Marie-Claude

I looked up to see him walking into the room, a small bundle cradled in his arms. I smiled, hearing the small noises of an infant coming from the blanket. He wore a proud smile, walking over to where I was laying. I looked up into his eyes with a tender smile. He responded by leaning down and pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" I asked, still tired from the labour. I looked up hopefully into his eyes and he smiled.

"Here." He handed me the baby. I looked down into a pair of gorgeous, deep green eyes. "Hold Marie-Claude."

I started crying as the infant looked at me curiously. She had her father's eyes and hair, which she had a lot of. Her cheeks were round like mine, her nose sharp. She was able to focus on me before looking away to let her gaze travel around the room. Then those little eyes fell back on mine and a tiny smile spread across her face. I felt the tears forming in my eyes as he sat on the bed and took my hand. I was still weak.

"It's okay, baby." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead, then to Marie-Claude's. "You can come stay at my house. My sister won't mind. You can take care of Marie-Claude while I finish school, the nyou can finish school too."

I gave him a sympathetic smile. He was so supportive of me. I wanted to hug him and never let go again, but at that moment, my mother walked in. She looked at Marie-Claude with love, but she gave me a disgusted look. I felt the burning in her gaze as my stepdad walked in. He wouldn't even look at me, him, or Marie-Claude.

"You won't be coming home then?" he asked, giving the ceiling a hateful look. I was expecting the comment, but the blow hurt all the same. "You can coem get your things when ou get out, but don't come back after that."

"Okay.." I muttered. They left and I let myself bury my face in my pillow. He took Marie-Claude in his right arm and pulled me close with his left.

"We'll make it through this. I promise." He kissed my hair and held me there until I fell asleep, the tears dried on my cheeks.