Laney's Point Of View;
I overslept the next day, I was still a little bit shaky because of what happened. That was the scariest thing I've been through; my life is usually boring and calm. I cringed at the fact that there were disgusting men like the ones from the other night that are willing to pay money for sex––or even just rape people––and it made me realize how tragic it would be if anything really happened to me. I developed now a phobia of going out at night.
Sadly, I expected Justin to stay with me on the couch because I needed comfort but nope, he went to complete his tattoo. I sometimes don't get how does his brain function, he sometimes acted like a 5 years old boy and some other times, he would act like an old, wise man which was weird.
I woke up at around 2pm due to the noise of a baby crying. I jumped instantly, recognizing that the cries belonged to Cara. She didn't just make Justin happy––I get really happy too around her, minus the crying and the pooping part. I touched the carpet with my feet and my eyes were focused on Cara crawling from the bathroom, completely naked.
My face scrunched up with confusion, I knelt down and lifted Cara in my arms, hoping she wouldn't pee on me. I found the bathroom door ajar, and I could feel movement inside.
“Are you decent Justin?” I yelled from the other side of the door. The door was opened by him and he had shaving cream all over his cheeks, a razor in his hand. “Why was there a naked baby wandering around the house?” I joked, letting Cara down again after she started whining.
“Why was there a strange lady holding my baby girl?”
I couldn't resist slapping his shoulder, and I hesitantly did. Justin seemed to be in a good mood––of course thanks to Cara––and he would take it as a joke. He mumbled 'ow' loudly and started shaving silently while I stood watching Cara crawl around.
“You do realize she might pee anywhere?” I questioned him, closing the door of the bathroom on us so Cara wouldn't escape the bathroom. “Justin, you should keep an eye on her because she might hit her head anywhere.”
“I'm going to bathe her after I shave in a minute so calm the hell down Laney.” He snapped at me for no reason. His eyes shifted to me for an instant, he somehow had the guilt look on his face. I hated how he snapped at me sometimes, even when he's in a good mood.
After he finished shaving––I was playing with Cara the whole time ignoring his stares––he rinsed the rest of the rinsing cream and wiped his face with a towel. I was sitting on the floor, my back against the door while Cara was occupied with the pink rubber duck.
I saw Justin kneel down in front of me and he sat criss-cross-applesauce in front of me. I was looking down at my cellphone. My heart started racing when he just sat there, staring at my face. I probably looked like a wicked witch because I haven't showered nor done my hair. My eyes were plastered on the screen of my iPhone like it was the most interesting thing in the bathroom.
“Why are you creepily staring at me?” I asked, putting my phone down.
“I don't want to seem mean but,” he looked away, finally, breaking our intense eye contact. “I'm going to be honest with you. I hate it when people question my parenting skill.” He said with the calmest tone he could muster, probably trying to be as nice as possible. “You should have noticed by now that I snap a lot and you shouldn't really get upset when I do.”
“It's rude Justin.” I admitted, pushing myself up. “I will get upset.”
“Girls.” He groaned, pushing himself up as well. He turned on the faucet for Cara's bath and swiftly cradled her in his arms.
“You act like a girl sometimes––actually, a lot of times.” I exclaimed, taking the rubber duck that has fallen from Cara's hands and gave it to her again. “A moody girl, might I add.”
I heard a throaty laugh escape his lips. “Whatever you say.” He paused to get Cara into the bathtub that was now filled with water and bubbles. “You missed the manslaughter this morning.”
I giggled. “Your mom?”
“Yeah.” Justin nodded, getting down on his knees next to the tub. “She basically stormed inside with Cara and placed her in her crib and then she started yelling at me. I couldn't stop myself from laughing, she 'grounded' me and won't fix the car.”
I stayed silent, not knowing what to say to him. He basically sacrificed his own car so he would get the assholes' attention on him instead of me. His mom seemed unfair most of the time, I thank God for having a mom like mine.
“Danny told my mom that she made Cara eat tomatoes, I’m so excited to see her eat real food.” He changed the subject, placing his hand behind Cara's back so she wouldn't fall. “Uhm, can you find some tomatoes in the fridge while I bathe her? We will save time.”
I nodded; I had nothing better to do. I stepped out of the bathroom and walked lazily to the kitchen. I don't think the effect of the pill that Justin has given me has worn off yet, or maybe I was just imagining it. I found a couple of tomatoes in the fridge and after washing them, I cut them in small pieces and placed them in a plate. Just as I was about to place them on the dinning table, Justin appeared with an adorable looking Cara, she was wearing one of the dresses that I've chosen for her and a headband that she was fiddling with was on her head.
“'Oh my Gosh, she's so cute today.” I chirped, my eyes widening in excitement as I touched her chubby cheeks. “I love the dress on her.”
Justin rolled his eyes, a smile on his face. “The dress will be stained with food in 5 minutes, I have no clean bibs.”
I shot him a death glare, resulting in getting a giggle from him. “I'm not questioning your 'parenting skills' but are you serious?”
“Yeah.” He placed Cara in her new high chair and sat on the dinning chair next to her. I took the chair on the other side and handed Justin a piece of tomato, which he excitably took. “What do I do?” He asked, a nervous expression on his face.
“Feed her the tomato maybe?” I stated in a duh voice, taking his arm and guiding it to Cara's mouth. She opened her mouth and giggled adorably when she tasted the tomato. “I think you should keep holding it to her mouth so she wouldn't choke or anything.” I advised when I sensed that he was going to shove the whole piece of tomato inside Cara's mouth.
She started chewing with the few teeth she had, she was clearly enjoying it. If I were in her place, I would definitely enjoy it since all she was fed was disgusting gooey baby food that Justin always bought for her.
Justin brought another piece to her lips after she was done sucking all the juice from the tomato. No words could explain the expression that was plastered on his face, but I could say that he was the happiest person around Cara.
