The Phone Call

I lay in bed in tears all night,
Alone, without you by my side.

***

CHAPTER XVII

*****

I COULD GUESS a million places Daniel could've wanted to take me to after he had taken the small bag from me, filled mostly with Mateo's clothes, and put it in the trunk of his black car.

My most hopefully guess was my apartment back in New York, but the second he turned a corner off the main road that led to the airport, I knew it was unlikely. The drive was quiet, the only sound being that of the rain pattering against the roof of the car as Teo drifted in and out of sleep in my arms.

Daniel didn't have any sort of car seat for him so it was the best we could do.

We had two other cars with us; one in front of us and another one behind us. Both of them were at max capacity, every seat occupied by Daniel's men who were there for protection and nothing else.

A part of me wanted to ask why we needed so much protection. The last time I had gone out with him, it was just the both of us, but I decided to keep my mouth shut. I was angry at a lot of people in that moment and Daniel was at the top of the list.

My ringtone filled the silent car, making both Daniel and Mateo look at me. I smiled down at Teo before reaching into the pocket of my sweatpants and pulling it out my phone.

The smile dropped once I realised who was calling. I wasn't ready to speak with him yet but with shaky fingers, I answered.

“Um. Hi.”

“You're not at the safe house.” Derek's voice lacked all hints of humour, only further adding to the anxiety I felt at answering the call.

Instead of addressing his statement, I decided to redirect the conversation, hoping he would forget. “How's the honeymoon going?”

“I'm being serious with you, Araceli.”

I let out a sigh, finally giving up the facade. “How did you find out?”

“Do I look stupid to you?” he almost hissed, making it difficult to keep a neutral face. I brought my nails to my mouth and began gnawing down on them, looking the other way so neither Teo nor Daniel noticed my nervousness. “You were supposed to be there by yesterday. The guards tell me you didn't show up. I say 'fine, it could just be the traffic'. Still, I call you to make sure, but do you know what happens?” he said nothing and I said nothing, leaving us both in silence until he let out a dark chuckle. “You know what happens. Tell me what happens.”

“My phone was dead so I didn't answer.”

“And you didn't even think to call me. Charge it maybe? Even send a text telling me that you're okay. You instead leave me here searching for you like a madman.”

“Stop yelling at me. I'm not a child,” I said into the phone, trying to steady my breathing. I couldn't stand when people yelled at me. It made me feel scared and vulnerable and I hated that.

“Then why are you acting like one?” he sighed, finally lowering his tone. “Just tell me where you are.”

I pressed my nails into my arm, trying to find something worth telling him but nothing came to mind. Instead, there was silence which definitely ticked him off.

“Am I talking to you?”

“I can't say,” I finally said in a low voice, staring hard at the trees as if they were the cause of all my problems.

“What do you mean you can't say?” his tone had taken a scarier edge to it, making me surpress a shiver as I clenched my jaw. “Do you not know where you're at? Can you not read the signposts? Hell, opening your phone will give you your location in seconds.”

“I know that,” I hissed into the phone, hating the condescending tone he was using with me. “You just won't understand unless I tell you face to face.”

“What will you say with your mouth that your phone won't be able to pick up?” he asked sarcastically, making me roll my eyes and kiss my teeth. “I'm going to ask you this one more time. Where are you?”

“I saw my dad and he directed me to someone who'll keep me safe.”

“Are you serious?” Derek laughed even though he sounded like he found nothing funny. “What has your father done for in your lifetime that I haven't done in two years?”

“Derek.” My voice had dropped significantly, my tone quickly changing to that of warning as his words began venturing into dangerous waters.

I opened my mouth, ready to say something disrespectful as hell and put him in his place when a voice in the background spoke.

“Hey, asshole. Give me the phone.” There was a bit of rummaging, as if they were fighting for the phone until it had stopped and Morgan's voice came on. “My love?”

“Morgan,” I sighed in relief, feeling happier that I was talking to her.

