Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

DANIELA

" FUCK !" Amara roared as she squeezed my hand so hard that I thought it might actually break. "God!"

My sister's face twisted in agony while she pushed as hard as she could through her contraction. I ran my thumb over her knuckles and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand, offering her comfort in the only way I knew how.

"You're doing so good, Mar," I encouraged her. "Mamá would be so proud. It's almost over."

Please tell me it's almost over, I prayed.

I didn't know how much more of this either one of us could take. It was killing me watching my sister go through labor pains – without an epidural, I might add – and not being able to do anything other than let her squeeze my hand as hard as she needed to. Her water had broken almost twelve hours ago, and she'd been in absolute agony since then.

"Motherfucker!" she groaned as another contraction hit, straining with her effort.

"I can see his head, Amara," Dr. Blackburn announced. "Just another few pushes and you'll be done."

After four more pushes, shrill cries pierced the air and I was looking at a beautiful, perfect baby boy. My nephew. A lump rose in my throat and tears spilled over my cheeks as I marveled at the miracle of this new life.

"Dani, do you want to do the honors?" the doctor asked.

"What?" I asked, shaking my head once as I forced myself to come back to the here and now.

"Do you want to cut the umbilical cord?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed. "Oh, my God, yes."

The labor and delivery nurse held out a box of neoprene gloves, and I quickly pulled two out and put them on. I was handed a pair of surgical scissors, and the doctor held the cord steady as I made three cuts, severing my nephew's connection to my sister's body.

The nurse quickly took him and placed him on Amara's chest, and she weakly cradled him in her arms with an exhausted smile on her face.

"Bienvenido al mundo, mijito , " she murmured. Welcome to the world, son.

"He's perfect, Mar. So beautiful," I sniffled.

She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. "We can do this by ourselves, right?"

I tried to give her an encouraging smile. The truth was, I was terrified of helping her raise this sweet boy. We didn't have any family close by, she'd just graduated from college and was about to start a new job, and I was in my final semester of pre-medical school. I'd already been accepted into a medical program, pending passing all of my exams this semester, so I was going to be starting med school in the fall too. But I would help her however she needed me to. This baby deserved that, especially since his father didn't want anything to do with him.

"Yeah, we can," I promised her. "Together."

"I can't get over these chubby little cheeks," I chuckled as I took my nephew from my sister's arms.

"I know," Amara chuckled weakly, letting out a weak sigh. "He's perfect."

There was a knock on the doorframe, and I looked up just in time to see a nurse and a medical technician come into the room.

"Hi, Amara," she said. "I'm Kathy. I'll be taking care of you tonight. And this is Kyle. He'll be helping me out."

"Hi," my sister mumbled.

"How are you feeling tonight?"

"Tired. Kind of dizzy. In pain," she sighed.

The nurse nodded. "That's perfectly normal. Make sure you're keeping yourself hydrated. Has that adorable little nugget had a chance to eat yet?"

"Yeah, I just fed him."

"Perfect," she said with a smile. "Um, if you're up for it, the doctor asked if I could get a little bit of information for the birth certificate."

"Sure. Let's just get it over with," Amara grumbled.

"Does the baby have a name yet?"

"Isaac. Isaac Mateo Ramos."

"And the father's name?"

"Leave it blank," she sighed weakly. "He's not in the picture."

The nurse's smile faltered for just a moment, and I could see the judgment written all over her face.

My blood started to turn to fire in my veins. How dare she? She didn't know my sister. She didn't know that this baby's father was a class-A douchebag who'd given her a phone number that forwarded to a fucking publicist . And she didn't know that said publicist had tried to throw money at Amara to get an abortion and, when Amara refused, had then proceeded to threaten us with a defamation lawsuit and pressing charges for stalking and harassment if we ever told anyone who the baby's father was or tried to contact him again.

So, yeah. If this nurse didn't approve of Amara choosing to raise this child on her own, she could go suck a dick. It wasn't her life, and this wasn't her son.

"Well, make sure you order some dinner soon. Kitchen closes at eight," the nurse clipped out. "Let me just take some vitals."

After quickly getting Amara's temperature, blood pressure, and vitals, the nurse and tech both left the room, and Amara turned to me.

"Do you want him back?" I asked her.

"No," she chuckled. "You're such a good aunt. If something happens to me, promise me you'll take care of him."

Just the thought of anything happening to my sister was too painful to contemplate. She and Isaac were the only family I had left. I couldn't even think about losing either one of them.

"I already said I would when you wrote your will, remember?" I said, trying to avoid the subject.

"I know. But just promise me," she insisted, tears coming to her eyes.

I couldn't help chuckling. Her postpartum hormones were obviously in full swing already.

"Okay," I agreed. "I promise. But nothing's going to happen to you, Mar. You're going to be an amazing mom. And I'll help you however I can."

"Thank you," she sighed, closing her eyes as her face twisted in discomfort.

"What's wrong, Mar?" I asked. "Do I need to call the nurse?"

"No, I'm fine," she mumbled. "I'm just so tired. And dizzy."

I smiled. "Okay. Get some rest while you can. Until Isaac needs you again."

"Let me give him a kiss first," she slurred slightly.

Walking over to the bed, I placed Isaac in his mother's arms. She cradled him against her chest and pressed a kiss to his forehead.

"Te quiero mucho, mijito," she murmured as her eyes slid closed and her head started to droop forward. I love you so much, son.

"Let me put him in his bassinet," I said quietly, gently taking him back from her. "Get some rest, sis."

Amara mumbled something else as she fell asleep, but I couldn't make it out. I kissed Isaac's forehead and then laid him in his little plastic bassinet before sitting down in the recliner next to the bed and closing my eyes.