Hehehe, FINALLY, the long awaited intro to Cole's storyline. It'll only get pretty emotional from here, so buckle up! Also, the twins are around six to seven months of age here.

Whenever somebody asked Cole what he was up to, like, how he was doing outside of work, his answer was almost always guaranteed to be the same each and every single time.

"I'm doing alright." he'd say.

Which to many, would satisfy the need to want to carry the conversation further. Although, realistically speaking, the answer could probably be the furthest from the truth.

In fact, if there was anyone he could even really be honest with, his answer would probably sound something like the following:

"I'm exhausted. Every time one of my daughters wakes up crying at night, she will wake up the other one, and then I have to get two crying babies back to sleep" Or, "I'm extremely stressed because I might barely meet rent next month because I just had to take those unpaid sick days."

If he gave the second answer, it would have inevitably led to the next subject.

Cole didn't exactly have the best job.

Correction: jobs.

More specifically, he worked as a maintenance worker for the college he used to attend, Mondays through Fridays, nine to six every day. Except on Saturdays and Sundays, where he worked past the late hours and into the early mornings just before the sun rose, on the dreaded "graveyard shift" at the shifty twenty-four-seven gas station. But, the pay was alright as he is able to get him, his girlfriend, and two daughters through, albeit barely.

And then came the life-changers themselves.

Cole's daughters were precious. Absolutely adorable, small little dolls. Although, because of them he almost never got enough sleep because after all, he didn't have one, but two baby girls. Who, were still learning how to sleep through the night.

However, it probably didn't help much that they lived in a not-so-nice-part of the city, where cars raced down the street at ungodly hours and neighbors who liked to blast their music.

The four of them practically squeezed into an apartment more than likely meant for two. You would open the door, and immediately on the left was the living room space, and on the right, a small table coupled with an equally small kitchen counter and stove. It made everything look so cramped. He was just lucky the single bedroom was able to fit a bed and two cribs.

Did you know that when it's cheaper, it doesn't mean it's necessarily nicer? What a nice lesson in adulting.

Or whatever hell this was.

Cole was driving home from work. From his first job to be exact, where they had asked him to stay five hours longer, until after an ensemble concert had ended in the auditorium.

Turns out they needed more people to clean up. And the only reason he decided to take it was that they were actually offering paid overtime. It'd be enough to buy more formula because lately, Seli was trying to wean them off of her, even though he thought they might be a little young.

But she was the mother, so she must know what she's doing, right?

Ah, Seliel.

He could see the motel-style apartment buildings coming up. Cole flashed his blinker, before making a right into the parking lot. He parked his car, turning it off, before sitting in the car. Dragging a hand through his hair, he took a deep breath, closing his eyes. Seli and the babies might be asleep, so he'd probably have to open another canned soup for dinner again.

This is fine.

He's alright.

Cole opened his eyes again, opening the car door to let himself out. It was already a little after eleven and night, meaning it was definitely not a good time to be out here by himself. So he practically jogged up the stairs to walk the eight doors down to his oh so gracious abode.

He carefully walked down the hall and noticed it was awfully quiet. No music, no cars, no noise at all.

Finally, a moment of peace and quiet.

Until he reached his door.

He could hear the crying from outside.

Groaning, he pulled out his keys, and began to unlock the door.

So much for peace and quiet.

He opened the door, only to become exposed full force to his daughters' wailing. The lights were turned off, so he turned those on first.

"Seli?" he called. "You doing alright?"

There was no response.

"Seliel?" Carefuly making his way to their small bedroom. He opened the door, turning on the lights, only to see his two daughters in their cribs, crying.

And all alone.

"No, no, no, no, no."

Not again.

His daughters, seeing him, began to quiet their weeping, but that barely eased the growing panic in his chest.

"Seliel!"

He ran out of the room, checking the bathroom, but she wasn't there, either.

She was gone.

Where could she have gone this time?

Cole pulled out his phone, dialing her number, and putting the phone to his ear as he went back into the bedroom to try and calm his daughters.

There was no answer. He tossed it aside.

He picked up his babies, out of the crib, and propped them on the bed, looking for pacifiers. He found them in the cribs, putting them in their mouths. They might have stopped their crying, but his heart sunk as he watched them.

They began to suck on the pacifiers greedily.

They were left alone, and hungry.

When was the last time they ate?

Cole headed to the kitchen, quickly placing some baby bottles from the refrigerator in the bottle warmer. As they warmed up, Cole headed back into the bedroom, taking a good look at the situation around them, keeping them calm before he eventually fed them both their bottles.

This couldn't happen anymore.

He called six more times.

And not a single answer.

This wasn't okay.

None of it was.

He pulled out his phone, dialing a number he hadn't dared to in quite a long time. After the second ring, they picked up.

"H-hello? Cole?"

"Dad, I need help."

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