‹ Prequel: Metamorphosis
Status: In progress
Ascension
Surprise, Surprise
Chapter 2
Surprise, Surprise
"W-what are you doing here?" Jamie stuttered, staring at the man before her. Ross wasn't looking at her though, his eyes landed at the small toddler in her arms.
"Is…is this him?" He asked softly.
Jamie's face suddenly hardened, "Yeah, funny how pregnancy leads to infants, huh?" she snapped.
Ross flinched. "I guess I deserved that."
"You don't deserve to see Luke even for a moment!" she said angrily.
Ross Wagner was very handsome. Looking at him now, Jamie remembered why she had once been in love with him. His light brown hair was shorter than the last time she had seen him. He had dark, thick eyebrows that shadowed his dark blue eyes. His features were strong, strong jaw line and long nose. Looking at him now, it almost stunned her how much Luke looked like him. She absentmindedly hugged the little boy closer to her.
"His name's Luke?" Ross asked quietly.
Jamie froze, realizing that she had given away his name, and scowled. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"I… came to see my son," he said quietly. Jamie scoffed. This asshole had abandoned her almost three years ago and now he wanted to meet Luke?
"I have to go."
The young man gently grabbed her free arm to stop her, "Wait; please I just want to talk."
"Move," She said firmly. "Get out of my way or risk getting kneed in the crotch."
Ross stepped to the side. She quickly walked past him and down the stairs toward her car.
She buckled Luke into his car seat, got into the driver's side, started the car, and got halfway down the block before she broke down crying.
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"Twenty one, twenty two," Mira mumbled with each sit-up. Her muscles were screaming in pain, but she kept going. Mira had tried to stay fit throughout her pregnancy, but unfortunately, weight gain was a must. She was terrified of being so overweight, so she decided to start exercising.
But after Lucy was born, Mira was so exhausted and so busy that exercise never ever crossed her mind. Now that Lucy was six weeks old, she had decided that she was old enough to not completely rely on her anymore, so she was working out.
Someone knocking at her door made her pause midair. "What?"
Seth walked in with Lucy. "Sunshine's hungry," he said, then he looked down and saw her lying on the floor. "Any reason why you're on the ground?"
She looked up at him. "Just doing some sit-ups." She answered, pulling herself up. Mira reached her arms out and took Lucy to her chest. "Hey little girl, you ready for dinner?" she began lifting the bottom of her sweatshirt when she remembered Seth was still standing there. Her hand froze and she looked at him.
"Get out."
"Come on, I've seen you breast feed before."
Her cheeks colored. What with her recent insecurities, she didn't want him to see her stomach. She had been alright with her body before seeing as she had just had a baby, but it had been a month and a half, she needed to lose the weight.
She pointed to the hallway, "Out."
He sighed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Mira settled on her bed and rested her baby's head to her chest. She let out a small moan of pain at the nursing. It seemed like no matter how many times she did it, it still hurt.
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"No you hang up first," Sara giggled into her phone. "No you hang up first!"
"Sara!" Ava snapped. You've been doing that for ten minutes! Either hang up the fucking phone or it becomes permanently embedded in your ass!"
"I'll call you back, Paul. No you hang up first!"
"Sara!" Paige and Ava screamed.
"Got to go." she ended the call and pouted.
"Finally!" Paige exclaimed, playing the movie she had been forced to pause.
Paul Reynolds, Sara's on-again-off-again boyfriend had called her about half an hour ago. The two had met during the sophomore production of Les Miserables. Sara had played Eponine while Paul had been Marius.
The three girls continued the movie.
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"Jamie…Jamie calm down," Mira said into her phone. Seth was sitting on the sofa behind her, Lucy sleeping peacefully in the car seat beside him. "I don't know how to get a hold of Matt; he's on that camping trip with Leo and Dylan. Holy shit… Ross? Isn't Ross Luke's dad? Oh."
Seth looked up from the TV and frowned. He had heard all about scumbag Ross Wagner, the father of Jamie's baby. He still couldn't understand how a guy could abandon his own baby. He reached a hand out and caressed his daughter's tiny cheek.
