Variables | Joshaya ✔︎

Uh Oh

𝕞𝕒𝕪𝕒

Today is Wednesday, and Gabi just went back to school after her cold. I sigh in relief, finally able to relax a little more now that I don't have to watch both a 5 month old and a 4 year old. It was exhausting; no wonder Riley's grandparents had a nearly 10 year gap between her aunt Morgan and Josh. Having another kid along with the mess that is Eric Matthews, Cory, and the bossy, know-it-all child that Morgan used to be (of course she changed, and she's really nice and amazing) plus a newborn? No one could've survived that, so it makes sense why they waited so long.

I sigh and lean back against my headboard, breathing in the peace and quiet while I can, cause I know that it won't last long.

Just as I suspected, I hear Dillon start to scream, which is a lot more than I thought. I just thought I would start to hear him crying or babbling to Josh, but this is bad.

I rapidly rip off the comforter that was on top of my bottom half, throwing on some pajama shorts and running out of my room and into the main area. I turn to my right and see Josh, yet again pacing back and forth, clearly stressed. His laptop is on, as usual, and I can immediately tell what's wrong once I look at Dillon and his open laptop. He's a fussy baby, and needs his attention. I move forward a bit, knowing that it'll make the floor squeak, and sure enough it does. Josh's head whips up to meet my eyes, and I can see in his eyes that he's tried everything. My face softens as he lets out a sigh of relief and comes over to me.

"Morning," he says, guilt laced through his voice.

"It's okay Josh; I was already up, don't worry," I assure him as I see his mouth open, about to apologize.

He smiles and nods, "Please help?"

"Of course," I say, getting up on my tip toes as he leans down and our lips meet in a soft, quick kiss, and as soon as we pull away, I run over to Dillon and scoop him out of his carrier, waving Josh off to continue his schoolwork as I start to bounce and I walk back to my room, knowing that's the farthest from Josh and I won't disturb his schoolwork. I continue to coo him and bounce lightly as I close the door, slowly pacing around the open space in my small room.

"It's okay baby," I coo, rubbing his back soothingly, "Mama's here."

His screaming gets softer as he curls up against my chest, resting his head on my shoulder and making my heart swell. Now, he's just crying as I sit down at the edge of my bed and continuing to bounce him lightly in my arms.

"Mama's here," I repeat in a whisper, and as soon as I repeat, "It's okay," again, the crying stops. I sigh in relief, but do not stop bouncing him and rubbing his back soothingly.

After about 30 seconds of his silence, I pull him away from my chest, grabbing a pillow and placing it in front of me as I sit Dillon down on my lap, making sure that the pillow is in line with his back in case he loses his balance and falls backwards. I gently wipe his cheeks clean of his tears, and properly gaze at him for the fist time today. My heart breaks at his red, swollen pupils, showing that he's clearly been crying for longer than the time that I was there.

"Oh baby," I coo as I continue to rub his tiny cheek with my thumb, and he leans into my hand as I rest it on his cheeks, making my heart melt. He gives me his toothless smile and I can't help but smile back at him; his smile is contagious.

Suddenly, he grabs a finger of my hand that's on his cheek and moves my hand to cover his face. He starts babbling, and I can confirm that he wants some attention and to be played with by this action. He lets go of my hand and I smile, taking it away from covering his face. He looks up at me from my lap and frowns, tilting his head to the side. My heart just melts into oblivion at his cuteness.