for, lover (Completed; editing)

Chapter 67

This kid won't stop wailing.
I've fed her, changed her diaper, gave her a stuffed animal to hold, and tried the pacifier. Nothing is working and I'm going to lose my damn mind.

Maddy won't answer her phone. My mother hasn't texted me back. I feel hopeless and I'm only two hours into this voluntary babysitting gig.

I try to call Maddy one more time but it goes straight to voicemail. I groan and dial Tony's number.

He picks up after a few rings. "Hey! Everything okay?"

Surely he can hear Lily screaming in the background.

"No! I can't get Lily to stop wailing! I don't know what to do and I can't get ahold of Maddy or Ben. I did not sign up for this bullshit."

"Okay, calm down. Did you feed her?"

"Yes."

"Change her? Give her a pacifier?"

"Tony! I've tried everything." I whine. "It's only getting worse. Please tell me there's a way you can get off of work. I don't know what to do."

"Bree, I can't just leave work for a child that isn't even mine. Try calling Maddy again."

I screw my eyes shut. "Okay, I will. I'll talk to you later."

I go to hang up as he's midway into saying "I love-"

I set my phone down and look at Lily still constantly screaming at the top of her lungs from her swing. Those weird little moving chairs were supposed to calm the hellions down. Maddy better get her money back.

This would be much easier if I actually had friends downtown so I can at least get some help until I can figure out how to take care of an infant. Maddy's been doing such a great job, I didn't expect Lily to lose her shit as soon as her parents leave. I guess it could be separation anxiety but she's not even 1.

After a few more rounds of crying, I pick up my phone again, scrolling through my contact list. My finger stops and I hover over Miles' name.

He wants to be friends. This would be a great start to that.

I huff and click the name. He picks up after the first ring.

"Bree? Are you alright?"

It makes sense that he'd think something horrible happened if I'm calling him. The world has officially gone up in flames because I swore to myself I wouldn't be doing this again. I just can't deny my need for help.

"I'm really sorry to bother you, I'm babysitting Lily today and I-..." Does he even know about Lily? "I'm sorry, Maddy's baby..."

I hear his soft laughter through the speaker. "I have Maddy on Snapchat still. I know who Lily is."

Maddy posts about her all of the time and it's no surprise that she still has him on the one social media he uses on occasion. It's actually comforting to know that Miles isn't completely in the dark about our lives.

"I can't get a hold of Maddy or Ben. I can't even get my mom to answer me. I'm literally so lost in what to do with this baby because she won't stop crying. I'm about to lose my mind."

"I'm pretty good with kids. I can come over."

"Could you? I know that's a lot to ask but I would really appreciate it."

"I'd love to. It would give us an opportunity to talk again."

Yeah, like the last one we had just went wonderful.

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon." I hang up the phone and attempt again for the next twenty minutes to get her to stop.

Miles walks in and slips his shoes off by the door. He heads to the living room where we are and observes the mess, laughing as soon as he sees me trying to distract her by making the stuffed monkey dance.

I huff and look at him. "It's not funny. I don't know what to do."

He kneels down next to Lily's swing where she's laying. "Have you tried just holding her?"

"Holding her? Yeah, why wouldn't I-"

I actually don't think I thought of that. Everything I've tried consisted of her being in the swing.

Miles leans over the swing, gently sweeping her up in his arms. As soon as her head presses into the front of his chest, she stops crying. It was instant.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" I groan.

Miles brings his finger up to his lips. "Shh. Look."

When we both look back down at Lily, she's fast asleep. Miles flashes me a smile and sits down on the couch with her.

"I can't believe this."

"I can't believe you didn't just try holding her." He chuckles. "They just wanted to be nurtured."

"I don't know. I'm sleep deprived. My brain function hasn't been the same."

"Well I'm glad I could be of some use." He snorts.

I take a seat next to him and look over at her. Her bottom lip is poking out slightly further than the top. She's got dark eyelashes, showing her hair is probably going to favor more from Ben's side. Her and Maddy have an identical nose though, that's for sure.

"She's a beautiful baby." Miles whispers.

I smile. "Yeah and she doesn't really fuss that much until today. My luck."

"That's okay. We figured it out." He grins.

"Yeah, yeah. I know I'm a failure of a babysitter."

"Some people just aren't great with kids. It's nothing to be ashamed about, it's just something you learn over time."

I scowl, forcing him into a fit of laughter.

"It wasn't an insult. Babies are just like us, they're moody and needy but are just worse at expressing it."

"I hate the crying. It almost makes my ears bleed."

"It's a sacrifice we make for these cute little faces." He smirks, lifting up Lily a tad for me to get a better look.

I chuckle. "Thanks for saving my ass. I really don't know what I would've done."

"It's really no big deal. I just want to help."

I nod and stare down at my lap, twiddling my thumbs over my legs.

"What is it?" He asks.

"I reacted poorly when you came to talk to me. You're not crazy for wanting to get back at them. I honestly get it. I see how badly they hurt you."

"It wasn't about me." He frowns. "I don't care that they lied to me but what they did to you, that's what hurt me. That's what I wanted to fix."

"It just seems like fighting fire with fire and that never works, Miles."

"I want to at least bust Phillip's little cartel. It's what he gets for causing this whole thing. I can do that without getting Trent or Reed involved if that's better."

I sigh. "Fine. What can I do to help?"