The Playboy's Misfortune

6: Desire

"I was done, but you undid me
Classic me to run when it feels right
Now I wish we never met
'Cause you're too hard to forget"

~-~-~

Whenever I returned home, Chelsea was behaving like a zombie while the baby cried its lungs out. I would be drinking on the balcony with my earbuds while she walked around the room with the devil in her arms.

It didn't make sense why the kid cried so badly but it was obvious that Chelsea wasn't sleeping.

She would fall asleep while eating, during sex, and even while standing. It was almost as if the baby sucked the life out of her. No matter what she did, the little devil never stopped crying.

There were times when the doctor would come over to check on the baby. I heard them talking that it wasn't sick or hungry,  just felt restless.

The auditory assault had been going on for over three weeks and I couldn't take it anymore.

I threw the cigarette down the balcony and walked inside. It was 11 pm on the clock and the thing was crying in Chelsea's arms. She was on the bed, trying to breastfeed the kid, but at this point, she had grown immune to the crying.

Chelsea's head kept bobbing back and forth as she tried to stay awake. She finally bumped against the wall and didn't jolt awake anymore. She was fast asleep even though the baby cried louder this time.

I pulled out my earplugs and it amplified the noise about ten times. Chelsea had most certainly gone deaf. Upon watching her, I saw the dark sagging under her eyes and saliva rolled down her mouth as she slept in the weirdest position without a care in the world. How could she even sleep in the middle of this?

"Come here," I said, lifting the baby in my arms.

Surprisingly, the child had the softest skin I had ever touched.

To my relief, it was wearing the diaper that the doctor had 'gifted' us, and I walked over to the balcony with it.

For an instant, I was tempted to toss the thing down the four-story building.

"Shh..." I rubbed its back like I had seen Chelsea do. It attempted to pinch my face and I held it away from me in horror.

The longer I stared at the kid, her sobs grew fainter. It stared back at me with brilliant green eyes.

"You have my eyes..." I whispered and cradled the tiny thing in my arms.

She kept making weird sounds while staring at me. I wiped the tears off her tender cheeks. The baby tried reaching for my face while blinking at me.

I wanted to hold her longer.

My daughter attempted to nibble her fingers, but I pulled them out of her mouth, "Don't do that," I frowned.

She immediately clutched my finger. Her grip was firm.

But I froze when she gave me a completely toothless smile.

It felt like I was watching the sunrise again.

My heart raced for some unknown reason as the baby kept nuzzling against my bare chest. Soon, it fell asleep.

It felt like I had accomplished something huge.

I slowly walked back to the bed and laid down with the baby curled next to me. I caressed her small head. She had a few strands of golden brown hair just like her mother.

Chelsea rubbed her eyes awake and stared at me, then at my baby. She slid under the sheets and smiled with her eyes closed. "This is a good dream," she whispered.