"Okay Jamie, I'll tell you if I hear from him. Bye." She hung up the phone and sat on the other side of the car seat.
"What was that about?" Seth asked.
"Jamie's son's father is apparently back in town," Mira answered with a yawn.
"The douche bag?" Seth asked. Mira nodded.
"That's the one. He showed up at her apartment."
Seth let out a low whistle. "That sucks. What does he want?"
"I don't know, she didn't talk to him."
Before Seth could answer, his phone buzzed from the coffee table. He leaned forward and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Seth what time are you coming home?" His mother, Carolyn asked. He glanced down at his watch.
"I don't know. Hold on." He pressed the phone to his chest and turns to Mira. "Is it alright if I crash here?"
Mira nodded, "If she cries in the middle of the night, you're taking care of her, though."
"I'll probably be staying the night," he said into the phone. "Okay, love you too mom." He hung up the call and stood up. "So what do we do now?"
Mira yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "Well, I'm going to go to bed."
"I'll stay here with Junior," Seth said with a grin. She snorted and stood up from the couch.
"I just fed and changed her, so put her to bed in about half an hour."
Seth leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Mira," he whispered.
"Goodnight Seth," she replied.
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When Jamie returned to her apartment later that night, she was half-surprised when she saw Ross sitting on the floor beside the door, head slumped against his knees. She shifted a sleeping Luke against her shoulder and walked past him.
The second her key was in the lock, his head snapped up. His dark eyes looked around, startled, before they landed on Jamie.
"You're back," he said. She ignored him and unlocked the door. He scrambled to his feet and placed his hand up just before she could close the door. "Please Jamie; I need to talk to you."
"I have nothing to say to you!" She snapped back. "I have to put Luke to bed." Jamie shoved the door as hard as she could and magically managed to get it closed.
"This is about our son, Jamie!" Ross called through the door.
Jamie bit her lip. She walked over to the couch and gently laid Luke on it. She covered his sleeping figure with the afghan. She headed over to the door and quietly stepped outside.
"You have two minutes. Talk." She crossed her arms and stared at him with cold eyes.
Ross linked his thumbs into his pockets and eyed her, "You look good."
"I know," she answered. What the hell did he want? He disappears three years ago without a word then suddenly shows up on her doorstep? "What do you want?"
"I… I missed you," He mumbled. She raised a brown brow, but remained silent. "Every single night I went to bed thinking about you and… Luke." He paused, as if to see how the name sounded on his tongue. "I wondered if it was a girl or a boy, I thought about who he might look like. It ate at me, Jamie."
"Good." Was her answer. She was glad he was tormented, after nearly three years of being alone; it made her happy to hear that it hadn't been easy for him.
"I want to see my son, Jamie," He said, "I want to meet him, get to know him…"
"No!" she said indignantly, "Ross you are an asshole! You think you can just show up here after all these years and expect me to let you see him?" She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and yanked it up about halfway, revealing a long scar along her stomach, "You see this? This is where they cut him out of me! And not a single day has passed that I haven't worked my ass off to make sure he is happy and healthy! How dare you just show up like this!
"What we had is over, Ross," She continued, lowering her shirt. "I'm with someone. Someone I love and who loves me and Luke. Someone who won't abandon us."
Jamie and Ross stood there, eyes glaring into each other's. Finally, he huffed and turned his head away.
"I see you've made your choice," he said gravely, "But don't think that this is over, because it isn't. Not by a long shot." With that, he turned and walked away.
Jamie stepped over the threshold and bolted the door, leaning against it heavily. What the hell just happened?
And what did he mean this wasn't over?
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Mira yawned softly and bounced Lucy in her arms, eyes never leaving the computer screen. It was one in the morning and the baby had woken her up. Seth was asleep in her bed while she tending to her. She was sitting at her computer, trying to multitask while Lucy nursed.
A ping emitted from the computer as a small window popped up.
Lukesmommy19: What are you doing up this late?
Mira read the text and smiled. Shifting Lucy to her other arm, she managed to type one handed.
