Weight of the World

Chapter 5

“Are you sure this is something you can handle? I know you think this is finally a chance for you to have a kid, but being a parent is a lot more responsibility than just a nanny.”

Sookie clenched her fists at her side, keeping an eye on Alyssa in the next room once Alcide pulled her out of there. “This isn’t just about finally having a kid; this is about who she is. Do you think I would make this decision for just anyone? I know what I’m doing, Alcide, I’m all she has right now.”

He nodded. “I understand that, but a child deserves to have a mother and a father.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you have any idea how horrible her parents were? Sometimes children grow up just fine with only one parent, or in my case, neither. I’m really happy you now have a wife and two little girls that you love, but not every child is lucky enough to have that. In just mere hours, she’s had everything taken away from her. I’ll be damned if I’m going to abandon her, too.”

Alcide admitted defeat, letting out a breath. “Fine, let’s just see what Alyssa wants, maybe you can get her to talk. I’m one who believes children have a right to think for themselves, they shouldn’t be forced into something they don’t want.”

Sookie sighed in relief, heading back into the other room where Alyssa was still waiting. As soon as she walked in, the little girl looked up at her with tears in her eyes.

“I wanna stay with Sookie!” Alyssa exclaimed, jumping up from her seat and wrapping her arms around Sookie’s legs.

She kneeled down to hug the girl fully, feeling tears of her own when she returned the embrace. Sookie gazed up at Alcide, running her fingers through Alyssa’s long locks. “What more do you need?”

Alcide agreed, seeing that taking the child away from Sookie would not be the best idea. “We’ll give this a trial run; see how everything works out while she’s with you. I will be making a visit at least once a week to check on your progress. If you would still like to adopt her after the right amount of time, I can arrange that, but you need to be sure first that this is something you really want.”

Sookie stood back up, keeping Alyssa’s hand in hers. “That’s not an issue; I won’t be changing my mind.”

* * * * *

“This is my Gran’s farm house; it was given to me after she passed away. I’ve always wanted to bring you here.”

Alyssa took a look around, feeling more at home than she ever did at the mansion. That may have been her home for as long as she could remember, but being there always terrified her. “Mommy and Daddy were really mad after you left, I heard them yelling from my room. I went to hide in the tent; Mommy came in and pulled me out. I screamed and cried, but she shook me and told me to shut up. She said you wouldn’t be coming back, when that made me cry harder, she smacked me. Daddy yelled at her for it, they kept screaming at each other until they left the house. They never came back, the police man showed up and I was so scared. I asked for you, but no one would let me go to you.”

Sookie took the sobbing child in her arms, rocking her back and forth. “It’s okay now, sweetie, everything is going to be okay. I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere, no one will ever hurt you again.” She felt such rage go through her at the thought of Lorena hitting Alyssa, it may make her an awful person to think such things, but she was very relieved they were both dead. Sookie pulled back to look at her, wiping the tears away with her thumb. “We’re in this together, all right? It’s just you and me; do you want me to adopt you?”

She nodded. “I want you to be my mommy.”

That had Sookie crying right along with her; it was something she’d always wanted. “I would be honored to be your mother.”

* * * * *

“Wow, I can’t believe how much has changed since we last talked. How are you dealing with all of this?”

Sookie shrugged. “As well as could be expected, I’m not sorry they’re gone, but I’m sorry that Alyssa has to go through this.”

“If you ask me, she’s better off with you,” Eric explained. “You will finally give her the childhood she deserves.”

That brought a small smile to Sookie’s face. “Yeah, I’m getting her signed up for elementary school. She’s really excited about it. Since the Compton’s didn’t have wills drawn up, all of their money and prized possessions are going to local charities. I refused to take any of it; I can manage Alyssa just fine without their money. I have plenty saved up that my Gran left me after she died.”

He smiled. “That’s great, in case there are ever any future children to enter the picture.”

Her smile faded at that. Sookie liked Eric a lot, she could see herself becoming really serious about him, but before things went any further, she would have to let him know exactly what he would be getting into. “Are kids something you want?”

“I’ve never thought about it before, but I’ve always loved children. I have three younger sisters and two brothers, there always seems to be babies in my family. I could see myself having kids of my own some day.”

Sookie was afraid of that. She took his hand and led him over to the couch, pulling him down next to her. Alyssa was taking a nap upstairs, so they would have some privacy. “There’s something I have to tell you, and I don’t really know how to do it. Alcide, the social worker I told you about, he’s actually my ex-boyfriend. That’s a long story I’d rather not get into, but the short version is that he broke up with me because I’m not able to have children. He got angry at me for waiting until we were almost a year into the relationship before I told him, that’s why I’m telling you now. We’ve only had one date, so if you wanted to walk away, I would completely understand. It’s not like you’ve gotten too attached yet.”

Eric gave her words some consideration, taking her hand in his. “I’m sorry he left you like that, but I’m not about to do the same. Yes, I may want kids, but I don’t need them to be biological for me to be happy. Just look at what you’ve done for Alyssa, there are so many children every day who need to be adopted. I know we haven’t known each other that long, but I’m already very attached. I couldn’t walk away now even if I wanted to.”

She wiped a tear from her eye. “Do you mean that? Because it would break my heart if you changed your mind somewhere down the road, I’ve been to several doctors and they’ve all told me that it would never be possible for me to have a child. You need to give this some more thought before just deciding that it’s something you can live with.”

He kissed her then, no more words needed to be said. Eric pulled away when breathing became an issue, touching his forehead to hers. “I’m in this for the long haul, Sookie Stackhouse.”

Sookie smiled, she could definitely live with that.