Closer 2

137.

Brett didn't understand why their sweet little angel had turned into this screaming, crying, evil monster who would do anything in her power to break something or run off the moment they turned their backs on her for two minutes. They didn't dare leave her alone in the same room as the twins for any reason whatsoever for any length of time either as she had several times tried to hit them and push them off their playmats or people's laps. All of this had become fact in just a couple of weeks, starting from the day she hit her brother.

They had asked people about it, the other parents in her daycare, their own parents, the internet. Everyone was saying it was probably just an early start of the terrible twos.

The daycare had assured them she was still an angel while she was there, helping them clean up and being so kind and friendly to the other kids, at least. That didn't make it any easier while they were home, though.

"What's wrong, Elise? You've had a story, I sang you a lullaby, we listened to some Debussy, you've got Sharkie... Baba's gotta go to sleep too, you know. It's bedtime," Brett sighed to the crying Elise who was standing up in her crib, holding her little arms up to him and wanting to be picked up. She had tried it and succeeded before, but it only made her more awake so Brett didn't want to do it again.

"Babaaa!" Elise cried, stomping her feet on the mattress with frustration. Brett sighed and rubbed his eyes. He had figured having baby twins would be tiring, he had figured it would be twice the work. He had figured it would mean getting up with two kids, as Elise had been sleeping through the night up until recently when she decided that sleeping at night was not for her.

"Baby, just lie down and close your eyes, please," Brett said, feeling frustrated. He didn't understand why she was acting like this. Ray had told him she wasn't like this when sleeping over at their place, it was only ever at home when Brett or Eddy was putting her to bed. He couldn't understand what he was doing wrong.

"Huggg!" Elise screamed at him, holding her arms out again. Brett felt terrible. He hated to see her cry, but it happened so often lately it just made him feel numb now.

"One last nighty hug and then you go to sleep, okay?" Brett said quietly, not realizing how thick his throat was until he spoke.

"Yeaaa," Elise sniffled, wrapping her arms tightly around Baba's neck when he leaned in for a hug. Brett stroke her back for a bit, not sure how to feel about the tight hug. He liked hugging his daughter, obviously, but recently he had found he was just frustrated with her in general and especially the way she insisted on, and frankly demanded, getting cuddles when he was busy with other things or when he wanted some time with the twins or with Eddy.

"There you go, babygirl. Sleepy time now," he said softly, trying to release herself as she had stopped crying now and had yawned a few times while they hugged. He was hoping she would sleep now, but as soon as he had moved away she started screaming again.

"Nooo! Longeerr!" she cried, stomping her feet again, trying to hold him back by the t-shirt as he moved towards the door.

"Lay down and go to sleep, baby. I'll see you tomorrow."

He just had to get some sleep himself, and she would just have to cry for a bit. They had tried this a few nights ago, just closing her door and letting her finish crying. It had lasted half an hour before she was fast asleep. The method crushed Brett's heart into fine dust, but he didn't know how else to deal with it.

"Baba loves you so much," he said, tears pressing on for him too as he stepped outside the door. He turned gave his daughter a small wave, but her desperate screams for him made the tears finally spill. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what's wrong. Good night."

Brett shut the door and leaned his forehead against it for a moment while he tried to gather himself, tears still running down his cheeks. He felt like the worst parent in the universe, just walking out on his crying daughter like that.

It took only twenty-five minutes for it to get quiet tonight. Twenty-five agonizing minutes.