“Pile on!”
I looked up just as Alfie and Creed barrelled into the room, freshly showered and in clean clothes as they jumped onto my bed and attacked me. It was four against one then, and for a few minutes I was holding my own, until a naked, and very wet, Israel joined us and sat his slippery ass on my head resulting in my defeat almost instantly. My sons and wife, who was recording the chaos on her phone, cracked up laughing, and so did I.
“We win!” Israel announced as he jumped up and down the bed, not caring that he was naked as the day he was born. “We beat Daddy!”
Jules and Nixon clapped their palms against his, Creed tickled his stomach, and Alfie, who got off the bed, threw him over his shoulder, slapped his butt, and marched out the room with Branna following so they could get him dried and dressed. I sat up, wiped the wetness from my face, looked at my three remaining sons, and said, “If any of you tell your uncles about this, I’m beating your asses.”
The three of them left the bedroom, laughing as they went, which meant they would tell my brothers and they’d do it with a smile on their faces. I lay back on my bed, smiled, and closed my eyes. I loved my life, I loved every little thing about it ... even all the bad that it took for me to have it. After years of worry and shouldering the responsibility of raising my brothers for my absent parents, I knew if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t change a damn thing.
My past brought me my future, and as fucked up as my past was, I’d live it over and over again to get my future because to me, it was my true happily ever after.
CHAPTER TWO
Six years old ...
The shrill sound of a baby’s cry woke me.
I opened my eyes, rolled onto my back, and listened. The crying continued, and it got louder and louder. I groaned, turned onto my side, and pressed my hands over my ears to drown the sound out, but it didn’t help. I dropped my hands, sat upright on my bed, and shouted, “Mama, Kane is awake!” I waited for her to make some noise to let me know she heard me, but she didn’t. I frowned as I pushed my warm, cosy blanket away from my body and slid out of my bed. I rubbed my eyes as I walked over to the doorway of my room, I squinted my eyes to help me see because my nightlight wasn’t very bright.
I opened the door and stuck my head out into the hallway. It was dark, and the only light I could see was the moonlight that shone through the windows. I swallowed, and the urge to close my door and get back into my bed was strong, but when my baby brother screamed, my chest tightened. With trembling limbs, and tentative steps, I made my way down the hallway to my parents’ bedroom. I opened the door without knocking, and said, “Mama? Daddy? Kane is awake.”
No one answered me. Feeling worried, I quickly found the light switch to the room, and flipped it on. My parents’ bed was empty; the sheets were still neatly made which told me that they hadn’t gone to sleep yet. I turned off the light, closed the door, and ran all the way down to the end of the hallway to my brothers’ bedroom. When I opened the door, the room was in darkness, which I knew wasn’t right. Alec liked having a nightlight just like I did. He was only three, still a baby, so he needed one. I just liked having one ... I didn’t need it or anything.
“RyRy,” Alec sobbed when I flipped the light on. “Kane’s sad.”
I widened my eyes when I saw tears stream down Alec’s face. He was next to Kane’s crib, trying to climb into it. My one-year-old brother was screaming so loud it made me want to cry too.
“It’s okay,” I said, rushing over to Alec, pulling him into a hug. “It’s okay, Alec.”
My brother squeezed me so tight it hurt a little, but I couldn’t focus on him. Kane was screaming so loud that I worried something might be wrong with him. I leaned down to Alec, put my hands on his shoulders and said, “Grab your favourite teddy, and go and sit on your bed, okay?”
I had to repeat myself three times before he understood what I wanted him to do. He sniffled as he bobbed his head and did as I asked. I turned my attention to Kane who had tears running down his face as lay on his side and looked at me. His eyes stared into mine, and I knew he was telling me something, but I didn’t know what.