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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 11, 2012 18:31:50 GMT -5
Brooke couldn't even begin to explain the relief that she felt when he said that he was going to stay. Her mind had been racing with different scenarios where he didn't stay and none of them seemed in the slightest pleasant for her or Prescott. "Thanks, Kasten." She hated this feeling - she'd gotten what she wanted but she hated the way that she had gotten it. She hated that she had almost started sobbing about how much that she needed him when she wanted to show him the exact opposite. She wanted him to realize that she had done a lot of growing up over the years but that one thing had remained - her love for him. Wouldn't that make the perfect love story? A man and a woman separated until a one night stand lands them back into each other's arms as they adjust to their lives as parents.
Yeah, that'd make a nice movie.
"Just stay in here.. He never comes in the nursery or if you hear footsteps outside of the door and get worried then go in the bathroom because he thinks that it's insane to have a bathroom for a three week old but he won't always be three weeks old and it's connected to his room so why not make it his?" She never actually understood why it irritated Clark so much that Prescott had nice things. It wasn't his money that she was spending nor was it his child that she was spoiling. He had no obligation to her baby so why did he seem to believe that he had a say in major and minor parenting choices? "And Kasten... I just want to tell how proud that I already am of you... You were the guy who bought me the morning after pill and always used a condom and clearly didn't want a baby and now... Now you've seemed to turn into this amazing guy who already loves his son after one day."
She was excited for the future for the first time in a long time because she got to share it with Kasten Hunter. It didn't matter if they ever got back together or had more children because she knew that he was always going to be there. Maybe she wouldn't end up with him, maybe she would meet someone new and marry them or he would but there would always be a bond between them. Prescott was living proof of what amazing things that can happened when two people see each other across a crowded room.
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 11, 2012 23:50:07 GMT -5
Kasten nodded again, glad to see that Brooke was a little more at ease. This whole situation had gotten way out of hand, and he wasn't talking about the baby. Brooke's relationship was nowhere near healthy, yet she managed to stay with him for four years? Her tolerance level must be out the roof. Well, Clark was not going to get to celebrate a fifth year, not if Kasten could help it.
"Thanks, Brooke," he said, honestly grateful of her praise. The thought of being a father was still overwhelming to him, but just seeing the little life that he helped create made him more than ready for the journey ahead. After all, he was already 24 and neither he nor Brooke were getting any younger, right? That was a better way to look at it.
"And Brooke?" he called out, reaching for her shoulder to stop her from leaving the room. "I need you to come to me for help. I can't help you if you don't let me. I know I've always been against depending on others, but we've both grown up since then and part of being grown up is knowing when you need to ask for help," Kasten probably said the word 'help' so many times that it was starting to sound almost foreign, but he wanted to get it through her head that she needed to trust him. She needed to admit that Clark was no good for her and then Kasten would take care of the rest.
As for their future together, call him old fashioned, but Kasten hoped that they could work things out and become a family—just the three of them (and Prince) and nothing else. No boyfriend, no girlfriend, nada. It wasn't fair to Prescott to grow up otherwise.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 12, 2012 0:57:25 GMT -5
If she needed help? Brooke knew that Kasten was already aware of how unhealthy that her relationship with Clark was but she didn't want to depend on him, right? She was going to have to break up with Clark all on her own! "I'm going to end our relationship, Kasten... and it's not because of you and I because we both know that you and I can never get back together." She didn't want him to think that she was breaking up with Clark just because she had some strange fantasy inside of her head where they got back together and live happily ever after with Prescott and Prince. "I'm going to walk him out to his car and then I'll be back up here to talk to you."
She didn't know what she was going to tell Clark! How do you break off an abusive relation that had gone on for four years? Despite what she had said about knowing that they weren't going to get back together, she still held onto hope that they would become a perfect little family and she knew that she never would have gotten up the nerve to break up with Clark if not for Kasten. She wouldn't want him to think that she was still the same obsessive high school girl who wanted prince charming to come and sweep her off of her feet. "Clark? We need to talk."
The pair discussed breaking up as they walked down to the curb and finally into the parking lot. He seemed like he was handling it well until they got out of sight of the streetlights. He grabbed her suddenly and pushed her down onto the ground as hard as he could. She hit the asphalt with a thud and a help. She felt like he had to have at the very least bruised one of her ribs because it was throbbing. She struggled to even stand up! Clark glared at her and mumbled something about wasting his life with some slut before driving off in his Porsche.
