Chapter2

"Gale's asleep." I said, sitting down on the couch.

"About time. He's been awake way too long." Daniel said, stuffing his mouth with a handful of popcorn.

"He's a baby. It's hard for him to get to sleep." I said, pouting just a little.

"He's not a baby, Steph. He's almost three. And that's no excuse."

"He's a live wire, Dan. Do you really expect him to fall asleep in seconds?"

He shrugged. "Couldn't you just slip something into a drink or something?"

I glared at him. "Are you stupid? I'm not doing that."

"It was only a suggestion." He said, taking another handful.

"I don't want Gale thinking that drinking alcohol is good. Ever."

Daniel laughed.

"What?" I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

He just shook his head and took another bite of popcorn. "You're so overprotective."

"Overprotective?" I asked, putting ten times the amount of normal emphasis on the word. I was just looking out for Gale. I didn't want him ending up like Daniel. And I didn't want him ending up like his father, either. Whoever it might be.

"You're smothering him. I mean, sure he likes the attention now but in seven or eight years, he'll be pushing you away." Daniel said, his eyes on the TV.

Gale started crying from my room. Apparently, he was listening.

"I don't care if he wants me around all the time or not. I'll worry about that then." I said, heading back upstairs.

Gale was standing up in his crib, his face red and tears smothering his cheeks. He sniffed a few times as I walked in.

Then I heard what was making that sound. My phone was going off, playing music. Someone had called me.

I took Gale in my arms and looked to see who called. A random number. Go figure. I got called all the time from random numbers.

I sighed and listened to the voice mail, putting it to my ear farthest from Gale.

'Stephanie... um... I-It's Blake Parker. I-I know I haven't really... talked to you lately but I... um... I want to see you... sometime. I guess you can tell what my number is.' Embarrassing laugh. 'Could you give me a call? Um... bye.'

I sighed. Blake. I remembered him. He switched to the private school right before I found out I was pregnant. He'd always liked me.

I guess when he left, he didn't want anything to do with his old school. Or friends. No one had really heard from him and his name had vanished from everyone's lips in the hallways. He wasn't the popular football player anymore. Not to our school.

I put my phone back on the nightstand and shut it off. Hopefully Gale would go back to sleep so I could get some sleep.

It may be summer but I still had to go to bed early. Gale always woke me up around eight or eight thirty. No chance of sleeping in.

"Gale? It's okay. You can sleep now." I whispered quietly.

His head was on my shoulder and he wasn't sobbing as loud anymore. He was still sniffing, ending the tears quietly.

I stroked his hair softly and even that made me tired. I sat down on my bed and moved Gale onto my lap.

"Mommy, I wanna sleep wif you." He said quietly.

I looked down at him. "There's not enough room for both of us."

"There is now." He said, sitting up.

I sighed. "Gale, you have to sleep in your crib and I have to sleep here. You need to get some sleep."

He whimpered. "Please!"

"Gale, maybe some other time." I said, pulling him back against my chest.

He started crying again and crawled out of my arms. "No! You say that and it never happens."

"I've only let you do it twice, Gale. You aren't missing anything."

"But I'm not with you!" He cried.

I picked him up and set him down beside me. "If you wake up in the middle of the night and start whining, you're going to bed. Understand?"

He smiled and his tears went away. He moved under the blankets, feeling very proud of himself.

I rolled my eyes and laid under the covers beside him. He snuggled close to me, barely leaving room between our bodies.