Childish

59

Alex patted the pillow before he grabbed the blanket that sat folded up on the coffee table. "Go ahead and get comfortable."

I settled back on the couch and leaned my head back against the pillow. "Are you sure you don't want to sleep on the couch? I'll be fine on the chair. I'm small enough."

He unfolded the blanket and laid it over me. "Lyla, it's fine. You need the sleep more than I do."

"It's not very comforting to hear the mayor of Alpine say that. You have a whole town to deal with. I can sleep at school at least."

"You don't need to worry about this. Just focus on getting some sleep."

I rolled my eyes. It was nice to not have any responsibilities but that also came with not knowing things and that bugged me. I didn't like being excluded from important things just because I was a baby.

Alex tucked the blanket around me and my bear. "Get some sleep. I don't want Diane to be mad at me because you showed up to school tired again."

"It's fun when she's mad at you though." I giggled.

He shook his head and walked over to the light switch. "It's like getting yelled at by my mother."

"Did that happen a lot when you were younger?"

He flipped the lights off rather than responding to my question.

I giggled. His silence gave me the answer he didn't want to say out loud.

He sat down on the floor just beside the couch with a groan. "Goodnight, Lyla."

I leaned over and forced my eyes to focus on his silhouette in the darkness. "Alex, you don't have to sleep on the floor. Seriously. I can share the couch with you."

"You're not going to give this up, are you?"

"Nope."

He sighed before he got to his feet. He picked me up so he could sit down on the couch and get comfortable without squishing me. "Where's your bear at?"

I looked around the best I could in the dark room before I spotted him poking out from under Alex's back. "You're laying on him."

He pulled my bear out and handed him to me. "Sorry."

I held him to my chest as I got comfortable against Alex's chest. I wasn't particularly fond of sleeping so close to him but I didn't like the thought of him sleeping on the floor because of me. If anything, I should have been the one on the floor.

The room was so quiet. I couldn't really hear Cooper crying anymore, which was a relief. Not getting enough sleep was one of the worst punishments anyone could go through.

I knew Alex and Naomi were doing their best to take care of me and Cooper. It was hard having a new baby around when you'd never had to take care of one before. Even though I was a baby, I was pretty self-sufficient. I didn't need someone to constantly check on me like Cooper did.

I was trying my best to not cause any problems for them or make a big deal over the lack of sleep. I was sure they had known before Ms. Diane said anything. They didn't need any more stress to deal with.

I shut my eyes and forced my body to relax. I wasn't used to being able to sleep at night like I had been before Cooper got colic. I'd gotten out of my routine and that was a hard thing to get back into.

I lifted my pacifier from where it hung off my shirt and put it in my mouth. The comfort of the pacifier was enough to get me to sleep.

But it didn't last long.

Cooper's crying seemed like it was following me. It grew louder until it was enough to wake me out of my sleep.

I turned my face into Alex's chest and whined. I wasn't ready to wake up. I was still so tired.

Alex pulled the blanket back over me and patted my back. "Ly, it's okay."

Naomi walked down the steps with Cooper in her arms.

"Are you okay?" Alex asked.

"I'm going to get him a bottle and see if that will help."

Cooper's loud cries were practically ringing in my ears. I didn't understand how someone so small could be so loud. And how had he not tired himself out yet? Surely, he would have been tired from all the crying he'd been doing over the past few days.

I whined again and again until I was crying just like Cooper was. My pacifier fell away from my mouth, which only made me cry more.

"Do you want me to make her a bottle too?" Naomi called from the kitchen.

"No, I think she'll be okay." Alex grabbed my pacifier and held it against my lips.

I opened my mouth before I rubbed my eye with my fist. I wasn't sure why hearing Cooper made me cry. I didn't always act like a baby or do what babies did. So why was his crying setting me off?

"Cooper will stop soon." Alex put his arms around me and held me close to his body.

I was comfortable being in his embrace and feeling his warmth. He wasn't my favorite person in the world but he was good at getting me to calm down. He wasn't even the best parent but he knew how to help me and maybe that was all that mattered.

---

I slept great that night after Cooper went back up to bed. Between the silence and Alex's body heat, it was the perfect night for me to get some sleep. I knew I wouldn't get caught up on my sleep but it would be a start. Hopefully, I could get back into my normal routine and start sleeping when I was supposed to once more.

Alex lifted me out of my car seat and reached back in to grab my diaper bag. He appeared to have slept well also. He still seemed tired but not dead-to-the-world tired like he had been just a day prior. At least neither of us were grouchy with each other.

I shrunk down into my jacket as he carried me through the parking lot and to the door. It was a colder day than the previous few had been. The wind was starting to blow through and knock the rest of the leaves from the trees that lined the sidewalk. It wasn't going to be long before all the leaves were gone and the cold weather was here to stay.

I hated it.

Alex opened the door and stepped into the warm building. He walked down the hall until he came to my classroom. He opened the door and walked inside.

"There's my girl." Ms. Diane walked over to us and took the diaper bag from Alex. She eyed him carefully when she asked her next question. "Did she get enough sleep last night?"

I nodded. "I slept really well. I might not even need a nap today."

Alex laughed. "Sure. Good luck with that."

Ms. Diane laughed and took me from Alex. "You're taking a nap, Lyla. Just like everyone else. Just like you do every day."

"It was worth a shot."

"Alright. I need to head to work. Be good today, Lyla."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever. Bye."