Babysitter [cake au]

👶2

Chapter 2

Calum

"Say hello, Blair. Come on, he's not really that scary at all! Look, he's smiling!"

Blair squeezed her eyes shut and crawled off, whilst I grinned apologetically to Luke, who was standing in the doorway. My eyes lingered for a second longer than they should've on his lip ring, piercing like the colour of his eyes, which were circled by a thin line of black. I could kinda understand now why Blair got scared off – not like I could judge.

"Come on in – sorry about Blair. She'll warm up to you in no time. Do you want something to drink?" I asked amicably, well aware of the fact that I was already going to be five minutes late.

"No, I'm good thanks," he mumbled, following me in whilst I led him to the living room.

"Okay, well please help yourself – just keep the kids away from the snack cupboard yeah? Oh, bedtime is eight for Blair and nine for Ellis. Can you make sure they brush their teeth properly, and if they want, could you read them a story each?"

He nodded casually, sitting down on the sofa. I kissed Blair and Ellis quickly, before grabbing my jacket and slipping into my work shoes. Tonight's shift was at Tony's, a pizzeria a few blocks down. They closed at eleven, so I'd be back before it got too late. I dug my fingers into my pocket since it was getting pretty chilly, frowning when I brought back out that tiny slip of paper Ashton had given me earlier.

I got my phone out and dialled the number.

"Hello?" a foreign voice said. I cleared my throat.

"Hi, my friend Ashton said you had some work?"

"Wait a minute." I kept walking, knowing that once I turned the corner I'd be there. The guy came back and said, "Right, we got three ounces we gotta shift within the next week. Think you can help us?"

I gasped. Drugs? Really? "Er... I might have to call you back."

I hadn't touched drugs since high school, and quite frankly I didn't want to. That shit got way too crazy, and I didn't want to be held accountable for making people's lives miserable. Ending the call, I pocketed my phone and the note, before walking into the restaurant through the back door.

Luke

I hated kids. Why was I even here?

Because you wanted the money, douchebag.

Oh yeah.

"Hey, Luke, can you read me this book?" the little boy said, big hazel orbs glaring up at me. He dropped the heavy thing on my lap and I groaned, since it hit my you-know-what, lifting it to see the title.

"Lord of the Rings? Aren't you a bit young for this?" I remarked. He shrugged.

"Daddy started it with me yesterday and I want to know what happens but I don't really understand when I try to read it," he explained. I internally rolled my eyes. I hated reading, I sucked at English, and my go-to fandom was definitely Killjoys, not Tolkien.

I glanced over at the girl, who was sitting and playing quite happily with a bouncy ball. "Sorry kid, I can't read," I lied. He pushed out his bottom lip and stomped off upstairs. I shook my head, looking around the room.

It was relatively messy – toys littering the most random places. There were a stack of books by the TV with plastic sleeves on them, which I assumed must've been from the library, and more photos in photo frames than I could count. Clearly this household was big on family – despite the fact that I couldn't see a mum in any of them.