinct pushes me to close the door first before running to my son as I was still just only wearing a towel. Someone must have checked on the baby and forgotten to close the door behind them. 

I made sure to secure both locks this time. Once I turn towards my son, all my movements seized seeing who's in front of me. I felt all the tension that was eased by the hot shower goes back to my muscles. My heart rate accelerates at an unbelievable rate. I thought it was just my imagination and my eyes were just playing tricks on me but I was very wrong.

"My wife, How I've missed you," Charles says as he comes out of the dark part of the room.

When I realized Charles is still alive and standing in front of me, I felt my whole face become white. I was unable to let forth a scream. Because of the fear he had instilled in me, my body came to a complete standstill. His beautiful face is fixed on mine with a dangerous piercing gaze. He seems to be much younger than the last time I saw him, and he appears to be far from dead.

While picking up our son from the crib to coo him, his face was painted with a broad wicked grin. I became completely still, and I began to feel dizzy as I feel my body shaking. My throat dried up instantly as my thoughts scattered.

I was constantly reminded of the things he has done, it never really left me. now the day I'm dreading the most has arrived. 

Somehow I am aware that he will be back one day and that he wasn't dead but a part of me pushes this thought on the willingness to move forward and desperate to leave everything in the past. 

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