Page 32 of Forgotten Pieces

I try using two pillows over my head to mute the noise but it does nothing for me. I should really invest in noise canceling headphones but I don’t even think those would cover up the noise of this kid.

I look at the clock and see it’s only four in the morning. I got home at midnight and fell asleep at two. I need more than two hours of sleep a night. And I need to work the late shift again tonight. There is no way I will make it to midnight.

I roll out of bed and look for something to wear. I find a pair of sweat shorts on the ground and a black ripped oversized tee. I throw them both on and slide my feet into a pair of flip-flops. I grab my giant bag and pull a pair of denim shorts off the ground that may or may not be clean. I pull a shirt off the top of my dresser and smell it. It only slightly smells of booze. Then I grab my makeup bag and toothbrush out of the bathroom and head down the stairs. I pick up my gym shoes and head out the door.

The sun is beginning to rise as I pull up outside Rae’s house. It’s four thirty in the morning and she should be waking up just about now. She usually leaves for work around five thirty so she shouldn’t care if I crash here.

I pull out the key she gave me and am about to put it in the lock when the door opens. Brooks is standing there, his hair askew and in nothing but low-slung basketball shorts. He is rubbing his eyes as he looks at me. “What the hell are you doing here, Tacoma? You scared the shit out of us when we heard tires on the drive.”

“I thought you two would be awake—” I stop my sentence because I see my younger sister pulling on a t-shirt as she walks down the hall.

“Who is it?” she asks, her hair a mess and a flush to her cheeks.

“Oh my god. I am so sorry. I didn’t think, I just thought—”

Raelynn walks up next to Brooks and he puts an arm around her. “Hey T, what are you doing here?”

“Raely, I am so sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt—”

“Don’t worry about it, Tacoma,” Brooks sighs and then places a kiss on his wife’s head. “We’ll finish that later.”

Rae squeezes his hand before he walks down the hall. “Come in then,” she says, holding the door open for me.

“Rae, I really did not mean to interrupt—”

She cuts me off by holding up her hand. “Don’t worry about it. Please. Let’s just not talk about that.”

“Okay,” I answer quickly, throwing my bag on the floor and crashing onto her couch.

“So what are you doing here?” she asks me.

This couch is unbelievably comfortable and I can already feel my eyelids closing. “Theo is the worst roommate in the world.”

Rae starts laughing and then sits down on the couch in front of my stomach. “Harper has been saying he is going through a crying phase again.”

I roll over onto my back and look at my sister. “It’s unbelievable. I can never sleep. And I worked late and I work late tonight and I am starting to look like the crypt keeper with these dark circles under my eyes. I am never going to make any tips if that baby keeps me up all day and night. I can barely even nap without him crying.”

“I can talk to Brooks about you staying with us for a while,” she offers.

“No, no. It’s fine. I just really needed to sleep. It’s been a week of no sleep and I can’t take it anymore.”

I hear footsteps approach. “I’m leaving. I’ll see you around three.”

Rae kisses her husband and watches him walk out the door.

“Are you not working on the farm today?” I ask. Brooks works on his brother’s farm where Rae cooks breakfast for the bed and breakfast Summer runs.

“Not today. No guests on Monday nights. Gives me a day off. Sort of. I am actually going into town to bake for the diner this morning.”

“That’s not a day off.”

“I know. But I don’t really consider baking work.”

My sister is an amazing baker. She should be on a baking show. There is no doubt she would win it all.

“I’ll grab you some blankets and a better pillow. I need to leave soon too.” She leaves and returns with a pillow. Before I can even thank her, I fall asleep.

* * *

---