Dial Drunk - Post Malone

21

Austin wakes to Dre shaking him softly. Levi is not in bed but comes in as soon as he opens his eyes. She frowns at Dre and pouts handing Austin a fresh warm coffee. "I said I would wake him, he needs to rest. You overwork him. Look at his hands. He is stressed," she signs. She looks about ready to choke Dre against the wall. Dre's brows rise and then he looks at Austin's hands. They are not shaking as much as they did yesterday, thank goodness, but he still has to take a large sip of his coffee to prevent it from sloshing out. "It's not stress it's the alcohol," Grassy says popping into the room. Levi's back is turned to him so she does not catch what he says but Austin is still filled with anger. "What the fuck man?" he groans. Levi's eyebrow shoots up and then she turns her head to Grassy. "If it were stress, Dre and I would be the ones with the shaking hands," he says then throws himself on the bed and stretches out. "Ooh, this is nice," he says snuggling up in the covers. "You spilt my coffee, you ass," Austin grumbles. "In time I will spill more than your coffee," Grassy says. That sounds like a warning and it fills Austin with dread. He does not want Levi to know about his drinking, even if it's not a problem. She will be disappointed. Besides, he is going to stop so there is no point in telling her anything.

Levi taps Grassy on the foot and looks at him, that baby goat scrunch in full swing. "What do you mean by that? Austin says it's stress. He would not lie to me. You should be looking after him, Grassy," she signs. "The denial is strong. The question is - which one of you will open your eyes first?" Grassy says. Levi frowns and goes to sign something else but Cecilia appears and squeezes herself into the room. There are now five people in a space designed for one person. What the fuck is going on here? Austin is suddenly very glad he cleaned himself up last night or he would be sitting here in dirty pants with the fucking world around him. "You told them yet?" Cecilia asks trying to push her way closer to Dre. "Tell us what? The secret? Tell us right now!" Grassy says sitting up excitedly.

"Well, I Know Austin and Levi already know because someone could not keep her trap shut," Dre says then looks at Cecilia with a proud smile, "Cece and I are going to have a baby," he says. "A baby!" Grassy exclaims and then scrambles up in his excitement, bouncing the bed around in his insanity causing Austin to dump his entire steaming hot coffee on his balls. "Ahh! Fuck, Grassy!" he shouts shooting up too and trying to save his balls from third-degree burns. "Don't swear around the baby, you savage!" Grassy shouts as he grabs both Dre and Cecilia in a hug. Austin feels Levi's fingers on his wrist as she grabs him and pulls him to the side of the bed she is on. "You OK?" she signs with a worried face as she starts to pull down his pants. "Baby! People," he says grabbing her hand and pointing at everyone.

"Hello there magic pea! We are so happy you made it to earth," Grassy says to Cecilia's stomach as Dre and Cecilia beam proudly down at him. None of them have paid any attention to Austin's burning balls. "May I have permission to touch the incubator, please?" Grassy asks. When Cecilia smiles and nods Levi forgets about Austin too and moves to Cecilia's side quickly. "May I also?" she signs. Cecilia who is beaming brighter than the sun nods again. Then both Levi and Grassy place their hands on her still flat belly gently. Austin's eyes flick to Dre, he is looking at Austin with a lopsided giddy smile, his eyes pooling slightly. Austin feels his mouth pull in a lopsided grin too, a lump forming in his throat. "You worked hard for this. You deserve this," Austin says. "Thank you," Dre mouths back putting his arm around Cecilia and sliding his hand onto her stomach too.

While Dre has everything he ever wanted - Cece, a beautiful home, a good job, and now a baby; Austin feels like he is barely hanging on. He has everything but unlike Dre, Austin feels like it will all be gone in a blink of an eye. One strong wind and the foundations of his life will be torn to shreds. It feels fragile, unlike Dre's life that is sturdy and well-rooted.

"OK. Celebrations aside. We have a busy schedule today. We need to get going," Dre says. Grassy groans and Levi turns her attention back to Austin. "You burnt?" she signs. "No, just sensitive," he says climbing off the bed.