Life After Claire

The Wedding

Shane

Instead of getting wasted like I had originally planned, the guys and I decided to just have a few drinks and pack up the apartment. It's going to be hard to say good bye but it's time. When you move you find all kinds of things you thought you lost. I found an old wallet, a hat, and my brother’s report card collection. I'll have to yell at him later.

I'm super stressed out about Brittany's wedding which is tomorrow. I have everything I need I just don’t feel right about my sister getting married. But then again, I don't know how she felt about me having a baby when I was seventeen.

Hannah's probably called me a million times since I walked out of her apartment almost two weeks ago. I'm not mad I just don't understand why she had to hide the fact that the twin’s dad was in their life. I look over at the clock and realize that it's eight in the morning and I should probably get out of bed because Claire is going to wake up soon.

 I walk out into my mostly-empty apartment; everything is packed in boxes which are lying around. How we managed to pack everything in one day beats me but I'm just glad it's done so I can start moving into a real house. It's going to be nice for Claire, Cole and I to all live in a house that is big enough to actually breathe in.

I get up and walk into my living room to fine Logan alone passed out still on the couch. I gotta hand it to him, he hangs out with my brother and all of his friends when they’re smoking and drinking yet he doesn't do any of it. He's a good kid, always has been. Wow I feel old.

"Why are you standing there watching me sleep?" Logan asks groggily.

"I didn't realize you were awake, sorry."

"So you would continue if I wasn't asleep? Because that's not creepy." Logan jokes and sits up so he can stretch for sleeping on the couch.

"Where are Drew, Adam, and Cole?" I ask Logan and he just shrugs at me so I head toward Cole's room to find out.

I open the door to find Adam on the bed and Drew on the floor.

"Guys, did Cole ever come back last night?" I shake the bed and kick Drew so they will both wake up.

"He went to Noah's, guess he never came back."

"Daddy!" Claire's tiny voice squeaks before I ask say anything. "See Daddy's still here." Logan says holding Claire.

"Hi baby girl." I say grabbing Claire out of Logan's arms. "Has anyone herd from Cole?" I get three people shaking their heads at me. I sigh as I run my free hand over my unshaved face.

"I'll call him. Logan give me your phone." I say and Logan starts searching his pockets for his phone and hands it to me.

I walk with Claire into the other room and punch in Cole's number, I know it from memory because my mom made us learn everyone's number in our family.

"Hello?" Cole sounds like he just woke up.

"Where are you?" I ask calmly.

"Noah's, I crashed here last night after we talked things out.. Shane I'm sorry I didn't tell you I just had to get her back..." His voice trails off. I know he's in love with her and I can't stop that. I also know I can't stop him from growing up. He fixing things with Noah makes me realize I need to fix things with Hannah.

"It alright." I say into the phone, Claire's talking in my ear so it's hard to hear what my brother is saying.

"I'll come home right now and explain everything, okay?" He tells me. Wow, this doesn't seem like my brother at all but then again, I haven't been the most attentive lately.