One whole week and still no call from Miss Jimenez! I thought we shared a moment when we met. Even Lenart noticed and warned me about it! After giving it a deeper though, it's possible she is just teasing me, leaving me yearning, building my expectations till the next time she'll call so we could talk about a project of mine. And I'm willing to wait for it! Nathan Price doesn't humiliate himself!

"Are you serious?" You're an engineer, you can put whole machine together but you can't wrap a box in a paper and glue a bow on the top?!"

Maybe... he does, though.

"Annabelle, it's a simple request. Please?" I wouldn't call my smile a mega-watt one but it's the one behind which you can hear an echoing ding.

She puts both of her hands on her hips and just glares at me which confuses me. Am I supposed to be persuaded into changing my mind or...?

"Does that mean you'll helpme?" I squint my eyes a little, trying to guess what in the world does her pose mean.

She leans forward "No!"

"Why?" I argue back. It'd be so shitty of her to do this out of spite or as a sort of revenge because I didn't take her along when Devon and I went shopping the other day.

She's about to say something when her face cringes and she swallows the words she wanted to say. She comes up with others, but it's a question if those are more mild or more toxic than what she wanted to say first. "What makes you think I'm free today?"

Definitely mild!

Would 'You have been so far' come off as rude? "I just... wanted to assume?"

"Because I've always been free so far, right?" She says it in a manner that is very upfront with her anger.

What she says feels like a trial or a choice. A choice where I need to decide if I want to save myself from being castrated or not.

"Well, I'm not free today. I have a job interview of sort." Towards the end of a sentence her voice trails off and makes it all look like a fake excuse.

"I thought you already had a job?" Not one of my proudest moments. You can assume my mouth and thoughts were working at the same time, instead of my mouth stepping on a break.

Annabelles gives me a tiresome glare and she doesn't need to say anything for me to know she wants to smack me.

"But yeah, a better job is a good job, right?" I give her a thumbs-up and an awkward smile which kinda pisses her off but also makes her laugh faintly.

She shakes her head and looks all around the place and anywhere but at me. Maybe it's all to keep herself from smiling more. What good is teaching someone a lesson if they entertain you with their desperate statements and pitiful responses?

If I weren't taller than her, I'd go all puppy eyes on her but I can't do that so I do the next closest thing to it - I dash my mega smile "Annabelle, it's for my nephew."

Annabelle squints her eyes at me and pokes my chest with her finger a couple of times "I have a job interview, Nathan. You can put that panties-drop smile away."

Dammit!

I sigh and my smile fades away. Though, I like her remark about panties dropping. The question is if she was referring to herself or did she just address the common, undisputable truth.

I hope to succeed and try to back her in the corner. With twisting her words I could be successful and sometimes I'm really amazed with myself with how far I can take it. "Aren't interviews held in the morning, though?" I make a manner of checking the time on my watch "And it's afternoon now."

"If you weren't so desperate and thought about what kind of interview I'm probably going to have, you would have guessed it's a dancing audition. And some can last whole day or can start in the evenings." Annabelle tilts her head to the side with her smile sympathising with me "But nice try."

Not long ago I was thinking about pouting but now I'm really concerned about losing this argument. I tried wrapping a gift for May and Daniel before and they looked like children a mother couldn't love. Thankfully, my younger siblings didn't bother too much with the wrapper and were more concerned with the gift inside. Aidan is a lot like Daniel in that case but I don't want to bring him an ugly looking anything no matter what awesomeness is hiding beneath it. I also want to fuck up Patty a little and for that everything needs to be perfect.

"When does your audition start again?" Maybe she doesn't have time today to help me out but she has officially became my SOS call. I can at least offer her a ride there.

"In three hours." I am surprised there's no suspicion in her voice and that she even decides to tell me after I went all interrogative on her.

Something in my head clicks. And it clicks a couple of times. She liedto me! "Three... hours?"

"Yeah, it's what I said."

I slowly start approaching her, taking one step at a time like a cat stealthily stalking its prey. "You have three hours and you don't have time to wrap a gift?"

If Annabelle has been smiling before, it's a matter of the past. Her face expression drastically changes when she gives me a stabbing look. "You're not gonna quit, are you?"

"No! You lied to me!"

"Lied? About what again? And don't shout in front of Devon."

When she starts scolding me for defending my honour with a raised voice, I only feel more pissed. It's the same as if I hit someone with a car and tell them to stop shouting and get moving because of all the traffic.

I'm about to yell some more and specifically address the issue where three hours is a scarce amount of time when she continues her previous statement. She probably thinks I obeyed her order about not shouting. "And if you haven't noticed, the gift you got for your nephew takes your whole coffee table and blocks the TV. Forgive me because I don't want to spend the three hours of preparation that I have stressing over fitting the gift into a wrapping paper."

