Xavier showed up ten minutes till midnight. I had been sitting on the edge of the beige loveseat, rubbing the screeching dolls back as I tried to get it to quiet down. Just as the doll seemed to calm down, the knock at my front door sent it into another round of screaming. I walked toward the door, massaging my temples before opening it.
Xavier stood outside, dressed in a red and black plaid shirt and a pair of worn black jeans. He looked more like he'd been out doing something than sitting in his house getting ready for bed.
I had given him my phone number earlier today, as well as my address just in case he needed to get the doll for some reason, but he seemed entirely out of it when I opened the door, his head snapping up, staring at me like a deer in headlights.
"What the hell is making so much noise?" He groaned, resting his forehead against the door frame. I shoved the baby doll into his arms, shaking my head.
"This thing. The doll. Our baby." I retorted, glad to have it out of my arms for long enough for me to collect my thoughts.
"Why won't it shut up?" He asked. He slipped into the house after a second, leaving me to shut the front door and join him on the love seat.
"I don't know. I've tried everything. It won't stop." I replied. My eyes had grown heavy, my head pounding not helping my exhaustion. He frowned at my words then turned the doll around, laughing to himself.
"It has a switch, sweetheart." He said, his finger hovering over something on its back. I gasped, shaking my head as I leaned forward to see what he was doing.
"Don't shut it off, you idiot! If you do that, they'll be able to tell we didn't take care of it!" He only shook his head and held out the silent doll, kicking his feet up onto my coffee table.
"You can just turn it off at night. You know, so you can actually sleep. It's bad enough I have to do this stupid project and spend every day with you, I don't need to have you sleep deprived and bitchy too." Gritting my teeth, I clenched my hand into a fist as I fought the urge to flip him off.
Who the hell does he think he is? He's sitting on my couch, in my house, and still has the audacity to sit here and talk crap to me?
"No, you can take the baby back to your place and-"
"That thing is not coming back to my house. Absolutely not." He sat upright suddenly, his dark eyes cold.
"God, you're going to be a horrible father one day, you know that? What are you going to do when your wife has a child? Are you going to make her sleep outside with it if it so makes even a peep?" I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest. He pointed his finger at me angrily, like he was scolding a child, as he stood up.
"Shut up."
"Or what? Can you not handle the truth about-" He threw his hand over my mouth, making sure that I couldn't finish.
"You have no idea what you are talking about." He grabbed my wrist, "There is a difference between a real child and a doll, Beatrice. You don't even know me, so stop making stupid assumptions." I shook my head, a sudden boost of confidence washing over me.
"There really isn't. You should treat that doll like you would treat your own child." I pointed toward the doll that he had propped up against a pillow, but felt my own cheeks starting to flush when I realized just how hypocritical I sounded. I had treated the baby the same way when I had been with Brett.
He looked about ready to snap again but was cut off by the doorbell sounding through the house. I whirled around, my lips parting in a mix of shock and fear.
Who the hell was ringing my door bell at midnight?
"Don't just stand there," Xavier muttered, "Answer it." Any other guy would have offered to get the door just in case it was some creep or something ready to drive an axe through my head on the otherside, but I had to be stuck with the one guy on this planet that didn't care if I dropped dead when I opened the door.
"Fine." I walked as slow as possible toward the door, wishing that my brother or dad would hurry down the stairs and answer it for me. But I knew that wouldn't happen. My dad was working graveyard shift again and Brice slept like a log, even during thunderstorms, and considering he'd been up all night with me, I was sure he was catching up on his sleep while he could.
"Who is it?" Xavier asked, still standing in front of the love seat. I opened the door slowly, blinking in surprise when I found no one out on the porch.
"No one is out here." I whispered. I could feel my heart racing as my mind started to wander. I probably should have grabbed my dad's shovel or Brice's baseball bat before opening the door, but it was too late for that now. If someone was out here, ready to attack, I was leaving myself completely vulnerable to it.
"Seriously?" Xavier was behind me now, peaking over my shoulder and scanning the porch.
"Who the hell would play ding dong ditch this late?" The question was rhetorical, but I still tried to say something, only to be cut off by him sliding past me and walking out on to the porch.
I wrapped my arms around myself as I followed him, feeling the early September air nipping at my cheeks. It wasn't until I heard Xavier curse under his breath that I looked up from the wooden flooring beneath me.
"What?"
God, could I be anymore of a child? I'll be the first person that gets killed. The poor innocent teenage girl that was stupid enough to walk out of the house in the middle of the night.
"Xavier?" I whispered as I took another step out on to the porch. Xavier had knelt down and was touching something on the last stone step of my porch.
"What is it?" I tried again.
I hope it isn't a hurt animal. I don't know if I could stomach that.
"Xavier?" I repeated. Finally, he glanced at me over his shoulder, his eyes looking more green than brown under the dim light of the moon.
"Are you seriously crying right now?" He started laughing, "Come over here, Beatrice." I shook my head, feeling even worse now that he knew I was crying.
