I'm going to sound like a broken record here but I honestly am loving hearing your thoughts on this one as we go! Your guesses and hearing the direction you think it might go. I can already tell some of you are going to be surprised, but hopefully not disappointed *fingers crossed* I'm ahead by about five chapters right now, so please keep your words coming too because they're so helpful in shaping this story! It started out inspired by prompts and it's very much remaining that way, only now your reviews and comments on FB are also factoring in.
As always, huge thanks to annaharding, maplestyle, and hotteaforme for their love and support with this!
Anyway, enough waffle. I think this is one of the things you've been waiting for…
banks
4
Fucking hell.
Juggling the wailing baby and a million bottle parts that don't look like they go together at all, I grind my teeth. I can't fucking do this.
Her red face gets redder when I put her into the bouncer chair thingy Esme picked up at a garage sale, her screams even louder—didn't know that was possible, to be honest.
Even with two hands, I can't figure out this damn bottle. There's a lid and the nipple and the bottle itself and then seventeen other bits that I have no idea what to do with.
"Edward?"
Fuck.
Dropping my chin to my chest for a second, I blow out a big breath and turn to face Archie. He's scratching his stomach with one hand and tugging the collar of his pajama shirt with the other, sleepy eyes squinting at me.
"Sorry, kid."
"L-lemme do it."
So damn tired, I just watch him drag a stool from the counter, clambering up with his lip between his teeth. It takes him a couple tries, but then he hands me the bottle with the lid assembled on the counter.
"Milk?"
"Oh, shit. Hang on."
When Archie sticks the bottle in his sister's mouth, the silence is better than sex.
No, maybe not better than sex, but...pretty damn good.
"Christ," I breathe, sagging back against the counter, hand in my hair. I can hear again.
A huge part of me wants to call my sister and beg her to get her ass over here, even though it's only two in the morning. She and Carl have been staying here since we brought the kids home a few days ago, but they had a buddy's engagement party to go to or some shit so tonight's the first night I'm alone with them and, fuck, it's hard.
"Mister?"
"It's Edward," I snap.
Crouching beside his sister guzzling her bottle like no tomorrow, Archie flinches, shoulders tucked up around his ears as his eyes get a little glassy.
Fucking fuck. Get it together.
"I'm sorry. Fuck, I'm sorry, Archie." His wide eyes follow me until I'm kneeling next to him, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder. I ignore the way he tenses as my palm makes contact. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm just...I'm really tired, and I have no idea what I'm doing here." Mustering a small smile, I duck my head to catch his eyes. "Thanks for the assist. How'd you know how to do that bottle?"
He shrugs. "I d-do it when Mommy's asleep."
My chest squeezes, and it takes a couple seconds for the tears to start falling when he realizes what he's said.
He doesn't mention Bree all that much, just here and there. Esme thinks it's because he's in flight mode.
I wasn't lying, I have no idea what I'm fucking doing, but even I know to comfort a kid when they're upset. Catching a glimpse of my laptop on the couch, I get an idea.
"Hey, you like Spiderman?"
Archie sniffs. "Uh-huh. Why?"
"We can watch the new Spiderman movie, if you want?" Jumping up, I stride to the kitchen and rifle through a few cupboards until I find—"Popcorn! Do you like popcorn?"
Wiping his cheek with his free hand, the one not holding the baby's bottle, the kid almost smiles. "Who d-doesn't like popcorn?"
Maybe I like this kid after all.
- banks -
"The fuck, Es?"
Wearing a shit-eating grin, my sister waves her cell in my face. The screen isn't as bright as the flash that woke me up but it's still not fucking nice first thing in the morning. Especially not after I spent the whole goddamn night switching between trying to keep Archie from losing his shit and listening to Charlotte completely lose hers.
"Yeah, great."
Rubbing my eyes with the heel of my hand, I squint at the picture she just took and swallow hard around the lump it puts in my throat.
