Jimmy’s POV

“Well, well, well… if it isn’t the prodigal child coming back for forgiveness” I say opening the door to see a bunch of pink balloons in front of me & Annabelle’s head sticking on the side.

“Hi” She says with a cheesy smile. I shake my head slowly, scolding her for being MIA lately. I motion for her to come in. She jumps on me, her arms locked on my neck & wrapping her legs around my waist. “I’m so sorry” She says on my ear, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“I feel like I’m letting in a complete stranger into my house” I say, carrying her to our bedroom. “Look who I found” I say to Leana, who’s lying on the bed with our little baby on her arms.

“ANNA” She yells… making baby Wren yell. I shush them & grab our little baby. She’s 1 month & 3 weeks old. She’s so fragile & small that I feel like I’m gonna hurt her when I touch her. Wren is crying her lungs out & I’m rocking her, trying to make her stop. I’m still getting use to this. Guess she got the loudness from me. But I can see that she will have Leana’s smile. I hope she does. Leana’s smile still brings me to my knees.

“May I?” Anna says from where she’s lying next to Leana, getting on her knees & stretching her arms out. I sigh. She might as well give it a shot. I delicately place Wren on her arms & Annabelle gets up, starting to pace around & bouncing the baby smoothly while singing to her.

Baby mine, don't you cry
Baby mine, dry your eyes
Rest your head close to my heart
Never to part, baby of mine.

Little one when you play
Don't you mind what you say
Let those eyes sparkle and shine
Never a tear, baby of mine.

She walks to the window, allowing the sun light to gently grace my daughter’s skin. She’s now reduced to small whimpers, so Annabelle keeps singing.

If they knew sweet little you
They'd end up loving you too
All those same people who scold you
What they'd give just for
The chance to hold you.

From your head to your toes
You’re not much, goodness knows
But you’re so precious to me
Cute as can be, baby of mine

She sings softly the last part & looks up at us smiling. She puts her thumb up in success & takes a seat on the end of the bed, still holding Wren. I turn to look at Leana & see her mouth open. I bet I look the same. She couldn’t possibly calm her down so quickly. When she has a fit, it takes us HOURS to silence her. She just rocked her back & forth, bounced a bit & sang for less than a minute. “How the hell did you do that?” Leana asks, still looking at Annabelle, who is smiling to our sleeping baby.

“My mom used to sing that to my brother & I when we got restless” She says, getting up again, cradling my baby. “Jeremy did it with the boys too, so I thought, why the hell not?” She says shrugging & looking up at us. “It’s Dumbo, by the way” She says, placing the baby on the small bassinet that we placed near our bed. Guess we found our nanny. I'm not letting her leave this house EVER! “Was my favorite movie when I was little” She says, diving onto the bed & crawling between Leana & I. “I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier. Stupid blizzard left me stranded on New York for New Year. Happy New Year by the way” She says, cuddling closer to my side while I start playing with her hand.

“New Year was almost 3 weeks ago” I say, eyeing her. “What took you so long to come back?” I ask her & I see her close her eyes & sigh. “Is there something you’re not telling us?” I know she’s hiding something.

I’m proud to say that I’m the only one that can actually read Annabelle like an open book. She does a really good job at hiding her emotions & building walls over walls so no one pries on whatever she doesn’t want everyone to know. I don’t even think Brian can see her like this… but I can see her. I can see all the worries, hurt, sadness, joy, excitement or whatever she’s feeling on her eyes. Call me observant, call me curious, call me nosy… but what everyone thinks are dull brown eyes, are the most expressive eyes anyone can have.

“Did you find someone out there?” Leana asks, poking her back. “Did you get laid?” She whispers poking her side, making Annabelle squirm away from her & almost embed herself at my side.

“Stop it” She mutters, arching her back so Leana couldn’t reach her. “Jiiiimmmmyyyy” She whines. “Tell your fucking wife to leave me alone” She says.

“Fucking wife, please leave her alone” I say, earning a smack on my arm from Leana. “Ow” I whine, hearing Annabelle laugh. “What are you laughing at? It’s your fucking fault I got hit” I say, rubbing my arm.

“No cussing” Leana scold at me. “That goes to you too, Ann” She says. Talk about someone being motherly. Oh wait… she’s a mother now. “So, why didn’t you come earlier?” Leana asks, adjusting her pillow & laying down again. Silence. “Ann, are you awake?” She says & Annabelle nods. She sighs & sits, staring at both of us.

“I…” She starts. “I… got offered a job” She says.

“Oh my God, that’s so good. Wait… don’t you have a job?” Leana asks. Annabelle swallows & nods with a small smile on her face. I kinda know where this is going.

“Yeah” She says biting her lip. “This job offers me more of a wide range of what I do” She says, sitting Indian style. “A girl I went to school with owns an art gallery & she got really interested in my work. Her husband wants to expand their business so their launching an art magazine & they asked me to be the creative & graphic designer” She says. “The pay is way much more than what I gain now & they’re giving me the opportunity & freedom to still do what I do. You know… to paint, take pictures. So, basically, this job will be more of a sideline hobby” She says.

“Well, that sounds perfect” Leana says excitedly.

“It’s in New York, isn’t it?” I ask & I see tears well up on her eyes. She nods a few times quickly, before wiping a tear that fell. “And you already accepted it” It was more of a statement than a question. She nods again, a few of her tears falling down. “Then why are you crying?” I ask & she looks at me confused. “It’s about time you live your life. Do what you want, go crazy. Trust me, it’s no fun on the sidelines, Ann” I say & I see her look down. “Live your life. See what’s out there. Do what you love to do. Don’t feel guilty about it. & definitely don’t feel sad. We’re always gonna be here for you. You know that, right?” I say, hugging her & I feel her nod, letting out a sob. “It’s ok. Everything’s gonna be ok” I say holding her at arms distance, looking into her eyes. “I’m so proud of you, kid” I say & I see her lip quivered, before she smiles. It’s then that we hear a loud sob & we turn to see Leana crying her eyes out.

“Oh, don’t mind me. It’s the hormones” She says, grabbing a tissue & wiping her eyes. Annabelle laughs & lies with her head on Leana’s chest while I cuddle against her back. “I can’t believe your leaving” Leana says after a moment.

“I’m not leaving right now” She mutters. “I talked to them & I’ll be there after the wedding. That way I’ll have time to pack all my shit, figure what to do with my apartment & help Michelle with the wedding” She says & I can hear the tiredness on her voice.

“Good luck with that” Leana mutters. “& good luck on telling the guys you’re moving. Johnny is gonna have a fit & will hold on to your leg so you don’t leave. Gena is gonna be smearing her beautiful makeup over & over again. And don’t get me started with Brian, he’s gonna be a-“

“Honey” I cut her. She turns to look at me & follows my gaze. We see Annabelle is fast asleep, her arm around Leana’s waist, her leg on top of hers & her hair tickling my nose.

“I really gonna miss her” Leana says, playing with my hair. I nod, not saying anything. I’m gonna miss her too. She’s the only one that keeps me sane. But it’s time for her to find out that here, on HB, is not where she belongs. She belongs to the world. The world needs to know about her & love her like we all do. It’s about time for her to go explore that world. To discover how she wants to live her life…

It's time for her to finally be happy. Cuz she’ll never gonna be truly happy when everything she knows is us. And when anyone she allows to see a bit of her heart & feelings is compared to him. He might not know it, he might do it unconsciously… but while Syn’s around, Annabelle is never gonna be 100% happy. He is subconsciously sabotaging her & she doesn’t even realize it. & I think it’s time for that to stop.