7

10: darling

Coughing echos in the air as the night sky paints over the daylight with stars that twinkle dimly. Keaton groans as the crying only gets louder the longer we both try to ignore the cries. "Harry-" Keaton says rolling over into my chest as Lilah gets more and more upset. Her coughing getting more and more intense.

"Okay, Lilah... okay..." I say groaning as Keaton blinks her eyes open watching me get up.

"Harry she doesn't sound very good..." her voice is raspy and low as I swig my legs over the bed running my fingers through my hair. My body begged for a few more seconds of sleep as I stood up and walked
over to the corner where the crying was coming from.

"Okay Lilah, hey, what's going on baby? What's going on with you?" I pick her up and listen to her liquid cough as she grips onto my skin for dear life. I pat her back and rock her as she cries into my shoulder. I sit down on the edge of the bed and grab her bottle shaking it before guiding it to her rose petal lips.

She sucks momentarily before choking and coughing, alert and anxiety surging through my veins I immediately sit her up and pat her back as she spits up and begins to sob and wail violently.

"What's going on Lulu?" I ask her as she begins to kick her little legs with agitation. She coughs furiously as I pat her back softly.

"Babe... I don't think she's okay, here hand her to me," Keaton sits up in the bed rubbing her eyes as I hand her the baby and switch the bedside lamp on. "Oh my god Harry, she's burning up," Keaton notes as she touches her head and feels for a temperature. "We need to cool her down,"

"I'll go run a bath," I say rushing up to get to the bathroom where I run the water and wait for it to come to a lukewarm temperature in the sink. My palms sweat and shake as I swear incoherently as I look in the mirror catching bloodshot eyes and tired-looking skin.

I listen to the soundtrack of coughs take over as Keaton tries to take control of the situation. I can hear her patting Lilah's back and mustering up comforting words.

"Are you sick baby? Hmmm?" She hums against whines and coughs that echo in the silence of the bedroom. Nerves prick at my skin as I rub my eyes and again feel the water temperature with my cracked hands.

"Darling don't you weep... there's a place for me, somewhere we can sleep, see you in your dreams," I hear a soft lullaby float through the tension of the situation. I step over to peak into the bedroom where Keaton undresses Lilah and tries what she can to calm her down. Settling her cries and worries as she looks at her with weathered eyes and a soft velvety voice. The song felt so familiar. How did I know it?

"Ever since a little girl, I found it sweet
Driving past a graveyard on a lonesome street
All the little flowers gave me something to believe in," Keaton sings lifting up the naked baby and bringing her up towards her chest where she rubs her back and stands from the bed. I stumble back, taking the position back into the bathroom where the water runs and fills the sink with crystal water that touches the yellow lighting in the apartment.

Kea saunters into the bathroom where I'm met with her song. Her body sways as she quiets the crying that turns into whines of discomfort. Lilah's breathing is wheezy and quick as Kea continues to run her back and place her in the water-filled sink and eventually will be too big to cradle the growing body of a baby.

"Never know the feeling of a stable home
Been a couple years of living on the road
Couldn't really tell you where they'd leave a stone," she hums as I come up behind her and scoop her up from her waist. Kea lays Lulu into the sink where she blinks and draws her attention to the loud blue wallpaper that paints pictures of animals and flowers that tangle into each other. It wasn't ever my choice but it came with the apartment and I never disliked it enough to take it down.