She slowly made her way back to the apartment but she was gripping onto her side in obvious pain. "Kasten... I'm back and I'm going to start dinner." She could barely move without wanting to scream but at least she had broken things off, right? She no longer had to live in fear! "What sounds good, dear?" Dear? Was that too lovey?
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 12, 2012 1:43:21 GMT -5
Wait a minute, did Brooke just shut him down before he even tried anything? Kasten hadn't turned on his magical charm because she seemed to be in such a "committed" relationship, but apparently she'd just friend zoned him right before breaking up with her boyfriend. Well, it was a little understandable, he guessed, since Brooke could use some time to herself.
Kasten wanted to at least follow Brooke if not escort her as she escorted Clark to his car (how complicated!), but she was too quick for him and the couple was out the door before he knew it. He decided that it might be better if he stayed in the apartment instead and watched them walk from the window until they disappeared into the parking lot. There was a brief moment of panic and Kasten hoped that there would be people there so Clark wouldn't try anything.
Of course, he was wrong, but what could you really expect when you placed your faith in the lowest scumbag of them all? By now, Kasten was raiding the refrigerator for a quick snack. When he heard Brooke return clutching her side in pain, he'd forgotten all about his hunger and rushed over. "Brooke, what happened? Let me see," he tried to speak in a calm manner so he wouldn't freak her out. Kasten didn't see any blood on her shirt, which meant that her injury was internal and he wasn't sure if Brooke would allow him to examine her.
"Brooke, I'm a registered medical assistant, but if you don't feel comfortable showing me and because your injury is internal, I strongly suggest that we go to the doctor," he said in a more demanding tone than suggestive. He knew she would refuse and brush it off like it was nothing, but Kasten wasn't going to take no for an answer. It was about time that Brooke got herself checked out. Four years worth of damage... he really didn't want to imagine the worst case scenario.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 12, 2012 2:05:20 GMT -5
Brooke wanted more than anything to pretend that she was perfectly fine and not accept Kasten's help but she needed it. "Please don't be mad..." She undid her shirt (leaving her bra on) and revealed what most wouldn't expect. Bruises almost covered her stomach and back as they were easy places for Clark to hit her without anyone seeing and getting suspicious. "Please... please... please don't be angry. I tried to get him to stop." She had. She fought back as best as she possibly could but he overpowered her! He was a strong man and her? She could hold her own but she was nothing compared to him. "What um... how do you need to exam me?" She was confused as to what this would entail. Was he going to need to touch her all over? Fondle her breasts while she --- whoa there.
She didn't need to start thinking about that! She needed to think about things like how she was going to go to work in the morning if she was having trouble standing up. "I just need to ice it and take some pain pills and then I will be absolutely fine!" She felt like he needed reassurance that she was going to be okay. What if he insisted that she go to the doctor? What if he didn't just take her word for it? It wasn't that she had some freaky fear of doctors as much as it was that she had no idea how she was going to explain this to someone. She couldn't rat Clark out!
She knew that he deserved to suffer but she didn't want to have anything to do with him! She wanted to just wipe her hands free of him and their situation forever. She glanced up at Kasten with the most pathetic expression on her face like a sad bunny. She wasn't broken anymore but she was damaged. She could repair herself and rebuild especially if she had someone like him standing by her side.. maybe they would even one day pledge to stand by each other forever in front of all of their friends and family.
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 13, 2012 1:39:48 GMT -5
"Oh my God," he whispered, staring at her bruises. Old ones, new ones, the only indicator where one bruise ended and another began was the different colors. Fresh bruises were darker in color, usually a blue or purple, and bruises that were healing were lighter, like green or yellow. "Brooke, I'm not mad at you and if anyone should be sorry, it's that son of a bitch, Clark," he growled, leading her to the couch before returning to the kitchen.
