Page 7 of Wreckage of Us
“Okay, good luck!”
I grab Ryan’s bag full of God only knows what, it feels heavy like it’s full of rocks, then head back to my house.
I walk in and look around in confusion, unsure of what I could do with a baby in here. I got nothing, and he is still screaming his head off.
“Okay, baby,” I drop the bag at the door and start patting him on the back. “Becca’s got a terrible headache, please stop crying.”
I walk to the living room, throw a blanket on the floor, then place him on his back, hoping to do a quick examination. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary other than his gums. They are red and inflamed, no wonder he’s this miserable.
To complete my day, a loud knock echoes from the front door. That’s followed by someone banging on it so hard, I fear they’ll knock it down altogether. The baby starts screaming louder yet, making me break into a sweat. I pick him up and go to see who my unwanted visitor might be.
I’m sure the shock on my face is obvious when I finally open the door and see who it is.
“Dylan,” murmur, but I don’t have much time to stand and stare at him since the baby in my arms decides now it is a good time to bow his little body out to the point where I almost drop him.
“What. The. Fuck,” is all he says, remaining frozen to the spot when I step back a little.
“I’m sorry.” I shake my head at him while I manage to get the baby under control. “This is not a good time, Dylan.”
“What the fuck,” he repeats, more subdued this time, then forces me to walk back when he just steps inside my house and closes the door behind him.
“Dylan?”
“I am so fucking confused right now,” his surprised eyes go from me to the baby and back. “And shocked,” he adds. “And angry. Mostly angry.”
The baby wailing in my arms is not helping the situation any. My mental state is pretty shaky anyway after the crazy day I had today, and now dealing with all this, my head might actually explode.
I turn around and rush to the kitchen, opening the pantry door and looking around for the box of graham crackers I know I have in here somewhere. I am about to give up when I finally spot it.
I grab it with my free hand while also trying not to drop the baby. Jesus, how am I going to do the baby thing when the time comes? I jump startled when Dylan’s arm reaches over me and grabs the box out of my hand.
“I’m assuming you want it opened?” he grumbles when I don’t say anything, I’m just staring.
“Please,” I finally say and wait.
As soon as he opens the plastic bag inside the box, I reach in and grab a cracker which I promptly shove into baby Ryan’s mouth, hoping it’ll do something.
“Jesus,” I almost sob in relief when his little greedy hands grab one end of it, then he starts trying to chew on it, rubbing it on his gums. It’s only been minutes that I got him, and I think I’m losing it. How did Jessica manage all day long?
“Looks like we need to talk,” Dylan spits at me from the side, watching me with crazy eyes.
“Today is not a good time, Dylan,” I give him a nervous smile, then turn around to walk back to the living room where I place the baby on the blanket I set up earlier.
“Today is the perfect time, Bex.”
I sigh and drop my head down, unwilling to look at him just yet. I’m assuming that Puck ran right to Dylan and told him about the baby, which is the reason he is here right now. I am not ready to talk to him about it though.
“Dylan, look…”
“You know,” he talks at the same time, so I just stop and wait to see what he’s got to say first. “It’s getting close to a year now that we’ve known each other, right?”
His question takes me by surprise. That is not what I thought he came here to say. I just nod as I struggle to swallow the lump in the back of my throat. I’ve never been scared around Dylan, but I am now.
“And during this entire time, I somehow became obsessed with you,” he continues without waiting for me to say anything in particular. “I’ve been walking around with this picture of you in my head, that you are just perfect. A good girl. A great person.”
The feeling of worry in my stomach intensifies. I can’t tell where he’s going with this, but I have a feeling that whatever it is that he wants to tell me is not good.
Ryan lets out a loud noise from his place on the blanket. I look to make sure he is okay, then turn back to Dylan.
