Leaving Eva (The Eva Series Book 1) (4 page)

She could feel his sincere disappointment.
Maybe he really loves her
, she thought. She quickly dismissed the thought. She could not sympathize with him now. He was still a threat, and she couldn’t wait for him to leave.

He walked slowly to the door and turned around right before he walked through it. “I’ll be back tomorrow, El. I’ll take you home when it’s time, and you are going to be with me. You don’t have anyone else. You need me, and we belong together.”

Nurse Eva watched him walk out and when he was finally gone, she glanced at Ellie who was still clutching her crying baby. She nodded quickly at her and then rushed out of the room to call security. She wanted to get to them quickly so they could catch him and escort him out of the building. She contacted her supervisor and briefed him on the incident.

In the meantime, she had one of the other nurses check in on Ellie and instruct her on how to feed the baby. She hoped that it would go well since Ellie seemed so timid with everyone but her. Nurse Eva felt as if she had been away from the room for hours, but it had only been one.

When she returned to the room, she was confused. She checked the bathroom, under the bed, and in the closet. She walked every inch of the small room and then sank into the chair facing the bed.

Ellie was gone, and so was Baby Eva!

ELLIE HAD
TO ESCAPE
from the hospital.

She always ran. She ran from Momma and Daddy then she ran from
him
. Now she was running from the hospital, and from Nurse Eva who had taken such good care of her.

Ellie had no idea where to go. She knew that she should stay at the hospital, and let Nurse Eva teach her more about taking care of the baby. But she had to get out of there. If
he
came back, nobody was going to be able to help her and she didn’t want her wonderful nurse to get hurt. He looked like he wanted to harm Nurse Eva, and was certainly capable of it. She felt threatened and knew he could hurt someone, even her, which is why she had to leave. She loved him, but she wasn’t going to let him hurt her again.

She didn’t want him to touch the baby even though she knew that Eva was his baby, too. But he hadn’t wanted a child and now here she was, beautiful, soft, and perfect. Suddenly, Ellie wanted to take care of her and protect her always.

Ellie waited until well after he was gone to escape from the hospital, though she disappeared from her room as soon as the nurse left. She couldn’t bear to face Nurse Eva. Ellie looked carefully out the main hospital doors, but she didn’t see him. It was evening, and people walking into the hospital looked at her funny, but she didn’t care.
Haven’t they ever seen someone with a baby before?
She was annoyed.
God, I need a smoke!

Where would she go?

I don’t want to go back to the shelter. I don’t want my baby raised in that place!

She walked down the street from the hospital holding Baby Eva, desperate for an answer. Ellie’s body felt tired, and bruised like she had been hit by a car, but she had to find a place to go. She was wearing only a hospital gown and slippers, and was starting to get cold. She hadn’t even thought to change, and she left her clothes in the hospital room. Thankfully, it was a warm autumn night with only a slight chill in the air.

She walked for a few blocks and finally spotted a pay phone. She was careful to walk slowly because Baby Eva was sleeping. She still felt awkward holding her, afraid to jostle her too much or hold her too tight. She held her close feeling her warmth and she still couldn’t believe she actually had a baby to take care of now.

Ellie picked up the receiver and made a collect call, and then sat on a bench and waited.

Eva was still sleeping, and Ellie was happy for the quiet. She was exhausted and felt as if she could sleep for days. But she was anxious, too.
What kind of life will I be able to give Eva? What am I going to do with my life?
Ellie could go back to school if she wanted to, and she really wanted to finish. She didn’t want to end up a burnout or stoner and she decided that she didn’t want to continue drinking or doing drugs, either.

Ellie was intelligent. But she had been captivated by his good looks, his charm, and by the fact that he was so much older. Ellie had felt stifled by her parent’s love and protectiveness, an unwilling prisoner in her privileged life.

She didn’t expect that things would end up like this.

She isolated herself from the only two people who cared for her, punishing them for loving her. But now Ellie was a mother who needed to take care of her child. She made the call, and then she waited for what seemed like hours, shivering in the cold, fearing that they may not come.

She knew that it would take a while, but the anticipation was difficult to bear.

