9
Scar
Angel woke us both at the crack of dawn.
A sharp, sudden cry jolted me upright. Up on the futon, Angel’s fists were balled up as she cried.
Ryu was up just as fast. He lunged to the bedside, eyes wide with panic.
“What’s wrong with her?” I cried. “Somany things could be wrong!”
“Let’s calm down,” Ryu said over the sound of Angel’s wailing. “Maybe she’s hungry? I can mash up some food in the fridge.”
Suddenly, something hit me. My nose wrinkled and I grimaced, the panic fading. “Nevermind. I just smelled what’s wrong with her.”
A second later he caught the smell as well. “Oh, crap.”
“Yeah.”
His face paled. “I don’t have any diapers.”
My expression matched his. “Shit.”
“Yes, that does appear to be the problem.”
Ignoring his remark, I struggled to my feet and towards the door. There was only one way to solve this problem. I had to hurry.
“Where are you going?” he called.
“To the store. Where’s the nearest one?”
“There’s a convenience store right around the corner,” he said.
I quickly left without another word. My body moved surprisingly quickly despite my physical disability. Today, just like many other days, I woke with pains in my body from my old trauma—but my urge to care for Angel was stronger than my own agony. Sheneededme.
Ryu had cleaned up Angel as best he could before I returned. Huffing, I handed him a bag filled with diapers and baby food. Angel stopped crying by the time Ryu fitted her with a clean diaper and washed up.
“That was so scary,” I said with a sigh. It was only now that I noticed the dark circles under Ryu’s eyes—and I probably had ones to match. We’d gotten to bed late and only had a few hours of sleep before Angel woke up.
He tried to smirk. “Yeah, diapers are pretty scary.”
“Not that,” I muttered. “I meant waking up to her crying and not knowing what was wrong.”
“You’re right,” he agreed.
Anxiety flared up in my gut. “What if it happens again and it’snother diaper? I mean, there are only so many things we can cycle through before we’re out of options.”
Ryu put a firm hand on my shoulder. “Scar, calm down. She’s a baby, not an unsolvable enigma.”
I glared at him. “Ican’tcalm down! A baby popped up in our lives out of nowhere and we don’t know the first thing about taking care of one!”
“I know. We need more information.”
I was surprised that he agreed with me. I nodded.
“We need help from someone who's done this before,” he continued. “I have a few friends with kids of their own. I’ll see if they can come over and help.”
“They won’t think this situation is weird?” I asked hesitantly.
