Page 60 of Without You

Glancing down at Lia, I notice her eyes getting heavy while drinking her milk. “Why is she sleeping already, what time is it?”

“It’s midday, you weirdo,” she answers. “Nap time.”

“I slept until midday?” I say a little too loud.

“Shhhh,” Victoria hisses. “If she doesn’t nap, that’s on you, and you’ll be on baby duty for the rest of the day.”

“Relax,” I say, trying to placate her. “She’s not going to wake up. She’ll be on her best behavior for her Uncle Deacon.”

Victoria rolls her eyes, and then lowers her voice, “So, what did you do last night?” she asks, getting right to the point. “Dad said you came home late, which I’m guessing explains the sleep in.”

“Yeah, Julian and I went out,” I say as nonchalantly as possible. “Got drunk, made some new friends, you know the usual.”

“No.” She shakes her head vehemently. “No, I don’t know, because none of that is the usual.”

“God, you should see your face right now,” I say with a soft chuckle. “Is it really that unbelievable?”Wait till you find out I kissed him.

“Not unbelievable,” she corrects. “But very fudging”—she eyes Lia— “different.”

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I groan in frustration. “Can we not do this right now? I’m hungover and Lia is sleeping.”

“Fine,” she concedes. “But can I at least say, even if it’s different, it’s nice to see you two trying to be friends.”

“It is?”

“Yeah.” She tucks her legs underneath her, making herself more comfortable. “I never understood why you weren’t friends in the first place.”

I leave the statement hanging in the air, too embarrassed to defend my reasoning. As an adult, it seems petulant and childish to have been jealous of all the attention Julian got when he was here. From my brother. From my parents.

Hindsight allows me the ability to see it wasn’t on purpose, nor was it his fault. It’s not like he’s ever gone out of his way to be the center of attention. I realize now, he’s just got that way about him. Something that makes you want to be around him.

“He and Rhett just had their own thing going. I’m older and just had other things going on.”

“I get that.” She grabs my foot and shakes it. “You’re both kind of loners, so it’s good to see you two spending time with one another.”

Scoffing, I jerk my foot out of her hold, pretending to be upset. “I can’t figure out if you’re insulting me or complimenting me.”

“You know I like to keep your ego in check.”Rising up off the bed, she points at Lia. “Are you going to go back to sleep with little miss, or grace us downstairs with your presence?”

“Don’t you need someone to watch her while she sleeps?”

“Nice try, Deac. I can leave my phone in here and switch the app on that connects to Hayden’s phone downstairs. The second she stirs, we’ll hear about it.”

“Fine,” I huff. “Let me freshen up, take a shower, and I’ll come down.” Gently trying to shift away from Lia, I awkwardly climb out of the bed, trying not to wake her. I move her over to the middle and then build a pillow fort around her.

I feel Vic step up beside me. “I love seeing you with her.”

“Is this the pregnancy hormones talking?” She swats my chest, and I loop my arm over her shoulder, giving it a little squeeze. “She’s beautiful, Vic. You made the cutest kid. She better watch it though, I think this guy’s about to give her some competition.”

She places a hand over her subtly protruding stomach. “You think it’s a boy?”

“I’d bet my kidney on it.”

“You can keep your kidney, little brother. I’m going to set my phone up so it can creepily watch her, and I’ll meet you downstairs.”

It takes her all of five seconds to situate it on my nightstand, facing Lia at the perfect angle. The whole concept is crazy, I mean, millions of kids did just fine without their parents stalking their every move. But I’m not a parent, so what do I know?

Rummaging through my duffel, I pull out a pair of sweats, some underwear and a t-shirt. After the last few days, the thought of unwinding with everyone actually sounds appealing. Victoria and I both leave the room at the same time, and I head for the bathroom.

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