He filled up a Ziploc bag with ice and wrapped a paper towel around it before handing it to Brooke. "Put this on the bruises that he caused today. Do you have a heating pad? You need to apply heat to the older bruises to help them heal," Kasten realized that he was probably bombarding her with a bunch of questions and orders all at once, so he stopped and just watched her for a moment. "Brooke, do you want to go to the doctor? I can't force you to go if you don't want to, but there's no way for either of us to know what's really going on inside your body," he was almost pleading now.
Kasten's urge to hug her was now stronger than ever, but how could he bring himself to apply even the slightest pressure to her wounds? He couldn't. Instead, he just brushed Brooke's hair away from her face. "You don't have to decide right now. Think it over tonight and I'll be more than happy to take you," he said, leaving her again to start a simple dinner for the both of them. He wasn't going to let her cook when she could barely even stand and even though there was no doubt that Brooke could cook a meal 20 times more delicious than he could, Kasten was going to have to work with whatever she had in her kitchen.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 13, 2012 2:20:10 GMT -5
Brooke couldn't even begin to explain the amount of pain that she was in from her recent injuries. She wanted to scream out in agony about the injustice that had happened to her but she knew that it would only serve to worry Kasten further. "Kasten..." She whined suddenly with a tad more urgency than she had originally intended. "I think maybe the hospital wouldn't be such a bad idea." But she couldn't get up and walk all the way down to the curb to get a taxi and she certainly didn't want to wake Prescott up to take him with which meant that she was going to have to wait until she got off of work the following day to seek medical attention. "Tomorrow.. Will you take me to the hospital tomorrow afternoon?"
She could wait! She wasn't having difficulty breathing so she figured that laying down would help as long as she tried not to move too much, right? What was really the worst that could happen? "And... will you bring me a blanket?" She was freezing! She was literally shivering on the couch as she snuggled closer to the soft fabric to try and get as much warmth as she possibly could. She was always like this in her apartment - she rarely turned the air conditioning off so it just got intolerably cold at least for her. Prescott was always warm and toasty in his nursery.
She didn't mean to sound so extremely lazy but she honestly had no interest in getting up at least not for the next little while. The idea of doing it was just awful... Her side hurt so terribly! "I can't believe that I spent so long with him..."
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 14, 2012 0:26:00 GMT -5
Kasten looked at her from across the room and thought for a moment before nodding. "Sure. I'll meet you here after work, then?" he asked just to make sure. Maybe she had something else in mind, which wouldn't bother him one bit, but Kasten was definitely driving.
He opened his mouth to suggest that Brooke put more clothes on, but mentally smacked his forehead when he remembered how painful it would be for her and went to look for a blanket instead. He found one in one of her closets, he forgot which one, and draped it around her body before leaving to search for the thermostat to turn off the A/C. Kasten set it so that it wouldn't run until the room reach a temperature higher than 75 degrees.
"Neither can I," he agreed quietly, pouring the steamed vegetables into a strainer in the sink. "You made the right choice, Brooke, ending things with him. Not because you found the father of your child, but for yourself—your health and your happiness,"he added. Kasten didn't want her to feel bad about it.
He set the table for two before dividing the food onto two plates. Tonight, he made pan fried chicken breasts with a side of steamed broccoli, green beans, and carrots. It was simple, but a full meal nonetheless. These were the types of dinners that Kasten made for himself while he lived on his own. "Food's ready," he called out to Brooke, helping her move from the couch to the dinner table.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 14, 2012 2:21:30 GMT -5
Brooke was thankful for Kasten... He was here for her already in ways that Clark never had been despite the fact that she had hidden their child for three weeks and friend-zoned him. He was just so different than he'd been in high school and maybe there was hope for something between them after all. It'd be easier for Prescott if he had two parents who were together. She didn't want him to have to worry about having an evil stepmother or step-siblings or half-siblings. She knew that she personally wasn't planning on having more children but that didn't mean that he wasn't. Maybe finding out about Prescott would make him want... No, she didn't even want to imagine a world where she and Prescott had to share him with someone else.
His 'simple' dinner was far better than anything that Clark had ever made for her. "This looks so good, babe." Had she just let a 'babe' slip out? It just came out naturally like high school all over again. "Um.. I kind of want to be single for a little while and I know that you might not be up to this considering our history but would.." She didn't even know how to ask him! "Would you ever consider if we maybe gave us another try for Prescott's sake?"
