As the week goes on, Stephen and Alyssa find themselves struggling to get used to their routine with the twins. The sleepless nights, the crying, the constant worrying about the twins - it was definitely stressful, but worth every second. Alyssa's mom was in and out of the house as well trying to give the two some help, being that Alyssa was slowly trying to get back to work and Steph was in and out for practices and pre-season games.
Steph sleepily walked over to the bed at 415AM in the morning. Micah had thrown a crying fit and he did his best to soothe her before she could wake up her sister. He looked at how peaceful Alyssa looked in the bed, hugging onto a pillow like her life depended on it. He softly smiled and climbed in, wrapping his arms around his fiancé. He wanted to make sure she was getting enough rest, knowing the delivery was still taking a toll on her. So, he took it upon himself to cater to the twins whenever needed while Alyssa rested. And although he had practices, games or whatever else he needed to get done during the day, he had no issues with it.
As soon as he felt his eyelids getting heavy, one of the twins began to cry in their Pack N' Play right across from the bed. He sighed, checking to see which twin it was and it was Layleana.
"Who is it?" Alyssa sleepily asked.
"It's Lay."
"I'll get her."
"Nah baby. It's okay. Just sleep. I'll get her."
"But you already took care of Micah."
"Well now it's time for Layleana to get some love from Daddy." He yawned as he got himself up out of bed once again. Before he could fully leave the bed, Alyssa was immediately back to sleep, snoring away. He chuckled as he made his way to Layleana. At this point, both twins were crying now that Micah was awoken by her sister.
And Alyssa slept through it all. Exactly what he meant by letting her rest.
"Aw, what's wrong princesses? What can Daddy do to make you happy?" He says, scooping up the two in his arms. He bounced around until the two were calm, laying their heads on their daddy's shoulders. He continued to walk around the room with the twins in his arms, making sure they were falling asleep. Alyssa slowly opens her eyes, turning around to see if Steph needed help with the girls. She gave her eyes a few rubs before she fully turned around to see Steph dancing and softly singing to the girls in his arms near their balcony doors. She smiled to herself, almost not wanting to go back to sleep just to keep witnessing every moment he has with their daughters.
"You okay, babe?" He turns to face her and smiles sleepily.
"Yeah, we're all good in the hood." He says lowly, afraid to wake up the girls. "I said I was fine baby, go sleep."
"I don't want to."
'Why not? You were just snoring earlier." He chuckled as he slowly made his way over to the Pack N' Play cribs the twins were temporarily in. Alyssa never knew how he could manage to put the twins back to their beds peacefully, but she wasn't complaining. He takes one last look to make sure they were tucked enough, before returning to bed.
"Yeah but I could help, you know."
"Yes, I know. But I'd rather have you rest."
"You're the one who has long days--"
"You know, your stubbornness will never get old." He made himself comfortable by bringing Alyssa's head onto his chest and wrapping his arms around her. "You don't gotta argue with me, shnookums. I mean it when I say I want you to rest."
"Whatever you say, shnookums." She mocked him. "What were you singing to the girls? You got vocals now, Curry?"
"I've been, stop being in denial. I was just singing Rock A Bye Baby. It was the first lullaby to come into my head."
"Cute."
"Not as cute as them loud ass snores coming from you."
"I really don't snore that loud."
"How would you know? You want me to record you next time?"
"No don't do that, oh my god." She playfully slaps Steph's chest. "I'm kind of hungry."
"What do you want my queen? I'm gonna get some water downstairs."
"I want chips and guac."
"Chips and guacamole?? Babe its about to be 5AM. You don't want no apples or something a bit.. more fitting for 5AM?"
"Not really."
"Damn, alright. Well I guess I'll bring that up for you."
"I mean, I can go get it and grab your water."
"Stop it right now. Don't start with me Alyssa." He says sternly, gently moving her to get up from the bed.
"You're too good to me."
"Well that's because last time I checked, you are my fiancé. I'ma take care of you." He says, walking down the steps. He chuckled to himself as he kept repeating his fiance's request in his head. "Chips and Guac at 5AM. This woman surprises me every day." He says to himself as he finally gets to the fridge to grab the guac. He grabs a water bottle and the chips before making his way back upstairs. When he gets to the room, he sees Alyssa looking over the twins in their cribs.
"What's wrong?" His felt his heart rate rise a bit, worried something was wrong.
"Nothing, I'm just watching them sleep." She smiles at him. "Ou thanks, hun." She grabs the chips and guac as she makes her way to the bed and starts chomping away. "Go back to sleep." She says her eyes stay fixated on the iPad in front of her.
"Mm, yeah I will in a bit. You wanna keep watching Making a Murderer?" She nods as he climbs into bed and rests his head on her legs. They contently watch the show with Alyssa running her hands through Steph's hair, making him fall asleep in a matter of seconds.
Seeing the sunrise was damn near becoming a daily routine for Sheri. She couldn't sleep, nor could she eat properly. Even if she did find herself getting tired, she would sleep for an hour or two at most - if she was lucky. Too many thoughts ran through her head, especially the thoughts she tried to piece together when it came to her and Klay. She couldn't believe that it was over. And she couldn't believe that she was replaced so easily.
She hasn't felt this hurt in so long and she hated it. Between her and Alyssa, it was easier for her to bounce back from any downhill situations.
Not this time.
She remembers her past and how dependent she was on reckless behavior. How Alyssa went through it trying to take care of her when she did too many drugs and drank too much alcohol. How it almost ruined their friendship because she looked to these substances more than she looked to Alyssa.
She remember the hurt she felt when her mom left her for the same exact reasons - drugs. She remembers it like it was yesterday; going back and forth between orphanages because no one wanted her. She hated it. The moment she was able to, she began to work in order to save enough money to rent herself a room. But even if she tried to get herself together, she wondered why her mother left and why the drugs were good enough for her mother to leave her own daughter. So she experimented. It took awhile for her to bring herself back up, but she knows for damn sure that if it wasn't for Alyssa helping her through high school, she wouldn't have made it here.
Now, it feels as if her world is falling apart yet once again.
She cries as she checks the clock on the oven, reading 6:36AM. It's 5 o'clock somewhere, right? She thinks to herself as she pours herself a glass of red wine. She scrolls through her contacts to see if she still has the number to her plug that could provide what she needs. Sheri knows its wrong, and Alyssa would be pissed if she found out she reverted back to her old ways. But she felt like she needed it. She felt like she needed to feel that high once again.
The last conversation she had with Klay was awhile ago and it made her mad reading the conversation all over again.
How dare he try to check up on me when he played me for some fool.
She stumbled upon Instagram and Twitter, finding out things she didn't wanna find out. Seeing things she didn't wanna see.
Like Klay and Fatima on a date at the restaurant he took Sheri to on their first date. Which makes her blood boil, confirming her craving for the drugs yet once again.
S: Hey, you still working at the club?
Anonymous: Yeah, what's good Sheri? Haven't heard from you in a while.
S: I know. I think I'm gonna need you to hook me up with some.
Anonymous: You getting back into that?
S: Not trying to explain. Let me know when I can come get it.
Anonymous: Alright. Looking forward to seeing you again.
Sheri knew her plug would have it ready by the end of the day, and that was the only thing she was looking forward to. There was no turning back for her.
Not at this point.