A Little Twist

Nineteen

Her hand lands on the crib. The baby! What if he wakes up when I'm unconscious because he drank too much and couldn't control himself? 'Get a hold of yourself.' She surprises herself by slapping him but her hand imprint on his cheek is proof she did it.

His eyes widened at the sting in his cheek. 'I can't believe you would slap me like that.'

'What if you bite me and drink too much? Chances are that I will pass out because you have no control. What if he wakes up hungry? Do you want to put me on my back in bed with him on top of me while I'm unconscious? That's not going to work and is bad for him.' Oh god, I might need... 'Reiji?'

Hearing his name, Reiji appears and stops Ayato on time. 'I explicitly told you that we can't bite her for at least a week. The baby needs her attention the most. Until then, you settle with the blood we have. Now, apologize to her.' He crosses his arms and waits for him.

Relieved that he came quickly, she checks with the baby. Still asleep. She caresses the baby's cheek.

Maybe I'll go for a student at school. School starts soon again. 'I'm sorry, Risa.' Ayato eyes the baby but teleports away.

'I needed to talk to you, anyway. School starts again. You're coming as well-'

'I graduated already. Since going to school was no longer an option when I was pregnant, I took homeschool and managed to graduate when I was six months,' she explains and shifts her attention to him. 'That way, I could give my full attention to the baby once he's born. Besides, who would babysit him when he relies on me? I breastfeed him, Reiji, and I doubt he would accept the bottle.' I barely started extracting milk, dammit. 'There aren't many bottles anyway.'

He folds his arms over his stomach. 'How did you graduate at the age of eighteen? I'm in my senior year, and you graduated before me?'

'Advanced classes. I took a test first that placed me in senior year. However, I didn't want to be the target of bullies by being pregnant. Even the principal accepted my situation and allowed me to follow online classes. It wasn't easy but I did it in six months.' She tells him when the baby makes a noise.

Reiji unfolds his arms. 'Which school?'

'Ryoutei Academy, I had nights I could barely sleep and used it to follow classes.' She picks the baby out of the crib. 'Are you getting hungry, sweety?'

Very well, I'll check it out, but I doubt she's lying. 'That does mean you will be alone during the night until we get back from school.' He follows her with his eyes to the chair.

She positions the baby better in her arm. 'I can handle it for some hours.' I can finally hear him cry and possibly learn the difference.

✽✽✽

Being out of bed, Risa moves the crib closer to her bed and the trolley so she can change him without going out of bed. Then she turns the light off for a nap. I should've done that from the start. It pays off because she sees a movement in the dark. 'If you're here to change his diaper, I already have.'

Reiji noticed the change. 'You are quite resourceful.' His eyes go from her to the baby sleeping next to her bed.

'He shouldn't be so far away from me in the first place.' She replies while he sits down. I guess I have to talk to all of them. Wait a minute, you can all teleport. What stops him from taking me downstairs to discuss this? He can take me downstairs! One thing at the time. 'Do you know how he communicates?'

'Sounds, movements... What do you mean?' He pushes his glasses back up.

'Why do you appear in my room when he makes the slightest noise?' She folds her hands together in her lap.

'It means he's in discomfort. I could calm him down or change his diaper. If he wants to be fed, I would wake you up.' He wishes she would give him straight answers. 'What is it this time, Risa? You do know that you can't do everything by yourself...'

She interrupts him by shaking her head. 'I meant that you need to let him cry. He's two days old and I don't know his cries. That's how babies communicate. They have a cry for food, a diaper, gas, air, and attention. I only heard him cry when he was born.'

'Do you have any idea how much that hurts to our ears? There is a reason, I come here so quickly. If he cries he would wake up everyone.' He lectures.

Once more, she shakes no. 'I don't care.' She sees his frown. 'It hurts my ears as well. Just let him cry, that's what babies do. He cries for all kinds of things, I want to know those cries.' She's pushed on her back.

His eyes glow red while pinning her down. 'If he cries anything could happen. Do you want to risk the life and health of your baby? What if Kanato loses it and bites the baby? Or that Subaru destroys a wall in the nursery.' He spots the vein in her neck and wants to punish her for her rude behavior.

'Reiji, he's a baby. He cries when he wants something and every cry means something else.' She realizes his red eyes act like a warning. 'I said I don't want anyone in my room if I need to feed him. However, you come in so fast to make sure he doesn't wake everyone up? You only wake me up because he's hungry and you can't calm him down. I can feed him if I know his hungry cry. This says more about you and the others. None of you have ever...'

'I think I'll quench my thirst the usual way.' He wants to bite her but she pushes him away.

She holds his face to prevent him from biting. 'Didn't you tell Ayato that no one can't bite me for at least a week? If you bite me now, they all want to.'

'Then I'll have to punish you differently...'

'No, Reiji, it means you have no patience anymore. Have you ever had a baby in this house?' She cuts him off with a finger on his lips.

He shakes his head.

'I guess I have my answer. None of you knows how to act or be responsible for a baby. Someone like your brother is different because he can take care of himself. Howbeit, a baby can not and relies on his parents for everything. Therefore, he cries to let me know he wants food, a diaper, or burping,' she continues without removing her finger. 'No one here has experience with a baby. Neither do I, but I'm better prepared by going to classes, support groups, and the hospital. So I have a little more hands-on information and I practiced a lot. That's why I even volunteered at the hospital to help with the babies.'

He considers biting her finger but doesn't by seeing the look in her eyes. Instead, he surprised himself by kissing the top of her finger. 'It's not going to be easy. The moment he starts crying, most of us will be annoyed and frustrated.' It means that she will need protection from the others. None of them likes to wake up from a baby... Am I really considering this? He would almost smile because she was blushing.

'I'm here because someone in this house is the father-' she stops for a moment and drops her finger. 'I could stay somewhere else. Maybe above the garage or something? That is if you want a chance of being an uncle but without being responsible for him. We would still be close by while not being in the mansion.' She rolls away from him to avoid eye contact. 'Why am I here anyway? No one wants the responsibility of being his father. The DNA test is yet to be done but so far I only get help from you. And you're his uncle. I can do this myself too, say the word and I'll leave with my son. From where I stand, both me and my son aren't wanted. Like we're nothing but a nuisance.' She turns her head away from him. 'I mean... I'm nothing but a mother or a walking blood bag for you.' She swallows and pushes her tears away. 'I'm just a human. And you throw away humans so easily like we're not worth anything. The only thing you want is blood. You proved it yourself.' With her arms around her, she stays by the window.

'Risa?' He starts but, for once, he has no idea what to say. He goes to her but right before he could touch her shoulder, she speaks up.

'Just leave.' She whispers without looking at him.

Where did we go wrong? He teleports outside and stays at the door. Only to find his brothers in the hall.

Risa musters up the courage and turns. He did leave. She gives in and starts to cry. 'Sorry, sweety, mommy has a hard time. What was their father thinking? None of them are ready for a baby.' She lays on her bed and muffles her cries with her pillow.

***