MIRAclesHappen: having a party. What do you think?
Lukesmommy19: I can't sleep either. Ross showing up today really shook me up.
MIRAclesHappen: Anything I can do to help? I can ask Zeke to beat him up?
Lukesmommy19: lol no thanks. I'm just at a total loss.
MIRAclesHappen: I'm sure if you just ignore him, he'll go away.
Lukesmommy19: I just wish Matt were here. I feel so much safer whenever I'm with him.
Mira's lips curved into a small smile and she brought her daughter over her shoulder and patted her back.
MIRAclesHappen: I hope things get better. But for now I need to get some sleep. Talk to you later.
Lukesmommy19: bye
The new mother carefully stood up and walked to the crib. She placed Lucy on her back and smiled down at her.
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
She crawled between the sheets of her own bed and snuggled up against Seth's chest.
Ignoring the angry grumbles in her stomach, she fell asleep.
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"Mira, as a new mother, you need more than water!" Audrey said the next morning.
"Mother, I am trying to get back into shape, and I can't do that by eating fatty pancakes!" She countered, switching Lucy to her other shoulder. "Besides, I ate dinner last night, didn't I?"
Seth paused in the doorway and frowned. He hadn't seen Mira eat dinner last night. She had been so busy with the baby that her parents wrapped up a plate for her. But he had never seen her eat it.
Before he could say anything, a pink bundle was thrust into his arms. "Here, I need to take a shower."
Seth took the bundle and bounced it in his arms, "Hey there little girl. Did you sleep well?" Lucy kicked her tiny feet in baby excitement. Her full lips opened and closed slowly as her blue eyes stared into his.
After taking a brief shower, Mira locked her bedroom door and unraveled the towel in her hair, letting the long blonde locks fall down her back. She stared at her reflection in the full mirror on her closet door. She only wore her bra and underwear, and she was not happy with what she saw.
Mira had always been proud of her body. She was average height for a teen, and her weight always managed to stay the same; perfect.
She looked down at herself and felt bile forming in her throat. She had never felt so disgusting before. With her enormous thighs, fat stomach, flabby arms, it was a miracle that Seth could stand to even look at her.
She loved that boy. She loved him more than she thought she could love anyone, except Lucy. He was so amazing and kind and wonderful and… so many other things.
She remembered telling him she loved him after giving birth to their daughter. He had told her he loved her too.
But the strange thing was, he only said it that one time. For the last six weeks whenever she said she loved him, he would just sort of nod his head. Sometimes it really scared her. Was he thinking of someone else? Was she too fat and ugly for him to look at? Granted, she had only gained twenty-five pounds in her pregnancy, but last time she stepped on a scale she had been shocked to find the number higher than she expected. Mira decided to lose the baby weight, and then a couple more pounds just to be safe.
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"Oh my god, she was so annoying today!" Marli ranted into her cell phone, "I mean, Mr. Teaks couldn't teach about the French revolution to save his stupid bald head."
"Marli!" Audrey called from the top of the basement steps, "Come on, we need to get to the mall before it gets crowded."
"I gotta go, Zack. Call you later." She hung up the call, slipped her shoes on, and took the stairs two at a time until she reached the top. "Ready to go, mom." She declared.
Mira was sitting at the island, hair wet and combed, looking bored as she rocked Lucy in her car seat on the counter.
"Why can't I go?" Mira asked. Audrey placed her sunglasses on her eyes and picked up her keys.
"Because you have a baby, and teenage girls with babies don't get to go shopping," Audrey said simply. Mira sighed heavily and continued to rock Lucy's car seat.
Seth walked into the kitchen, shaking out his freshly washed hair. "Well, I gotta get to work." He leaned down and kissed Lucy's forehead, and then Mira's cheek. "Later."
"Bye Seth, love you!" she called after him. He gave her a small wave and continued walking until he was out of the house.
Mira stared after him until Lucy's whimpering caught her attention. She looked down at her daughter and gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, baby, one day I'll be perfect and daddy'll love me again. Just you wait."