“My love, where are you?” she asked, sounding worried. “Ignore Derek, okay? He's currently drunk on his worry for and will sober up in maybe half an hour when he starts to regret everything he's just said. We just want to know where you are.”

I bit down on my bottom lip and continued staring out the window, not seeing anything at all.

“I'm somewhere.”

As if sensing my nerves, Mateo placed his head on my chest, wrapping his arms around me in the way he usually did when he wanted to be comforted. Yet, I couldn't help but feel this was his attempt at trying to comfort me instead.

“You can't tell us where you are so we can make sure you're safe?” she asked, her voice taking on a hopeful tone.

I shook my head before realising they couldn't see me and gave a verbal answer instead. “I can't. Not yet, but I will soon. When the time is right?”

For a minute, there was no sound from either one of us. Just silent thinking.

“And you're not being held captive?”

“No, I'm not being held captive. I promise.”

“You're sure?”

“I would know if I've been kidnapped, Morgan,” I laughed, making her let out a small chuckle from her side. “I promise, I'm safe.”

“If you're sure...” she trailed off, giving me one last chance to use the secret word we had both made up in the occurrence of one of us being kidnapped. Upon my silence, she sighed and spoke again. “Look, Araceli, You're still young.”

“You are too,” I pointed out.

I could almost see her dismissing my point. “Well, you're younger. You're barely just an adult. Still a measly little teenager at heart—”

“I'm not though.”

“—Your brain isn't fully developed—”

“Morgan.”

“—And your hormones are still all over the place since you just came out of puberty.”

“Morgan!”

“Okay, okay,” she laughed, bringing a smile to my face without even trying. “All I'm trying to say is that, you may be an adult, but you're still young, dumb and stupid. Please, make sure you think everything through before you do shit. Don't act based on emotions or impulsively.”

“Speaking from experience?”

She laughed at my subtle insult, almost making me laugh too. “You already know it.” She let out a breath and became serious again. “I just want you to take care of yourself and Teo. Always make the best decisions for the both of you guys.”

“I will.”

“And never ever hesitate calling Derek or me if things get bad. We're always here for you. Even if Derek is being an asshole. Look at him,” she laughed, maybe not realising that I couldn't see whatever she saw. “He's already starting to regret it. Anyway, take care of yourself, babe.”

“And you too, my love,” I said back, feeling my mood being lifted. “Enjoy your honeymoon.”

“We will now,” she laughed before saying bye one last time and ending call.

I dropped the phone in my lap and fell back against the seat, closing my eyes as I let out a breath of relief.

“You were talking to Derek?”

The question from Daniel had made me freeze, the atmosphere quickly changing as I opened my eyes and stared straight ahead.

“Daniel, please,” I sighed while brushing Teo's hair out of his face. “I'm not in the mood for this now.”

He only chuckled in response, heeding my wishes but letting me know that the conversation most definitely was not over.

I looked out the window, watching the tress whir past us in silence, lost in my own mind because I had no idea what I was going to do next, but I knew that something needed to change.

***

The car slowed to a halt, making me open my eyes and take a look at my surroundings. It was late evening and we seemed to be on a narrow gravel road. We were surrounded by thick trees that stood tall and proud as the rain still continued to pelt down hard on the car.

I was about to start yelling at Daniel, confused as to why he would bring me and a child here when I set eyes on what sat in front of me.

A large, two storey house.

The huge, iron gates in front of us rolled open, giving us access to drive into the spacious front yard of the big home.

Daniel was the first to swing the door open, not minding getting soaked through while I had to give myself a pep talk. Mateo seemed eager to get out of the car and let out a squeal of excitement as soon as the first few drops of rain drenched his curls.

I slammed the door shut and followed after Daniel towards the large, wooden entrance of the house. At this point, I didn't even try keeping up with his large strides. I walked at my own pace, allowing him to have reached the door and unlock it by the time we reached him.

