After Gray spoke to Lydia, he didn't contact me again.

I didn't reach out to him, either. I knew when to leave well enough alone. Gray and my sister deserved a chance to work things out without a third party breathing down their necks.

About a week later, Gray left town without even a text goodbye. Lydia told me that he was being deployed back to the Middle East and wouldn't be able to return to Arizona until months after the baby was born. They planned to work out a visitation schedule once he came back.

Gray and I didn't communicate at all during this time. Any news about Gray was always relayed to me through Lydia. Apparently, he had started calling my sister almost every two weeks to check on her and the baby.

I wasn't surprised by Gray's decision to withdraw from me. It was all for the best, really. Lydia and the baby needed to be his main focus now. I belonged on the sidelines. Even though I was slowly coming to terms with my role as a supporting character, it still sucked to feel discarded. It still hurt because Gray held far more sway over my stupid, senseless emotions than I wanted to acknowledge. Again, I tried my best to ignore my anger and resentment.

None of this was about me anymore.

Later on, I learned from Lydia that Gray had offered to provide them with financial support. He seemed much less enthusiastic, however, about stepping into his role as a father. This made me recall Gray's own father, the late Stephan Jones. I wondered how many demons that evil, violent man had left inside Gray while he was alive. I wondered how many more remained now that Stephan was finally dead.

The next few months flew by in a blur.

I threw Lydia a baby shower. Afterwards, our apartments practically exploded with baby gear.

Before I knew it, Lydia's impending due date crept up on us. Her belly grew to be as big as an overripe watermelon. Her Braxton Hicks contractions increased in strength and frequency. She complained of mild headaches and backaches, but her doctor said they were nothing to worry about.

With Gray stationed out of the country, it had gotten easier for me to focus on the things that actually mattered. Honestly, I felt so excited to meet the baby after nearly nine months of waiting. Our parents flew into Phoenix a month ahead of time. In case the baby came early. It was a happy time for our whole family. Full of hope and anticipation.

It seemed Stevie Selene Katz-Jones was too excited to meet us all.

She was born almost three weeks before her due date on January 3 at 4:15 PM at a healthy 7 lbs. 2 oz.

Lydia died that same day.