Ellie

Over the next few days, we had a lot of visitors come and go. All of them wanted to hold Alori but I was strongly against it. So no one held her for a a few days until Leo convinced me to lighten up and let them. The first person to hold her after Leo and me was Mrs. Calavry and then Katie.

"Just wait until she get's older, I'm stealing her from you at least once a week. She has a cool aunt she needs to know."

"Get in line girl, She's got two more right here." Brandi teased,ticking Alori's cheeks

I saw Alori briefly open her eyes to peek at who was tickling her, and soon closed her eyes again. 

"She'll definitely be a heartbreaker. The boys better watch out." Evan smiled, taking Alori from Brandi. 

"Hey, I wasn't done holding her yet."

"Yes you are. You've been hogging the princess all afternoon."

I smiled at the small scene, watching Evan and Jack coo at my little girl and I felt so very happy. Everyone I thought was supposed to share this moment with us was here

Or so I thought. 

Leo had been acting very weird for the few days I had been here, and soon I found out why. He entered the room with a huge smile on his face and behind him I noticed two people walking into my hospital room. The salt and pepper beard and bald head of my father walked in first, and was soon followed by my mother's smiling face and that wild and crazy afro she often wore when I was a kid tamed into a fluffy ponytail on the top of her head. It looked like a crown and instantly, I was afraid and felt like I should be standing in their presence. Even if I was still too sore from childbirth to do so.

"Ellie, I'd like you to meet your parents." He teased

But when he saw the look on my face his smile disappeared.

I looked over warily at my parents who were slowly walking towards Alori who had been placed in her crib. They looked at her with admiration.

I felt sick to my stomach.

"What's the matter?"

"Why did you bring them here?" I hissed, careful not to draw attention to ourselves.

"They deserve to see their grandchild."

"Wait...how did you even find them?"

"Trust me, it wasn't easy but I did it. I just wanted to show you that they'd be genuinely happy. Look at them over there."

If he only knew that was just an act. They were ashamed of me, I knew it.

"Please don't be mad at me. Look, I offered that they could stay with us for a little while before they go back overseas. We have plenty of room."

I stayed quiet, flashbacks running through my mind.

"You must never be second place! You are to sit here and study until you can recite this whole thing from memory. I don't care if it takes all night!"

I received yet another rap on my knuckles from the plastic ruler my mom held firmly in her hands. She was drilling me on different math equations for the SAT I had to take the next morning.

I was only in the 9th grade, but because I tested so well, I was technically a junior.

"Circumference of a circle?"

I muttered my answer and she hit my knuckles again.

"Speak loud and proud, there is no room for weak willed losers in this house Ellie! You must ALWAYS be the best of the best, always be number one!" My mother drilled

I spoke the answer more clearer and she gave a nod of approval.

"After your SAT you have a math test the next day correct?"

I nodded.

"Ellie?" I heard Leo call

But I wasn't even in the room, instead I was reliving a nightmare I thought I had stopped having a long time ago.

"....if you so much as get a B on that next test, I will be very disappointed in you. And as you know, your study sessions will be even longer and I'll see to it that you don't see daylight unless it's out of a boarding school window. Now, once more, what is the equation for a circumference of a circle!?..."

Who tells that to a fourteen year old? That if they don't succeed according to their parents standards, they'd be shipped off overseas in a weird land where they knew not a soul to learn how to "be better"? It's like they were taking out the trash.

Childhood was not my best time in life.

Leo didn't know everything about my parents. Though I loved them dearly and I was proud of being their daughter, it was hard feeling like I'd be a great disappointment in their eyes if I had ever failed. Failing to them was the equivalent of me becoming some common criminal or delinquent. I was forced to complete high school at 16 and leave all of my friends because they wanted me to. I had to  graduate college at twenty and get my masters at twenty two because if I didn't all I'd ever hear was how much of a failure I was. But I of course, received my master's before my 21st birthday. Before my parents left the states to travel the world on some altruistic whim, my father had been a physicist at MIT and my mom was a MENSA member with an IQ of 170, who was also an MIT grad. She was so smart and I knew I'd never amount to either of my parents. I had taken an IQ test, and was deemed "superior" at 120. All the accomplishments I had done wasn't because of IQ but of hard work and no social life. I had worked until I dropped.