She cleared her throat so she could further explain herself. "I just mean that I want to work on us to figure out if there's something still between us or if it's just not worth it. I don't want to wait and do this when he's like twelve or something and then have it not work and have him blame himself or get hurt in the mix. I think that all of this non-sense should be settled before he's old enough to know what's happening, you know?"
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 14, 2012 15:26:40 GMT -5
Kasten poured his water bottle from earlier into a glass filled with ice. He drank large amounts of water throughout the day to stay hydrated and so when Brooke accidentally called him "babe," he coughed as the water went down the wrong way. Clearing his throat, Kasten figured he would ignore it to save her the awkwardness.
He listened intently for a moment before smiling. The minute he realized Prescott was his, Kasten had already made up his mind to be there for his son. He was willing to give their relationship another try as well. After spending almost an entire day with Brooke, he was starting to feel that they really had a good chance this time around.
"You're right," he agreed. "We won't know until we try," Kasten shrugged before sticking his fork into several green beans. "Now all the women of New York will be heartbroken that Kasten Hunter is no longer on the market," he joked, waving his fork around before stuffing the veggies into his mouth.
"So tell me how this baby feeding, diaper changing thing works," Kasten asked curiously. He had a younger sister, but he never had to do anything like that for her. His oldest sister did everything for the both of them and so Kasten hadn't the slightest clue on childcare.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 15, 2012 5:45:11 GMT -5
Brooke raised a curious brow; did he really not know how to change diapers and feed a baby? "Okay so right now, I'm breastfeeding Prescott and he's on my breast every three hours except when I'm at work and he gets a bottle from his nanny." She nodded before trying to think of a good way to tell him how to change a diaper without actually using a diaper to show him. "Well... you lay him down on the changing table but you never leave him on there because he could roll over and fall onto the ground and seriously injure himself. Then, you undo the dirty diaper and wipe him clean with a baby wipe from the wipe warmer then put a fresh diaper on him and stick the tabs together to make it stay on. He's a very easy baby to change so he shouldn't give you much trouble."
She was confident that he was going to pick up on fatherhood easily since he was already doing such a good job. "So.. Kasten.. I know that this is kind of an early question because we aren't back together yet and who knows if we'll even end up together or not but I feel like it's important that we know what we both want out of our lives so... Do you think that you could want to have more children? I mean.. I don't want a huge family so my personal limit is one or two so I don't want us to get married or something and then find out that you want seven because that's a check that my vagina just can't cash."
She realized that could potentially sound rude so she laughed softly to show that she was kidding. She could compromise and possibly have three children but she wanted her children to have everything that they could ever want and she didn't know if she personally could provide that kind of lifestyle if they practically had a soccer team. "Ugh.. I bet that Prescott is going to be up soon and hungry... I hope that my breastfeeding doesn't make you uncomfortable. Clark was never okay with it and he would pinch my boobs if he thought that Prescott was eating too much."
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 16, 2012 23:13:41 GMT -5
Kasten tried to shake off the image of Brooke's chest in his mind and focus on what she was actually saying. It was all easier said than done. What if Prescott decided he wasn't done peeing or pooping while Kasten was changing his diaper? Oh boy, that would be a disaster. Newborn poop wasn't even solid, nor was it brown. It was a bright yellow watery kind of poo and just—ugh, he shuddered at the thought f it.
He raised an eyebrow at the mention of another child. Why, this one had just left her oven a mere three weeks ago! However, he gave it a second thought and decided that yes, a second child was very possible, but not for quite a while. Before he could say anything though, Brooke's comment about not being able to birth seven children caught him off guard and he burst into a roaring laughter. "That's a check I won't be signing, sweetheart," he assured her.
Glancing at the clock, Kasten made a mental note to himself to keep track of Prescott's feeding intervals. He hoped to get his son started in an organized routine, even if he was just a newborn baby. Like father, like son, they always said. "Uncomfortable?" he asked, ignoring the little tidbit about Clark completely. It was as if just the mention of his name made Kasten automatically tune out the rest of the sentence. "I—You... I just thought you wanted me to leave you alone while you did that. Breastfeed, I mean," Why was he being so awkward about it? Everything that Brooke had, he'd already seen and vice versa.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 17, 2012 14:57:00 GMT -5
"You don't have to um... leave when I...." Brooke suddenly felt nervous as she explained how breastfeeding was going for her and Prescott. "He eats a lot so if you leave the room during every feed then you're never going to see us." Maybe that was an exaggeration but it was going to be a serious issue if he couldn't support her on it especially when she intended to allow their son to wean himself. "I'm going to let Prescott wean himself naturally instead of me forcing him to. Children typically wean off of the breast between two and seven." Had she really just basically told him that she was willing to breastfeed their seven year old son?
