Tough Love *COMPLETED*

Chap. 67 • "Neglect"

Aya Weathers

"Hi, my sweet baby boy. You're such a cutie." I cooed to my child, poking his chubby cheeks.

Thankfully, Ayden was born healthy and handsome. He was slightly underweight due to my stressing, but the doctor said that he'll be able to bounce back just fine.

Although babies are supposed to grow into their looks, I can't help but to notice how much he resembles both Chris and I. He was born with a full head of hair, closer to Chris's hair texture. He had my cinnamon skin, although it was a bit lighter, probably due to the lack of melanin Chris has.

His nose was slightly wide, like Chris's, but it complimented the rest of his chubby face. His eyes were doll-like, but they had the same shape as Chris's. His lips were full and he always liked to suck his bottom lip in. We know who he got that from and it sure as hell wasn't me.

"Mommy can't wait to take you home. You ready to go home, bubba?" I asked him, even though he couldn't respond and was actually sleeping. I'm already too attached.

"Girl, let that child sleep." Karilyn said to me, causing me to chuckle.

"I can't help it, KK. I'm holding a child, my child. I'm so in love, it's all so brand new to me." I wouldn't take my eyes off of his peaceful figure, melting at how he held on to my finger as he slept.

There was a knock on the door and then it opened. I guess the saying 'expect the unexpected' should be used more often, because in walked Christopher Maurice Brown. A pitiful look on his face, almost as if he was scared of something.

"Hey." He waved awkwardly and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"I'mma give y'all a little privacy." She said before leaving the two of us alone. There was a dead silence between us two, before he spoke up.

"Can I hold him?" He asked sheepishly.

"No." I almost caught myself tightening my hold on him.

"Why?" He furrowed his brows.

"I don't want strangers touching my son." Am I being petty? Maybe. Can you blame me though?

"Aya, don't be like that." He took a step closer to the hospital bed.

"I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary. Treating you how you showed me you wanted to be treated." I tried to keep my cool, but my blood was itching to boil. This nigga had some nerve.

"I just want to hold my son." He mumbled.

"Oh, now he's your son? Chris, there's a whole lot of things you should be saying right now that you aren't." I clenched my jaw.

"What do you want me to say, Aya? Sorry, okay?" He threw his hands up in defeat, slapping them on his thighs.

"Really? That was pathetic. Try again." I pursed my lips together.

"You're making this so difficult." He ran his hands through his hair, keeping them over his face.

"You made this difficult for yourself, Christopher." I shrugged.

"Nobody's sitting here telling you to argue with me and refuse to give me my son." He grumbled at me.

"Are you mental? That's your problem, you think you're so entitled to everything that when people try to give you things you don't deserve, you take it and run with it. Somebody gives you an inch, you take a mile."

"What else have you given me besides for a hard time, Aya? Please, I wanna know." He tried to flip it around on me.

"Let's compare me and you, shall we? Who refused to claim their child for months? Who, Chris?" He looked off to the side.