I stepped into the cold, dark space, the echoes of our footsteps bouncing off the walls and coming back to us as Daniel closed the door behind us. From the window of wherever we were, there seemed to be a few other cars driving in through the gate too but I didn't dwell on it too long.

I instead turned to Daniel, catching him just as he switched on the lights. The once cold, dark space became warmer and inviting as I let my eyes roam over the interior. From what common sense could tell me, we seemed to be in an entrance hall or foyer of the home. There were two large windows on either side of the door, one left partially open while the other was shut tight.

From my position, I could see straight ahead of me into a large, modern looking kitchen with marble table tops and fitted appliances. To my side was an open living room that was a step down from the foyer with only a few pieces of furniture that didn't look like it generally matched each other.

There was another open doorway to my left that seemed to lead into a hall and right in front of me was a large staircase leading up to the second floor landing overlooked the foyer. In general, as pretty as the house seemed to be, it came off as empty and devoid of life. Like nobody had lived in it ever since it was built.

The sound of the men outside got louder, their voices ringing across the front yard as they tried to organise themselves. I frowned and held Teo closer to me before looking at Daniel who was already watching me.

“Who are the men outside?” I asked, my voice echoing around the empty foyer even when I had tried to keep it as low as possible.

“They're guards,” he answered, walking closer to me. I forced myself to stay put and not take a step away, letting him get close to me for the first time in a while. “Look around the place and tell me if you like it.”

I raised an eyebrow at him as he took Teo away from me, ignoring the way he squealed and kicked his legs out in excitement. Daniel had turned Teo to face him, his lips raising into a rare genuine smile. Looking at him, it was so obvious were Teo got his dimples from. I just hated the fact that after all the shit we had been through, I had only noticed it now.

Lost in my daze, I hadn't noticed when Daniel had walked off with Mateo until the kitchen was flooded with light and it's interior was much more visible to me.

“Wait,” I called out, making him halt. “What if I get lost?”

“Then find your way,” he responded simply as if it was that easy.

I decided not to dwell on it because what else did I expect from him anyway? After letting out a loud breath, I turned to the doorway beside me, deciding to start with that first.

As I walked down the dark hallway, taking note of the second, more isolated sitting room, the large bathroom and the two bedrooms on this floor, I couldn't help but think about why he had brought me here.

The obvious guess must have been because he wanted me to stay here for the time being considering the fact that I had to pack whatever was of value to me. The home was nice, I had to admit, but I would have to get along with the person that lived here before I could even think about sharing it.

Even if I did get along with the person, I would hate to intrude on their space like that. The clear solution to the problem was to go back to New Yorn but the issue with that was obvious.

There was a second set of stairs all the way at the back of the house, so I decided to go up that one instead of walking back out to go up the one in the foyer. Since these stairs were more isolated, the place where I ended up was isolated too unlike the balcony that overlooked the foyer.

I made my way through the dark halls, pressing my palms against the wall so when I ran into a light switch, I could use it. There seemed to be a total of five other rooms on the second floor, most of them having their own bathrooms as well. It didn't surprise me. From the outside, I could tell that the house - more like mansion - was big, but not overkill. It was nowhere near the size of the Reyes Estate, but it was more than enough for a single family. Maybe even two.

I walked up to the last room that I hadn't visited and placed my hand on the doorknob before turning it and letting myself in. As soon as I switched on the lights, my breath was stolen from what I had seen.

It was a nursery.

The large room was split in two, the part I was standing in being the obvious playroom. It was filled to the brim with things that any child would find joy in playing with from stuffed toys, to soft throwing balls to even a little table where they could draw. The walls were bright, a mural of different colourful animals on it with a single wall being grey.

The second part of the room was much calmer. The walls in this part were a subtle shade of grey and green that mixed well together and didn't draw too much attention. The floor was carpeted grey and the curtains blocking out the light from the window were a dark shade of grey as well.