Literally.

Just to make them proud. And Leo bringing them here to witness my biggest failure (according to them) was just more salt to the wound. I desperately wished there was a rock to hide under.

"Just....please take them to the house I'll explain later."

He looked wounded but nodded and kissed my forehead.

"Alright. I'll come back after I get them settled okay?"

I nodded and he got off of the bed, going over to my parents and getting them to leave with him. I basked in the chatter of everyone around me until I started getting sleepy and they all bid me a goodbye. 

-----

Leo had come back at about eleven pm that night. Alori was taken back to where the other babies were housed and so that left us alone. I know Leo just wanted to help, but I wish he hadn't gone behind my back like that.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked quietly

I had realized that he had shaven his beard and was now clean cut again. It made him look younger than his twenty-nine years.

"Not really....you just don't know the whole story."

"I'd like to listen." He murmured, getting into bed with me

"I'm not ready to talk about it. At least not tonight."

I turned over towards the wall and closed my eyes.

"Els-"

"We'll talk more in the morning okay? I just....want to sleep. It's been a very long day."

I felt the bed shift as he got up. I heard the click of the lights and soon he was back, putting his arms around me and hugging me close.

"I fucked up didn't I?" He whispered after a long ten minutes of silence

I turned towards him and kissed his forehead.

"No...it was sweet, It just threw me off guard. I wasn't expecting to see them for awhile. The last I heard they were in the Congo."

"I'm sorry if I overstepped my boundaries. It's just, I heard you talk about them so highly and you seemed so proud to be like them..I never knew It was a cover."

"I am proud to be their daughter...they just aren't proud to have me as one."

"Ellie-"

"Leo it's fine. Let's just get some sleep. Please." I said faintly

He wrapped his arms around me tighter and settled. All the while, I tasted salt on my lips and a kiss on my cheek as I drifted off to dreamland myself.

Leo

The next day, after all of the discharge papers were signed and Alori was put into our care, we left the hospital. Ellie was holding our sleeping daughter, cooing and tickling her chin as I pushed her wheelchair out to the car.

"Alright, let's get you strapped in."

I took Alori from her and strapped the baby into her car seat. She stayed asleep through it all.

"Wow, I see you've been busy." Ellie suddenly said

She must have been talking about the various bags that littered the backseat and trunk. I had also brought a truck before moving into the house. The trunk was also filled with baby things as well.

"Yep, I also put the crib together and painted the mural in Amari's room. I made it pink,purple, green and sky blue."

"When did you do all of this?"

"Well you've been here three days. I'd usually slip out while you were sleeping to do it. It's been a lot of late nights but I got it done."

She came up to me and hugged me tight.

"What would I do without you? I love you so much."

"I love you too."

Hearing her say those words to me everyday still had the tendency to make my heart speed up. As long as she loved me, who cared what happened?

"Are you ready to go home?"

"Are my parents there?"

"Yes."

"Let's run away and tell no one where we're going."

"Ellie no. When we get home, we're gonna feed Alori, put her to bed, and then we're gonna all have a conversation."

"You don't know my parents Leo."

I noticed the terrified look in her eyes.

"Baby, I'm here now. I got your back, you know I do."

"I can't be left alone with them. Please don't leave me alone with them, I don't think I could handle it."

"I won't. Come on, the quicker we get home, the quicker we can get the conversation over with alright?" I asked softly, rubbing her arms to calm her down.

She quietly nodded, face still as stone and started towards the drivers side.

We both got into the car and drove home. 

Only three more parts left. Thanks for reading.