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Surprise, Surprise
"W-what are you doing here?" Jamie stuttered, staring at the man before her. Ross wasn't looking at her though, his eyes landed at the small toddler in her arms.
"Is…is this him?" He asked softly.
Jamie's face suddenly hardened, "Yeah, funny how pregnancy leads to infants, huh?" she snapped.
Ross flinched. "I guess I deserved that."
"You don't deserve to see Luke even for a moment!" she said angrily.
Ross Wagner was very handsome. Looking at him now, Jamie remembered why she had once been in love with him. His light brown hair was shorter than the last time she had seen him. He had dark, thick eyebrows that shadowed his dark blue eyes. His features were strong, strong jaw line and long nose. Looking at him now, it almost stunned her how much Luke looked like him. She absentmindedly hugged the little boy closer to her.
"His name's Luke?" Ross asked quietly.
Jamie froze, realizing that she had given away his name, and scowled. "What the heck are you doing here?"
"I… came to see my son," he said quietly. Jamie scoffed. This asshole had abandoned her almost three years ago and now he wanted to meet Luke?
"I have to go."
The young man gently grabbed her free arm to stop her, "Wait; please I just want to talk."
"Move," She said firmly. "Get out of my way or risk getting kneed in the crotch."
Ross stepped to the side. She quickly walked past him and down the stairs toward her car.
She buckled Luke into his car seat, got into the driver's side, started the car, and got halfway down the block before she broke down crying.
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"Twenty one, twenty two," Mira mumbled with each sit-up. Her muscles were screaming in pain, but she kept going. Mira had tried to stay fit throughout her pregnancy, but unfortunately, weight gain was a must. She was terrified of being so overweight, so she decided to start exercising.
But after Lucy was born, Mira was so exhausted and so busy that exercise never ever crossed her mind. Now that Lucy was six weeks old, she had decided that she was old enough to not completely rely on her anymore, so she was working out.
Someone knocking at her door made her pause midair. "What?"
Seth walked in with Lucy. "Sunshine's hungry," he said, then he looked down and saw her lying on the floor. "Any reason why you're on the ground?"
She looked up at him. "Just doing some sit-ups." She answered, pulling herself up. Mira reached her arms out and took Lucy to her chest. "Hey little girl, you ready for dinner?" she began lifting the bottom of her sweatshirt when she remembered Seth was still standing there. Her hand froze and she looked at him.
"Get out."
"Come on, I've seen you breast feed before."
Her cheeks colored. What with her recent insecurities, she didn't want him to see her stomach. She had been alright with her body before seeing as she had just had a baby, but it had been a month and a half, she needed to lose the weight.
She pointed to the hallway, "Out."
He sighed and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Mira settled on her bed and rested her baby's head to her chest. She let out a small moan of pain at the nursing. It seemed like no matter how many times she did it, it still hurt.
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"No you hang up first," Sara giggled into her phone. "No you hang up first!"
"Sara!" Ava snapped. You've been doing that for ten minutes! Either hang up the fucking phone or it becomes permanently embedded in your ass!"
"I'll call you back, Paul. No you hang up first!"
"Sara!" Paige and Ava screamed.
"Got to go." she ended the call and pouted.
"Finally!" Paige exclaimed, playing the movie she had been forced to pause.
Paul Reynolds, Sara's on-again-off-again boyfriend had called her about half an hour ago. The two had met during the sophomore production of Les Miserables. Sara had played Eponine while Paul had been Marius.
The three girls continued the movie.
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"Jamie…Jamie calm down," Mira said into her phone. Seth was sitting on the sofa behind her, Lucy sleeping peacefully in the car seat beside him. "I don't know how to get a hold of Matt; he's on that camping trip with Leo and Dylan. Holy shit… Ross? Isn't Ross Luke's dad? Oh."
Seth looked up from the TV and frowned. He had heard all about scumbag Ross Wagner, the father of Jamie's baby. He still couldn't understand how a guy could abandon his own baby. He reached a hand out and caressed his daughter's tiny cheek.
