I’m writing this in a hurry, so please don’t judge any spelling errors.
When I was 17 I got pregnant. The father, Jax, was ecstatic and honestly I was pretty psyched myself. I had always wanted to be a parent, and yeah, maybe we were kinda young, but that didn’t mean we were going to be bad parents.
My parents weren’t particularly supportive, but Jax’s parents were. I moved in with them right after I turned 18. They were nice, normal people. Religious, but not weird about it, and extremely accepting. I loved them like they were my own family, and I still do. They made sure I could stay in school and become financially independent, and I owe them so much for that
My son was born two days before his due date, healthy and happy. He had his father’s dark curly hair, and my eyes. Honestly, I barely remember the actual birth part (I was on a cocktail of painkillers), but the nurse said I did great. He was a perfect baby. I know all parents say that about their kids but honestly, he was my whole world. I would do just about anything for him.
I still remember how adorable he looked, walking down the aisle scattering flowers at my wedding. He was only two, and we had a suit made to match my dress. Jax cried when he saw us, and I nearly did too.
The first few years of marriage and parenthood were a blur. We were happy, so happy. Everything was perfect. And then something changed after Andrew’s tenth birthday.
He really wanted to go to Disney World for his birthday. We weren’t rich by any means but we were comfortable, so Jax and I decided to make that happen. We got tickets and ‘surprised’ Andy on his birthday with a trip! He was so excited, it was hilarious to watch him count down the days until we left.
The trip there went great. It was my first time making the drive from Virginia to Florida, and it really wasn’t as long as I thought. Jax laughed at me for that, but when you stay in one place your whole life, it’s hard to actualize exactly how long it takes to get from one place or another, you know?
Our stay was perfect up until the third day. Jax wasn’t feeling well so I went to grab some Pepto-Bismol from his bag. While searching around for the medicine, I found an orange pill bottle hidden in a pocket. I was immediately concerned for him! We told each other everything, so if he was keeping some sort of illness- or worse- addiction- from me, I wanted to know. I carefully made note of the name of the medicine and put it back where I found it. I quickly brought him his Pepto and tried to forget about the whole thing.
Apparently I succeeded because as soon as I had my nightly hot chocolate and went to bed, the whole event was gone from my memory. Strange, but I had no way of knowing that anything was off.
I found the bottle again a few days later while unpacking. This time I decided to flat-out confront my husband about it. He was behaving oddly, and we wound up having an argument that resulted in him leaving. I went to bed immediately, hoping he’d cool off by the next morning.
That was last night, and the man next to me right now is definitely not my husband.