Cruel World (The Tribe Book 1)

21. This Is Too Far

TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter mentions suicide attempts and self harm. If this is a sensitive topic, please skip this chapter. Next chapter refers to it but in passing and in less detail.

In the middle of the night, Brady started screaming upstairs in Trudy's room, so I head upstairs to go check on her. I see Trudy passed out asleep on the bed and sigh in disappointment. I grab Brady and make my way back downstairs, doing my best to calm her.

"Why was Trudy just leaving her to scream?" Martin asks, groggily, sat up against the headboard as I pass Brady to him along with a bottle, knowing she probably hadn't been fed since I last fed her around dinner.

"I have no idea, she's passed out asleep, although considering the screaming woke everyone else I don't know how she's still asleep," I sigh, climbing in next to him.

Between me cooing at her and soothing her and Martin rocking her in his arms gently, we manage to coax her back to sleep. We decide to place her between us for the night, so as not to disturb her more.

"Is it bad that there's been a lot of times where I've imagined and wished that you were Brady's biological mother and not Trudy?" he asks me quietly.

"Considering the circumstances, no. Or at least I don't believe so. But why?" I ask him.

"Watching you with her is one of my favourite things in the world, you calm her and are so attentive to her, in ways that no one else can be but a mom, and Trudy is the one who theoretically should be like that but she doesn't have much maternal instincts," he tells me, and I blush slightly at the comment. "Not to mention how long I've been in love with you and how bad I can't wait to marry you and eventually have kids of our own."

"Well once everything is sorted out and Lex and Zandra decide they wanna try the ceremony again, maybe we make it a double wedding," I suggest, and he nods, yawning.

We cuddle closer together, or as close as we can with a baby in my arm, snuggled into my chest, and manage to fall asleep for the rest of the night.

In the morning I'm the first person up, and I head into the café without waking Martin and prepare a bottle for Brady. Salene comes in at some point, lurking in the corner and doing whatever when Bray comes in.

"Hi," Salene says like an eager little puppy, causing me to roll my eyes knowing that Bray put her in her place last night but she still didn't get the hint.

"What was all that last night, Leia?" Bray asks, ignoring Salene and sitting next to me.

"I have no idea how she slept through that, everyone else was awake from all the crying. She was passed out on the bed, so I just took Brady back down to mine and Martin and I fed her and got her back to sleep," I yawn, rubbing my eyes.

"Does Trudy even know?" he asks.

"I'm willing to bet she hasn't even woken up yet, so no," I sigh.

"She's not fit to look after her," Salene chimes in, tired of being ignored.

"Stop it Salene, she's not well," "Shut up, that's not fair," Bray and I say simultaneously.

"I'm just saying, I'd make a much better mother," she continues.

"Well you don't even come into the equation. Martin is her father, and considering I'm the godmother and marrying him, and Bray is her uncle, she has plenty of people around to help out and help Trudy, because unlike someone, we all care about her wellbeing because she is our friend," I snap back.

Bray goes to check in on Trudy, and Cloe and Patsy come in and show me an egg that one of the chickens laid, but they can't decide which chicken did it.