Down For The Count

Wrong Puzzle Piece

"Right...okay." Vanessa put on a small smile. She pulled me into a hug that I gladly accepted, before pulling away a moment later. It looked like she was about to leave for a moment, but she didn't.

"Um...are you okay?" I asked, referring to Vanessa just kind of standing right there staring at me.

"You know that...you're part of our family too, right?"

Ah, last night's happenings. I figured this would come up. Good going, Paisley.

I nodded, only to calm her nerves, but it was so far from the truth.

I think they're trying to make me part of their family. But again, you can't just shove a random puzzle piece into a puzzle and hope it works.

I'm not part of this. Some things just aren't meant to be, no matter how badly you want it, and this is one of those things.

Vanessa seemed relaxed once I nodded. "Okay, good. Because we love you, and we don't want you to ever feel out of place. You're part of this too."

I'm not part of this.

But I nodded again, even giving Vanessa an extremely forced smile to ease her nerves.

"Okay! Well I'm extremely late." Vanessa laughed a little, looking up at the time. She turned to me with a more serious look. "If you're freaked out being alone, please call one of us, okay?"

"I think I can manage five minutes, Vanessa." I laughed a little, watching Vanessa grin as she turned to leave, saying goodbye one more time.

Once the door was closed and I really was alone, I did feel a bit weird. The last time I was home alone was maybe a month ago, and that did not end pretty.

I completely broke down in the bathroom. Anthony had to come pick me up and I had to stay with him and Jazzy and it was just...embarrassing. I'm fifteen, I should be able to be alone without freaking out all the time.

I sat down on the couch, not quite knowing what to do with my few minutes of unsupervised freedom. What does one do when they're home alone?

Yet I didn't even get to decide, because there was a knock on the front door.

I silently hoped that it was Lin coming to pick me up, or maybe Vanessa coming back because she had forgotten her purse or something.

But no.

I unlocked the door, swinging it open to reveal Sebastian's babysitter.

"Oh. Hi." I sighed, turning around and making my way back over to the couch.

"Hi. Uh...your parents are gone already?" The guy asked. I nodded, looking down at my phone, hoping Lin would text me soon and tell me he was coming.

It's not that the babysitter was mean or anything. He seemed very nice. But he seems like a shy person, which isn't a problem at all, it can just get a little awkward.

"Where's the baby?"

"Sleeping." I replied, not looking up from my phone.

"Right." I heard the guy say quietly, sitting down on the couch opposite of me.

The atmosphere was weird, and awful. I didn't want to just go to my room and leave the poor guy by himself, but I didn't know what to do.