Hush

Chapter One

It was a spur of a moment thing. I wasn't suppose to be at the party that night.

Usually, I would be perfectly content with babysitting my nephew while Dad was working late, he couldn't help it. Plus, I liked to think that by helping out, he would feel more inclined to buy me a car for my eighteenth. I was still waiting on that car.

Callan wasn't a difficult baby to babysit, he was a happy little thing when there was food in front of him - a bit like me, that was probably why we got on so well - he only cried when someone took away his food or toys. I only babysat him when Wesley, my older brother, needed help. He was a single dad, the child-bearer had sod off a few weeks after Callan was born and left Wesley with a broken heart and smelly nappy.

That night just so happened to be Ivan's party, one of my closest friends, to celebrate her eighteenth. But as fate had planned it, that was before fate decided to change and ruin multiple lives, Wesley had a date for the first time in nearly two years. Obviously I wanted my brother to heal from the claws that the witch had scarred him with, so I pushed him out the door towards the cab and hopefully, towards a bright future. If only mine could be so bright.

Dad would usually be around the house on the odd occasions I babysat, but like I said, he told me that he was busy with work. If only, then I would have stayed at home watching Teletubbies reruns with the little monkey until he fell asleep and I ordered a dominos.

'I was a kid once-' I glanced over at the little boy who was wiggling his fat legs around in his highchair as a bowl of mashed up bananas and custard spilled onto the small conjoined table. 'But I wasn't a messy little sh*t like you,' I mumbled as I spooned the mashed up food back into the bowl.

Callan's lips peeled back into a smile where his milky teeth peaked out. He hit his chubby left hand against the table which rattled the bowl as he giggled. 'Sh-' My eyes widened and I shook my head as he tried to swear, I quickly waved the spoon of food in front of his face and he stopped.

'Bad word,' I said sternly before feeding him. He grabbed ahold of the spoon, his custard covered hands grazing mine and leaving a trail of goo. I let go of the spoon and walked over to the counter, checking behind me every now and again while the radio played softly. I wiped my hands on a tea-towel and took a sip of my warm tea.

Callan threw the spoon onto the small table and hit his left hand against the plastic. 'Done, done!' He said as his blue eyes, that matched Wesley's, wandered around the kitchen. I placed my cup down and walked back over to him.

'Good boy,' I gently touched his golden brown curls as his face lit up. 'Teletubbies?' I asked him, taking note of the time. He nodded his head while I cleaned up his high chair, I undone the straps and picked him up, then placed him on the floor. His chubby legs took off in a waddle towards the living room as I pushed the high chair into a corner.

Grabbing my tea before I left the kitchen, I made my way into the living room where Callan was sat on the floor with a stuffed monkey on his lap. I grabbed the remote and pressed play on the DVD. The stairs creaked as someone bounded down them but Callan's attention was solely on the tele.

'Are you sure about this?' Wesley asked when he shuffled into the living room, tugging at his shirt. I sipped my tea as I gave him a once over; he was wearing a white t-shirt under a dark blue and black shirt with a pair of dark blue jeans and Nikes. Simple. His blonde hair was ruffled all of the place while a jacket was gripped loosely in his hand.

I rolled my eyes. 'Yes West - you need to stop hiding away otherwise you'll turn out like Dad, grey and lonely.'

Wesley gave me a pointed look, he looked over my shoulder and a small smile appeared on his ever-worried face. I almost smiled, he only ever stopped worrying when he was looking at his child. The floorboards creaked under his weight as he glided towards Callan who looked up at him when he bent at his knees. 'Hey mister,' he picked up the child when he started babbling and placed him on his hip.