Ian’s jaw was on the floor when he glanced up at Anthony, who seemed a little unfazed at what had just transpired.
“Uh…dude,” Ian tried, clearing his throat.
“Yeah?” Anthony asked coolly.
Ian frowned. “That…Kara just left her kid here.”
Anthony nodded. “Yeah.”
“And you’re fine with it?” Ian asked, furrowing his brow.
His best friend shrugged. “Well, she’ll be back in a few hours.”
“What if she doesn’t?”
“She will,” Anthony replied.
Ian sighed. “Suppose she doesn’t?”
Anthony didn’t answer. He merely sat back down on their sofa, unpausing his game and settling back into his previous routine.
Dumbfounded, Ian glanced down at the baby. Her big blue eyes were staring up at him sadly.
“Amazing,” Ian murmured.
“What?” Anthony asked, eyes still glued to the screen.
Ian kneeled down in front of the baby girl. “She hasn’t cried since she got here…and her mom just left her. With strangers!”
Again, Anthony did not reply.
Ian glimpsed at her again, noticing how her eyes bore directly into his. When she blinked, he noticed her long brown eyelashes. She was a beautiful little girl, that was for sure.
“You think maybe…,” Ian trailed off, coughing, “maybe she actually is one of ours?”
Anthony’s jaw tightened. “Don’t say that, Ian. You know she isn’t.”
Ian stood up. “But you said yourself that you don’t know what happened that night. And let’s just face it, Anthony, both of us woke up in that bed with her. It could’ve been either of us. And the dates match up perfectly.”
Anthony shook his head. “No dude, that isn’t possible. Look, I doubt anything even happened that night.”
Ian swallowed hard. “Anthony, I woke up with ass pain. And I don’t think it was from a girl.”
Anthony glared at him before throwing the controller down. “Don’t. Even. Fucking. Talk. Like. That,” he said angrily through gritted teeth.
Before Ian could reply, the doorbell rang again. Anthony gave him a smug grin before prancing over to the door.
He threw it open, spitting, “now take your damn-“ but he stopped short. Opening it all the way, he revealed their normal pizza guy, Brock.
Brock was a really tall, burly guy with dark hair and eyes. He was also always high from his constant Marijuana use. How he kept a job was beyond the Smosh boys.
“Take my what?” Brock asked, eyes glassy.
“N-never mind,” Anthony stuttered, reaching into his pocket for a tip.
“Hey!” Brock exclaimed, “who’s that?!” He pointed to the little girl on their floor.
Anthony shoved five bucks into his hands, snatched the pizza away from him, and then shut the door.
Ian chuckled, giving Anthony a smug grin of his own. “Yeah Anthony, who is that?”
Anthony rolled his eyes, slamming the pizza boxes onto the table. “Just fucking eat.”
Ian cleared his throat. “Uh-uh, Anthony. There’s a child in the room.”
Ignoring Ian, Anthony threw a cabinet door open and grabbed two plates, flinging them onto the table. Thankfully, they were plastic.
Ian turned his attention to the blue-eyed girl on the floor. “I wonder if she’s yours or mine?” he asked, inspecting her.
Anthony swung his head over to where Ian was hunched over. “Shut up, man. Don’t even entertain the idea!”
The blue-eyed man paid no attention to Anthony’s statement. “Audrina’s your name, right?” he asked the child, “Audrina Iris. That’s kinda long, huh?”
The little girl watched him intently, but didn’t smile.
Ian went on, “you must be scared, right? I mean, your mommy just left you with two guys you don’t even know and barely left you with any of your stuff. I’m sorry, Audrina.”
Anthony rolled his eyes again, chewing crossly on a cheesy slice of pepperoni pizza. But he didn’t turn his head away from Ian and Audrina.
“Audrina Iris…hmm,” Ian said, rubbing his bearded chin. “That’s quite a name, very pretty, if I do say so myself. My name’s Ian. Ian Andrew Hecox. If you could talk, you could call me Ian.” He looked over at Anthony who had taken a break from chewing. “And that guy over there,” he pointed to Anthony, “is my best friend, Anthony. Daniel Anthony Padilla. Padilla like quesadilla. But like you know what that is so…if you could talk, you’d just call him Anthony.”
Anthony was thankful that Ian wasn’t looking at him because he smiled. But just a tad bit.
Ian kept talking to her. “Audrina Iris is quite the mouthful, huh? And so is Audrina. Why don’t we call you Audrey…or maybe Audie?”
“Audrey.”
Ian looked up, surprised to hear Anthony’s voice. “What?”
“We…you should call her Audrey. Audie just makes it sound like you’re calling her odd. That isn’t cool,” Anthony said, staring at the floor.
Ian smiled softly. “Audrey it is, then.” He looked down once more before kneeling down and putting his arms up. “You wanna come to me?”
Audrina mirrored Ian’s actions and he smiled. “Okay, then.” He picked her up and her tiny hands gripped his shirt.
At that moment, Anthony knew he was fucked.
“Are you not gonna eat?” Anthony asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Ian shrugged. “Yeah…but what about,” he stopped to tickle Audrina, “Audrey?”
Anthony frowned. “Can’t she eat pizza?”
“No!” Ian laughed, “she barely has any teeth! And besides, she can sit up by herself and that’s it. We’ll have to feed her.”
Anthony raised an eyebrow. “You mean you’ll have to feed her?”
Ian sighed. “Look Anthony, we don’t know whether she’s mine or yours. So, right now, she’s ours. She’s our responsibility and we’ll care for her together.”
Anthony threw his half-eaten pizza slice onto his plate. “I can’t believe you’re doing this, man. She’s. Not. Our. Kid. Okay? Just because some bitch waltzes in and says that she is, doesn’t make her ours!”
“Maybe,” Ian said softly, “but we did both sleep with her fifteen months ago. And she says that Audrey’s six months old,” he began to play absentmindedly with the little girl’s braids. “So, it matches up. More importantly, she kinda looks like us.”
Anthony snorted. “We can’t both be the dad, idiot.”
“No,” Ian replied, “but look, Anthony. She’s got pink cheeks and dimples like you and blue eyes like me and brown hair like both of us. And just look at how sad she is, Ant,” Ian said solemnly. “She hasn’t smiled since she got here. It’s obvious that Kara didn’t give two shits about her. In all honesty, Anthony, we’re all she has. And that makes her ours.”
Anthony swallowed hard, glaring at his best friend. “Well, I guess you’re gonna do it by yourself.”
“Ant…,” Ian pleaded, gripping Audrina to his side.
Without a reply, Anthony disappeared into his own bedroom, slamming the door as hard as he could.
Sorry it’s been a while since I updated. I had a hella lot of schoolwork to do this week. But I’m back and I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. And don’t worry, I know it isn’t too slashy yet, but it will be soon. Just be patient. Thanks for reading, everyone!
-Kalina C: