Addicted After All(93)
“CPR training then,” Connor amends.
“Ryke has already smothered his kid,” Lo jokes, nodding to his brother across our circle.
Ryke just realizes that he has his doll in a blue onesie tucked in his pit. He holds him in one hand by the waist, like a football. “Why do we have to f*cking do this again?” Ryke asks, motioning between himself and Daisy. “You all probably won’t let us babysit your kid anyway.”
“If you plan on holding him like that I’m not going to,” Lo tells his brother.
Ryke adjusts the doll again, and I end up smiling at the way he’s cradling the baby, like Lo. They’re both being as gentle as they can be, taking it more seriously. I thought Lo was going to throw jabs at Rose the whole time, but he’s being considerate and looks kinda sexy with a baby in his arms.
“I just can’t see any of you leaving your kid with me,” Ryke suddenly admits.
Connor stares right at Ryke, and they meet each other’s eyes. “You’d be surprised about what I’d let you do,” Connor tells him.
Rose doesn’t even disagree. I try to wipe the mental image of Ryke handling the doll with less care. Now that he pays more attention, it seems like he’d be okay with Maximoff.
Ryke looks to Lo like you don’t want me near your baby, right?
“It’s your choice, man,” Lo says. “You don’t want to be a part of my kid’s life. That’s fine.” The edge in his voice doesn’t match his words.
Ryke scowls. “You know I do.”
“Then that’s why you’re here.”
Daisy bounces on her feet, hugging the doll to her chest. “I’d love to babysit whenever you need me.” She looks to Rose. “You’d let me watch your girl, right?” Her lopsided smile makes the room glow. Her hair helps.
Daisy might as well have kissed Rose’s heels. Our older sister is beaming, so happy that someone else is playing into the idea that she’s having a girl. Personally, I’d love for Rose to have a daughter. Just to see her happy. I think all of us want that. Well, except Lo. He wants her to have a boy in spite.
I expect Rose to flower Daisy with compliments and yes, of course, you can watch her words. Instead, she says, “If you pass.”
Lo lets out a short laugh. “Are you going to make everyone who wants to touch your baby fill out a hundred-page questionnaire?”
“Maybe.” She fixes her hair to one side of her shoulder while Connor studies Rose with more concern, sidling closer to her. He whispers in her ear and she nods to him. The bad thing about nerd stars: they’re so high up that it’s hard to hear or see unless you exist in space with them.
I’m not smart enough to even breach the Earth’s atmosphere, so I just try to watch from down below.
“I actually have something for you Rose…” Lo says, detaching from my side. This can’t be good. He sets his boy doll on the table and heads to the hall closet.
“If it doesn’t come in a jewelry box, you can keep it,” Rose snaps.
“I’m not keeping this.” Lo rummages around for a couple seconds before returning with a flat box wrapped in green, pink, and blue paper. I wear a confused expression, not involved in this plan. Lo must’ve bought that on his way home from work or something.
Rose zeroes in on the colors. “I told everyone no baby gifts.” She didn’t want a baby shower. I think it would’ve overwhelmed her anyway, all the baby things and people staring at her stomach. I’m having one closer to my due date, but it’s not a big event or anything. Just family.
“Which is why I decided to get you one,” Lo says, topping it off with a half-smile. He walks over and shoves the box at her.
She stares at him blankly. “I hate you.”
“The feeling is mutual,” he tells her. “Just open it before you start hexing me.”
She huffs and tears the paper gently while Lo returns to my side. I’m more nervous.
I stand on my toes and whisper to him, “Why didn’t you tell me about this?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem like something that important.”
But I can see that it matters to him.
“You can rip the paper,” Lo tells her.
Rose shoots him a look and continues neatly opening the box. When she lifts the lid and brushes the tissue paper aside, her face softens and her lips part.