10

Michael

I was sucking on Victoria's breasts, drinking her milk; I was devastated when she ran out. My pity party ended when Victoria interrupted my thoughts.

"Your family will be here soon, along with the food for the party."

"Okay," I sighed. "Do you think these beauties will be full in an hour or so?" I asked as I gently fondled Victoria's breasts.

"Probably."

"Good. I'll get Antonio ready while you head downstairs."

"I need to take a shower."

"For what? You took one this morning."

"I just feel like I need another one."

"Nonsense! You already did your hair and makeup. Now, do as I said."

"Okay," Victoria sighed.

Thirty minutes later, the food arrived. Victoria ensured everything was correctly set while I showed all the decorations to Antonio. Right after Antonio calmed down from his laughing fit, the doorbell rang. Victoria opened the door, and in came my parents.

"Hello," my mother said while giving Victoria a hug.

"Hello! How are you?"

"I'm doing good. Now, where is the birthday boy?"

"Here he is," I said as I walked into the room with Antonio.

"Oh my goodness!"

My mother snatched Antonio out of my arms while my father handed me the gift they had brought. I passed the gift to Victoria so she could put it away.

All my relatives began to arrive at a steady pace. Once everyone was settled, Victoria started serving food; we ordered pulled pork, salad, mashed potatoes, and mac n' cheese. It was simple enough for my family to celebrate my son's birthday. Everyone talked amongst themselves while Victoria sat alone next to Antonio; I had given Victoria strict orders to keep to herself and let my family play with Antonio.

Throughout the party, I kept my eyes on Victoria until my cousins pulled me away to talk shit.

"So Michael, are you catching up on all that fucking you lost out on?" My cousin Dylan asked.

"Dylan, that's private," I practically growled.

"Maybe, but it does raise concern when you need to take your girlfriend to the hospital."

"Damn, dude!" My cousin Alberto shouted. "Good for you!"

"Thanks," I mumbled.

"What else has been going on?"

I rolled my eyes and said, "if you would excuse me, I need to get back to my son's birthday party. We'll be cutting the cake soon."

When I walked back to check on Victoria, she was gone, and so was Antonio. My heart stopped for a second, and I began to push through everyone and checked all the rooms on the first floor.

"Michael, what's wrong?" My mother looked at me.

"Have you seen Victoria?" I worriedly asked.

"Antonio was getting fussy, so she took him out in front to get some fresh air."

I bolted for the front door. When I stepped outside, I saw Victoria sitting on the steps with Antonio laughing in her arms.

"What are you doing out here?" I asked as I approached Victoria.

"Antonio was getting fussy being around everyone, so I brought him out to get some fresh air."

I took Antonio from Victoria, causing her to have a saddened expression.

"I told you I didn't want you setting foot outside the house without me and that you weren't allowed to be with Antonio alone."

"Michael, there are guards everywhere; I couldn't run away, even if I wanted to."

"Don't you dare get smart with me!" I snapped. "I was so worried!"

"I'm not getting smart. I'm just saying, why wou-"

Before Victoria could finish her sentence, I punched her, the impact causing her to fall to the ground and tumble down the steps. Antonio began to scream; I started gently bouncing him, calming him down.

Once Antonio was laughing again, I started walking inside. I turned around and saw Victoria slowly standing up while holding her cheek.

"Go upstairs and get yourself cleaned up. Come back downstairs when you're done. Hurry up; I want to cut the cake soon."

When I brought Antonio back inside, he laughed even harder. My mom walked up to me and took Antonio in her arms.

"I can't believe how much he looks like you."

"I know, it's crazy," I smiled.

"Makes me wonder how Victoria thought she would be able to hide from you," my cousin Lucy said.

"What?" My mother asked, shock evident on her face. Everyone in the room froze. "Michael, What is Lucy talking about?"

"Oh, crap!" Lucy mumbled.

"Michael," my father spoke in a threatening tone.

Before I could say anything, Victoria walked into the room with a smile; all eyes turned toward her.

"What's going on?" She asked in a confused tone.

"Did you try hiding Antonio from us?" My mother asked accusingly.

Victoria's eyes widened, and I could see her trembling.

"Well? Answer me!" My mother yelled, causing Antonio to start crying. Victoria went to reach for him, but my father took Antonio before she could.

"I didn't know I was pregnant when I left."

"Bullshit!" My cousin yelled as he stood in front of Victoria. "Why else would you leave?"

Victoria looked at me with pleading eyes. She didn't know what to say; she knew better than to tell my family I was hitting her. Even if she did, they wouldn't believe her, not when it was evident how much I loved her.

"We're here to celebrate Antonio," Victoria said. "Can we please address this later?"

"Don't you dare try to avoid the question!" My mother snapped as she slapped Victoria on her already injured cheek. I could see tears building up in Victoria's eyes. My eyes widened when I saw that her cheek was already bruising.

"Wait, what is that?" My cousin Brian asked.

