Werewolf Baby

PROLOGUE

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot. Repeat. Keep going. Don't worry. Keep breathing. You won't drop her. My new little sister squirmed and made some gurgling noise. I stopped abruptly and held her close to my chest but once I realized what I was doing relaxed afraid I was going to crush her. A nurse stopped and looked at me, "Are you okay, miss?"

I nodded, not daring to take my eyes off my sister, "Fine, thank you."

She nodded warily and kept going. Sooner or later I was going to drop her. Right on her head. Or even worse, into something. Like, the garbage disposal, into a raging sea after a nice picnic on a thousand foot high cliff with the family, into a pot of boiling water, the toilet, the sink, the sewer, the gutter, the possibilities were endless.

"Just to let you know, sooner or later I will drop you. And it will hurt. I'm just apologizing in advance so if one day when you're in school and get an F on a test, that might be because of me. So I'm just saying I'm sorry."I said quietly.

She was so tiny. She was barely bigger than a chihuahua. so adorable in a weird, alien looking kind of way. Humans are weird. Seahorses are pregnant for like a couple of weeks then a bunch of babies pop out. But humans, we stay in there for eight to nine months. I used to think that humans were pregnant for the longest but whales and dolphins are pregnant from 17 to 19 months, sharks are pregnant from 12 to 42 months, and elephants are pregnant from 22 to 24 months.

She had on a pink beanie and was bundled up in a small blanket. I looked at the clock: 1:47AM. Looking around, I saw the sign leading to the nursery. I walked towards in slowly, terrified that I was going to drop her. The nurse inside the nursery looked up at me, "Hello, may I help you?"

I nodded, "My mom wanted her to be in the nursery tonight."

"One of the other nurses would have brought her here."she said stepping forward.

"My mom wanted me to practice holding her."I said a smile tugging at my lips.

The nurse smiled, "I'll take her now, just let me know when your mother is ready to have her brought back."

I gently put my sister into her arms. The nurse turned but then looked back at me,

"What's her name?"

"Emily."

The nurse smiled and gently set her down in one of the little beds that they put the babies in. I forgot what they were called. It had been a long day and a half. Mom going into labor, pretty hard labor. I walked out into the hallway and looked into the nursery through one of the windows. I stood next to a man who was smiling proudly at a small baby right in front. Rocking back and forth on my feet I waited to see Emily's face through the window.

The nurse rolled her little bed into view and I sighed. She yawned. She looked a lot like my dad. And my mom. She was a mix of both, but that's kind of what a baby is. A mix of your mom and dad. From when she opened her eyes a couple minutes after she was born we saw that they were light brown and really pretty, she was born with a full head of black hair. Mom told me that babies hair falls out then they grow it back again which makes no sense to me. And does it all just fall out at once? Or if you rub her head then a clump of hair will fall out? Babies are weird. They have alien shaped heads, they're red, and they don't sound pretty when they cry which is often. The nurse looked up at me. She was a tall woman with blue eyes and blonde hair that was pulled back into a tight bun. The nurse smiled and I smiled back. With a satisfied nod I walked back to my mom's room, no longer burdened by having the immense pressure of not dropping Emily on my shoulders.

I took a deep breath and made my way to my mom's room. She was passed out on the bed. For some unknown reason she had decided to have a natural birth. No drugs. When she told the doctor I thought she was crazy but she stuck to her decision. And almost broke my dad's hand. During labor, you would've thought my dad was having the baby. Mom was focusing on her breathing and Dad was grunting and groaning. The doctor seriously put a splint on my dad's hand.

When he did it I just burst out laughing. Then, my sister was born. I wasn't even in the room, I was right outside. My dad walked out and brought me inside to see my sister for the first time. The doctor and nurses gave my mom some space and let her hold her. Then the doctor asked what we were going to name her. "Emily."my mom said. It was the perfect name for her. Inside the room my mom was passed out and my dad was drifting off. He looked up at me when I walked in.

"Hey, Dad."I said quietly.

I wasn't as tired as he was but I'd gotten a lot of sleep before we actually left for the hospital.

"Hey, sweetie."

"You want me to get you some coffee?"

He nodded, "You're the best."

He handed me some money and I made my way out into the hallway again. My phone buzzed. I had a text from someone: 'What's the news on the baby????'

My best friend, Krista. We were at the pool when my dad came to pick me up so we could go to the hospital. I can't believe that she stayed up this late just to see if my new baby sister was okay. So sweet.

'I just took hr to the nursery' I texted back.

'I didn't have to wait for a reply: 'Is she adorable?'

'especially when she's asleep'I texted smiling just thinking of Emily.

Before going to the cafeteria I had to walk past the nursery again which I didn't mind.

Emily was still there. She shifted a little bit. She looked so peaceful. Opposite of when she was born, she was screaming and crying. Now she looked like she was having the best sleep ever.

I looked down at my phone. It was August 29th. Thursday. We had been planning to go to a restaurant to get lunch or something later. Then my dad came back with the best new ever. Mom's having the baby! So, we spent the next thirteen and a half hours in the maternity ward. Since Mom didn't want me traumatized at the young age of thirteen she ordered that I stay outside. Every once and a while...okay, every five minutes, I would go over to the window where I could peer into the nursery and stare at the babies.

It pained me to walk away but I had to get Dad's coffee. There was a small line. My phone buzzed. It was a text from Dad: 'I gave you a twenty by accident don't spend it all. but get me and your mom some food.'

I looked down at the money he'd given me. There were twenty four dollars in my hand. While in the line I looked hungrily at the food. None of it looked absolutely delicious but after not having eaten for the past nine hours it doesn't really matter what it tastes like. I ended up getting three little dishes of a slab of meat, mashed potatoes and gravy, and peas all separated into their little areas. I put them on a tray and got my dad his coffee and mom and me some water.

My mom was awake when I came back into the room. I passed out the food and we ate in a tired yet comfortable silence. It had been a long labor and I wasn't actually sure if my mom was really awake or in a weird sleep mode state that allowed her to eat so she could sleep longer. God, knows she needs it. Emily, is going to be a handful.

I can feel it.