There was a crib on one side of the wall with small toys and blankets in it, only adding to the cozy atmosphere. By the crib was a large armchair that looked so comfortable, I almost wanted to sit in it just to make sure. On the other side of the room was a changing table and a dresser which I didn't doubt was to hold the baby's clothes and nappies and whatever else it needed.

There was a small shelf with a small assortment of books and a large closet, and yet with all of these things, the room still felt so empty. I found it odd. A baby was new life, so if the owners of the house had a baby, why did the place feel so dead? Especially the place where the baby seemed to spend most of its time.

It was none of my business so I didn't bother dwelling on it. I made my way back out of the room, switching off the lights and closing the door behind me before walking down the hallway towards where the main stairs were. Daniel wasn't wrong in his expectation of me to find my way. The house was huge, but not too confusing with a clear path from one place to the other.

I floated through the foyer again, ignoring Mateo's giggles that came from the kitchen and allowed myself into the main sitting room. It still seemed as it was before with a single armchair, a two-seater and a coffee table in the middle. The bedrooms were the same, only having the bare necessities like a bed, drawer, nightstand and closet but that was it. In fact, the nursery was the only room that seemed to have the slightest bit of life in it and it was still lifeless.

A large entryway with no doors led to the dining room where a small wooden table sat in the middle. A large, diamond (or what looked like it) chandelier hung from the ceiling. From the dining room, there were two double doors. Common sense told me one led to the kitchen. The other set of double doors, after pulling back the curtains, I found led outside to the patio outside in the large yard.

The yard was fenced off by dense trees, giving the house a truly isolated feel and a couple yards away from the patio was a large pool that seemed to be... empty. More questions arose in my head, but I shook them away and decided to follow Mateo's giggles until the bright lights of the kitchen met my eyes.

I let the door close quietly behind me before making my way to the island that sat in the middle of the large space. The kitchen seemed to be the only other room that was fully furnished with its dark interior and all its appliances in place.

Daniel hadn't acknowledged me even though I knew he was aware of my presence. Teo had smiled and waved, his pacifier keeping him from yelling 'momma' for the whole world to hear like he usually did. I smiled back at him, taking my time to make sure he was okay before turning to Daniel who had his back to me as he washed something in the sink.

“Why are we here?” I asked, even though I wasn't fully expecting a proper answer from him.

It was so difficult to get him to open up about anything to me. Even when it had everything to do with me, he always withheld information until I was the last person to know.

I was so tired of being left in the dark, but what could I do? I doubted beating the answers out of him with a stick was really going to help, so the only other option I had was to take control of this whole thing and I knew that wasn't a viable option.

“Do you like the place?” he asked me instead of answering, making me let out an irritated breath.

Teo let out a giggle at the sight of me rolling my eyes and held his hand up to his mouth to suppress it. I couldn't help the smile that lit up my face because of him.

“It's nice,” I answered, shrugging my shoulders as I made my way over to the island to take a seat. I really didn't want to start a fight with him in front of Teo. “Who lives here?”

He switched off the tap and dried his hands off against his jeans before turning to me with a blank face. “Come with me.” Before I could call him out on yet again, avoiding my question, he was walking out of the kitchen, making his way towards the front door.

I let out a quiet sigh and turned to Mateo who was staring after Daniel. “Come on, baby,” I muttered, bundling him into my arms. “Your papa is being a stupid prick again.”

“Papa?” he repeated, looking up at me with wide eyes. I knew he only picked up on the word because it wasn't the first time I had said it in his presence.

I bit down on my lip before nodding. “Papa.” I brought my voice down, gesturing to Daniel behind his back so he wouldn't know we were talking about him. “He's your papa.”

“Danny,” he said, pointing at him.

“Don't point,” I whispered, pushing his hand down as he looked at me. “It's not good to point.”

“Bad,” he said, shaking his head as if disappointed in himself.

“You're not bad, my love,” I muttered before I placed a kiss on his forehead. He let out a content sigh and rested his head on my shoulder, letting his eyes flutter close.

