deliaxbarnesâ:
In truth, everyone in Davenport knew about the Cabello family and Peter was considered an extension of the siblings who already existed. The odd one out, the orphan shying away from the spotlight and wanting absolutely nothing to do with the public scrutiny the other Cabellos garnered over a lifetime. Delia wondered what lay more with the boy, knowing she could never judge on rumors cast by the rare few that spent longer than a couple minutes conversing with him. âOh, I thought we established we werenât strangers. Iâm offering a once in a lifetime opportunity I donât grant everybody else, Peter.â The woman slightly tilted her head curiously as Peterâs attempt to wipe away the dried blood did not go unnoticed before guiding his palm to gently rest against the side of her abdomen where the baby previously kicked. She waited a moment with patience then experienced the familiar butterflies that came with the baby nudging her side. âDid you feel that?â She turned toward the young male, her smile slowly fading. Names. Something she dreaded. âI donât know. Sheâs, um, sheâs not technically mine.â Delia sighed before further explaining, âI was a surrogate. The couple who Iâd been doing this for changed their minds and now I donâtâŠI donât know what to do. Itâs not like Iâm allowing her become lost in the foster system, so, Iâm the only person she has now.â
Peter only snorted a huff of air which could be interpreted as a tiny laugh when the woman guided his hand to rest on her abdomen where she was carrying the baby. It was a weird sensation, no one just... let him touch them, let alone want him around themâ and yet this woman within a few minutes of meeting him, trusted him even minutely enough for him to not only be near her but that of her unborn child. Peter felt it then, the almost alien feeling of something pushing into his hand through the layers of skin and it was... alarming. He jerked his hand away quickly once he felt the baby move before realizing that it could be perceived as weird or rude. âSorry, I didnât expect it to feel like thatâ that was... strange but kinda neat,â he said before he realized that Deliaâs expression fell. He unintentionally broached a topic that was a landmine. His hands fell to his lap as he listened to the woman speak, his eyes casting downward. Peter couldnât understand how parents could bring a life into this world, this city, even if it werenât through their own bodies and then abandon it and the woman that was carrying the child for them. There was an anger that shot through him and his frown deepened, his fingers moving to scrape at the dried blood on his fingernails to distract himself from the festering fury; sick of seeing the red splashed across his skin. When his parents were killed, it wasnât known right away if his Aunt and Uncle would take him in, seeing as his parents were wanting to steal power out from under them. They could have very well abandoned him to the state and ignored him for his parentâs crimes against the family, but they took him in anyway. In a way, if he could be taken in under the circumstances that happened, there wasnât any reason for the parents of the child to abandon the baby. âFor what itâs worth, itâs brave of you to not give the child up for adoptionâ you have no ties to the child other than carrying her, but youâre still going to keep her and that speaks volumes,â he said finally, his blue eyes flicking back towards the woman once he knew he had his anger in check, âeven though I can only imagine itâs terrifying, I think you already know what you need to do. Iâd recommend getting a lawyer, though, just in case the parents try to come back for her later. My cousin might be able to help you out with that, but it might be a little difficult with the borders now.â










