As for Ava, I could say that I finally was able to move on from losing her. I regretted on a daily basis how much I had to go through to see that how I had treated her was wrong. I really wished that I would have been given the opportunity to apologize to her. I was truly sorry for all that had I put her through, and I wanted to tell her that, but that opportunity never came. Once Shane died, I had to put that part of my life to rest right along with him. I wished Ava and her new man nothing but happiness, and I prayed that one day she would find it in her heart to forgive me.
Dawn
“Who would’ve thought that we’d be married and pregnant at the same time?” Ava asked as we sat back on the beach chairs and watched Troy and Kevin attempt to learn how to surf in the ocean.
“I know, right?” I responded, rubbing my protruding belly. “And to think we’re just a few weeks apart, what a blessing.”
After Monica attacked me and I lost my first child, I didn’t think I was ever going to want to have any more kids. The grieving process took such a long time for us to get through and to be honest, there hasn’t been one day since our daughter died that I didn’t think about her. At first, I wasn’t sure how I wasgoing to get through it. But my village of support was so strong that had it not been for Ava and Kevin, I didn’t think Troy and I would have lasted together this long. I know for a fact that I wouldn’t have made it out of the grieving stage. Troy had taken our daughter’s death the hardest. It was taking him longer to get over it than for me. He felt that her blood was more on his hands than mine being that his ex was the one that took her from us.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t agree to some extent because I felt the same way. I just could never bring myself to accuse Troy of being responsible for Monica’s actions. I remember when he and I first started dating. I had fallen something serious for him, but Monica stayed a constant thorn in our relationship up until the day she tried to kill me and my unborn child. I really thought that over time she would loosen up and get past the fact that she and Troy were done and that he and I were together, but she never did. She was truly the baby mama from hell that was a manic psychotic and addicted to Troy. She wasn’t going to stop harassing us until she had Troy to herself.
During her trial, she was bold enough to take the stand. When she went into detail about how she planned out the murders of me and my child in hopes that Troy would lose us then seek her to console him once we were out of the picture, it was sickening and hard to sit through. I couldn’t believe that she had the nerve to actually admit she wanted me and the baby to die so that she could have Troy to herself. Her actions were reckless and caught her a double life sentence without the chance of parole. After Monica was convicted, Troy was granted full custody of TJ. Currently, we were in the process of filing for me to adopt TJ so that I could be his legal mother now that Troy and I were married.
I remember feeling like Monica was Troy’s little secret that got revealed much sooner than he anticipated. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay in a relationship because of it, but Iwas in love with Troy. Now that everything had taken place, I wouldn’t change anything in the world other than the loss of our daughter. That was the one thing that I regretted the most. As much as I wanted to blame only Monica and Troy, I carried around some guilt from the day of the stabbing as well. I remembered approaching Monica not thinking that she was going to attack me. Every time I thought about that day, it haunted me because I felt that I should have done more to protect our daughter and I didn’t.
Now that Monica was locked away for life and Troy and I were left to raise her son, I must admit that at first, it was bittersweet. It was hard for me to look at TJ and not think about my baby girl. It took over a year for Troy and I to get back on track. Once I adjusted to him having his son full time it, helping him raise TJ became one of the most rewarding things we were gifted to do together. Moments when I thought we were failing and falling apart were actually keeping us together and strengthening our bond with each other. Now that we were married and expecting twins, a boy and a girl, I couldn’t be happier.
Today was our one-year wedding anniversary, and we were celebrating in Jamaica with Ava and Kevin who got married the same day we did. Ava and Kevin were planning a small intimate wedding at first, while Troy and I wanted something a little bigger. Since our plans kept clashing with theirs, we decided to do a double wedding, and it turned out to be a great idea. We had the most amazing time at the wedding. It was truly a celebration of love.
We even went on our honeymoons together. We didn’t spend much time together as we both stayed in our rooms with our spouses, but we were at the same resort. Then, we found out we were expecting at the same time. I was expecting twins, andAva was pregnant with a baby boy. Both of us were in our sixth month and we couldn’t be happier.
Our lives had changed so much over the course of the past few years, but I wouldn’t change any of it for anything in the world. Why? Because everything happened for a reason. That was something I truly believed.
Troy
The day Monica stabbed Dawn and almost killed her and killed our baby girl was hands down the worst day of my life. I was so grateful to God when Dawn pulled through, but the pain I had endured over the loss of our daughter had been unimaginable. Had the police not arrested Monica when they did, and I would have found her first, I probably would have killed her with my bare hands.
