the dove and her rooster [bradley bradshaw]

Chapter 2

When Victoria was 17 her dad got sick, he got throat cancer. The whole family was devasted and it rocked them to the core. Victoria decided that the Naval Academy could wait since she wanted to spend as much time as possible with her dad.

One day while her younger siblings were at kindergarten, pre-school and school and her parents in the hospital, there was a knock on the door. As Victoria looked through the spy hole she saw a woman standing in front of the door, she looked familiar but the young girl couldn't place her finger on it. Opening the door she looked at the woman, a little confused while the latter had a smile on her face.

"Can I help you?" Victoria didn't open the door all the way, still being a little cautious, just in case.

"Hi birdy, it's been a long time."

At that moment it was like the whole world crashed for Victoria. The woman standing at her front door was her biological mother, the woman that left her when she was only 2 years old.

"Please leave right away." she tried closing the door but the woman stopped her, "Wait birdy, please just listen to me." but Victoria wasn't having any of it.

"I asked you to leave, you can come back tommorow around noon when my parents are at home but now you need to leave."

With that she closed the door in the woman's face and locked it. She had many mixed emotions as she grabbed her phone and called the one person she knew would listen right away.

"Hello?" when the person picked up that was when Victoria came undone and started to cry.

"Bradley, I'm not okay."

With those 4 words she had his full attention, he calmed her down before asking what's wrong. She told him everything and he listened, never once interrupting her unless she asked him something. That was the day that Bradley Bradshaw swore to himself that he wouldn't let anyone hurt her ever again, she didn't deserve that, not his Victoria.

The next day Bradley came over around 11am to be there for Victoria and to keep her calm. Tom and Sarah watched the two teenagers from the kitchen, the way Bradley knew just the right thing to say or do to calm down their daughter was something not even they knew.

"Y'know Ice, I'm suprised those two haven't started dating yet. I mean they are perfect for eachother." Tom looked at his wife a bit shocked since he hasn't heard her call him by that nickname in a long time.

"Well honey, sometimes, people are blind when it comes to love. They're going at their own pace. I'm sure when the time is right, they'll see what was in front of them the whole time."

Soon enough, noon rolled around and there was a knock on the front door.

"Now remember Vic, just stay calm, we're all here for you and support you no matter what. I'll be right next to you, okay?"

Victoria nodded at Bradley's words as she grabbed his hand for support. She felt safer in a way, more strong. Her parents went to open the door and soon they came into the living room with the woman who gave birth to her.

"Thank you for allowing me to come into your lovely home. Gosh birdy, you've gotten so big." Victoria scoffed at the woman's words, "It's Victoria, not birdy." her biological mom apologized and corrected herself.

After the woman answered a few questions and talked with Tom and Sarah, she turned towards Victoria.

"I wasn't a good mother, I know that and I am truly sorry. I was young and scared and I realized I couldn't raise a child on my own, I barely had money to feed us at times. After I left you in front of the school, I went to rehab, I was addicted to alcohol. After that I finally finished college and got a good job-"