It's been four years since Marissa had her ex-husband's child. Her mission is to keep that child away from him and to never see him again.
This all happened after Marissa saw the messages on his phone and the dozens of sextapes with different woman...
Marissa stood outside of Robert's hospital room. She was frozen, unable to move or barely breath.
The man who provided a home for her and took her in as his own was now closer and closer to leaving her forever. It was like her mother all over again.
Marissa was terrified to walk in and see how fragile he had become. She was scared to see the blotches of hair that had fallen out due to chemo. Everything she witnessed on her mother.
Michael was already inside introducing his father to Lauren. The words that were spoken were inaudible to Marissa and she couldn't make a single word out.
After much debate, she slowly turned the knob on the door and walked in.
There was Robert very much alive and well sitting on a chair with Lauren on his lap. So many tubes were connected to his body. His soft blue eyes were still shining with life and his hair was still very much on his head.
"Marissa!" He exclaimed happily.
Marissa couldn't help but burst into tears as she ran to hug the only man she could ever trust.
"Honey, how are you?" He asked. "I'm well" She replied wiping away her tears with the back of her hand.
Robert frowned.
"Please don't cry, you know I don't like that" He said and Marissa nodded.
She stood up since she was on her knees and straightened out her dress.
"I can't believe you kept this treasure away from us, espescially me" He said.
Robert smiled down at Lauren and proceeded to braid her hair.
It was such a beautiful sight for Marissa to witness.
"So are you guys together again?" Robert smiled.
Marissa said no simultaneously as Michael said yes.
"No" Marissa clarified. "I've moved on"
Michael smirked.
"Yeah, with an animal who beats her just for breathing" Michael said sternly. "It's really none of your buisness what he does to me" Marissa eyed him. "One of these days, he's going to kill you and I won't be there to stop him"
Marissa looked back at Robert who just finished braiding one side of Lauren's hair.
"Why would you care what happends to me anyway" she rebuttled.
Michael stayed silent and put his hands inside his pockets.
Robert cleared his throat.
"I don't approve of anyone hurting you" Robert said. "Michael has never laid a hand on you, much less hurt you"
Marissa scoffed.
"He hurt me in the worst way possible" she said. "Oh really?" Michael intervened.
Marissa swallowed and turned to him.
"You broke my heart"
The room fell silent. Even Lauren was feeling the tension that was quickly building up.
Marissa swallowed before speaking again.
"I have to go, it was nice seeing you Robert" She said planting a kiss on his forehead.
-- It was now 2 in the morning. Michael laid awake with his little girl in his arms. Lauren had ran a fever and was coughing non-stop.
"Ssshhh" Michael sang while rocking her.
He knew from the start it would be a bad idea to bring Lauren to the hospital but he wanted his father to meet her above everything.
"Can you call my mommy?" Lauren asked. "Your mommy is probably asleep rigut now sweetheart" "I don't feel good daddy"
Michael froze and looked down at his daughter who had just closed her eyes. For the first time ever he regarded him as 'daddy'.
Michael smiled.
"Let's run you a bath" Michael said.
At any other moment, Michael would of found it ridiculous to run a bath at two in the morning but knowing his daughter was in despair, he had to do it for her.
Lauren held onto Michael's much larger hand and walked to the bathroom groaning and touching her head.
"Will I feel better tomorrow?" She asked
Michael nodded. He wasn't sure himself but he had to make her feel better somehow.
"What did your mommy do when this happened?" Michael asked.
Lauren thought about it for a moment while Michael undressed her.
"If it was really bad she would shower me and if it wasn't too bad she would sing to me until I fell asleep" Lauren said. "She didn't give you medicine?" He asked.
Lauren shook her head.
"She gave me orange juice"
Michael nodded remembering how Marissa was never a fan of western medicine unless it was really needed.
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"There's black spots everywhere. Why are there black spots everywhere daddy?" Lauren asked looking around frantically.
In a blink of an eye, Lauren eyes shut close and she collapsed.
"Lauren!" Michael screamed pulling her out of the bathtub and calling 911.
-- (I published this chapter on Friday and then logged out of my account today only to find that it was still a draft. Can someone explain this?)
