Carrying The Weight Of The World [on hold]

03 - Family Matters

I pulled myself together, shaking my head ever so slightly. The situation didn’t have to be necessarily awkward, after all, I had been in the same room with Nick before. Once upon a time we had been, well, not friends exactly but something close to it. Maybe if I acted as if nothing ever happened between us, Nick and I could go back to before, to when everything was still okay.

"So…" I wondered while the boy patted my cheek. "Who's my little friend?"

For a moment, I feared Nick would continue to stare at his hands on the table, avoiding me all together. But, at the mention of the boy I held in my arms, he jumped up with a weak smile. Only now did I get a good look at his face and the dark circles under his eyes had me worried instantly.

"I'm sorry," Nick spoke quickly. "This is Matt. He's with me. That little monster didn't wake you, did he?

I shrugged. "It's okay. Seems like I slept long enough as it is."

"I should've kept a closer eye on him." Nick disagreed while I handed him the boy. "He keeps sneaking away. I miss the times he couldn't crawl.”

I smiled weakly in return, a million questions running through my mind. Yet, I was too afraid to ask them out loud. What if Matt was Nick's son? He would've lied about it all this time. Why would he keep his son a secret? He had made it clear to me that he wanted us to get together. What if I had said yes? Would he just have dropped the bomb like that, when it was too late? Even more worrisome, where was the kid's mother? How did she fit in the picture?

"We already ate, but there's still some left for you. I ordered pizza." Declan announced, bringing me back from my thoughts.

I liked pizza. Pizza meant no cooking. No cooking meant no dishes, and I liked that part especially. After I put the pizza in the oven, I opened the fridge.

"Does anyone else want something to drink?" I asked but didn't really wait for an answer. I grabbed a Coke Zero and placed the bottle of Ice-Tea on the table for the guys before taking the seat next to Declan.

Curiosity won over discretion. "So, who's cute little Matt?" I asked.

"My baby brother," Nick answered while ruffling Matt's dark hair.

Relief washed over me.Then again, it didn't really change anything either. It shouldn't matter to me if Nick had a kid or even a girlfriend. "He's cute though," I made a funny face at the little boy, causing him to giggle. "He looks so much like you; his eyes are exactly like yours."

Just then, Matt giggled loudly and flashed a big smile in my direction.

"I knew it Matt," Nick chuckled. "Flirting with beautiful girls, you little womanizer!"

It was kind of funny, but nice, to see Nick playing with the little boy. I started to blush a little as I realized Nick just called me beautiful, but dismissed the thought because I shouldn't allow myself to think like that.

"A womanizer, I don't know but I'm sure he will make a great boxer or something. He already knows how to throw a good punch," I said, referring to how he woke me up. Then I reached across the table and patted Matt on the head and cooed, “Don’t you, little boy!" He started laughing again.

The oven signaled that my dinner was ready, so after I picked it out and put my pizza on a plate I returned to my seat at the table. I didn't think before I took a bite of my slice of pizza. Of course, I burned my mouth, big time. I dropped my pizza on the table and reached for my drink. Being all about good impressions, I just had to knock my drink over in the process, causing the brown fluid to spread over the table.

"Damn it!" I hissed through my teeth, grabbed a towel and started drying the table while fanning my mouth.

"Here, drink this!" Declan handed me his glass, which I emptied immediately. The burn was better but it still felt funny.

It wasn't until I sat back down that I noticed Declan and Nick were laughing at me.

"Little boy, I bet you have more table manners than my little sister over here!" Declan said to Matt, still laughing.

"Thank you very much!" I replied sarcastically to Declan, and refilled the glass.

But Declan continued: "Cassie, I would've thought you to know that food tends to be hot when it comes straight from the oven."

"Thanks again, Declan! You are so funny. But I'll keep it in mind." Then I said to Matt, "Matt, I really do hope that your brother isn't a complete idiot like mine!"

"Since he can't speak, I'll give you my word."Nick said smiling.

"If I ever turn into Declan, I'll let you drag me to the doctor for an antidote."

I snorted. "If there would only be an antidote!" With that said, I tried another bite of pizza. It wasn't too hot anymore, but it still hurt my tongue. I only ate one slice and shoved the rest towards Declan and Nick.

"Help yourselves; I'm going to get some yoghurt." The yoghurt cooled my mouth, much better than hot pizza."So," I said in between spoons. "What were you guys talking about when I was asleep?"

"We didn't wake you, did we?" Declan asked. "We tried to be quiet, you know."

"Oh no, you didn't wake me. It was Matt, he kind of hit me in the face. I told you he knew how to throw punches, didn't I?"

"I guess he does," Nick said. But I saw that the worried look from before had returned.

"Well, do you still remember what kind of food mom gave Tommy when he was about Matt's age?" Declan asked me.

"Why?"

Nick readjusted Matt on his lap. “My mom is travelling, which means I have to look after Matt. She kind of left in a fit and didn’t leave me any instructions and this little man doesn’t want to sleep. He keeps crying and I think it’s because he’s hungry but he doesn’t want to drink either.”

“Maybe he’s teething? Tommy was a real pain back then. He cried nonstop.”

“How can you tell?”

“Maybe you’ll think this is weird, but you should be able to feel sharp edges.” I held my arms open. “Can I?”

Nick handed me his little brother over the table, and watched as I gently slid one finger in Matt’s mouth. This little boy was clearly teething.

“I was right. Do you want to feel for yourself?” Nick’s eyes widened at my question. “He won’t bite your hand off, I promise.”

Eventually, Nick shrugged his shoulders once. As I got up from my seat and walked around the table, I caught Nick’s eyes and had a hard time keeping my emotions in check. A part of me – change that, most part of me wanted to simply pull Nick in a tight hug, telling him everything would work out - with his mom, and with us. That was also the part of me that had chided my conscience all night long after telling off Nick mere days ago. Nonetheless, no matter how small the objective, the more reasonable part of me was, it had the upper hand when it came to my decision-making. Family had to come first, at least for the time being and now that Nick had to look after Matt, I doubted he would see things differently.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Next upload will be in two weeks, around Jan. 14th.

Oh, and most importantly: Happy New Year!