It felt like waiting for a time bomb to go off, waiting for the pair to get here. I showered and put on clean clothes. Tate wanted to wait until they were gone before doing so himself. Instead, he sat at the kitchen table with a notepad, scribbling furiously.
I walked over to him once I was fully dressed and asked him what he was doing. He glanced up and shrugged.
“Just trying to figure out my options for everything. Our options, really. The biggest one is where to live. Do we stay here or do you want to move in to my new place?”
I opened my mouth to speak but furious knocks on the door stopped me short. We both directed our attention to the noise. Suddenly a small, yet sharp cry came from Tate’s bedroom. He gave me a tight smile and stood to go grab her while I went to the door to greet my brother and Ronny.
I opened the door and the two men fell over each other as they stumbled in. I shut it behind them and watched, my entire nervous system on edge. Dallas turned and hugged me tightly.
“Congratulations baby sister, I’m so happy for you. Tate, the baby, all of it.”
“Fuck you, man,” Ronny said with a dark chuckle behind him.
“I told you, you didn’t have to come. You chose to come here. Shut up, you fucking loser,” Dallas told him, dropping his arms and stepping back. He glanced over at his friend, who was scowling at him. “Can I smoke in here?”
“I don’t care, the baby isn’t in here right now.”
“She got a name?”
“Cara.”
“Cara, I like it. Simple, pretty. My niece, Cara.” He pulled a metal cigarette case out of his leather jacket and quickly removed a lighter and cigarette. He went to the kitchen to smoke it. His eyes were only half open and his smile was one of amusement. “Mom and Dad are gonna flip.”
“Why? It’s not their real grandkid,” Ronny smirked from where he leaned against the wall by my bedroom. The room fell silent for a moment as his words hit me sharp and hard in the heart.I looked towards Dallas and we locked gazes for a moment before he rolled his eyes and looked over at Ronny.
“Dude, get over it. No one cares about the details.”
“You don’t think your dad will? If I remember correctly, he liked me more than him.” He pointed his finger into his chest and raised his head high. I shook my own sadly. He was beyond drunk.
“I still don’t really understand that, but he’ll get over it. If you can’t act right, I’ll send you back downstairs.” My brother waved him off with a flick of his wrist. He finished his cigarette just as Tate made his way down the hall and into the living room with a pink bundle in his arms. He was tentative in his steps.
“You can’t smoke in here,” Tate said directly to my brother. Dallas glanced over at me and cringed as he hurried to put it out.
“She said I could,” he accused, pointing dramatically to me. I opened my mouth to protest. But Tate stepped further into the room.
“Even if she’s not in the room, you can’t be smoking in here anymore. It lingers,” he explained. All of us looked at him as if we were children being scolded by our school teacher.
“Noted. I’ll go outside next time,” Dallas said cooly. There was a pause as everyone stood around awkwardly in silence. Ronny, still drunk, stumbled a bit. Tate reacted as if he’d come lunging at him.
“Don’t move.” He looked directly at Ronny. His green eyes cold and ready to kill. Ronny put his hands up in innocence. Tate then turned and relaxed some. “Dallas, you want to see her?”
Dallas stood up straight and smiled as he nodded. Tate walked over to him slowly. I joined him and from across the table I watched my twin brother set eyes on her for the first time. Cara, my daughter, meeting her uncle. My stomach relaxed as his smile grew wider at the sight of her.
He didn’t try to hold her, but instead reached out his hand and stroked her cheek with his pointer finger. Dallas had musician’s hands. They were hard and calloused, which probably didn’t feel good against her soft, fresh skin. I laughed at the thought of what could possibly be going through her little mind. She didn’t seem to stir though. Her eyes remained closed as she slept away in her father’s arms.
“She’s beautiful man. I’m super happy this all worked out for you guys.”
I was just about to thank him when we heard a loud, slow clapping from behind us. We turned to see Ronny shaking his head as he took a few steps forward, continuing to clap.
“Yes, we’re all so happy to see the cute little make believe family finally together. I saw your little book Tate. I didn’t know you could write so much bullshit in one place. You were desperate, weren’t you buddy?”
“Did I tell you to move?” Tate snarled. He was rigid, still holding Cara. His chest was moving hard up and down as his jaw clenched tightly. Ronny tilted his head to the side, widening his gray eyes. They were manic, as was his smile. Panic shot through me. I took a step forward, away from Cara and Tate.
“Ronny, you need to stop. We can talk privately about everything if you want, but you can’t do this with the baby here.”
“Do what? I’m not doing anything. I just came to congratulate you and confirm that you’re really doing this. You’re really leaving me for him? Because of that stupid diary he gave you? I could write you pretty stories too if you want. Although I find it a little sad that he had to do all that to win you, when all I have to do is fuck you hard enough.”
“Ronny!” I said sharply. I heard Dallas mutter for Tate to hand him the baby. I turned quickly to see Tate doing so gingerly and I knew that I only had mere moments to stop this.
