The Abandoned Witch

Chapter 4

Amelia’s POV

My labor started less than 45 minutes ago, and they are already wheeling me back to the operating room. My anxiety starts rising as I realize I am nowhere near ready for my child to be here. I don’t even have a name picked out. The lights start flickering, and Dr. Miller stops and looks between me and my mother. “She’s a witch?” he asks. There’s no denying it: as another contraction hits, electricity surges and the lights go out. The lights turn back on as the pain subsides, fear evident in my eyes. “Don’t worry,” says Dr. Miller. “My mother is a witch as well. Your secret is safe with me and my staff, I promise. We are all connected to the supernatural world in one way or another. The important thing is to get you out of pain quickly so that we are all safe.” Mom lets out a sigh, and I know it’s going to be ok. If she trusts Dr. Miller with this secret, I know that I can as well.

Looking up at the bright lights, I take a deep breath; this is it. Any minute now, I will be a mother myself. “What’s your mother’s name?” I ask Dr. Miller. “Alexandria. Now, relax and count back from 100. When you wake up, you’ll have a new baby girl.” Alexandria, what a beautiful name. My eyes flutter shut as the anesthesia takes effect. My body relaxes as my mind wanders. Fleeting images of my life with Trey flooded my mind. We were so happy for so long, or so I thought. Looking back, I guess the years spent growing up and the years of devotion that I gave him weren’t enough for him to stay by my side. Feeling angry at him, I calm myself and think of the road ahead. My daughter will be here soon, and I can’t wait to hold her.

Waking up, I find that I am in a different room. My body is still heavy from the anesthesia. I look around and see Mom in the chair beside the bed and my daughter in the crib beside her. Looking at her is pure happiness. Warmth and longing to hold my daughter flood me, and she starts floating towards me. Sensing my energy, Mom wakes up, plucking my daughter from the air, and hands her to me. “You know, all you had to do was ask,” she laughs. “I didn’t want to wake you, and I didn’t mean to do that. I guess it will take some time to control my magic, won’t it?” Mom nods as she sits on the bed beside me, looking down at the little bundle in my arms. “What are you going to name her?” Mom asks as Dr. Miller comes in to check on us. “Alexandria,” I say, looking at Dr. Miller. Seeing the smile that spreads across his face, I can tell he likes the idea and not knowing why, but this makes me happy. “You’ll need to stay for a few days just to make sure you and Alexandria are going to do fine, but then you can go home,” says Dr. Miller after he checks me and the baby out. “If you don’t mind my asking, what is your first name?” I ask shyly.

“James,” he replies. I like that name, I think as I struggle not to look over James’s sculpted body. My cheeks reddened as my eyes lowered to his waistline, thinking about what lay beneath his pants. Mom chuckles as she sees my reaction to James. Alexandria begins to cry for food, making the lights flicker. Mom looks at me, and I at her. “I thought she wouldn’t have her magic yet,” I say. “She shouldn’t. The women in our family don’t get their powers until they are much older.” “She will be powerful. Even I can feel her magic’s strength,” says James. “Now I have to go check on other patients, but I will be here later to check and see how you girls are doing.”

It’s been three days since Alexandria was born, and we were finally ready to go home. I struggled to walk long distances but knew I would get there. Looking over, I smile to see Dad holding Alexandria, or as he has already nicknamed her, Lexi. Things were starting to look bright. Mom and Dad had already agreed to let me and Lexi stay with them until I got on my feet. I haven’t seen Trey, and James seemed to spend much time checking in on me. Seeing him made my heart do backflips. Part of me can’t wait to return to work to see him again, but the other part is ready to leave the hospital. Mom has been showing me how to do minor spells so I can start to learn to control my magic. When we return home, she will have a few other witches over so we can put Lexi’s magic in a talisman so there are no more accidents like there have been since she was born. Lexi needed to be a little older then. We would give it back and teach her to control her powers.

“Looks like you girls are just about ready to go. The nurse will be in shortly with the discharge papers, then you may go,” says James as he checks on us one last time. “I’ll write down my number so you can call should you have any questions or need anything.” Smiling, I tried to hide how excited I was. “What about the bill?” I ask, “Don’t we need to settle things before we leave?” “Oh no, that’s all to be handled. Your husband set up a payment plan to cover all expenses.” “Trey did what?” Mom asks. “I can’t believe that he would do that. I thought he wouldn’t want anything to do with me or Lexi. He didn’t seem to care when I last saw him,” I say, confused. Maybe he was just trying to ease his guilt. After all, it was his fault that I was in the hospital in the first place. Taking a deep breath, I push all thoughts aside of the bastard. He didn’t deserve my energy. “Well, I guess that’s nice of him,” says Dad as he hands me Lexi.

Looking around the room, I make sure everything is packed up. Lexi is all bundled up in the car seat and ready to go. Dad has already gone to pull the car around, and Mom is tucking a blanket around Lexi. I stand there thinking about how different things will be from now on. As we wait for the nurse to push the wheelchair for me, there is a knock on the door. Mom moves to open the door, “What are you doing here?” Looking up, I have to calm myself as I see Trey. “What do you want, Trey? I already told you that you won’t have anything to do with me or Alexandria from now on. You are the one that abandoned us, not the other way around,” I spit out. “I came to see my daughter and to deliver the divorce papers to you,” he says as he looks down on Lexi. He tries to move closer, but I cut him off. “You have no daughter. You gave up that chance when you cheated on me with that slut,” I say, struggling to remain calm. He won’t hesitate to come after me and Lexi if I let my powers slip. “Oh, I beg to differ. Not only am I filing for divorce, I am petitioning the courts for full custody,” Trey says as he turns towards the door.