Teenage Baby

Chapter 12

Chapter 12:

Lou felt like something velvety soft tickled his heart—a certain happiness, pride even, that filled his chest with warmth and admiration. His baby trusted him, in a way or another, that he wouldn't hurt Leo. Maybe not completely yet, but it was far enough progress for his relation with Aaron in such a short time. Lou thought of it again, and suddenly all happiness drained away, quickly replaced by a hollow ache.

That's so selfish, Lou mused. He didn't want his baby to trust just him. He wanted him to love them all equally, but something was so heartwarming about him being the first of the three to whom Aaron begins unfolding.

  Aaron heard the echo of a door being shut somewhere far across the corridor, and his heart raced, goosebumps rising on the back of his neck. Where was Daddy taking Leo and why did the hell did he shut the door like that?

"What's he gonna do to him?" Aaron whispered, staring worriedly past the door of the kitchen. It suddenly hit him—the sinking realization of how uncomfortable Leo must be, stuck in a room with Daddy: the most intimidating of the three. Aaron tried moving out of the chair, but he only clashed with the plastic trapping him in. He gripped the tray and tried unhinging it frantically. When he came to no avail, he desperately tugged at the straps restraining him instead. "I need to get out. Leo, he must be so scared."

"Um, baby, careful there," Lou said as he clutched the sides of the chair and pinned its legs to the ground, afraid that Aaron's incessant movement would send it crashing aside. "Calm down, love, you're gonna hurt yourself."

"Calm down? How do you want me to calm down?" Aaron just about shouted, a fair and noticeable amount of dry sarcasm projected into every word. "Leo's probably being abused in there, technically because of me, and you want me to calm down."

  Lou was taken aback at Aaron's furious attitude. It kinda hurt his heart. He'd just thought his relation with his baby was improving, but that turned out harder than he'd thought.

Just when Lou opened his mouth to speak, Mommy interjected instead, "Aaron, watch the way you talk with your Uncle. That was very naughty of you. You're going for a timeout. Twenty minutes. Now."

Sighing, Lou touched Aaron's's hair, but Aaron just moved his head away, too consumed in his worry about Leo to remember that he should be obedient. "No, it's okay," Lou said. "I know he's just scared. No need for—"

"Lou, take him to the naughty corner. I know he's worried about Leo, but that doesn't mean he can shout like that. He needs to learn."

  "But," Lou spoke quietly, then decided it was pointless and carefully picked his baby out of the chair.

Aaron partly appreciated that Lou was trying to help him out of a punishment, but he wasn't in the best mental state to think about it properly and shake hands with him.

So Lou carried him to the living room and set him in the notorious naughty corner, one that purposely wasn't occupied with any piece of furniture, and served perfectly for a timeout. "You have to keep standing for twenty minutes, baby. I'm sorry, really."

  Aaron stood there, but his mind kept bouncing back to Leo, wondering what could possibly be happening to him, what abuse he could be undergoing. He tried to calm down, to remind himself that he'd gone through a punishment himself and it hadn't been too bad, but then again, it was his first. What if Daddy hadn't hurt him too much because it was the first time? What if he were much more violent otherwise? His shoulders shuddered at the thought.

  Minutes passed, and Aaron's back began aching. He'd always suffered with back pain (because he'd totally had the most luxurious life) and he hated every second of it.