“We had no idea that she was an addict,” Jack chips in. “Maybe she only started using after we stopped seeing each other. Or maybe she hid it really well. But she clearly spiralled since she got pregnant.”
My eyebrows are probably hidden in my hairline. “You’re telling me that you, threeroommates, all consecutively slept with the same woman within, what, a month? A couple weeks? What, was it some kind of competition, or something? Wasn’t that awkward?”
“Ah,” Cyrus says, his expression smoothing. “I see where you’re getting confused; see, we actually all slept with her simultaneously.” He pauses. “Many, many times.”
“You’re serious?” All three men nod. Jack’s face gives it away; he’s blushing fire-engine red.
“It’s something we do,” he admits. “Every so often.”
“Oh.” I consider that. “That… actually makes a lot more sense. Yeah.”
“Think about it,” Sebastian says. “If we’d kidnapped a child, we wouldn’t be banging down the door of the building’s only childcare worker, would we?”
Cami shuffles in my arms, hiding her face in my neck. Her little lips move against my skin. I stroke the back of her tiny head, my throat tightening with emotion. “There’s nothing else in the car seat?” I whisper. “No toys, or keepsakes, or anything?”
“There wasn’t even a blanket,” Sebastian says icily. “It was five degrees outside this morning. She was just left there, crying, until the porter found her.”
Jesus. I rub my thumb over the gold bracelet looped around my wrist, tears stinging my eyes.
“Are you okay?” Jack asks quietly. “Sorry. I know this is a lot to drop on someone at once.”
I wander over to the floor-to-ceiling window and look down onto the street outside, trying to collect myself. A group of builders are leaning against the wall, smoking. A guy zooms past on a motorbike. Cami tightens her fist in my hair.
She must have been soscared.
“You know how long she was there?” I ask eventually.
“Not too long,” Cyrus answers. “Maybe fifteen minutes.”
I close my eyes. “And what do you want from me?” I force out.
“We’re getting her DNA tested tomorrow,” Sebastian says. “We tried today, but it’s a bank holiday, so nowhere’s open. We…” For the first time, his confident, clear voice hesitates. “We don’t know what to do with her. None of us know how to look after a baby. We need help.”
“Right.” I take a deep breath. “I see.” I think hard. “When will the DNA results come through?”
Jack perks up. “There are same-day labs in the city. If we can get a swab from her tomorrow morning, we should know by evening.”
I nod. “And you want this baby? If she turns out to be yours, you’ll take care of her?” My eyes flick between their faces.
They all nod solemnly.
“Please don’t take her away,” Jack says quietly.
I sniffle, hastily wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. Cami pulls back and watches my face, her little mouth opening and closing. My chest feels like it’s going to burst.
“Okay,” I say. “Here’s what we’re going to do.”
Four
Jack
Before anything else, Beth calls the porter and demands to see the building’s CCTV footage from this morning. The cameras clearly show Anisha hurrying down the street, leaving the car seat on the front steps, and rushing away again. She doesn’t kiss Cami. She doesn’t cry. She doesn’t look sad at all to be abandoning her own baby.
Watching the video makes me want to puke. Luckily, it’s enough to convince Beth we’re not child-stealers. We all go back upstairs, and she spends the rest of the afternoon giving us an intensive crash course on baby care.
It’s a disaster. We are utterly useless. None of us even know how to hold a baby, let alone change a nappy or make up a bottle. Luckily, we have a very sweet, encouraging teacher. No matter how dumb we are, or how many stupid questions we ask, Beth never loses patience or gets irritated.
As the hours pass, we slowly start to get the hang of it. Beth shows us how to make bottles, draw baths, change diapers, and soothe Cami to sleep. She drills us on feeding and sleeping schedules, infant first aid, and bedtime rituals. It’s an unbelievable amount of information. When Cyrus finally succeeds in settling Cami down for her afternoon nap, we all slump around the coffee table, exhausted.