She thought that seven was a tad old and she didn't personally know how she would handle that but if it made Prescott happy and healthy.... "I want maybe one more kid... I want another boy for sure." She wasn't interested in having a daughter and dealing with all of that drama though she never understood why parents worry more for teenage girls than boys - girls could get pregnant once while boys could get anyone pregnant and what's worse - one pregnant daughter or seven baby mamas with drama?
She cleared her throat before she heard soft whimpering from Prescott's nursery. Well... that was her cue to rescue him! She attempted to get up but standing up made her actually yelp. She was shaking because it hurt so badly! "Kasten.... I .... I can't." She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry but that involved moving....
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Post by Kasten Hunter on Dec 17, 2012 22:25:21 GMT -5
Kasten paused to think for a moment. Brooke had made a good point. He couldn't just step out on something as natural as breastfeeding. Besides, what was the point of moving in t help her if he let the awkwardness between them build? They were a family now and nothing else should matter. "Er... Seven? I really hope it's much sooner than that," he said, mumbling the last part to himself.
"I'd actually like a girl next," he confessed quietly. Kasten wanted one of each gender and also, he was sure that two boys would get very rowdy. Plus, a girl would be as beautiful as her mother and they could dress her up in cute dresses and well, she could be daddy's little girl. If Kasten and Brooke did have a girl though, he would feel a little better knowing that big brother Prescott would protect her just like daddy would.
He turned his head towards the nursery and jerked it back to Brooke when she tried to stand up. He felt conflicted—tend to his son or tend to his... baby's mother? "I'll get him. Just relax here," Kasten finally said. This was bad and he didn't mean changing a dirty diaper. The fact that Brooke could barely move. The trip to the hospital really could not wait any longer.
Not too sure if Prescott's diaper really was dirty, Kasten tugged at the top to peek inside. Sure enough, he'd hit the jackpot. There was a rather large yellow stain, so he opened the diaper tabs at the sides and threw it away. He looked around for the baby wipes, accustoming himself to the layout of the nursery before cleaning his little weenie and tushie and slapping on a fresh, clean diaper.
Feeling a bit proud of himself for accomplishing his first feat as a daddy, Kasten cradled the child in his arms and took him out to see his mommy. "Hi, Mommy," he said in a baby voice, taking a seat next to Brooke. Then, his expression turned serious. "Brooke, I don't think you can wait until after work," Kasten looked her right in the eyes as he spoke.
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Post by Brooke Parker on Dec 17, 2012 23:30:37 GMT -5
Brooke didn't know why she was in so much pain but it was a serious stabbing pain whenever she moved ... or breathed for that matter. She wanted to scream with every motion as she inched towards the couch and finally plopped down with a regrettably heavy sigh. She didn't like this one bit! She felt like such a baby for not going and dealing with Prescott but she was in so much pain that she was wondering if maybe Clark had somehow gotten some internal organ and if she was slowly dying from the inside. "I don't think it can either.." She actually whimpered and reached out to squeeze Kasten's hand tightly in her own. What was she suppose to do? "Kasten.... It hurts."
She had hot tears in the corners of her eyes and they were slowly starting to fall down her cheeks. She couldn't tolerate pain much.. Giving birth had been more tolerable simply because she knew that she was getting a healthy happy baby out of it but this ... she wasn't getting anything at the end of this except possibly a headstone at some graveyard. "It's hard to breath." She could breath but it hurt more than she could ever imagine. She glanced over to Prescott and realized that they really should wait.. right? She wasn't that bad! And if she was then could the doctors really help anyway?
She looked from her son to Kasten and she just wanted to scream.. She wanted to tell him that she was in pain and how she wanted to down a bottle of pain pills to make it go away ... Not life. She had so much to live for! She just wanted to be numb physically, really.
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