As soon as I stepped out of the door, my eyes fell on Daniel who was standing on the porch, talking to a few of the men that had come with us. Once he saw me, he gestured for me to join him, making me slowly walk over to where he was standing.

“This woman,” he said once I had reached them, redirecting the men's attention to me, “her name is Araceli.” The men's eyes seemed to light up with recognition at the mention of my name, but none of them spoke up. “You answer to her from now on.”

The men, all varying in height with different shades of brown her, looked at me before looking to Daniel. It was the only one who didn't have brown eyes - who had green eyes instead - that spoke up.

“So...” he stuttered out, taking a step forward. “You're boss,” he pointed to Daniel who raised an eyebrow at him, “and you're boss-lady,” he pointed to me before shaking his head suddenly. “Wait no. Bossman,” he corrected, pointing again at Daniel. “And boss-lady.”

“Are you done?” Daniel asked, clearly bored even though I was on the brink of laughter.

“Sorry, bossman,” he said, taking a step back as I pressed my lips together to hold in my chortles.

Daniel glanced at me as I turned away to laugh silently before rolling his eyes and addressing the men again. “Tomorrow, Ruben, I'm not going to be around, but I want you to take her out to buy whatever she needs for herself and the house. Am I clear?”

I looked up just in time to see the three men nodding even though he only seemed to be addressing one of them.

“Jorge.” The one who had been talking previously perked up at the sound of his name. “When she comes back, you'll show her around the place and introduce her to the maid, right?” The dark-haired man nodded. “Good.”

Daniel nodded and turned to me, his lips set in a straight line. “These are your guards. The maid's shift has ended, but you'll meet her tomorrow anyway.”

“I don't understand, Daniel,” I said, bringing my voice down as I glared at him. “Why are we here? Who does this place belong to?”

“The person who goes by the name on the deeds,” he rolled his eyes as if it was obvious.

“And who is that person?” I hissed, getting fed up with his games. All I wanted was answers and I couldn't comprehend how he found it so hard to give them up.

“You,” was his simple reply, yet it rocked my world harder than I had ever experienced.

“What do you mean by—”

“Boss,” an unfamiliar man came running up to us, cutting off my question. “We just got an alert that an unknown vehicle crossed checkpoint three.”

I looked from the security guard to Daniel back to the guard, trying to figure out what that meant. Were we in danger? Had we been followed to this supposed safe haven?

Daniel hadn't said anything for a while, not addressing the situation with the urgency I had expected from him. I could see that he didn't find the news very pleasant though in the way his jaw clenched.

“Deal with it,” was his simple command to the guard who nodded at him and ran back to his colleagues to give the order. I couldn't help but wonder how exactly they were planning on dealing with it, but it was truly none of my business so I kept my mouth shut. Daniel turned to me, a stern look on his face as he spoke. “Go inside and put him to bed.”

I narrowed my eyes at him and glared, hoping he could feel how pissed I was without me having to say anything. I didn't need him to tell him when to put my child to sleep. I could feel him dozing off on my shoulder and not his so his command wasn't appreciated.

“I'm not your employee,” I stated firmly, continuing to glare at him. “Don't order me around.” And then I turned around and headed back to the house, ready to do what I knew was best for my child because I knew him better than anyone else did.

***

The weather had only seemed to get worse later that night. The rain started pouring down hard again, much like the last night and accompanying it was thunder and a generous dose of lightning.

The clouds rumbled beneath me as I made my way down the stairs where I hoped Daniel would be. It had been a couple hours since I last spoke to him and within that time frame, I did put Teo to sleep but I did so reluctantly.

“Daniel?” I called out quietly as I tiptoed through the dark house. There was no response, giving me the feeling that he may not have been around, but I knew him better. “Daniel,” I called out again.

“Warmer.”

I couldn't help but roll my eyes because of course he would find this to be a game. I followed the sound of his voice allowing myself into the dark kitchen where his silhouette stood by the windows staring into the dark garden.

