The Italian's Baby

CHAPTER 5

Shortly after Seriana left, Lilianna spent the rest of the afternoon cooped up in her office with Lia.

Apparently, Mr. Montez was accused of killing all those people, but he had a damn good lawyer who helped him remain free and the case was closed.

Many crimes have happened in the Montez family.

Lilianna finally remembered the name and boy did she nearly have a heart attack.

The Montez family had a legacy that could fill a dictionary. They are very well-known Italians and were feared, especially now that Nicoli Montez took over his dad's business.

Lilianna looked up from her paperwork to see Lia on the play mat knocking her toys around and rolling around.

Five o'clock passed a long time ago and it was now eight.

Lilianna decided to call it a night since Lia was sneezing and she looked tired.

Lilianna put her work away and picked Lia's toys and put them in the diaper bag.

She placed Lia in the carrier and walked out of her office, but not before locking it.

When she stepped out, it was lightly drizzling so she pulled the hood of the carrier down and closed the front doors. She sped walked to her car and stopped halfway when she noticed a black SUV parked a few spots away.

Lilianna resumed to walking to her car and secured Lia into the car seat. She got into the driver's seat and turned on the heat for the both.

She took a deep breath as she backed the car and began to drive home.

So far, the SUV has been on the same road as them for the past ten minutes and it didn't seem like it's going to take any other turn.

Lilianna turned the street to her house but stopped at a random house a few houses away from hers.

She turned off the car but turned on the ceiling light to make it seem like she was looking for something.

She glanced up and sure enough it stopped a few meters away from her car.

Lilianna became worried and wondered on whether she should call the police.

"Ok, calm down. My house is just a few houses down. I'll park and get out with Lia as fast as I can." She told herself.

She turned back on the car and drove to her house and parked in the driveway. She turned it off and grabbed her purse before getting out.

She opened the back door and took Lia out and sat her in the carrier but didn't buckle her in because that would take too long.

Lilianna tried walking as fast as she could on the wet gravel and tried not to glance back.

She fumbled with her keys due to her shaking hands which made it difficult to open.

The door finally opened, and she pushed through the open door that seemed to be small at that moment. She slammed the door shut once they were safely in.

Lilianna locked the door and made sure it was locked.

She sat Lia in the living room and made sure that all the windows and back door was securely locked. She relaxed a bit and walked back to the living room.

She peeked out through the curtain and sure enough the SUV was parked across the street.

"Ok, calm down. Maybe they are friends with the people across the street and they happen to be parked at my job and took the same route as me." She said to herself, but she sure as hell didn't believe a single word as she said.

She peeked out again and this time the men in the car were outside just standing. There five of them and she thought that one of them were on the phone.

Lilianna distracted herself by making Lia a bottle and made herself a sandwich.

She grabbed everything and walked into her room and locked the door.

She closed the curtains and thankfully the curtains were thick and dark.

Lilianna changed her clothes and slipped into some cotton boxers and a big shirt with a sports bra underneath.

She then remembered that Lia was tired so changed her into some pj's.

Lilianna put Lia down to bed and watched some TV while eating her sandwich.

During the movie, she got thirsty, so she got out of bed and walked to the kitchen for some water.

As she padded across the open space between the dining room and living room, she looked over by the window and it was dark outside.

The curious side of her got the better side of her and she went to check it out.

Lilianna pulled the curtain back just slightly and looked to see the same men outside and they were looking around the neighborhood. She closed back the curtain and tried to calm her growing nerves.

She took a deep breath and walked over to the kitchen. She pulled out and glass cup and the gallon of water.

Just as she was holding the cup, a thundering noise boomed which caused her let out a yelp and accidentally dropped the cup, making a loud noise.

She backed away from the broken cup and looked down at her shaking hands.

Lilianna turned around and looked out the kitchen window to see that it was raining. She strongly debated on whether she should call Detective James or Seriana.

Her hands violently shook as she dialed Seriana's number. It rang a few times before going to voicemail.

She then decided to call Detective James. She rummaged through her purse that was on the kitchen counter and pulled out the card he gave her.

It rang a few times before she heard his voice.

"Hello?" He asked,

"Detective James?" She asked, holding the phone with both hands in case she dropped it.

"Yes." He said,

"Umm, it's Liliana Guzman. I was the one that adopted the baby that was in the car accident." She said,

"Yeah, I remember you, Ms. Guzman." He replied,

"Umm, I know it's late, but I'm scared and I just need some... reassurance. There are men parked outside my house and they actually followed me home." She explained and she looked up to the window.

"Ok, do you want me to come over and keep you company, so you won't be scared anymore?" He asked,

"Please, I mean if you're not busy." She said hopeful he would come.

"Ok, I'll be there as soon as I can." He said,

"Ok, thank you." She said and hang up.

She busied herself by cleaning the shattered glass and checking on Lia.

Detective James still hadn't reached so she washed the little dishes that were in the sink and picked up Lia's toys from the floor.

The doorbell rang and she went to open it but checked the eye hole first.

"Thank you for coming I appreciate it so much." Lilianna sighed as she opened the door for Detective James.

"No problem at all." He said, smiling at her.

She let him in and glanced across the street to see the men glaring at his back.

She quickly closed the door and they walked over to the living room.

Detective James was wearing some denim jeans and black shirt with his badge hanging from a chain.

"Do you want anything to drink?" Lilianna asked him as he sat down.

"Water would be nice please." He said,

This time she didn't drop the water and she waited for him to finish drinking before carrying it back.