"Beatrice, there isn't a murderer out here. Stop mumbling to yourself." I finally let out a shaky breath and moved slowly toward him so he wouldn't ridicule me more. He was still laughing once I reached him, his hands still touching whatever it was that was below him. I knelt down slowly, swallowing the lump in my throat as I prepared myself to find a hurt or dead animal.
"It's okay." Xavier assured me, shifting slightly so I got full view of the mysterious thing. My heart kick started when I saw what it was. It wasn't a dog or a cat, or a bird. Nor was it dead.
It was an infant wrapped in a pink blanket, her tiny body in nothing but a dirty and ratty shoe box.
"What the hell?" I gasped.
I reached down to touch her cheek, to make sure she was real and not one of those ridiculously realistic dolls Reborn dolls I'd seen online.
"Is she breathing?" I asked aloud. Xavier nodded, picking the small infant up. I could feel my body start shaking, and I was pretty sure it wasn't from the cold.
Who in their right mind would leave an infant on my doorstep in the middle of the night?
"She's okay. Look, her hand is moving." Xavier said softly. He had pushed the blanket over a little so I could see the baby's hand clenching and unclenching, grasping at the air. I brought my hand to my mouth when I saw the baby still had its hospital bracelet on.
"Who would do this?" He slowly turned to me, but never got the chance to respond. The baby started crying, the sound breaking through the silent night.
What person would be cruel enough to leave a child on a doorstep? What if we hadn't been here? Wouldn't it be considered murder if the child had. . . if it had gotten too cold? Its cry wasn't as ear piercing as the doll. It's possible that nobody would have heard her.
Xavier, on the other hand, looked about ready to set the baby back in the shoe box and disappear into the night.
"Take her! She probably needs a woman's touch." I snorted at the comment, still nervous as I took the baby gently from his hands. The baby's glistening blue eyes focused on me as she cried, her small hand wrapping around my index finger. Xavier's hand was trembling in front of him, lips still parted in surprise as he stared down at the small baby in my arms. He must have realized his hand was shaking, because he clenched it quickly and shoved it into his pocket.
"Hey, it's okay." I brushed my hand along the baby's rosy cheek. Her bright eyes shut slowly, her mouth closing.
"Told you." Xavier stated cockily. I shot him a dirty look before glancing back down at the baby. Xavier stood up, jogging down the steps as he scanned my yard for the person who had left her.
"She's freezing, Xavier. We have to get her inside before she gets hypothermia or something." I said, standing up. The baby's eyes shot open again and she grabbed the hem of my shirt tightly in her hands.
"Okay, let's go." He muttered as he scaled the front steps. Just as he walked passed the shoe box he frowned. Before I could ask him why, he leaned down and picked up a torn sheet of notebook paper.
"What is that?" I asked, frowning. He held up a hand before reading it aloud.
"I wanted to name her Lily. But that is completely up to you guys. I hope you can take care of her. Beatrice, I know you have a heart of gold. Xavier, please make sure you take care of both girls. They need you."
A confused look crossed Xavier's face as he read, his eyebrows drawing in confusion. I knew exactly what he was thinking.
Whoever had left the baby knew us.
"We better get inside." He finally whispered, joining me in the middle of the porch. I could feel myself starting to shake my head.
"Xavier, what about the note and-"
"It's almost one in the morning, Beatrice. We need to get some sleep. We can talk about this in the morning." He hissed through his teeth.
"In the morning? Xavier this is an actual baby! A living and breathing child! Someone left her on my doorstep and you expect me to just forget about it? We need to call the cops or. . . or. . ." I trailed off, not knowing what to do or say as the little girl in my arms squirmed a little.
Was he insane? Did he not realize what was going on?
"We can talk about it in the morning." He said again, slower. I reached for his arm once more, but he had already grabbed my shoulder and shoved me into the house. He slammed the door shut behind us with a quiet sigh as he stared at the sleeping infant in my arms.
"Don't you dare start crying." Xavier ordered. He touched the baby's cheek, as tears pooled in my eyes.
"Who would leave a baby outside in this weather? Xavier, why aren't you even reacting to this!" I snapped. Tears had finally started to escape my eyes and were streaming down my cheeks.
"I don't care because this isn't my problem. Whoever left that baby on your doorstep obviously wanted you to take care of her, Beatrice. Not me, you." I opened my mouth to fight back, to say that the note had said his name too, but he was already moving toward the love seat.
"And if you believe in your warped little mind that I'm going to help you take care of a real baby, you are a lot crazier than I thought." I looked down at the baby once more, shaking my head at her innocent face before glaring across the room at Xavier.
Whoever had left the baby obviously knew Xavier would be here tonight, or they had been watching me. Either way it was creepy and odd. It also meant that the baby belonged to someone that knew Xavier just as well as they knew me.
Millions of questions ran through my mind, but only one escaped my mouth.
"Who's baby is it? And why. . . why did they leave her with me?"
***AN***
*Edited*
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~ChasingMadness24