“What are you doing in the dark?”

He didn't turn around to look at me. He hadn't even acknowledged me apart from his small joke in the beginning. He seemed to be deep in thought, leaving me to sigh and shut my eyes.

What were my feelings towards him? I claimed to hate him yet all I wanted to do in that moment was take away his worries. At least now I no longer had to beat myself up about it because he wasn't actually the enemy. He was protecting me from whoever that person was.

“I'm going home,” he declared in his same deep voice that had elicited butterflies instead of fear in me for the first time in a while.

I opened my eyes, now staring straight at him while he stared straight at me. A frown fell onto my lips once his words had registered.

“It's storming, Daniel,” I rolled my eyes, “don't be daft.”

“It's your home,” he said, brushing past me as he made his way to the front door. “I wouldn't want to make you feel uncomfortable in it.”

“What do you mean? I'm not uncomfortable with you around.” As hard as it was for me to admit, I felt safer with his presence than without in the new environment. Besides, the house was empty enough as it was. “Daniel.”

He continued walking, not paying any attention to me as I followed after him.

Thinking quick, I raced past him, hopping over the simple step that kept the sitting room from the foyer and used my body as a barrier between him and the door. I knew it wouldn't take him much to push past me, but I didn't care because the last thing I needed was him getting into a car accident at this late hour.

“Araceli,” he warned, a frown falling onto his face once he set his eyes on my human barrier. “I don't want to fight with you.”

“And I don't want you to die,” I hissed, taking the key out of the front door and stuffing it in my pocket. “You'll need to get passed me before you can get passed this door.”

He raised an eyebrow at me, as if asking me if I really believed I stood a chance before taking a step towards me. I knew this was a battle I wasn't going to win, so when my phone had started blaring, halting Daniel in his tracks, I couldn't help but feel triumphant.

I pulled it out of my pocket, frowning at the unfamiliar caller ID before deciding to answer the call anyway.

“Hello?”

“Araceli?” the voice on the other end of the phone was an unmistakable one. I couldn't help but start worrying at the urgency in his tone.

“Dad?” I asked as if I wasn't already sure of who the caller was. “How did you get my number? Why are you calling so late? Is everything okay?”

“Who are you with right now?” he asked, completely ignoring my rapid slew of questions.

I furrowed my eyebrows and wrapped my arm around myself, briefly meeting Daniel's confused gaze before strolling away from the door. I heard him groan, but decided to ignore it.

“I'm with Daniel,” I answered shamelessly. “Why?”

“So you're not alone right now?” he asked. I let out a small sound to confirm his question, allowing him to speak again. “Please, give him the phone.”

I turned to Daniel with a questioning look, wondering if him and my father knew each other before taking slow steps towards him. “Sure, just give me a minute,” I said into the phone before facing him. “Do you know my father?” He stared at me as if I had grown two heads, but didn't respond which was no longer surprising to me. “He wants to speak with you.”

He looked to me and then looked to the phone in my hand. I held it out to him and without another word said to each other, he took it from me.

“Mr. Cruz,” he said in acknowledgement as I pressed myself up against him to listen to his conversation. He glared at me and took a step away, but I got closer to him again and tried to press my ear against the phone.

Any logical person would want to know why their father was talking with their ex so my reasons weren't stupid, but it really didn't take Daniel long to get fed up with me.

Taking me by surprise, he grabbed my neck and pulled me closer, the cold look in his eyes sending a shiver down my spine. He took the phone away from his ear for a couple seconds and leaned down to my height, bringing us so close our breaths mingled. “Behave yourself,” was his simple warning, delivered with the slightest squeeze of my throat before he pulled away from me completely and made his way back into the dining room.

I followed behind him, his threats doing nothing to scare me but stopped dead when he opened the back door, walked out under the patio cover and slammed the door shut right in my face. I stood glaring at his figure for a couple seconds before rolling my eyes and turning away.

