Page 329 of Second Sets Omnibus
It’s a middle name we’ve talked about for months now. It was a way for him to honor the sister he held while she passed away¾the girl who was robbed of her life by a simple plane malfunction, leaving Cal with no one but his friends for support.
Kieran takes out his phone in a hurry, tapping away at it. A smile crosses his lips when he looks up at me. “Ly's here.” Placing his phone in his pocket, he stands from his chair and stretches slightly. “She’s going to be a pistol today,” he chuckles. Well, he’s not wrong there. “I’ll be right back. Your brothers are in the parking lot with her. They said they’d visit today, but they have the boys now. Said something about wanting to give us some alone time.” He walks out the door and disappears down the hallway.
“She's going to be so excited to meet her finally.” Ash smirks.
That's a fact. Ly has been counting down the days until her little sister emerged. Every day, she'd mark it off on the calendar, telling me how excited she was to be a big sister finally. It’s like she was made for this role.
Not even five minutes after he left, a squeal happens in the hallway outside the door before it crashes open, and Hurricane Lyric slips through with messy hair and a wide grin.
“Is my baby finally here?” Lyric asks, running into the room with Kieran on her tail. He grins, lifting her into his arms and holding her above the scene. “Mommy,” she says, wrinkling her nose. “Why is the baby on your boobie?” I have to let her stop watching TV. She recites whatever she finds. Not to mention the terrible, scary movies Rad seems to love to turn on in her presence.
“We talked about this, Little Pretty Girl. That's where the milk comes from. Remember?” Rad says, hiding his smile behind his hand.
“I knows that,” Lyric huffs, looking down at Aria with a grin. Her mismatched eyes light up. “I've got my shirt on, too.” She puffs out her chest, displaying a “Finally a Big Sister” shirt Odette made for her just for this occasion.
“It's beautiful,” Kieran says, wrangling her in his lap as he sits again. “Now, remember. We have to be extra careful with Aria.”
“Aria?” she questions, trying the name for the first time. We decided to keep her name a secret. Or, well—we weren’t exactly sure what to name her. “It's pretty. Just like hers. Can I hold her?” She bats her Kieran eyes at me, grinning when I chuckle. “I wants to hold my baby.”
I smile. Her baby. That’s what she’s been calling the little bean named Aria for months now. Since the moment we told her she would be a big sister. I’m sure she won't be so accommodating in a few years when Aria is chewing on herdolls or drooling all over her toys. But for now, Lyric lights up, watching everyone with wide eyes.
“Why don't you sit on the couch over there? Daddy will help you hold her.”
Lyric doesn't waste a second, squealing with delight as she scrambles away from Kieran. With hurried feet, she makes it to the couch and plops down. Her arms spread wide, signaling for them to bring Aria to her. Kieran chuckles at her eagerness.
"All right, you think she's ready?" he asks, peering down at Aria, who no longer suckles any milk out. Her lips stopped moving a few minutes ago, and her breaths evened out. She’s only been on the outside for a few hours and needs a nap, probably from all the chaos happening around her.
"I think so. You want to burp her before you hand her off?" Asher grins, picking up a burp rag from the small bassinet, nods, and puts it on his shoulder. He gently takes Aria from me and places her over his shoulder as I recover my chest. His hand works softly against her back, patting her until a small burp erupts from her tiny body.
"Daddy, what are you doing?" Lyric asks with impatience, pouting slightly.
"When babies drink, they need help to burp," Callum gently explains, sitting beside Lyric with a soft smile. His fingers move the hairs from her face. "So, Daddy is gently patting Aria's back and helping her get rid of the gas."
"She'll puke on you if he doesn't," Rad chimes in, coming to sit beside my bed.
"Ew," Lyric recoils. "Puke?"
I give her a sleepy grin. "Babies are so much fun, Ly. Your sister is so blessed to have you. But they're so messy." Messy is an understatement; I don't think any of the guys are prepared for it. Poop. Spit up. Peeing while a diaper is off. They're in for aworld of hurt when Aria becomes a toddler and refuses to wear a diaper.
Oh, the joys of parenthood.
Asher finally gets another small burp from Aria and then gently hands her to Lyric. "Okay, put your arms like this. And put her head here," he says in a patient voice, moving Lyric so she's properly holding Aria's head. "That's my girl."
"Girls!" Lyric says with a grin, staring down at Aria with heart eyes.
"She's right. They're our girls now," Kieran says, gently squeezing my hand from the other side.
"Knock, knock!" Rocco's voice echoes through the door before he's barreling through it with a grin on his face, peeking through his fingers covering his eyes. “Oh, good. You’re decent. I was hoping none of your girly bits were out.” His expression softens when he removes his fingers, staring down at my ragged appearance. He’s seen worse. "There she is. My tired bestie and her gang."
"Gang?" Rad snorts. "You know, Pretty Boy. Sometimes I wonder about you."
I roll my eyes, too tired for their antics. "Hello to you, too!" I say, waving as his husband Christian and their girl Kat follow him in.
Kat offers me a timid smile, holding a bouquet of beautiful pink flowers. "We got you these," she says softly, placing the vase on my bedside table. "Congratulations," she murmurs so softly I can barely hear her.
Even after her trauma of being with Van, she’s still a timid girl. But Rocco blasted his way into her life, taking his husband Christian with him. They’ve been living as a throuple for a while now. Slowly but surely, I’m seeing the remnants of the Kat that Van left behind when he decimated her trust and put her through Hell. Through West Records, she got an assistant jobback with my brothers. They’ve been easing her back into work. Of course, Rocco told her to stay home. Stay naked. And never leave their apartment. But that’s a whole different story I don’t even want to think about.
Christian looks around the room with worried eyes, glaring at every surface. He keeps his hands in his pockets and only then offers me a small smile. "I made you some chicken noodle soup whenever you're home."