Okay, the more she's right, the more I feel agitated and insulted. I start fidgeting with my fingers and nervously start tapping with my foot. What infuriates me the most is that I can't come up with a good comeback!

I hate it when she smiles lightly at me. That smile makes it all seem unimportant which is most definitely not!

"If you're really so incapable of wrapping a gift, I can give you a hand some other day." Annabelle puts on her jacket, indicating she's on her way out.

I swear, if Annabelle wasn't Annabelle, the person who takes no bullshit from me, I'd go all tantrum on her. Is it so damn wrong to prepare yourself in advance? And who is to say I won't forget about wrapping the gift and will be in an uproar on the day of Aidan's party? Clearly, there's much more at stake than she thinks!

She looks at me and expects me to say something. Maybe to wish her good luck or to say goodbye but I stay quiet with my lips tight shut. Her brows jump up and her lips stretch in an unbelievable smile "You're gonna keep on sulking? For real? Remind me, who is a year old, Devon or you?"

She snickers at her own funny remark which is not that funny when I think about it but sure, whatever floats her boat.

"Okay, I'll just say goodbye to the little biscuit then," she says excitedly and for a moment there I'm calculating how hard I'd have to pull to pluck her hair out - I think she's reffering to me.

Thank God, I'm too worried about a comeback and less about action - pulling her hair out in this case.

She leaves me standing right where I am like a piece of trash that's obviously not important and finds Devon on the carpet playing with colorful blocks of different shapes, smashing together the star-shaped block against the hole shaped as a square repeatedly. Women may find it cute, I find it horrifying. Nathan Price adopted a moron. Great!

Annabelle crouches down on her knees, takes his little fingers that hang onto dear life to those blocks and kisses them. "Hang in there, little man."

"I think it's me who needs some encouragement for spending time with him!" The built irritation for not getting what I want, makes my voice squealish. Everyone is so damn worried about a baby! The baby is freaking fine!

She chuckles and rises back to her feet with Devon in her arms. When it comes to new toys, he rarely lets go of the ones that are his favourites, no matter how colorful and shiny the new ones are. But when it comes to holding onto Annabelle's tits, he might as well set the toys on fire.

"You're too adorable, Nathan," she says and kisses Devon's cheek. I swear, that little prick is stealing my show! He does attract women, but for himself!

I chuckle, slowly (yes, slowly) losing the rest of my cool. I mean, three hours of preparation are okay spent if you cuddle a baby devil but wrap a gift? Hell no! It's like a suicide! "I'm not adorable. Yes, I'm handsome and hot. But not adorable."

She furrows her brows a tiny bit and I'm ready to take on any argument. She can't overthrow the fact I'm a stud and I'm prepared to fight to death!

"Nathan?" She mutters which leads me to an assumption she's not gonna argue my sexiness. And she better not. "Has Devon been playful and cheerful the last few days?"

"You spent the most of the time with him, you tell me." As if I know. I know he had toys with him and as long as a kid is interested in playing with teddybears instead of pulling out squirrel's tails, I count it as a healthy and happy child. Simple.

"I'm serious. He looks a little pale, look at him." She brings the kid closer to me and I know I should be checking what Annabelle's trying to make me see but I can only think about one thing.

I'm not too fond of her acting like... this. So motherly. Mum used to bring Danny to Dad like that when he was just born. I have no idea how can I remember a detail so small but the picture is clear in my head. And what Annabelle is doing is just too... too much of all that lovey-dovey family bullshit.

"You see? He wasn't as pale as he is now in the morning." She looks back at the kid slightly worried.

"Mhm, mhm," I mutter under my breath even though I see nothing special. The kid is white. White skin tends to look pale sometimes. Big deal.

She turns Devon to her and at the level of her eyes after she's done measuring his temperature with her palm "Does your tummy hurt, honey?"

"Why would anything be wrong with his tummy?" I speak a second too soon.

The very next moment, what looks like a spit with colour paint flies out of Devon's mouth right on Annabelle's chest.

It's the gagging sound the kid makes that clarifies things for me and makes them worse.

"Did he just-?" I don't want to finish a sentence because I honestly hope I am in the wrong.

Annabelle gives me a nervous but disgusted look "Nathan, he threw up all over me."

"Oh, gueehh-" I gag automatically, feeling the stomach saying hi to my throat.

"Nathan! I am soaked in puke!" She warns me, raising her voice as if me gagging wasn't clear enough that I understood her the first time!

"Yes, I can see that!" I yell. I close my eyes, hoping this would help me with feeling nauseous but all I can see is the repetition of Devon puking. "Oh my God-!" I groan and I feel my tongue drawing down and back. 

"Grab him so I can get this off of me!" The panic in her voice is obvious but currently I'm trying to handle my own situation. 

I look at her with absolute terror "Like hell I will! What if he throws up over m-" I don't finish a sentence. Just the idea of that little prick throwing up anywhere near me is devastating, disgusting beyond comprehension. 