Fuck.
It doesn't look like me. It looks...domestic. To someone who doesn't know better, that picture tells a story of a happy family. Of a dad with his two kids.
Not a guy who, a week ago, had no idea said kids existed.
I still don't get it.
It pisses me off that I can't ask Bree why she didn't tell me.
I can't look her in the eye and ask why the fuck she would do this.
When she started dating Riley her visits got more sporadic, more often just her showing up on my doorstep than anything planned. I never questioned it when she stopped inviting me to her place and insisted on coming to me because I figured she didn't want me bumping into Biers. The visits got less often and she'd call instead, usually on her way to work, phone propped on the dash, sarcastic smile on her face.
Now I know it was because she had two kids stashed away.
Where were they the times she did come here, though? Who were they with? Biers? The thought of him being anywhere near them makes me want to kill something. Him, preferably.
The weight on my chest is Archie snoring against my dragon tatt, drooling over the flames it breathes across my clavicle. Tucked between me and the back of the sofa, the baby starts to squirm and grunt.
The long stretches of time I didn't see her, now I guess I know why. She was pregnant. There would have been no hiding that, she was skinny as fuck, a baby bump would have stuck out a mile. Looking back, I should have thought it was weirder, but there was always an excuse. I was working or she was. She wanted to spend time with Riley. I was hanging out with Tanya, and she and Bree never hit it off for some reason. Her car was outta gas or she was going to some party or I was doing x, y, or z…always somethin'. She'd call occasionally, text too, but when I do the math it's easy to see the pattern. Guilt claws at me; I should have done more, I should have paid more attention, insisted she quit avoiding me. Something, anything other than just take her word for it.
But I guess I still just don't get why she didn't tell me, though. I'd have freaked the hell out but I wouldn't have left her to deal with it all by herself. I mean, I like to think I would have stepped up.
Like you are now? The cruel little voice in the back of my mind pushes me up and off the sofa.
"I need to…"
Archie whines as I slide out from under him but doesn't wake up, rolling to curl himself around his sister. Pausing on my way to empty my screaming bladder, I jerk my chin at the kids and squeeze Esme's shoulder on the way past her. "That's your picture."
She hums happily and I hear the click of her camera all the way to the bathroom.
- banks -
"Can't you just—"
Archie's shoulders flying up toward his eyes cut me off, the quick step he takes away from me sending guilt slithering through my veins.
Fuck.
Taking a deep breath, I rock the stroller probably a little too fast, praying the baby will fall asleep soon. "I'm sorry," I say slowly, trying to rein in my frustration. We've been in this store for over an hour already and I told Boss I only needed a couple hours off to see the doctor, so I'm already pushing it. "Don't you like any of these?" I wave my free hand at the wall of backpacks. There's gotta be at least thirty, all of them way too goddamn expensive.
Shrugging, Archie toes the floor with his worn sneakers, just another thing on the list today. Pulling it out of my pocket, I read Es's looped, girly handwriting with a wince.
Archie's school supply list:
Shoes
Clothes - at LEAST three new outfits
Backpack and lunch bag
I scoff when I get to the rest, shaking my head. Everything from markers to watercolor paints to paper plates and tissues. Like, what the fuck? I thought all that stuff was provided there, but apparently I've somehow gotta spring for it all in one hit. Even worse, there's only a couple months left of the school year, but I gotta buy everything anyway. Looking at the rusty basket hanging from the stroller handles I try to count up roughly how much it comes to, probably not even a third of the list, and realize I'm gonna have to sell the ATV I only just bought myself for Christmas a couple months ago.
The baby's fussing turns into a high-pitched wail that goes right through my skull. Obviously, rocking the stroller ain't cutting it, so I give up and undo the straps, lifting her up onto my chest so she can scream directly into my eardrum instead.
"C'mon, man, your sister's losing her shit and I'm not far behind her. Pick one and let's get outta here, yeah?"
