Matthias

Chapter 7

**Matt's POV**

"You're sure you can handle them?" Devin asks me, as he puts on the shirt for his new uniform.

"I'll be fine, Dev! Really, you should have more faith in me! I am their father." I remind him.

He looks at me as if telling me not to go there. "We both know that means nothing. You never stop complaining about how they're trying to kill you!"

"Not kill me! Just put me in the hospital, or something like that..."

"Really, Matt? It's all in your head. They're angels!"

"Sure they are." I'm unconvinced. It never fails, as soon as Devin leaves the room, the boys stare at me for about all of five seconds before they start screaming and crying. Since they'd started crawling it got ten times worse. Always climbing up on the couch, just to try and jump head first into the end table. Do you know how hard it is to keep three ten-month-olds.

Devin grabs the keys and opens the front door, "Be nice, Matt!" And then he's gone.

For some reason I feel sad that he's gone. Probably because now you're stuck with the boys alone, I tell myself.

Ass if on cue, I hear one of my son's wails. Probably Cayden, followed by what I guess is Drew. I count to three in my head and hear Ben's cries join those of his brothers.

"It's okay, Matt! You love alone time with your children!" Did I just say that out loud? I think I did... Shit!

I walk into the nursery and pick up Cayden.

"Hey, bud. It's okay! Don't cry." I say in my baby voice. I walk over to Drew's crib and rub his head softly. Ben stopped crying as soon as I walked into the room. He tends to do that for some reason. No complaints from me!

Cayden soon stops crying, moments like this are the ones that make me glad to have kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my boys, but there's never a minute that I'm not thankful for Devin. He has such a fatherly nature. I don't get how the boys are angels around him. No wonder he thinks I'm overreacting when I tell him something they've done. They never practice their daring jumps from the couch when he's around.

His first day of work will be harder for me than it is for him! I pick Drew up from his crib and take him to the living room. I put both Cayd and Drew on the mat and go back for Ben. He's sitting up waiting for me. He never has a problem waiting as long as his brothers aren't there screaming.

I put them down and walk into the kitchen. I am as fast as I can be while getting their food. I walk-- or jog-- back into the sitting room with three cans of baby food and spoons. I set it down on the coffee table and turn back to the boys. Ben and Drew look up at me grinning. That can't be good.

I look for Cayd only to find that he's no where in sight. My heart drops, as I run through the living room. Not under the table or the couch. Not in the coat closet.

"Cayd?!" I call. I walk toward the hall where the only rooms are Devin's and my bedrooms and the Jack-and-Jill bathroom that connects them. "Cayd?" I call again from my room. I walk through the bathroom into Dev's room.

And, there, in the middle of the room, is Cayden. Sitting up, grinning at me with a rat hanging out of his mouth.

I sigh, "There you are." I reach down to pick him up, but then realization hits me. I jump back and scream. RAT!? He had a rat in his mouth!?

Cayd laughs, causing the mouse to fall out of his mouth. It hits the floor and bounces of his knee. It stops on its side and doesn't move.

That's the toy rat from when we first moved in! What the hell!? I suddenly remember throwing it into Devin's bedroom. It must have rolled under his bed. Guess he never got it out. I pick it up and get Cayd before walking back into the living room.