*ashtons pov*
I tapped my fingers nervously on my marble kitchen table, checking the time every minute hoping the next 30 minutes would fly by. No matter how many times I prepared myself, I would never be ready to open that door with full on confidence that everything will turn out okay. Hopefully this place would be safe enough for the company he was expecting.
As it turned out, I was pacing back and forth in my living room for a good 20 minutes. I looked up at the clock that read 11:50 and nearly threw up.
Throwing the fridge door open, I chugged down a can of Pepsi, throwing it into the trash and grabbing a banana. Nervous eating wasn't going to make time go by faster but it'll distract me at least.
The door knocked lightly just as I was gonna take the first bite of the banana, I tripped over my own feet as I reached the door. My hand hesitated over the door knob as I hastily arranged my hair and tucked my shirt into my pants with my one free hand. I placed my hand on the cold metal and swung the door open and painted a calm smile on my face.
"Hello, Ashton" the small red head grinned. "It's nice to see you again." She held herself the way an actor would hold an Oscar. She was proud but humble at the same time.
"Hey, Jannet" I breathed. I couldn't take my eyes off of the small bundle of blankets expertly held in her arms and close to her chest. I stepped aside so she could walk in but she gently shook her wild red curls.
"I've got work to do." She shifted the blankets to reveal a tiny infant in her arms. "As you already know, and we're probably expecting, this is Luke." She handed him over to me. And I took him into my arms and almost forgot Jannet was standing at the door, the little cutie grabbed the banana in my hands and brought it to his mouth, sucking and biting on it with his gummy mouth, soon he was fast asleep with banana all over his face. "As you know, he'll grow fast so you won't have to deal with the whole 'newborn' thing for too long." She smiled.
"Thank you, have a safe trip back" I said and begun to close the doors. A hand stopped it and i opened it to a completely different expression on Jannet's face.
"Be careful with this one, Fletcher." She said seriously. "Protect him, and don't let anything happen to him okay?" She said
"Alright.." I closed the door and waited to hear her footsteps reach the last one of my front steps to run to the room I had set up for the new baby and flop onto the bean bag chair.
The slumbering child's eyes peeled open and he stretched his little toothless mouth wide open to yawn like a little kitten. He smacked his tiny lips and blinked up at me grinning like crazy down at him.
His little hand reached up and grabbed at the air in close to my face and I lowered my face closer to him and he felt my cheeks and squished my nose. He giggled which caused me to laugh in a much deeper voice that scared him a little bit. The complete contrasts in our voices surprised even me and Luke, he looked at me with wide eyes and as soon as I payed close enough attention, I knew why Jannet had been so serious when telling me to take care of little Luke.
This little infants eyes shone brighter than the heart of any angel, and he radiated a purity far beyond that of a baby. Beyond that of those bullshit churches who preached love for another but gossip and ruin their peers lives. This bundle of happiness was too pure. I knew as soon as the baby held my gaze that he was soon to be a great man.
The little cutie looked away and farted, scaring himself into a little yelp and gasp. He was soon on the verge of tears so I tickled this little belly, and talked how people talk to babies. He yawned and I realized how late it was, almost two hours had gone by since he came in, and it was far beyond his bedtime. I carried him the way I was taught to carry infants, with one arm around his torso and to my side while I heated up a banana printed milk bottle so he could go to sleep.
As I waited for the bottle to heat up in the microwave, my phone chimed and I opened it to a call from a number all too familiar.
"Hello Jan-"
"Are you feeding Luke? Don't forget to feed him" She cut me off.
"Yeah, I'm heating up his little bottle right now, it's got a few seconds left. I have this all under con-"
"You heated his bottle in a microwave?!?!?!" She shouted "You're supposed to run it under warm water to heat it up!"
"Oh shi- I mean yeah I'm fixing it" I opened the microwave with one hand as I pressed the phone between my head and shoulder. I took the bottle out, and tested it in my bare skin. It was a little too warm and a wave of panic settled over me.
"Jesus, Irwin I thought you'd know this by now" she said with an evident smirk in her voice.
"I did I just forgot" I defended.
"Yeah, sure thing. Try not to kill the baby. Goodbye!" She chirped and hung up.
I let the cold water run and placed the bottle under it so it would cool, and gave it to Luke so he could eat. He drank all of it and dropped the bottle, falling asleep on my shoulder.
"Sorry I almost burnt your tongue, Lukey." I kissed his forehead, and walked over to the crib I had built myself, and set him down into the comfy small bed. I covered him with a light blanket and sat down in the recliner next to his crib. He didn't wake up at all that night and we both slept to the beat of our hearts at the same time.