He shrugs again, looking anywhere but at me. "I don't know."
At this point I might as well be deaf, I can barely hear anything over the baby's racket in my ear. I'm about ready to give up and pick for the kid when I sense someone behind me and turn my head to find a brunette cooing at the baby over my shoulder. I automatically give her a onceover as I turn to face her.
Two things immediately tell me she's an out-of-towner; the cowboy-looking boots on her feet only have a fine layer of desert dust, and the skin not covered by her denim shorts and tank top is nowhere near tan enough. Doesn't take long in Vegas this time of year to catch some color.
Still…she's hot. Short and curvy with a tat peeking out from the hem of her tank. She tips her head to peer up at me from under the peak of a worn Big Valley cap, whatever that means, teeth trapping a silver tongue piercing.
In another life, I'd have hit on her already.
If my ears weren't ringing and I didn't suddenly have a kid clamped to my leg, I definitely would have opened with something other than a snapped, "Can I help you?"
Her brows lift as she flashes me what can only be described as a smirk. "I have a feelin' somebody's missin' this."
A sigh gusts outta me as she holds up a familiar scrap of fabric; Charlotte basically only sleeps when she has this ratty old blanket that came in the trash bag from the social worker. At some point in this shitfest of a shopping trip, I obviously missed her dropping it.
"Fuck, thanks. I didn't realize she lost it."
"Welcome." She reaches up to tuck the blanket under Charlotte's arm, and what do you know, within seconds the baby's wailin' has turned to quiet baby babble. The woman's smirk turns into more of a smile as I manhandle Charlotte back into the stroller, holding my breath for a second to make sure she's not gonna start screaming bloody murder again. Her fist goes into her mouth though, and it only takes a couple rocks of the stroller before her eyelids start drooping.
Blowing out a big breath of pure fucking relief, I nudge the kid toward the backpacks. I'm goddamn exhausted and I've still gotta get a bunch of shit.
Unless I drop the kids with Es and just casually tell her I haven't got half the stuff yet…
"Spiderman's pretty cool."
Both my head and Archie's turn toward the hot chick. He cocks his head a little, one hand still white-knuckling my shorts. "I l-like Spiderman."
She walks around me and the stroller to crouch in front of the superhero selection, not close enough to crowd Archie but eye-level with him so he sees when she smiles at him from under her hat. I guess she realizes he's nervous talking to a stranger, 'cause she holds out her hand and introduces herself as Bella, Archie's shoulders less tense as he shakes it and tells her his name, too. "This one's pretty cool. Look, it's even got a lunchbox that matches."
Archie's grip on my shorts loosens and he steps a little closer to her as I stuff my free hand into my pocket, praying he's about to finally pick a damn bag so we can get out of here. I'm about out of patience with this whole thing, Es can handle the rest. "Th-that's cool." He hesitates, lip between his teeth when he shoots me a quick glance. "C-can I get th-this one?"
Thank fuck.
"'Course you can." I'm so relieved I agree without looking at the price tags, but once she's gone and we finally make it to the register a few minutes later, the bored looking teen rings everything up and I want to hate the chick for pointing out the bag comes with the matching lunchbox—which isn't included in the already ridiculous price, by the way.
"How fuckin' much?" I blurt, raking a hand through my hair when the total on the little screen jumps up way too quickly. "The bag's already forty bucks, you really gotta add on another fifteen for that piece of crap? He's just gonna put sandwiches in it."
Archie's pushing the baby's stroller around in circles under the air con vents above the doors, so I see him flinch and remind myself it scares him when my voice gets louder. It's taking everything not to think too hard about why.
Thumbing the crumpled bills I took from my savings behind the toilet this morning, thinking they'd go a lot further than they will, I mutter a curse.
Say goodbye to those beers you were gonna buy on the way home tonight, big guy.
"Oh, hold on. Tom, this one's been taken care of."