"Okay Jamie, I'll tell you if I hear from him. Bye." She hung up the phone and sat on the other side of the car seat.
"What was that about?" Seth asked.
"Jamie's son's father is apparently back in town," Mira answered with a yawn.
"The douche bag?" Seth asked. Mira nodded.
"That's the one. He showed up at her apartment."
Seth let out a low whistle. "That sucks. What does he want?"
"I don't know, she didn't talk to him."
Before Seth could answer, his phone buzzed from the coffee table. He leaned forward and picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Seth what time are you coming home?" His mother, Carolyn asked. He glanced down at his watch.
"I don't know. Hold on." He pressed the phone to his chest and turns to Mira. "Is it alright if I crash here?"
Mira nodded, "If she cries in the middle of the night, you're taking care of her, though."
"I'll probably be staying the night," he said into the phone. "Okay, love you too mom." He hung up the call and stood up. "So what do we do now?"
Mira yawned and stretched her arms above her head. "Well, I'm going to go to bed."
"I'll stay here with Junior," Seth said with a grin. She snorted and stood up from the couch.
"I just fed and changed her, so put her to bed in about half an hour."
Seth leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Goodnight Mira," he whispered.
"Goodnight Seth," she replied.
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When Jamie returned to her apartment later that night, she was half-surprised when she saw Ross sitting on the floor beside the door, head slumped against his knees. She shifted a sleeping Luke against her shoulder and walked past him.
The second her key was in the lock, his head snapped up. His dark eyes looked around, startled, before they landed on Jamie.
"You're back," he said. She ignored him and unlocked the door. He scrambled to his feet and placed his hand up just before she could close the door. "Please Jamie; I need to talk to you."
"I have nothing to say to you!" She snapped back. "I have to put Luke to bed." Jamie shoved the door as hard as she could and magically managed to get it closed.
"This is about our son, Jamie!" Ross called through the door.
Jamie bit her lip. She walked over to the couch and gently laid Luke on it. She covered his sleeping figure with the afghan. She headed over to the door and quietly stepped outside.
"You have two minutes. Talk." She crossed her arms and stared at him with cold eyes.
Ross linked his thumbs into his pockets and eyed her, "You look good."
"I know," she answered. What the hell did he want? He disappears three years ago without a word then suddenly shows up on her doorstep? "What do you want?"
"I… I missed you," He mumbled. She raised a brown brow, but remained silent. "Every single night I went to bed thinking about you and… Luke." He paused, as if to see how the name sounded on his tongue. "I wondered if it was a girl or a boy, I thought about who he might look like. It ate at me, Jamie."
"Good." Was her answer. She was glad he was tormented, after nearly three years of being alone; it made her happy to hear that it hadn't been easy for him.
"I want to see my son, Jamie," He said, "I want to meet him, get to know him…"
"No!" she said indignantly, "Ross you are an asshole! You think you can just show up here after all these years and expect me to let you see him?" She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and yanked it up about halfway, revealing a long scar along her stomach, "You see this? This is where they cut him out of me! And not a single day has passed that I haven't worked my ass off to make sure he is happy and healthy! How dare you just show up like this!
"What we had is over, Ross," She continued, lowering her shirt. "I'm with someone. Someone I love and who loves me and Luke. Someone who won't abandon us."
Jamie and Ross stood there, eyes glaring into each other's. Finally, he huffed and turned his head away.
"I see you've made your choice," he said gravely, "But don't think that this is over, because it isn't. Not by a long shot." With that, he turned and walked away.
Jamie stepped over the threshold and bolted the door, leaning against it heavily. What the hell just happened?
And what did he mean this wasn't over?
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Mira yawned softly and bounced Lucy in her arms, eyes never leaving the computer screen. It was one in the morning and the baby had woken her up. Seth was asleep in her bed while she tending to her. She was sitting at her computer, trying to multitask while Lucy nursed.
A ping emitted from the computer as a small window popped up.
Lukesmommy19: What are you doing up this late?
Mira read the text and smiled. Shifting Lucy to her other arm, she managed to type one handed.