Victoria quickly covered her cheek with her hand and ran out of the room.

"Victoria!" I ran after her.

Our bedroom door slammed shut; I tried opening it, but it was locked.

"Victoria, open the door!" I yelled.

"Victoria!" I heard my cousin Lucy yell as she ran to where I stood. "Victoria, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to tell everyone you were hiding Antonio. It was an accident; the words just slipped out of my mouth."

"You should go back downstairs," I told Lucy.

"What? No! I'm not leaving until she comes out."

"Don't you think you've already done enough damage? You have no idea what we're going through, so just back the fuck off!"

"Language!" I heard my mother yell from down the hall.

I turned and saw my whole family approaching me.

"Good luck telling that to everyone," Lucy said as she leaned on the wall with her arms folded over her chest.

"Sorry, mom," I mumbled.

"Victoria, we just want to talk to you," my father said as he leaned on the door.

"Can you all please go downstairs, so I can talk to her alone?" I asked.

"No," my friend Leo said. "You've hidden enough from us, and I think it's time we know what's going on." Everyone nodded in agreement.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, stepping away from the door when I saw David walking down the hallway; he discreetly handed me my keys. I quickly felt each key until I found the one for my room.

"Excuse me," David said, causing everyone to look at him. While they were distracted, I unlocked my bedroom door, slipped in, and slammed the door closed, making sure to lock it.

"MICHAEL! I could hear my mother and father yell in unison.

"Victoria?" I softly called out. After searching the room, I went into the bathroom, pulled back the shower curtain, and found Victoria crying.

"Hey," I said as I crouched down next to her.

"I think my face is broken; your mom hit me pretty hard."

"Okay, well, we'll go to the hospital when the party's over."

"Okay."

"Should we go back to celebrating Antonio?"

"You go ahead. I'm sure your family hates me."

"Well, they want answers now."

"What am I supposed to say?"

I let out a sigh.

"How about we go into an argument over what we wanted in life. We had our differences, so you left. After you left, you found out you were pregnant, and you didn't tell me because I said I didn't want a family. Dylan spotted you with Antonio and told me. When it hit me that I was a father, my feelings changed, and I wanted to be with you and help you raise our son."

"So then, why did you lie about where I was with Antonio?"

"Crap." Victoria was right; I needed to come up with a good excuse. "I was slightly ashamed that I didn't want kids because my mother wanted grandchildren."

"How are you able to come up with stories so quickly?"

"When you do the business I do, it almost becomes an instinct. I need to be able to lie to the police."

"Oh... That makes sense."

"How about I tell them? I know you're a horrible liar."

Victoria nodded her head in agreement and stood up.

"Redo your makeup; I'll convince them."

"Okay."

After getting my family to calm down and feeding them my bullshit excuse, they all eased up on their anger toward Victoria. However, they claimed that she could've reached out to them, and they would've talked some sense into me. I just rolled my eyes.

Once the party was over, I drove Victoria to the hospital. We were currently in a room awaiting a doctor. When the curtain was pulled back, my eyes grew wide when I saw Dr. Taylor step in.

"Victoria, what brings you in today?" she asked, giving me a menacing look.

"My son kicked me in the face while I played with him."

"What kind of shoes was he wearing? The bruise looks severe for a baby's foot."

"My mother-in-law found some steel-toed combat boots."

"Hmmm... I didn't know they make those for babies."

"They're hard to find."

"I bet. I'm going to apply some pressure to your face."

"Okay."

Dr. Taylor pressed Victoia's cheek, causing her to shout and pull away. My body tensed; I didn't like the doctor causing her pain.

"Okay, we're going to take you for a facial x-ray to see if anything is broken. A nurse will come to take you up to radiology."

"Okay. Thank you."

"Nice one," I said once the doctor was gone.

"What?"

"Antonio kicked you with combat boots."

"It was all I could think of."

"It's good."

A nurse came to take Victoria for her x-rays. I wanted to go but was instructed by security to sit in the waiting room. After an hour, a nurse called me back to Victoria.

"What took so long?" I asked.

"They also did an MRI to check if I have a concussion."

"Did they ask you any questions?"

"No."

After another thirty minutes, Dr. Taylor walked in, holding a tablet.

"Well, Victoria, you have a hairline fracture in your cheekbone and a mild concussion. I'm going to prescribe some painkillers for you. Keep applying ice packs to your face to reduce the swelling, and make sure to rest. Eat foods that don't require chewing: pudding, yogurts, and soups would be the best. You could also have shakes. Your cheekbone will heal on its own. However, it will take a few weeks."

"How many?" I asked.

Dr. Taylor gave me a deathly glare, saying, "six to eight weeks. I would schedule an appointment with your primary physician."

"Thank you," Victoria mumbled. "Can we leave now?"

Dr. Taylor sighed, "I'll get all the paperwork ready."

After Victoria had signed all the necessary paperwork, we headed home.