Chapter 31
—Reed—
“Yo, ballsack!” came my brother’s yell from the front entrance. When a woman’s murmur also reached my ears, I assumed it was Banks and Simone.
Barefoot, I shuffled my way through my house while holding a hand to my lower back. Posie had refused to sleep last night and the only way of getting her to sleep today was wearing her. I was dead on my exhausted feet, being kept awake purely by the smell of my pits thanks to not being able to grab a hot minute to shower.
“What’s up, a-hole?” I snapped, a little too angrily in my depleted state.
Banks’s laughter filled my living space. “Someone’s a bit salty this afternoon.”
Afternoon? Fuck, no wonder I felt and smelt like death.
While maintaining a supportive hand under Posie’s bum, I pressed my thumb and middle finger to my temples and squinted through the ever-present headache. “I haven’t slept for almost two weeks.”
“Looks like it too,” Banks not-so-subtly mumbled, earning him a swift backhand to his stomach from Simone.
I didn’t even have it in me to smirk when he expelled his lungful of air with an oof.
Simone tutted. “Leave him alone. Just because you can run on empty, doesn’t mean the rest of us normal people can.”
“Normal is undefinable, babe,” he drawled, then flicked a finger my way. “Though it’s certainly not that.”
I rolled my eyes. “Are you here to help or just piss me off?”
“Help,” Simone immediately stated, while Banks gave it mock consideration.
After removing her shoes, my sister-in-law set Posie in her sights. She appeared at my side within the space of narcoleptic blink and got all up in my space just to kiss Posie’s little head.
“Aww, look at her getting her beauty sleep,” Sim cooed.
“Would have been nice if it was during the hours between ten PM and six AM,” I grumbled.
She grimaced. “Rough night?”
I couldn’t manage more than a grunt.
Simone pressed against me, seemingly not noticing how desperately I needed a shower.
With her nose resting on the top of Posie’s head, she hummed. “Mmm, she smells so good.” She then whirled on Banks. “I want one.”
My brother froze, half in my fridge with a bottle of soda in his hand. “A soda?”
I threw up my hand. “Help yourself to my fridge, bro.”
“I am,” Banks deadpanned, then offered Simone a bottle.
She laughed and shook her head, so goddamn head-over-heels for my brother it was almost sickening.
“A baby, Banks,” she clarified.
My brother’s expression sobered before a grin created deep smile lines on his cheeks. “I can help out with that. Like… now?”
“Really Banksy? Christ, I’m way too tired for this shit.” I rubbed my brow and moved to the couch, sitting down with my knees wide to accommodate Posie strapped to my torso.
“Go rest, Reed,” Simone gently urged, sitting beside me, too close for comfort again.
I would have hauled her to my side at any other time, but the thought of burying her into my armpit made me internally cringe.
As if Banks read my thoughts, he took the armchair across from me. “And go shower. You stink.”
I grimaced at Simone. “Sorry, darlin’. I know I do.”
She shrugged. “It’s fine. He stinks too sometimes.” We both ignored Banks’s incredulous snort. “But I seriously can’t get enough of Posie’s smell.”
I chuckled again as she leaned in to inhale my daughter’s scent, and while she satisfied her maternal urges, my eyes flicked up to find Banks watching us with a scowl. Simone’s hum had a dirty smirk quirking up one side of my mouth. Banks’s eyes narrowed, then furthered when I lifted my brows at him, fucking with him just for the pure joy of it.
“Simone,” he barked, making her jump.
“What?”
“Let him go shower, babe.” Banks’s eyes met mine. With all the sincerity in the world, he added, “We’ll look after her, Reed. I promise. Go grab yourself some rest.”
My hand came to rest on Posie’s back as a bolt of overprotective possession shot through me. I trusted my brother with my life. He was an EMT for fuck’s sake, but I still had trouble relinquishing my precious daughter into his care.
Simone’s hand tenderly landed on my arm. “We promise.”
I nodded. “Of course. But if she wakes, come and get me. She might need changing and feeding, but the milk needs to be the right temperature. And then she would need burped, because if she doesn’t, she gets a sore tummy and cries, then—”
Simone shook my forearm a little as Banks leaned forward. He used his calm I’m a medical professional voice, and any other time I would have called him out on it.
“Brother, I know. We’ll guard her like she’s our own. Now, pass her over and allow us to give you ten minutes to yourself.”
“Just come—”
“Yes, we’ll let you know if she needs you,” Banks cut in.
Nodding again, I supported Posie while unbuckling the baby carrier clips. With extra care, the three of us gently transferred her to Banks’s chest and got her strapped securely.
“See—” Banks threw his arms wide and jiggled a bit, “—she’s absolutely fine.”
Bolts of concern had me moving forward. “Can you just support her just in case she falls out?”
“Bro, there’s no way she’s falling out of this thing. I can barely breathe with how tight you’ve done the straps up.”
I gave him another dubious once-over before exhaustion started getting the better of me. “Okay. I’m going. But come and get me as soon as she needs anything.”
“We will,” my brother said to me, but as I made my way down the hallway to my room, I heard him add, “We won’t,” to Simone.
Her giggle was the last thing I heard before I shut my bedroom door, then turned on the shower in my en suite. I stripped out of my clothes and stood with my palms braced on the vanity while the shower heated. Fuck this single dad shit was hard. I’d forgotten my middle name after seventy-two hours of minimal sleep. My kitchen was an absolute mess, and I had dirty clothes piled in the laundry—mostly Posie’s because if she wasn’t spitting milk all over me, she was shitting over herself.
Mom had been a godsend, but even so, I simply couldn’t keep up with the grind.
As I stepped into the shower, I missed Kasey all the more. Despite being surrounded by my family, I felt incredibly alone in the enormity of my new role. It gutted me even more that I’d only received two messages from her since she flew home despite still messaging her every night: one to say she’d made it back to Denver safely, and the other to decline coming to the hospital on the day Posie was released. I’d asked her with no expectations but was still upset when she declined.
I washed my hair and scrubbed my body while leaning on the shower wall for support. Shutting off the water and half-assed drying myself was the best I could manage. Literally stumbling to my bed, I let the towel drop from my hips as I flicked back the bed covers. Before climbing in, I cocked my head and listened carefully for Posie’s cries. All was silent aside from the muted sound of dishes being washed in the kitchen.
Saying a silent thank you to my brother and Simone, I dove face-first into bed, intending to catch twenty minutes of sleep before dragging my ass out again.
Four hours later, I woke in a panic.