Strings Attached

Chapter Twenty-Two

Brianna and I, on the other hand, did not have a loving dad. Our father could not care less about us. He was indifferent to us.

"I need to... Use the restroom," I said, handing the baby back to Brianna.

Sophia nodded and pointed at the direction where the restroom was located nonchalantly.

I sighed and left the room quickly. I did not feel like being with my brother anymore. I just could not help seeing him as the reason why Dad had left.

I rushed to the restroom and shut the door behind me. Then, I took out my phone and dialed Teddy's number, knowing he was the only person who would understand, and the only person with whom I wanted to talk.

The phone rang two times, and then he replied.

"Hello?" His beautiful voice made me go numb, but I snapped out of it as I remembered the reason why I was calling.

"I can't do it, Teddy," I said, sighing.

"Of course you can!" he exclaimed. "If anybody can do it, that's you."

I turned to see the ground. "I can't help blaming the baby for everything," I admitted. "I know he's not guilty of anything, but... I just cannot help feeling jealous of him. Does that make me a bad person?"

"What? Of course it doesn't!" he remarked. "It's completely normal!"

"Do you really think so?" I asked, biting my lip.

"Of course," he said. "It's normal to feel that way."

I smiled. "Thanks for making me feel better," I said.

"No problem," said Teddy.

I sighed. "So what are you doing?"

"Just helping your mom to cook dinner," he said. "She says hi."

I smiled. "Tell her I love her and miss her."

"Will do," he said. "No love for Teddy?"

I chuckled. "Nope."

"You're mean," he said. "You break my heart."

I smiled. "Too bad."

He chuckled. "Well, I got to go. Things are getting ugly. The chicken's threatening to explode. I'll call you tonight, okay?"

"Okay," I said. "Thank you, Teddy."

"You're welcome, Chris," he said as he hung up.

***

That night, after having dinner, Sophia and Dad headed upstairs and left Carlos with Brianna, telling us they would appreciate it if we took care of him while they took care of some things, which probably meant they were about to have sex.

I rolled my eyes and sighed, but Brianna nodded eagerly because she loved our baby brother. I felt terrible because I did not want to take care of him, but Teddy was right: it was normal to feel that way at first. I still had not gotten used to Baby Carlos, but I hoped I would soon be able to.

Brianna and I took the baby to the room where we were going to sleep, and my phone started ringing as soon as we sat on the bed. I checked the caller ID. It was Teddy. I smiled and placed the phone on my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Chris," he said gently. "How's everything going?"

I sighed. "Awkward." I lowered my voice. "I think they're having sex."

"I heard you," said Brianna, rolling her eyes. "You're disgusting."

I stuck my tongue out at her.