Finally, she saw a big black Cadillac approaching and felt her heart leap in her chest.

The car barely stopped when the passenger side door flew open, and a petite, beautiful blonde woman in her mid-thirties, got out of the car. She and Ellie could have been mistaken for sisters only Ellie had the dark features of her father. She started running toward her, “Ellie, my Ellie!”

“Momma!” Ellie cried, tears running down her cheeks. She had no one in the world now but them and her heart felt heavy with remorse and sadness for what she had done.

The driver’s side door opened, and a tall handsome man with a goatee and dark brown eyes identical to Ellie’s, gracefully stepped out. He didn’t run toward her, but walked with long strides until he was hugging them both tightly. The tiny bundle in her arms squeaked and gurgled, and for a long moment, they were all one.

“Daddy! I’ve missed you so much. I am so sorry for what I’ve done! Please forgive me, please.” Ellie cried and cried.

James Harper held onto his little girl fighting back tears. He was shocked at how gaunt and small his daughter looked. Her still swollen belly was so awkward on her tiny frame. He blamed himself for all of their pain. He had almost lost his daughter and his wife, and now they were finally back together!

It terrified Ellie to see her Daddy cry. She had never seen him cry before now. He was strong, and she had made him cry, and it made her feel like her heart was breaking. She had done this to him, she had hurt Daddy, and suddenly she felt as if she were six years old.

“Oh, Elizabeth, don’t cry. We are here now. We’ve been looking for you for months and months, and now we have you. Don’t worry anymore,” Momma gushed as she smoothed Ellie’s dark hair and kissed her cheeks over and over. She missed how silky Ellie’s hair used to be. She couldn’t wait to help wash and brush it as she used to do. Ellie was a mess, and Amy wasn’t used to seeing her baby girl like this.

She took the baby gently out of Ellie’s arms, holding her close. She looked just like Ellie had as a newborn. She smelled so fresh. Amy was disappointed that Ellie would have to lose her childhood so young, but in a split second, she was already in love with this beautiful infant.
Oh my God, I’m a grandmother.
The thought nauseated her and pleased her at the same time.

“Amy, let’s get her back to the hospital,” Daddy said, straightening himself. He was back to his usual composed, practical self. “We need to make sure that she and the baby are healthy before we take them home.” He looked down at Ellie and took her chin in his hands, “Peanut, you are going to have to make better decisions now that you are a mother. Leaving the hospital before you have been discharged is irresponsible.”

Ellie nodded in agreement. She needed to be a good girl in every way now, and she knew that she could do it.

After another night’s stay in the hospital, and hired security looking over her, Ellie and Baby Eva were ready to leave. Nurse Eva was so relieved to see her return, and this time with parents. Momma hugged Nurse Eva so tight and thanked her repeatedly for being there for Ellie.

Eva could tell that Ellie was much loved and it made her very happy.

She couldn’t wait to go home to see her own daughters who had been calling nonstop asking when she was coming home. Eva couldn’t leave the hospital when she found Ellie’s room empty. She had to stay hoping that she would return. She knew that she wouldn’t be able to stop worrying about her and the baby. She was so worried about their safety and prayed that
he
wouldn’t find her.

James called in his own security.
He
returned the next morning as promised, but the security team caught him at the hospital main entrance and forced him out. James gave them orders to “make sure that he didn’t
ever
return.”

Amy was thankful and looked at James with so much love, “Thank you for keeping Ellie safe and for bringing us here.” He peered down at her with gratitude and love. He didn’t know what he would have done if he’d lost her, too. She was his muse and everything in his life was done for her.

After James and Ellie fought and Ellie left, Amy was angry. He had never seen her so angry. “If we don’t find our baby, I will leave you for good!”

James was mortified, “I can’t lose you Amy! You and Ellie mean everything to me. I’ll do anything in my power to find our little girl. I won’t give up, please don’t give up on me. Please!” He begged, and she relented. Amy loved him, and didn’t want to give up, but she couldn’t live without Ellie.

When Ellie called to come home, James fell to the floor and cried in relief. Amy had given him an ultimatum, and was planning to leave him that very week. As hard as she had tried, she couldn’t take the pain and anguish of losing Ellie any longer, and she blamed her beloved husband for forcing her out.

