Swing Life Away [Kellic]

Chapter Three

In the morning, I was jolted awake by ruckus in the streets below. A gang of men were calling out and yelling taunts into the quiet morning air. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary but Copeland had also been woken up and was now screaming her lungs out. I groggily got out of bed and picked her up to soothe her.

"Shh, baby, it's okay," I cooed, my voice drowned out Copeland's powerful wails and the noise outside.

Vic's head popped up, peering at his surroundings with sleepy eyes and messy hair. It took him a second to assess what was going on and his eyes got wide when he heard the gang yelling in the street. I watched as he jumped up and looked out the window.

Over Copeland's crying, I could hear that the men were looking for someone. Hitting lamp posts and knocking over rubbish bins, they made no effort in making their affairs private. By the sound of it, they were coming nearer and nearer. Vic must've recognised them because his eyes grew wide as he backed away from the window.

"Shit," he exclaimed. He looked at me with panic written all over. "It's them. Those guys are looking for me," he said. "What do I do? Oh my God, they're going to find me. They're going to take me back to my dad. Oh God," he groaned, crouching into a ball.

I listened closely to the insults and taunts from outside. True enough, they were calling out for Vic. Alternating between using his name and various degrading terms, it was obvious that they were not pleasant company. With every second, their obnoxious yelling got closer and closer and Vic's shoulders shook increasing vigor.

This was definitely one of the worst ways to start a day. Copeland was still exercising her tiny diaphragm, crying and screaming in my ear. Now I had not one but two people to calm down. "Hey! Vic, hey!" I shouted over the din. "Nobody's going to take you, okay? They won't come up here. And if they do I won't let them in, alright? You're safe."

"Really? You really mean it?" The boy met my gaze with hope shimmering in his eyes. Or it could've been tears, I don't know.

"Yes," I told him firmly. "Now, I need to you help me take care of Copeland while I get her milk," I said, handing the crying baby to him. Vic looked a little scared as he took the baby from me. "Just rock her a little and talk to her or sing to her," I instructed. "She'll calm down once she's fed."

Vic nodded and tended to the baby. Sitting cross-legged on the floor where he was crouching only moments before, he began singing softly to Copeland. I must admit that he had a good voice, albeit shaky from his own panic. It wasn't crystal clear or smooth. Quite the contrary, it was a little coarse and rough around the edges but it made the words he sang sound heartfelt and genuine. It was soothing in a rugged and down to earth kind of way.

Eventually, Copeland's vocal exercises ceased and Vic's voice got steady. He carried on singing, entertaining Copeland until I got the milk ready. With his calm voice, it became apparent his unique voice could hold a tune in the most soothing of ways.

I handed the lukewarm bottle to Vic. "It's best not to move her around too much now she's calm," I said apologetically, sitting down to face him. "She's quite grumpy in the mornings."

Vic smiled, "It's okay. I like kids." He looked like he knew what he was doing when he brought the bottle to Copeland's mouth. "She's adorable," he complimented. "Copeland, was it?"

I nodded. "Yeah, it was Katelynne and my favourite band," I explained. Then I sighed as I remembered the day when we decided on the name. We were dancing around to their music when Katelynne felt her first kick. Both of us were so excited and happy. I cried. Katelynne was the one who said, "Copeland. We'll name the baby Copeland."

"Kellin," Vic's voice roused me from my sad flashback.

"Hmm? What?"

"I wanted to ask if I could stay here a little longer," he said. "Just until the men leave the area. I don't know how long they'll be hanging around."