Songbird [H.S]

FIFTY-EIGHT

Mid-November

"Mumma, play?" A small voice caught Marley's attention, a small tug at her skirt made her smile at her daughter's impatience. She'd already told the girl that she needed to wait for her to finish feeding her little brother but Josie was never one to be amused playing with her teddy bears by herself.

"Soon, Sunny. Baby brother is still hungry, see?" She adjusted herself on the sofa to allow Josie to get a better look at what she was doing, feeling her curious eyes watching everything she did. Josie loved to feel included in things and always had lots of questions, especially regarding her little brother. Why was he crying? Why was he sleeping? Why is he so small? Why can't he talk?

It was very sweet watching her become an older sister, feeling such an intense amount of love for her brother that sometimes she didn't quite know how to handle it. Both Harry and Marley have had to explain to her that sometimes her brother didn't want to cuddle all the time and that she had to be a little more gentle around him because he was small and sensitive to loud noises. Many times they caught her trying to wake him up to play or squeezing him a little too tightly when she hugged him because she was used to her teddies and not a real baby.

Josie had taken a particular interest in watching her little brother breastfeeding, sitting quietly with Marley the entire time just watching her brother peacefully. This time, however, Josie didn't feel like being patient.

"Brother stop now. I want Mumma!" She demanded with a little pout, scrambling up onto the sofa to shove her little brother away from her Mum so she could get the attention. Marley was quick to grab her hand before the baby was disturbed. She was lucky he was such a chill baby, hardly bothered by Josie's tantrums and hyperactive personality. Jay had told her the second child was always crazier than the first, which had worried the young parents a little after how energetic Josie was, however, it appeared it had worked out the other way around for them.

"Josie, no. We have to share. I'll play with you when he's done, I told you that." Marley's voice was calm but carried a stern edge to it that made sure Josie knew she wasn't playing around. The girl simply frowned, a small frustrated huff escaping her lips as she folded her arms across her chest, making Marley raise her brows at the attitude coming from her two-year-old.

Was she that bad as a kid? If so, she probably owed her Mum an apology...

"You're mean. Want Daddy instead." Her lip began to tremble and Marley knew she had to tred lightly if she wanted to avoid the impending meltdown.

"Daddy's at the art gallery, sunny. We can call him if you want." She suggested, usually it was something that worked when she missed Harry. He was very good at calming her tantrums, she seemed to listen better when he spoke to her than Marley.

"Want to play!" She insisted, her voice growing whinier as she kicked her legs out in frustration.

"Lovie? You awake?" A harsh whisper echoed in the darkness of the room, cutting her dream short as she was snapped back into reality. She wasn't sure what the time was but judging by the fact there were no birds chirping outside her window it was too fucking early to be awake.

"Hmm?" She groaned, frowning as she refused to open her eyes. Her dream had been so vivid and realistic that being snapped back into reality so suddenly had disorientated her. She couldn't really make out what the boy was trying to say to her, it was just mumbled noise she'd rather block out so she could go back to dreaming of cuddling the little baby in her arms while spending time with her daughter.

"I can't sleep. Are you awake?" Harry continued to whisper, making her sigh in defeat. Opening her eyes, she let them adjust to the darkness a little before noticing Harry sitting up beside her as he waited for her reply. The covers had been kicked off his body and Marley rolled her eyes knowing that despite sleeping in just his boxers, Harry always complained about how hot he got at night.