She plopped down on the couch next to him and felt her nerves relax.

"Thank you so much Detective James." She said,

"No problem at all and please call me James." He said, smiling at her and squeezed her hand.

"You weren't busy or anything?" Lilianna asked,

"No, I was just driving around. Didn't want to go home right away." He said, shrugging.

"Your wife isn't home?" Lilianna asked even though she didn't see a ring on his finger.

"I'm not married." He laughed,

"Oh, sorry." She said blushing,

They talked for some time laughing and enjoying talking that they didn't realize that it was past midnight.

Lilianna sighed as she looked at the time.

"I am so sorry for keeping you here this long James." She apologized,

"It's fine since I enjoyed my time here with you." He said, grinning at her.

"Thank you, so did I." She replied,

She walked James to the door, and they said goodbye.

He waved at her as he walked toward his car as Lilianna stood by the door frame.

There were no signs of the men and the SUV and Lilianna relaxed a bit.

She closed the door once James left and walked straight into the room and fell face first into the pillows.

She went straight to sleep with no blanket on her.

~~~~

Lilianna woke up in the morning with slobber on her face.

She looked up to see Lia hovering over her with her hands on her face. Lilianna lifted her off and sat up.

"Ugh, you got slobber all over me." Lilianna said and wiped it off her face.

Something smelled kind of funky so Lilianna checked Lia's diaper that had a 'surprise'.

"You are one dirty baby." She said, getting out of bed with Lia and laid her down on the changing table.

Lilianna cleaned Lia up and decided to bathe her in a while after breakfast since she wasn't going to work, and she was going to go visit her father at the hospital with Lia.

Lilianna made breakfast for the both even though Lia only played with her mash potato.

They laid in bed for a watching a drama show until it was about ten.

Lilianna gave Lia a bath in the bathroom sink. Lilianna changed Lia into a red poca-dot long john. She grabbed a comb and brushed her hair neatly. She couldn't do much with her hair since it was still short.

Once she was ready, Lilianna placed her in the play pen and turned the channel to Sesame Street.

Lilianna walked into the bathroom and stripped out of her clothes. She stepped straight into the shower and washed her body with a new soap.

Once she was cleaned and refreshed, she stepped out and wrapped her body with a towel.

She turned to the mirror and it was fogged so she swiped her hand across it.

Her curls were a tangled mess that desperately needed to be washed, her skin looked pale in the bathroom light, and her breasts looked kind of saggy and heavy.

Lilianna walked out the bathroom and walked into her closet, pulling on her black set of underwear. She pulled out a grey turtleneck dress that seemed to be more of a sweater. It reached her just above the knees and had some patterns on it. Her black closed shoes camouflaged with the socks and she finished the look with a black shoulder bag and gold cross necklace.

She combed her hair to the side, taming it with some tamer chemical that she found in a drawer.

Once they were ready, Lilianna grabbed everything, including Lia and walked out the door to the car.

She buckled Lia up and sat the carrier and diaper bag next to her and got into the driver's seat.

The hospital was quite busy when they got there, and it took her a few moments to find a parking spot.

Lilianna walked down the half full hallway to the elevator with Lia in the carrier and the bags on her shoulder.

She pressed the fifth-floor button and the doors closed. When the doors opened again, she heard moans of pain and loneliness.

She swiftly walked down the hall to her dad's room. When she reached his room, she looked inside and saw him sitting on a wheel chair by the window.

His ginger hair was now grey, his skin was pale, but not as wrinkled as elderly people would be, he looked to be in his 60's though he was still in his middles 50's, and his blue eyes now looked tired and it lost most of its color.

She knocked on the open door to make him aware of her being here. He turned the wheel chair and his sad face brightened in seconds.

"Hey daddy." She said, steeping into the room and smiled at him.

"My baby girl. You've finally decided to get me out of this hellhole." He said, looking hopeful.

"No daddy and stop calling this a hellhole. The people here are trying to help you." She said,

"Ha! More like kill me. I don't want to die here baby girl. I want to die in my blue and black ford mustang not in some dusty smelly old bed." He complained,

"Don't worry. Soon enough you'll get better, and you'll be able to leave." She promised,

"Umm, I want you to meet someone dad." She said, changing the conversation.

Lilianna didn't wait for his response as she sat the carrier on the floor and slowly picked Lia who was once again chewing on her hand.

She walked over to her dad and crutched down so he could have a good view of Lia.

"Her name is Lia and I adopted her." Lilianna said, looking up to her dad.

"She's beautiful." He said after a moment of silence.

"Want to hold her?" She asked,

"No, I shake too much. I would drop her." He said, shaking his head.

"Oh, come on. Don't you want to hold your granddaughter?" She asked,

"Fine." He said and she slowly handed her to him.

He smiled and played with her hand shaking it side to side. Lia gurgled and screamed at the attention she was getting from him.

"Where did you get this angel?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Well, when I was driving home a car nearly hit into me and when I got out the car was on fire. So, tried saving the people inside, but was only fast enough to sage her. No one came forward as a family member, so I took her in." She explained,

"Your mother would be so proud of you." He said, laying his hand her cheek.

She offered him a small smile and turned her gaze towards Lia.

They spent the rest of the afternoon with her dad, mainly Lia giving her toys to dad and she did leave some so he could remember her when they left.

A nurse came in saying it was time for her dad to get rest, so they parted ways.

She buckled Lia up again into the car seat and rested the carrier next to her. As she sat in the driver's seat she wondered on where to go now.

So, she texted Seriana to see if she was home and she was, so she went to visit her.