Laney's Point Of View;
I actually found out, after quite sometime with Justin, that he wasn't that bad. He was a weird person in general, bipolar too, I could tell. He couldn't control his anger at all, he snaps at the stupidest things and sometimes even yells for no damn reason. I spent a lot of time in the living room with him but we rarely spoke to each other.
On the other hand, Cara was too adorable for words. She wasn't a grumpy baby at all, she's happy all the time but sometimes when she's with Justin, she just cries. She keeps speaking in her baby language all of the time and I noticed her saying something familiar to 'dada'.
“Justin, did you hear Cara say dada?” I questioned, taking a bite from the Big Mac sandwich. My eyes widened when she repeated it again, rocking herself back and forth on Justin's lap.
Justin looked at me, confusion swimming in his eyes. “What?”
A chuckle emitted from my lips, he was completely zoned out. “She's saying dada.”
“Yeah, I know.” He replied boringly, his eyes flicking back to the TV. He was watching CSI: Miami, I didn't have to fight him this time to change the channel like each time.
“Do you ever care about what your daughter is doing?” I tilted my head to the right, watching as he bounced his knees up and down to keep Cara from crying.
“It's not her first time speaking, alright!” He protested, defending himself.
“Can't you praise her or play with her once?”
Justin sighed loudly on purpose, getting annoyed by my questions. Standing up, he sat back down on the carpeted floor and grabbed a toy that was near by. He gave it to Cara and held her tighter, his arms secured around her tiny body.
“Happy?” His brow raised, I nodded repeatedly, applauding him.
“Can I ask you something, Justin?” Justin nodded, his hand brushing Cara's short strands. “Why are you raising her alone?”
He let out a chuckle, it was more like 'don't ask me that question' chuckle. “You haven't figured out yet?”
“No?” I said with a quiet voice. “Did the mom, er, pass––”
“Nope.” He replied. “She's pretty alive, probably fucking some other guy, you can probably figure out the rest of the story yourself.”
Even though I didn't figure out anything––I had no idea why did he want me to figure it out by myself––I completely shut my mouth. I could tell it wasn't easy for him to say that she's currently having sex with someone else and left the baby to him.
***
I wanted to take a short nap in the middle of the day, but I was sadly awakened by Justin and his continuous shaking. I let my eyes flutter open and the first thing I see is him with a frowny face, hovering over me while standing up.
“Laney, I lost Cara.” I heard his frantic voice speak, his hand grabbed mine and he pulled me up. “Please––I lost her! I forgot where I put her after I went to the mall and I left without her. Oh my god, what am I going to do, she can get––” He was hyperventilating by now, sweat running down his face.
“Let me get dressed, we will search everywhere.” I assured him, getting up quickly and going to the bedroom. I quickly changed into some decent outfit and put on my shoes. I grabbed my phone and a few cash bills and stuffed them in the pockets of my pants. I exited the room to see Justin pacing around the living room.
“Let's go.” I gestured with my hands, he followed me out of the apartment and we both walked to my rental car. I unlocked it and he quickly got in.
