Hollis was definitely a handful. But I loved her anyways. I never thought I'd have kids. At all. When I was younger, I'd always thought kids were annoying, gross, whiny, and a bunch of other non-enjoyable things. Sure, it was kind of annoying that I could barely get any sleep, but it wasn't Hollis' fault. She was just a baby. Even when I was sixteen and Desiree had been born, sure I thought she was cute. But I could've never seen myself having kids of my own.

Things have changed.

Hollis is now my whole world, along with Blake. Blake is everything and anything I could ask for in a husband. Hollis is my little girl, who I pray has a bright future filled with anything she needs.

Then one day, I feared she wouldn't have a future, and neither would I.

Blake had gone to the store, to go grocery shopping. I had wanted to go with, but he insisted that I stay trang chủ with Hollis and rest. She was three months old now, and she was starting to grow her blond hair. I sighed as he left, and put Hollis in her play pen, where she crawled around and played with her yêu thích stuffed animals. I was heating up her bottle in the microwave, when there was a knock at the door.

I went and got it, then froze in place.

It was Drew.

I couldn't say anything, even if I knew what to say. My mouth was dry, and my throat closed up. He smiled darkly.

"Well, long time no see, huh Irina?" he asked. My tim, trái tim pounded. What the hell was he doing here?! "Aren't bạn excited to see me?"

"I thought bạn were in jail," I choked out.

"I was, but they let me out. Sure, I did kill that little friend of yours, and attempted to kill you, but I was defending myself from the little bitch. For all the police knew, she was an insane kid." I recoiled at that memory, it appeared fresh in my mind like it was only a while cách đây instead of years.

"So where's that little boyfriend of yours?" he asked, taking a step in. I reacted instantly, and pushed him out. But before I could close the door, he stuck his foot in, making it difficult to get it closed. I tried as hard as I could, but gave up when I saw it was useless. I ran over to Hollis' playpen, and grabbed her. I paused out of shock when Drew burst through the door. He looked very confused when he saw Hollis. "What the..." I took advantage of the moment and ran to the nearest room in the hallway, the bathroom.

I slammed the door shut just in time, and locked it. He pounded against the door, and it trembled from his blows. The whole thing gave me a weird sense of deja vu, but that was the least of my problems. I clutched Hollis against me, protecting her. She began to cry from the loud noises, but there was nothing I could do to calm her.

Drew shouted and tried to break the door down, while I sat there on the bathroom floor, crying and holding Hollis.

There was another noise; someone else was here. The pounding on the door stopped, and then a whole other sound appeared. It sounded like fighting, and I held Hollis closer. I knew having her close to me while I was this nervous and scared was dangerous. If I had a seizure right now, I could hurt her. I breathed deeply, and told myself it was all a dream. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that this nightmare would be over soon. I felt so trapped, like a caged animal waiting to be slaughtered. Then it got quiet again. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Irina?" It was Blake. I was trembling so much, and I couldn't find my voice. "Oh my God, if he killed her," I heard him mutter, pain in his voice. It was quiet again, and then the door handle moved. There was a quiet popping noise, and then Blake opened the door.

"Don't let him in here!" I cried, ducking my head near Hollis. I held her close, and waited for the feeling of Drew's fists once again. The slapping, punching, hitting...

But instead I felt arms around me lovingly. I knew it wasn't Drew at all. It was Blake. I sobbed in his arms, while he held me and I held Hollis. Blake was crying a little bit as well. All three of us sat there in the bathroom, crying and holding each other.

"I thought he'd killed you," he told me.

"I thought he was going to," I managed to say. Blake sighed, and helped me stand up. "I'm going to go lay down," I said. I knew a seizure was about to come any time soon. I handed Hollis over to him, and went to the bedroom. He đã đưa ý kiến he was going to call the police to báo cáo the break in. I laid down, but thankfully it never came. I took a small nap though, and I woke feeling a little better. I sat up and rubbed my eyes, then stumbled off to go find Blake.

I found him sitting on the couch, with Hollis asleep, and so was he. I stopped and smiled at them. I went over and curled up tiếp theo to them, and fell asleep once again.

I was woken bởi Blake stirring. He yawned, and I looked at him.

"Hey," he đã đưa ý kiến quietly. Hollis mumbled, but otherwise stayed asleep. I laid my head against his shoulder. "The police đã đưa ý kiến they're going to find Drew, but they're not sure what they're allowed to do with him yet. I filed for a restraining order. He'll never come near bạn again."

"You have no idea what a relief that is," I sighed. I felt like my life would be secure now. Blake kissed me.

"I want bạn to be safe. I want to know you're alright."

"And I feel the same way about you."

**4 months later...**

I had quit my job when Hollis was born, so that I could take care of her full time. This meant being alone at the house when Blake was at work, but I got used to it.

Then one day, it did worry me. Blake was supposed to get trang chủ around bữa tối, bữa ăn tối time. I had made dinner, and fed Hollis already, but Blake was still not home. Soon, he was over an giờ late. I began to worry, and called his cellphone, but there was no answer. A little while later, I tried again. No answer. I paced back and forth, then tried to call again fifteen phút later. This time, someone picked up. But it wasn't Blake.

"Hello?" a woman said.

"Um.. Who am I speaking to?" I asked, confused.

"I'm sorry. My name is Wendy; I'm a nurse. May I ask how bạn know... Blake Devlin?"

"I'm his wife...?" I said. What the hell was going on?

"Oh. Ok. I'm sorry, Mrs. Devlin, but your husband was in a crash. He's in immediate care at the hospital right now."

"What," I breathed. She began to repeat herself. "No, no. Ok. I'll be right there." I hung up, and got Hollis. My tim, trái tim was racing, but I had to stay calm. There was no way I'd make things any better bởi getting in an accident myself.

I got to the hospital, but was not allowed to see Blake while he was in immediate care.

"Is he alright?" I asked hysterically.

"M'am, I need bạn to calm down and just sit in the waiting room. We'll let bạn know once bạn can see him." I held Hollis, while I took my seat, and tears flowed down my cheeks.

"Moma," she mumbled. "Daddeh."

"Daddy's going to be fine," I said. I hoped I was right this time.

A couple hours later, I was finally able to see Blake. The nurse I had spoken to led me to his room, and closed the door behind her as I entered. I whimpered when I saw him. It was worse than when Hera had gotten in the accident over a năm ago. Still holding Hollis in one arm, I covered my mouth with my free hand.

"Blake...?" I said, my voice cracking. I sat down tiếp theo to his bed, and gently touched his hand. He groaned and tried to look at me.

"Hey sweetie," he whispered in a raspy voice. A tear fell down my cheek.

"What's broken? Does it hurt? Do bạn need me to get a nurse?"

"Calm down. My arm and a lot of ribs are broken. Yes, it hurts. No, don't get a nurse," he said. He smiled a little bit. "I'm going to be fine."

"You scared the crap out of me," I told him. He frowned for a moment, then smirked.

"Well I'm sorry about that, but that makes me kind of glad."

"Why?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Because that means bạn tình yêu me." I rolled my eyes. I'd cái tát, đánh đập, smack him upside the head right now, if he wasn't already so broken.

"I hope bạn already knew that," I said. In my opinion, it was already very obvious.

"I know. It's just nice to be reminded every once in a while." I carefully leaned over and kissed him. "I tình yêu you," he said.

"I know. And I tình yêu bạn too." He smiled. "You sure you're going to be ok?"

"I promise."

"Good." I kissed him again.

"Daddeh!" Hollis squealed. I held her up to her father, and she hugged his shoulder.

"I tình yêu bạn too, Holly," he said.