Unpredictable • cth

32

Ella-

It was just passed midnight, we had all lightly cheered happy new year in order to not wake the sleeping babies just as the clock struck. We entered the new year all half awake and full of baby spit up.

I was still wearing Ryder's pink hoodie, the scent of his cologne filling my nose every time I sunk down into my body every time I was relived of baby duty.

My eyes looked over to Mia was fast asleep on her fathers shoulder. My Uncle Mikey looking down at his daughter with such fondness, her eyes never fluttering at any movements he made.

She had a rough few nights, now sleeping deeply for the first time in a long time.

She can't sleep home alone, so most of the time she is at my house or up all night staring at the TV. She hadn't slept properly probably for at least a week maybe less. Her normally green eyes were red with dark circles forming under her eyes as the days went on.

Caleb had asked me if I spoke to her about it, wondering if we should all stay together one of these nights but every time I tried to bring it up she shut me down insisting she was perfectly fine.

She always worried me, she never thought she was good enough for anyone or anything. It makes more sense now that she opened up to me about freshman year, what happened to her, but she's always been like this, even before.

Every since we were little, praise was never something she took well. She rather be criticized about every detail that went awry so she knew that she it was all on her.

She finally looked peaceful, her legs pulled up against her chest, her hands hanging lazily over the she of the couch, her head slowly falling down off her fathers shoulder into his lap.

"Ella?" My fathers voice broke me out of my thoughts, his face looked almost tried as Mia's.

"You ready to go love?" His voice was raspy, the words dragging out as he spoke.

"Please." I dragged my heavy body off the chair, my body feeling heavier than it should, my legs numb from the amount of time Ive spent sitting.

We nodded in the direction of Uncle Mikey was starting to fall asleep now, his head dropping up and down, a light snore always waking him up.

My father slumped his arm over my shoulders, looking down at me which caused him to eye the hoodie I was wearing but was much to tried to question it.

"I'll drive." I put my hand out in a gimmie motion toward him, our bodies slanting side to side as we walked, both of us trying to keep our heads up.

"Hell no!" He laughed as he spoke to me, spinning his keys round and round his fingers, nudging me before we finally entered the elevator.

His arm never leaving my shoulder, as we leaned back against the back of the elevator, the cold metal sending shivers into my body as it pressed through the fabric of the hoodie.

Silence fell over us, both of us standing still waiting for the doors to open because we legit couldn't wait to get home and sleep.

"You guys have a good day?" My father spoke, putting his head onto of my own which was resting on his shoulder.

"Yea actually it went really well. But Caleb found about you guys leaving." I shrugged my shoulders, trying my best to keep my eyes opened, then falling shut every few seconds.

"Damn it. I should call Ash." My father stated just as the elevator dinged, his arm dragging my body out of the metal box and toward the front door that was now barren of paparazzi.