Raising Sophie Ryan.

“Well?” The word toppled out of his mouth quickly as if it burnt, all emotion pushed aside as he refused to make eye contact. I made no effort to reply to Alex’s pitiful attempt at getting through this conversation with his heart guarded. Instead, I let out a foreign sigh, and rested my hand upon my temples, trying desperately to cool off before I spoke a word to the boy in front of me.

Because that’s what he was. No matter how much partying, drinking or sleeping around Alex Gaskarth did, he was still just a boy with no sense of direction, and no idea how much growing up he had to do. I knew this, I knew it better than anyone because this is how Alex and I function together, he fucks up and freaks out, then runs to me where I get to work on putting the pieces back together as best as I can.

I thought that eventually Alex would right the wrongs, and learn to deal himself, but instead, he just learnt that no matter what he did, I would always be there to clean up. And in all honesty, I had no intention on breaking that cycle. That was, until now.

“Alex, when the hell are you going to grow up?” Shock uncurled in the bottom of my stomach, rocketing through my veins in terror as my head slowly recoiled from the hit that that was my voice, that I said those cruel words.

Alex looked just as stunned, physically moving back in case my words were to be followed up with a slap around the back of the head, and I secretly wished I had the strength to deliver that well needed blow. His eyes held everything that his face and words wouldn’t show, and I’d never seen him so terrified and trapped.

“What are you talking about?” His voice was strangled, and I could understand this. In all his years of knowing me, I was that sweet girl next door, the one that never raised her voice, played by the rules and respected everything for what and who it was. Hearing me be so harsh, especially to him, was hopefully spelling out how serious this situation was, and maybe he’d be a little more mature about it.

“Alex. I have always let you get away with being childish, I have let you get away with running away from your battles, and I let you walk all over me. Maybe it wasn’t your intention, and perhaps you didn’t realize you were doing it, but that doesn’t matter now. You have a child, this is the biggest responsibility you are ever going to receive, and you are going to step up and become a dad.”

Alex and I, we were something else. There was never any middle ground in our relationship. When you had us together, you could have one extreme or the other. In most cases, we knew each other completely, our friendship stronger than most, we were the doppelganger of each other. But this wasn’t like most cases, and now, it seemed like we were two opposite elements, being thrown together and now we’re just waiting for the explosion.

“I can’t. I don’t know how to be a father! I don’t know how to look after this kid!” Alex shot back, his feet pacing the small square of the balcony.

“Nobody really knows how to until they are given the chance! And it’s not like you’re going to be alone! All of us are willing to do whatever it takes to help you, but we can’t if you won’t even accept the fact that that little girl in there is your daughter!” Alex stopped his pacing, and looked straight through me, placing the words together in his head. His daughter.

I guess it hadn’t sunk in just yet, and my words were his swift kick up the ass into reality. He sunk down onto his knees, before sitting on the cold ground of the balcony, his lips moving, but no sound coming out.

“She’s my daughter,” He finally whispered, looking up at me and my sentimental heart got the better of me. All my anger just faded in the back of my mind as I knelt beside him, my hand finding his in the midst of his realization.

“Yes, Alex, she’s your little girl,” I whispered back, smiling softly as Alex looked up at me, his face bittersweet. My heart grew ten times bigger at the fact Alex could quite possibly be growing up just a little bit, and taking responsibility for his actions.

“She must be so frightened. I can’t believe Kendra could just do that, leaving her daughter who looked at her like she was her whole world, with six strangers. Sophie must’ve been terrified, and I didn’t do anything to make her feel better.”

I cringed. It was fantastic Alex was stepping up, but beating himself up because of the night’s events wasn’t going to help anything. “Hey, it’s okay, you were just as terrified. This is a big thing, but the best part is, she’ll wake up tomorrow and you can make it up to her. She now has a dad, three uncles and two aunties who already love her, and it’s safe to say, that’s more than she had with Kendra.”

Alex suddenly smiled, and it was so unexpected and bright, my mind eclipsed for a half a second, until I was grinning back just as much. Alex helped me to my feet, and suddenly locked us both in a hug.

“Thank you. Although I didn’t expect it, thanks for getting some sense into me,” He mumbled quietly, pulling away with a bashful smile.

“All in a day’s work. Come on, I think the pizza is here,” I said, smiling back at him as we both rejoined the chaos that had broken out in the living room in our absence.

As per usual, Harmony and Jack got into a ‘friendly debate’ with each other, and Zack and Rian were betting with each other on who was going to be tackled and tickled first.

“The pizza girl is so smokin’ though! I wanna answer it, I’m gonna get my flirt on!” Jack tried to sound suave, popping his collar as Harmony shook her head violently and stamped her foot.

“Like hell you are! You don’t get to say anything to her until the pizza is on our side of the door frame! I don’t need her running off in horror with my food still clutched in her hands!”

Jack looked offended by Harmony’s rant. “Are you saying that my pick up lines and good looks aren’t enough to get her number?”

“Saying ‘do me’ and running water through your greasy hair hardly classifies as pick up lines and good looks,” Harmony reasoned, and that was enough to get Jack to leap from his side of the room and tackle her down onto the carpet, where the tickle fight ensured.

“Yes! I am victorious! You owe me twenty bucks, bitch!” Zack cheered toward a muttering Rian, who handed over the money with a swift punch to the gut like the sore loser he was.

Alex looked around the room, smiling with the familiarity of the scene, and turned to me with a playful look. “I think some ground rules need to be put in place.”

I nodded as the rest from the room stopped, mid-tickle and mid-punch, to groan loudly at the word ‘rules’.

I laughed at their disgruntled faces. “I’ll get the pizza then, shall I?”