I wasn't sure if I was more pissed at Daniel or my father. He could've just asked me to give him his number if he wanted to speak to him so bad. And even then, what business did the two have anyway? Unless they were hiding something from me - which wasn't too unlikely anyway - then I was the only link between them.

The thoughts continued to race through my mind as I jogged up the stairs, making my way over to Teo's room just to check up on him. When I had left, he was sound asleep by the time I had clicked the door shut. Imagine my surprise when I glanced into the dark room, only to see him wide awake, standing up in his bed.

“Can you not sleep?” I whispered as I clicked the door shut behind me. He shook his head and pouted, reaching out for me as I slowly made my way towards him.

He grabbed a handful of my shirt, resting his head on my chest once I had reached him and taken him into my arms. I walked towards the armchair and plopped down into it, picking up the large blanket on the floor and wrapping it over the both of us.

The thunder and lightning continued loud and clear outside, the room illuminating slightly every time there was a strike, but none of us seemed bothered. I curled my legs up under me, getting comfortable in the seat as Teo snuggled into my body and finally fell asleep again.

Minutes had passed by and I was on the brink of dozing off when the sound of the door creaking open alerted me. I peeled both my eyes open, watching Daniel's figure as he let himself into the room.

“What did you talk about?” I asked, carefully getting up with Mateo in my arms to meet him halfway. “What did he say?”

“They're looking for you,” was all he said, yet it was all I needed to hear. I held Mateo closer to my body as Daniel walked over to the armchair I had been sitting in and sat down. “Here,” he said, handing my phone back to me.

“Thank you.”

If I could have said anything else just to fill the awkward silence that had ensued, I would have but my mind had come up empty. I hated the fact that this was how we were. While I could never seriously say that Daniel was a warm, open kind of guy, he had his moments and before we split those moments came often. Now they were far and wide to come by and my bitter attitude wasn't making it better. I knew Daniel hadn't had a hand in my trafficking like I had originally thought, but a part of me still felt spiteful towards him. It was like I was trying to get revenge for how he used to treat me back then by being a bitch to him.

I knew I had to get rid of that residual hurt because just as much as it was affecting Teo's relationship with him, it was affecting me as well. I needed to open up a little bit.

“He's asleep?” he gestured to Teo in my arms and I nodded. “Why won't you put him in the crib?”

“He'll wake up,” I answered honestly. “This is a new environment for him and he needs time to adjust with someone he's familiar with.” He made a sound in his sleep, making me turn my attention to him and hold him tighter before turning back to Daniel. “I'll put him in when he's deeper into his sleep.”

It was only after the contemplating look on his face had passed that I realised what was going on. He was learning and I was teaching him.

“Do you want to carry him?” I asked, taking a step closer to him. Daniel's eyes widened in worry and he shook his head, but I still placed Mateo on his lap anyway. “You don't have to be scared. He won't hurt you.”

“That's not what I'm scared of,” he muttered as he cradled Teo closer to his chest and wrapped the blanket around his still body.

I watched him for a couple seconds as he stared down at Teo in what I understood to be awe. It was like the moment I had first given birth to him, but a year and a half late. It didn't matter. I knew Daniel was experiencing all those same emotions that I had felt that day. The awe, the anxiety, the joy... the love.

I opened my mouth to say something but decided against it and instead made my way towards the door. “Goodnight, Danny.”

He snapped his head up at the use of his nickname, his eyes narrowing at me but I had only let out a small laugh and let myself out of the room. As I walked to the room right beside Teo's, I couldn't help but feel like I was going to wake up to him gone.

The issue I had with that thought was why it seemed to upset me so much.

*****

I know, I know. We're a little late but at least it's not never, amirite?

Anyways, I'm currently working on rewriting the first book and it's kind of good ngl but I don't know if yall want me to take down the first draft and put up the second or should I just leave both of them up?

The only reason I want to take down the first draft is because I'm really not that proud of it but if yall want me to leave it up then I will.

N e ways, I'll see yall later this week. Byeeee