Fatherhood

Night Troubles

I sat down on the end of my bed. My brain filled with thoughts and yet I could not focus on a single one. Tired, I rubbed my eyes and fell back on the bed as I slowly tuned into the consistent bickering of the three boys. They always had something to say. They reminded me of my brothers.

I stared at the ceiling for a while, just listening to their silly argument, I eventually drifted to sleep.

"Ew, no! Leave me alone Aus!" America screamed, as he jumped over the couch, trying his best to escape.

"You have to kiss him first!" Australia laughed as he ran around the couch with his favourite snake curling around his arms.

"No, that's gay!" America shouted back, just as he tripped over.

"What about my Stevette, she's a girl, would you kiss her!" Aussie stopped, looking down at him.

"No! It's still a snake! Get it away from me!" America flipped onto his stomach and tried to crawl away. Aussie just placed his snake on his back. We were met with horrifying pleas for help. I never realised how high-pitch his voice could get as he continued squealing.

"Stevette? Really? That's a stupid name," I mumbled as I looked over to Aussie.

"No it's not!" Aussie got angry and shot daggers at me.

"Is too. It's not very original since almost all of your snakes are called Steve, Stevie, Stevette, Stevie I." I listed.

"Please! Get it off!" America continued to scream. Aussie knelt down to grab his snake which had begun curling itself around America. As soon as America was free, he cleared his voice.

"You are so lucky that dad passed out," He said sternly.

"Oh yeah, should we call someone?" I said, remembering that he had been unconscious in the basement for the past hour.

"Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad,"

I woke up to see Niue standing right near my bed. I sat up and looked at the clock.

"Niue, it's 3 in the morning. What is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes.

"Can I sleep with you, I had a nightmare." He mumbled. I noticed he had tears in his eyes. I patted my bed and he climbed up.

"What was it about?" I yawned as I sat him on my lap.

"Mum. She was angry at me. She called me stupid for not being able to find her. She said she didn't want to be my mum because I was stupid," Niue started crying.

"You are not stupid and your mother did not leave you because you're a little behind," I reassured, cuddling him close.

"Why did Mum leave us?" Niue asked, wiping away his tears.

"It's complicated." I said, trying to shut down his questions.

"Levi said it was because you cheated on her." Niue said out of nowhere. I was shocked. I didn't even know he knew that word.

"What? I think you should just ignore Levi, he doesn't sound like a good friend." I mumbled.

"He's not my friend. He always makes fun of me for not having a mum." Niue sighed.

"Oh, just ignore him. He probably doesn't have a dad as cool as me," I joked, this seemed to cheer him up. He let out a large yawn, I could tell he was very tired and drifting off to sleep. I waited for him to fall asleep entirely before I took him back to his bedroom. I laid him down in his bed and tucked him in.

I slowly shut the bedroom door as I heard the front door opening. Curious, I made my way to the front of the house. It was Sammy coming home. I waited for him to notice me as he shut the door. He turned around.

"Oh my go-! Dad?" Sammy said in shock as he took a moment to steady himself.

"Welcome home, what were you doing?" I asked, curious to see how much he would admit.

"I went on a night walk," He lied. Even in the dark, I could tell that he was guilty.

"Okay, as long you're being safe. You should get to bed so you are well rested for tomorrow," I shrugged. Walked past me rather quickly. I caught the smell of alcohol on his breath.

"You are being safe, right?" I asked, waiting for a response.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" He said briefly before disappearing into his room. I tried not to doubt him in the past, but he does make me worry. I used to be like that, but I had punishments for getting caught. I just hoped that he wouldn't learn the hard way. I remembered when he used to rely on me, but now he wants to be independent, and doesn't want me there. A part of me is proud that he no longer needs me.

"New Zealand. I don't want to be here anymore." Samoa whimpered, holding tightly onto my hand.

"I just need to get some things for dinner and we will be out of here in no time." I mumbled, patting him on the head. I could tell he was anxious.

"I don't want to be here. Can we go home?" He continued to urge.

"We have to get something to eat for dinner tonight. Did you want to pick out dessert?" I asked, kneeling down to him.

"No, I want to go back. Please," He begged. I picked him up and held him close to me.

"What if I carry you the whole way? We will be very quick and we can go back home." I tried to reason with him. I watched as he nodded quietly. I finished shopping and walked out of the store. I didn't realise that Samoa had fallen asleep when I went to buckle him into the seat. As I shut the door, he woke up. He looked around nervously until I got in the car.

"Ready to go home?" I asked. He nodded again. This was good progress.