Five
Men, A Kid, And A Baby
Story by Daisy
~~*Chapter One*~~
AJ rolled over lazily, the hair from the head lying next to him tickling his chest as he did. He smiled, remembering the night before, but then frowned, not remembering the girl’s name.
Oh
well, AJ thought, sliding out from under the covers and hopping into the
shower. It’s not like that’s any
different from any other night! He dressed quickly and left the girl alone
in the room, also leaving her the bill to pay for the hotel. He drove back to
the hotel where the other guys were staying at, taking the back entrance so as
not to be mobbed by fans. He ran quickly into the hotel, only slowing down once
he was safely inside the lobby.
He
looked around him, searching for any fans that might have happened to slide past
the security. The only people he saw was an old couple having coffee and two
lone girls, well under the age of six, that were huddled by themselves in the
corner of a couch. He shook his head, not believing that some inexperienced
mother would leave her two young girls alone in a hotel lobby. He decided to
take the stairs, avoiding any coincidence meeting with any fan that happened to
have taken the elevator.
“Hey
guys!” He shouted, throwing open Brian’s hotel room door. The guys turned to
him sluggishly and then turned back to the movie they were watching. AJ flopped
onto the bed beside Nick and immediately was engrossed in Wayne’s World.
“We’re
not worthy! We’re not worthy!” The movie was saying, just as the hotel room
door was knocked upon. After nobody moved, AJ reluctantly picked himself off the
bed and went to the door.
“Sorry,
girls. We’re not signing autographs today.” He said to the two small girls
he had seen in the lobby. He quickly shut the door and went back to the movie.
There came another soft knock at the door. AJ got up again, aggravated. “What
do you want?”
The
girl looked no older than six and she had a baby of about a year straddled on
her hip. She swayed from the weight but held her hand out steadily to AJ.
Clutched tightly in her fingers was a crumpled sheet of paper. AJ took it from
her and uncrumpled it, intending to sign the paper and send them away.
He
stopped when he realized that there was no room to sign because someone had
written a note. He looked back at the girl who was beginning to perspire from
struggling to hold the baby. The baby cooed.
“Dear
Alexander,” AJ read. When was the last
time someone called me that? He thought, continuing to read. “I know that
this is not a good time to be dropping such a bomb on you, but I have no other
choice. The two girls that gave you this note are my daughters, Alexa, who’s
four, and Alexis, who’s eleven months. They’re our
daughters, Alexander. I could no longer bear to keep them with me for fear that
they may not live another day. Please take care of them. They have nowhere to
go, therefore I turn to you. Please do this, Alexander. Yours always,
Alexandra.”
Alexandra?
He thought. He shook his head and looked at the two girls. “Alexa and
Alexis?” he asked, reading their names again from the note. The girl nodded,
shaking now from the baby’s weight. “Just a minute.” AJ slammed the door
and walked over to Brian, throwing the note at him. Brian read it and looked up
at AJ, surprised.
“Alexandra?”
He asked.
AJ
shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t remember her at all. And I supposedly have
two kids with her.” He shook his head trying desperately to remember.
“Where
are they?” Brian asked.
“Outside.”
AJ pointed to the door.
“You
left them there?”
“What
else was I supposed to do?” By now the other guys were starting to pay
attention.
“What’s
wrong?” Kevin asked.
“Two
girls, who through this note are explained to be AJ’s daughters, were left by
their mom for him. They’re standing outside the door.” Brian explained,
passing along the note.
“Let
them in!” Nick said, amused by the whole situation.
“I
can’t just let them in! What if they’re not really my daughters? What if
someone’s trying to frame me for kidnapping or something?” AJ cried.
Brian
gave him a yeah, right look and walked to the door. The girl had set the baby
on the floor, sitting beside her. A lone bag strapped to the child’s back was
all they had. Brian stared down at them, amazed.
“Hi,”
he said. “Where’s your mommy?”
The
girl looked up at him with bright blue eyes, brimming with tears. Her hair was
dark, creating a stunning combination with her light eyes. Her features were
small and tears began to streak her chubby cheeks. Brian stared nervously at the
crying child, not knowing what to do. He smiled uncertainly and shut the door,
running back to the group.
“Well?”
AJ asked, pacing now in front of the ignored television.
“She
started to cry and I left.” Brian shrugged, sitting down on the hotel bed.
Kevin shook his head and walked to the door, trying his luck with the child.
“Hi,”
he said, his voice low and deep. The girl screamed loudly, for his voice was
frightening to her, and he slammed the door. The guys looked at him with wide
eyes and he just shook his head. Howie sighed and went to the door, opening it
with caution. How bad can two little girls
be? He asked himself. When he saw them, his heart froze momentarily as he
stared at the crying child. He didn’t know what to say. She looked up
expectantly at him and Howie, instead, shut the door.
Nick
sighed, knowing that it was his turn to test his luck. He walked over to the
door, opened it, stepped outside, and shut the door behind him. He squatted down
in front of the little girl and the baby. The baby’s blue eyes sparkled at him
and her light brown hair looked soft. Nick looked at the crying child. She
sniffed and looked away from him, grabbing her sister’s hand protectively.
“What’s
your name?” Nick asked.
“Alexa,”
she answered, then quickly added, “Mommy called me Lexy.” Nick nodded.
“This is Alexis, but we call her Ally.”
“I’m
Nick.” He said softly.
“You’re
not my daddy,” she whispered and Nick shook his head.
“AJ’s
your daddy. He’s the one that took the note from you.” The girl nodded.
“Do you want to come in?”
Her
eyes got wide and she shook her head rapidly. Nick rolled his eyes, remembering
the days when he, too, refused to have anything to do with a stranger.
“It
wouldn’t be bad because your daddy’s in there.” The little girl hesitated,
then stood up, pulling her sister along with her. Nick opened the door to reveal
four men waiting immediately inside. They moved back quickly when the girls
stepped in.
“Uh,
I just remembered that…I have to take a shower.” Brian said, rushing out of
the room.
“Me
too!” Howie and Kevin darted out behind him. Nick stood with AJ, staring at
him with a look that said, I hate to desert you but I gotta go. AJ shook his
head pleadingly but Nick shrugged and walked out the door, leaving AJ alone with
the two girls.