It takes me a minute to realize the manager sliding behind the register is talking about me. I'm 'this one.' Or my bill, I guess.
"Say what?"
The manager smiles, hitting a bunch of buttons before holding her hand out while the receipt prints. "There was a lady in just now, she left enough money for your items and told us to put the rest in the charity can." She hands me the receipt and points to the literal can sitting on the counter. The sheet of paper tacked to the countertop beside it says it's collecting for the children's hospital.
"The fuck? Can she do that?" I look toward the doors as if I'll see the chick from just now, Bella, standing there. It must have been her. We've been here over an hour by now and I haven't seen anyone else other than staff.
"Uh, Ed-Edward? I think Charlotte's diaper needs changin'."
Of-fucking-course.
"You know what, it's fine. Thank her if she comes back." Stuffing everything into the backpack, I hesitate before putting a ten in the charity can and getting the hell out of there. "C'mon kid, we've gotta go," I hold the bag toward the kid and push the stroller toward the exit, probably foolishly hoping the woman is still around when we get outside. She's not, my truck is the only car in the lot except a rusty sedan with no wheels in the far corner, so I just shake my head and muster a tired smile for Archie when he tugs at my shorts and mumbles a "th-thank you."
"You're welcome, kid."
Esme made me practice putting the baby's seat in the truck so many times I could do it with my eyes shut, but the stroller…who the fuck designed these things?
"Fucking piece of shit," I growl after probably ten minutes of trying to get the damn thing to fold down. There's a lever somewhere…or a button? Shit, I can't remember.
"Do you n-need help?" Archie wonders from his spot up front, head poking out of the window behind the seats. Before I can answer, I hear the faint ring of my cell, and then he's holding it up as Boss's name flashes on the screen.
Fuuuuuck my life.
"Fuck this."
Esme's face is a picture when we rock up outside her apartment building a little while later. "What on Earth…"
Archie hops out with his new backpack on his back, the baby is screaming again when I put the carseat down next to my sister, and I can feel the concern rolling off Esme when I hop up into the bed of the truck to unstrap the stroller. I gave up folding it and just tied the damn thing down by its wheels.
"I g-got a ne-new backp-pack!" Archie tells her, spinning to show it off. I guess we can add 'excited' to the emotions that make him stutter more, but at least it doesn't seem to piss him off as much when he's happy.
"Oh, look at that! So awesome, little dude!" Es humors him, pointing him toward Carl holding the lobby door open. "Why don't you go show Uncle Carl? He loves Spiderman!"
"'K-kay!" Archie gets halfway to Carl before gasping and spinning to face me as I lift the stroller down. Biting his lip, he grips the straps over his chest with tight little fists. "Th-thank you, Edw-ward."
Scrubbing a hand over my jaw, my smile is genuine. The thirty minute drive over here cooled me off some, and to be honest, relief is overtaking the annoyance. I'm not too proud to admit that I can't afford all the shit on the list, so that chick taking care of some of it has helped a shit ton. Plus, seeing the look on the little guy's face? Kinda priceless.
"You're welcome, buddy." Offering my sister a smile that I pray softens her up, I tell him to be good when she takes him to get the rest of the stuff on the list.
"Uh-huh!"
He takes off up the sidewalk to show his new shit to Carl while I climb back in the truck. Es picks up the baby's seat, swinging it a little to soothe her. "The rest? Ed, you were supposed to get everything—"
"We ran outta time, Es, I'm sorry. Choosing a bag…it's important stuff!" She's frowning hard enough I know I'm gonna cop it later, but I'm already pulling away from the sidewalk when she shakes her head and opens her mouth to tell me off. "I love you, baby sis!"
I see her next words in the rearview more than I actually hear them over the rumble of my truck, but they make me grin anyway. "You're a dick, big brother!"
Well, there we go. We finally met Bella. Is she what you expected?
Come join me in my reader group for chit-chats and teasers! I usually do one a week but I could be persuaded to do more :)