The Hook-up

Chapter 204

Bruno got dressed after he watched Lauren quickly put on a t-shirt and her underwear to go get the babies. "Laur?" Bruno asked seeing her holding Ezra on her left hip and Everlee on her right turning around to walk into the living room.

"Yeah?" she asked sniffing from the tears she had just finished crying.

"Let's go play with the babies before I have to pack..." he said in a sweet voice taking Ezra from her arms. Lauren followed Bruno to the living room where they found a pile of loud and bright toys to hold onto with their babies. They sat together for the next few hours taking to the babies and playing with them. The talking and playing eventually evolved into Bruno singing some random song about the toys making Lauren laugh uncontrollably as he got up, still holding Ezra to go to the drums to add to his lyrics.

"Let's go watch, Ev..." Lauren said standing up to watch the two boys. Lauren watched Bruno reach for a drumstick twirling it with the hand that wasn't holding a baby unknowingly twisting it right in front of his son's face making Ezra reach for it out of curiosity. As their son's hand reached for the drumstick Bruno jumped to catch it making it slip from his hands making it slide right back toward Ezra's face to his eye making Bruno and Lauren jump as they all stood their n silence for a few seconds before Ezra let out an ear piercing scream. "Bruno!" she yelled as he jumped up with Ezra in his arms turning him around to see his son crying with a big red mark around his right eye.

"What do I do?" he asked over his son's cries.

"Take her..." Lauren said in a demanding, yet concerned voice switching babies with him. She held onto Ezra looking at his eye as all four of them went to the kitchen. "Ice?" she asked pressing the freezer to get some ice in her hand. "Hold on, baby..." she said softly to him as he continued to cry as she put the ice on his face very carefully. She turned to see Bruno handing her a paper towel to cover the dripping water. "He's going to have a bruise..." she said as his cries lessened the longer they stood motionless. Lauren readjusted herself for a second standing next to Bruno who was watching intently, along with Everlee. As Lauren readjusted she saw Everlee's hand reach out for the paper towel. "Hey!" she half laughed taking the paper towel away from her.

"Maybe I should go back in the living room with her...." Bruno suggested.

"Yeah. Go do that...." she said frustrated by the moment not sure how to react to one of their first accidents with the babies. Lauren leaned against the counter holding the ice under her son's eye watching him watch her carefully. "Shh, Ez...your dad didn't mean to do that....he loves you a lot....he was just trying to play a song..." she told him throwing the small piece of ice in the sink after putting the wet paper towel in the trash. As she turned around she saw Bruno sitting on the couch with his daughter talking to her the same way she was talking to Ezra. He held onto her carefully running his fingers through the mass of curls that adorned her head. He smiled at her and reached for the bright toys that caught her attention on the side. She quickly grabbed the toys from his hand placing one in her mouth making him laugh at her. "You have a good dad, Ez..." Lauren told her son as she reached for a container of milk that she had pumped the night before. She poured it in a bottle with her free hand and then fed it to him, unsure if he would be comfortable with the bottle. She encouraged him to take the bottle by moving her fingers around the bottle so it felt as though it was the same with her. After a few minutes she was able to get him to drink the bottle. She walked back to the room to see Bruno still with Everlee.

"Trade you?" he asked taking the bright toy from his daughter.

"Yeah..." she smiled watching Bruno's eyes mover down to his son. "Aww, Ezra, I'm so sorry....it's going to leave a mark...." he told his son who looked miserable with the big red mark on his eye. Lauren took a step back looking at her son from a distance.

"What if they call DFPS? Oh my god....Bruno...." she gasped.

"What do you mean? Accidents happen, Lauren...." he told her moving the bottle over a little.

"No....they're going to come over here and then we're going to get arrested because who would believe that a drum stick hit a three month old?" she asked him almost starting to hyperventalate as she walked toward the kitchen to get her daughter a bottle.

"Laur....come on...." he tried to calm her down seeing her hand start to shake as she poured the bottle for Everlee. "Let me finish...." he said taking the bottle from her hand. "Go sit down....please..." he told her as she walked toward the living room. "Your mom is nuts sometimes, Ez...." Bruno told his son who had finished his bottle. He took the full bottle handing it to his wife who had since calmed down.

"I'm not crazy. That kind of stuff happens all the time. Remember Ryanne? Larissa's friend? She works there and said that she has to investigate every single report that is given to her. So like this...:"

"It would have to be reported, Lauren. Come on. When you go to daycare tomorrow just make sure they know...." he tried to calm her down.

"I guess you're right. We just have to tell them this happened. But what if there's someone new there and they start wondering?" she rationalized.

"There won't be anyone new there, Lauren. He is going to be fine..." he answered her.

"I overreact sometimes..." she admitted.

"You think?" he asked with an unknowing sarcastic tone.

"What?" she asked him confused by his sarcasm taking him seriously.

"You do!" he defended himself.

"Like when?" she asked now wanting to know what he was talking about.

"Like earlier today? Or anytime you think about her?" he asked.

"Ugh. You are being dumb!" she sighed walking away with Everlee.

"Lauren!" he exclaimed making Ezra jump out of shock of his father's emotions. "Stop it..."

"What do you want me to do?" she asked him. "Forget that she's even there? Because she's there. And no matter what you say or how many times you say it she's still there and I still worry."

"I can't keep doing this, Lauren." he told her in a calm voice. "I get it. I fucked up." he started as her eyes widened. "Really? They can't understand us yet. I fucked up. I messed up and I messed around. And I'm sorry. But you can't keep bringing it up. You have to get over it. It's not going to happen again." he said in a frustrated tone.

"Whatever, Bruno." she told him walking toward the kitchen. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Whatever is easy, Lauren." he answered looking at her seeing the frustration in the way she was walking. "I didn't mean it, Lauren...." he told her looking down at Ezra placing him in the play pen they had in the living room. "I'm sorry I said that. It was mean." he tried to make the moment a bit more bearable.

"Then don't say it." she said looking down at Everlee trying to decide how she was going to cook dinner with her daughter in her arms.

"Do you want to hold her?" he asked walking over to her with the wrap in his arms.

"Yeah...." Lauren answered feeling Bruno's arms around her as he moved the two of them to wrap his daughter tightly near her mother's heart. As he finished he put his lips near her neck and whispered.

"I'm sorry...." against her neck.