After she got sentenced to life, I was given full custody of TJ, and it had been such a joy raising my son. As bad as this may sound, I was thankful that his mother was no longer in his life because she was a mental case and not good for his health. The morning that Monica stabbed Dawn, TJ was in the car waiting for his mother. He wound up witnessing the entire attack, which was something no child should ever see. Had he been older, I probably would’ve had to take him to some kind of kiddie counseling. Thank God he was still a toddler at that time because his mom could’ve fucked up his mental with her actions that day. I hated how reckless Monica was and would never be able to forgive her for what she did. Now that she was put away for life, I was thankful that TJ wasn’t going to have to grow up with the influence of her negativity in his life.
It took some time for Dawn to soften up to TJ after losing our daughter, and I totally understood that. I did my best despite what I was going through mentally to be patient with her. I wasglad I did because it was now paying off. We were now days away from Dawn being TJ’s adopted mom, and we all couldn’t have been happier. Our family was growing and getting stronger by the day.
I was most thankful for my cousin Kevin. I owed it all to him because had it not been for me helping him move Ava a few years back, I would have never met Dawn. When I almost lost her, I couldn’t imagine my life without her in it. Once she was released from the hospital and our baby girl was buried, I proposed to her. Marrying who I believed was my soulmate, I vowed to never let anyone, or anything ever hurt her or our family as long as I had breath in me.
We were going to be okay.
Kevin
The day Dawn got stabbed, it put a lot into perspective for me, and it was a life changer for Ava and I instantly. I had been a very patient man for quite some time, allowing for her to go through all of the motions that she needed to go through after her divorce and then from Shane dying. But when we almost lost Dawn, something in me changed forever, and I went from living life day by day to living like every day was my last. I had waited so many years to finally make Ava mine that at first, I was okay with taking things slowly, but not anymore. Even though things were progressing at a good pace, I sped it up by proposing to her. Shortly after we got engaged, Troy and Dawn became engaged, and the next thing I knew, we were planning a double wedding and honeymoon together.
The four of us had become closer by the day. Ava and I supported Dawn and Troy as they grieved the loss of their baby girl. As a result, we all had become inseparable. A few months after we got back from our honeymoon, Ava made me thehappiest man again when she announced that she was carrying our child. When I thought about how far we had come together, in addition to all that we had gone through over the years, I wouldn’t change a minute of it for the world. In the beginning, we were off to a rocky start no doubt.
I thought that Ava’s ex Justin was going to be a constant problem for us, but after I roughed him up, he eventually faded away. I was very thankful for that. Dawn and Troy weren’t so lucky when it came to Troy’s ex Monica. I always knew the girl had issues, but none of us were ready when she tried to kill Dawn while she was pregnant. I remember thinking and praying, asking God to help us all get through the tough times, and he not only showed up for us, but he showed out.
I had sold my house then moved in with Ava, but after the wedding, I surprised her with a new house. Ava decided to rent her condo out, and I was fine with that. She wasn’t ready to part with her new place just yet, and I understood where she was coming from. When I showed her our new home, she was ecstatic. It was the perfect size to start our family in. It had four bedrooms and three baths, and the yard was one of its best features. The backyard was Bully’s favorite part of the house and mine, too.
I couldn’t wait to get my grill and smoker set up so that we could start having barbecues. Then just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, and as soon as we got settled into our new home, Ava surprised me with a positive pregnancy test. Ever since, I’d been living my best life.
Today, we were on the last day of our anniversary vacation that doubled as a baby moon also. Ava and Dawn were laid out in the sun while Troy and I were attempting to learn how to surf in the ocean. Life was great for us all, and I couldn’t wait to see what was in store for us next.
Ava
“I’m starving, so I hope they’re almost finished. I don’t know how much longer I can wait to get something to eat.” I complained as I watched Troy and Kevin fall for the hundredth time off their surfboards.
“I know, I’m starving, too. Maybe we should go ahead and flag them down to see if they’re ready to eat. They’ve been out there for hours,” Dawn suggested.
We both struggled to get out of our chairs, then walked toward the water. When Troy and Kevin noticed us, they ran over to us.
“We’re gonna go get something to eat,” Dawn said to Troy as the guys walked up to us. “Are y’all done falling off the boards yet?” That caused us all to laugh.