“This is your fault, James!” she yelled at him while standing in the middle of Ellie’s empty bedroom. She slept there every night, crying herself to sleep and wishing her daughter home. She ran her hand over Ellie’s pillow, remembering her brown-eyed sweet little girl. “I will never forgive you if she doesn’t come back to us. I love you, but she left because of you! I hate you for making her leave us!”

But now all was well, and finally they were at peace.

That night, Ellie slept like she hadn’t slept in ages. Her hospital room had around the clock security, and nobody could get to her. She knew that Momma and Daddy were sleeping on the couches in her hospital room, keeping a close eye on her and Eva. Daddy offered to take Momma to a nearby hotel, but Momma wouldn’t hear of it. She couldn’t bear to be away from Ellie for one more night.

When they woke up the next day, Ellie was discharged and they said their goodbyes. Nurse Eva had gone home to her own family, but the rest of the hospital staff had been kind to her, as well. Ellie didn’t hear the details, but she knew that Momma and Daddy were sending an expensive gift to Nurse Eva’s house for taking care of their precious girl. Momma and Daddy were generous with their money. She figured it would be something like a car or an all-expense paid vacation. And Ellie hoped that Eva would be pleased.

They made the long drive from the hospital to their own home, and Ellie couldn’t wait to get there. Daddy must have driven fast to pick her up at the hospital. The drive home seemed so much longer than the time she had sat waiting for them. She thought that it might be that she was just so anxious to be back home. It felt like a lifetime since she had stepped foot in her house, or slept in her own bed and she didn’t realize just how much she missed it.

James had built his own company from the bottom up years ago, and they reaped the benefits of it every day. But there was nothing that he loved more than Amy and Elizabeth. He was so angry with Elizabeth for getting involved with that disgusting drug dealer. She was young and didn’t know exactly what he was or what she was getting herself into, but James knew.

James hired men to track him down so that he could make sure that he always stayed away from his daughter but they were unsuccessful, and he was frustrated. He was used to getting what he wanted, and was finding that he couldn’t control the universe where his spirited Ellie was concerned. She scared him.
Of anything in life, she terrifies me.

He glanced at her in the rearview mirror, and she looked like the sweet young girl he remembered. But he was plagued with fears that he didn’t want to share with Amy because he didn’t know if she would understand. Ellie had already experienced and seen so much.
How am I going to help her get her innocence back? Is she really going to be happy as a mother?
James knew that nothing was certain, and he prayed that her venture into the world taught her something about the importance of family.

When they finally got home, Ellie walked around the house with Baby Eva sleeping in her arms, as though she were seeing it for the first time. It looked so much bigger than when she left over a year ago.
How I missed you
, she thought adoringly as she marveled at the spaciousness and beauty of her home.

“We have a surprise for you,” Amy said with a big smile, showing pretty white teeth.

“What, Momma?” It had been a long time since anyone had surprised Ellie with anything.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” James said slyly.

Ellie was excited because she always loved surprises. She handed Eva to James, who held the baby awkwardly.

“Close your eyes, Peanut,” Amy said excitedly holding her hand and leading her up the long flight of stairs. When she was finally able to open her eyes, her breath caught in her throat. They turned her room into a beautiful nursery. “How did you do this?” she was amazed.

“I had it done as soon as you called me. I knew that you would love it!” James said proudly. “I had her name painted on the wall today, so be careful because it may still be wet,” he added.

She did love it. It was perfect! Her parents still knew her so well. The room had always been pale pink, her favorite color. Now it was decorated even more frilly and girly. They had chosen the perfect fabric and finishing for the crib, the bassinet, and the changing table. It was as though Ellie had chosen it herself. She walked around in wonder.

Her bedroom was her favorite place in the world, her sanctuary. It was huge, the size of the entire second floor. She had her own bathroom, her own dressing room, and a huge walk in closet. She opened the closet door, and it was full of baby clothes, as were the drawers to the dressers. Now everything in the room was not just hers, it belonged to both her and Eva. She was happy and excited! She sat on her bed, sighing with both happiness and relief.

Ellie was so grateful to be home.