I cover my mouth with my elbow, it gives me a feeling that it's more sufficient than a palm. 

"This is not the time for you to be a diva, Nathan!" She angrily exclaims and is about to push Devon in my hands.

When I see the kid with that orange spit at the corner of his mouth that is spread all over , it brings me to the final stage. 

"Eugh!" I gag and reach the sink just in time. It's like someone pulled a lever on my stomach in a clearly wrong direction! 

When I'm empty and feel the need to be nurtured back to feeling like Nathan Price, Annabelle comes closer to tend to my needs "Jesus, Nathan!" 

My waterline is full due to all the tensity the reflux caused but I can still see the puke on Annabelle's shirt. And it's coming closer! Nearing me dangerously! 

She stretches her hand out to me, holding Devon with the other one but instead of them I see two ticking bombs of orange and yellow body liquid I am definitely not a fan of! 

"God, no!" I yell and see there is only one way out of this. I grab Devon and point a finger in the direction of the bathroom and my bedroom. "Go! Just go and take this- eugh- off of you!"

Devon makes a dada sound and normally people would be ecstatic their child is ready to speak its first words. I'm not one of those people. I want his mouth sewn shut until I will know for sure he'll know how to throw up in the toilet and clean afterwards! 

Annabelle scatters to the bedroom to get that filth off of her. On her way there, she yells my way "Clean him up!"

I run with him to the bathroom, eagerly following her advice. At this point I'm gonna follow anything that could help me get rid of Devon's puke. What would be the best strategy? Throw him in the sink and fully open the water? Seems most efficient. 

I may despise puke and Devon and especially if there's a mix of both in this but I wash him carefully and thoroughly. When I pull him out, I soak the water off of him and the soothing lotion and dress him in a yellow body and jeans with straps to hold them up. Looking at him that way I see why people like him. He looks like a mini American boy next-door but I know how deceiving his looks are! 

He doesn't look that pale anymore, though I don't think he looked pale before so for all I know he could just puke again. Though, he does get more cheerful and evil which means he's back to his old-self. 

"Nathan?" Annabelle calls out my name and I notice it with a relief it's not said in panic. 

"Yeah?" 

Devon and I leave the bathroom and see Annabelle peek from the bedroom door. I can only see her head and the top of her shoulders which reminds me she she was wearing a T-shirt earlier that covered her arms. "Is it okay if I borrow one of your shirts or something?" 

"Yeah, of course. Pick whichever you want." I mutter and can't stop thinking about the fact I don't see any bra straps on her shoulders. I could've sworn I saw the outline of her bra under the T-shirt before Devon threw up over her. She's braless... 

"Thanks!" She smiles cheekily and disappears, though she comes back in a second. "Oh, uh, you have the dryer as well, right? I used the washing machine but never the dryer."

"I do. Hand the clothes to me and I'll put them in right away." I want to be nice but I can hear the stomach twisting again. I'll be fine as long as I won't see it and as long as I won't touch it! 

She pushes the clothes out with her leg. Her naked leg. I beam at it a little and see the jeans she was wearing are also on the pile. With that, she closes herself back in and leaves me with smelly clothes. Well, that sucks. 

I try not to think about the substance the clothes are soaked with and throw it in the washing machine as hard and as quick as my arms allow it. I want this to get over with as soon as possible and with as little effort as I can handle. 

I don't like how my dick doesn't care about the puking circumstances as long as there's a naked lady somewhere. The thing that infuriates me is I didn't even see her naked. I saw her shoulders and her ankles and apparently that is enough for my imagination. I don't know what am I imagining her like. What does it for me is just the knowledge Annabelle is in the next room, naked, exposed. Just thinking about it makes shiver run down my spine and leaves me shuddering in a sort of desire. 

The doorbell reminds me I'm staring at the washing machine and its centrifuge and doing absolutely nothing about my life. It's a weird feeling to become aware you're a lunatic staring at a machine but the thing that surprises me most is the actual doorbell. I don't recall I invited anyone over and Annabelle didn't mention anyone popping up either. 

I walk to the front door, checking if Devon's alive and still clean while I'm on my way. I check the peephole in case there are any sellers with their annoying offers. I only tolerate girl scouts and their cookies. 

At the sight of the person raping that doorbell, I think I'm gonna throw up again. With my career being endangered last week, I completely forgot how adoption works and a part of it are the random visits. It's an understatement to say I want to pretend I'm not home and see the couch-sniffer Mr Ritchie walk away. 

A/N: The anticipated chapter is finally here! I think it's just ironic and entertaining to observe Nathan believing he finally figured things out, only to watch his expectations crumble again. I guess I became addicted to it. Are you like me or do you just feel bad for him? 

I'm aware I was supposed to publish the chapter yesterday but I couldn't find the time to properly wrap this up. I hope it was worth waiting for it :3

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~Blackie