MIRAclesHappen: having a party. What do you think?
Lukesmommy19: I can't sleep either. Ross showing up today really shook me up.
MIRAclesHappen: Anything I can do to help? I can ask Zeke to beat him up?
Lukesmommy19: lol no thanks. I'm just at a total loss.
MIRAclesHappen: I'm sure if you just ignore him, he'll go away.
Lukesmommy19: I just wish Matt were here. I feel so much safer whenever I'm with him.
Mira's lips curved into a small smile and she brought her daughter over her shoulder and patted her back.
MIRAclesHappen: I hope things get better. But for now I need to get some sleep. Talk to you later.
Lukesmommy19: bye
The new mother carefully stood up and walked to the crib. She placed Lucy on her back and smiled down at her.
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
She crawled between the sheets of her own bed and snuggled up against Seth's chest.
Ignoring the angry grumbles in her stomach, she fell asleep.
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"Mira, as a new mother, you need more than water!" Audrey said the next morning.
"Mother, I am trying to get back into shape, and I can't do that by eating fatty pancakes!" She countered, switching Lucy to her other shoulder. "Besides, I ate dinner last night, didn't I?"
Seth paused in the doorway and frowned. He hadn't seen Mira eat dinner last night. She had been so busy with the baby that her parents wrapped up a plate for her. But he had never seen her eat it.
Before he could say anything, a pink bundle was thrust into his arms. "Here, I need to take a shower."
Seth took the bundle and bounced it in his arms, "Hey there little girl. Did you sleep well?" Lucy kicked her tiny feet in baby excitement. Her full lips opened and closed slowly as her blue eyes stared into his.
After taking a brief shower, Mira locked her bedroom door and unraveled the towel in her hair, letting the long blonde locks fall down her back. She stared at her reflection in the full mirror on her closet door. She only wore her bra and underwear, and she was not happy with what she saw.
Mira had always been proud of her body. She was average height for a teen, and her weight always managed to stay the same; perfect.
She looked down at herself and felt bile forming in her throat. She had never felt so disgusting before. With her enormous thighs, fat stomach, flabby arms, it was a miracle that Seth could stand to even look at her.
She loved that boy. She loved him more than she thought she could love anyone, except Lucy. He was so amazing and kind and wonderful and… so many other things.
She remembered telling him she loved him after giving birth to their daughter. He had told her he loved her too.
But the strange thing was, he only said it that one time. For the last six weeks whenever she said she loved him, he would just sort of nod his head. Sometimes it really scared her. Was he thinking of someone else? Was she too fat and ugly for him to look at? Granted, she had only gained twenty-five pounds in her pregnancy, but last time she stepped on a scale she had been shocked to find the number higher than she expected. Mira decided to lose the baby weight, and then a couple more pounds just to be safe.
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"Oh my god, she was so annoying today!" Marli ranted into her cell phone, "I mean, Mr. Teaks couldn't teach about the French revolution to save his stupid bald head."
"Marli!" Audrey called from the top of the basement steps, "Come on, we need to get to the mall before it gets crowded."
"I gotta go, Zack. Call you later." She hung up the call, slipped her shoes on, and took the stairs two at a time until she reached the top. "Ready to go, mom." She declared.
Mira was sitting at the island, hair wet and combed, looking bored as she rocked Lucy in her car seat on the counter.
"Why can't I go?" Mira asked. Audrey placed her sunglasses on her eyes and picked up her keys.
"Because you have a baby, and teenage girls with babies don't get to go shopping," Audrey said simply. Mira sighed heavily and continued to rock Lucy's car seat.
Seth walked into the kitchen, shaking out his freshly washed hair. "Well, I gotta get to work." He leaned down and kissed Lucy's forehead, and then Mira's cheek. "Later."
"Bye Seth, love you!" she called after him. He gave her a small wave and continued walking until he was out of the house.
Mira stared after him until Lucy's whimpering caught her attention. She looked down at her daughter and gave her a small smile. "Don't worry, baby, one day I'll be perfect and daddy'll love me again. Just you wait."
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