Sawyer's POV
To say I was done with today was an understatement.
I had a horrible night, with one of the worse nightmares I've ever had, and then we left the set and cast. Next was all that fuss at the airport on both sides; I hate flying. And now I am hungry and tired. Not to mention Scarlett's hands are too full to cuddle me, so now I'm hanging on her back, pouting as she tries to get us out of the airport.
"I can walk; you have your hands full," I offer, talking directly into Scarlett's ear to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the airport. I may not really mean my words, but it seems only fair to offer to walk. She briefly turns her head, smiling at me before walking towards the exit. "It's ok, baby; I've got it handled. You just have to hold on cause my hands are full," I sigh before holding Scarlett tighter, pushing my face tighter into her neck in an attempt to block the rest of the people here out.
We were nearly out of the airport when I heard a voice yelling in our direction, "Ingrid! Over here...just ignore me then," Scarlett must have recognised the voice as she turned to face the man. He smiled in Scarlett's direction before shifting to look at me with a confused excretion.
"Shit," I heard Scarlett mumble as the man approached us. "Language," I said, chuckling at my own joke and earning a playful glare from Scarlett before she went back to looking at the man who was now in front of us, making me bury my head into Scarlett's neck.
"Hunter, good to see you. How did you know when my flight got in?" Scarlett asked the man, who I'm assuming is called Hunter, "Mom mentioned you were back tonight, and this was the only flight back from London this evening. I thought I would pick you up, and we could grab some food and catch up. It looks like we have a lot to catch up on," he replies, sounding annoyed towards the end, making me tighten my hold on Scarlett as I continue to hide.
"Can you take the bags for me, please?" I hear Scarlett ask before I'm shifted in Scarlett's arms so that I'm in her front, my face still hidden as I grip her shirt tightly. "Baby, you don't need to be scared. This is Mama's twin, Hunter. He's a big kid," she reassures me, rubbing my back. "Mama?" the man asks again, even more confusion heard in his voice. "It's a long story, Hunter; I'll explain in the car. Can we go now? She's had a hard day, and I want to feed her before she falls asleep," Scarlett talks to the other guy as she starts walking.
When we got to the car, Scarlett tried to sit me on my own seat, something I was not happy about, earning a loud whine of protest as I gripped onto her tighter "I want to ride with you, Scarly," I mumbled into her ear as she tries to pry my hands off her shirt. Over the last month, I had alternated between calling Scarlett, Scarly and the occasional Mama slipping out after particularly horrific flashbacks.
I want to call her Mama all the time, I'm just not sure how Scarlett would react, and I don't want to upset her.
My thoughts are broken by Scarlett stroking my hair, "Princess, if you ride on your own, we can stop and get McDonald's on the way back to the house," she offers, making me look up at her confused. "What's McDonald's?" I ask, not knowing what she is showing me right now. "What's McDonald's?! What have you done to this kid, Scar? How can she not know McDonald's?" The man asks again, startling me with the volume he spoke at. I jump at his voice, clinging onto Scarlett harshly.
I can see Scarlett glaring at what I assume to be the man over my head. "I'll explain later, Hunt. Can you drive us to McDonald's on the way back, please? Could you also try ad speak softly? She doesn't like loud noises or new people. I'm going to ride back here with Sawyer," Scarlett says before climbing into the back of the car with me, giving up on prying me off of her.
"So her name is Sawyer?" Hunter asks after a couple of minutes of silent driving. Scarlett had let me ride on her lap but insisted I had to sit on her like a chair resulting in me facing the front so I could see the man's profile, and he could probably see my whole face. "Yes, her name is Sawyer, and she's your niece, so be nice," Scarlett warned in a protective voice.
"How long were you gone? Because I'm pretty sure they don't come out as four-year-olds," he asked back, clearly confused about who I am. "I'm nine," I mutter into the quiet car while still wary of the man. His face does share some qualities with Scarlett's, and if he's her brother, he can't be that bad. "Well, you are tiny then, Miss Sawyer. Now, is one of you going to explain because I am so confused" he replies in a soft voice, obviously wary of talking to me.
I sit and listen absently to Scarlett as she explains the story of me and whatnot for what feels like the billionth time, and I'm sure it's not the last I'll hear it either. "So wait, you still haven't told Mom and Dad?" Hunter asks after hearing the whole story, as I just look out the window at all the lights we pass. "No, please don't tell them. We are supposed to be having dinner at mine tomorrow, which you're coming to, and I'm going to tell them then. Vanessa, Christian and Adrian are coming too," she replies as Hunter turns into a car park.
There was a giant golden 'M' outside; as we pulled around the building, Hunter rolled his window down before turning to us. "What can I get you, girls?" He asked, glancing back at us with a tilted head. "I'll have whatever your having, and Sawyer will have..." she trails off, looking down at me. "Baby, do you want a cheeseburger, a hamburger of nuggets?" She asks, pushing some hair out of my eyes. I think for a minute before looking to Hunter, talking as clearly as possible, "I'll have nuggets, please, Hunter." As soon as the words leave my mouth, I curl back into Scarlett.
I like Mcdonald's.
Chicken nuggets are amazing, and the happy meal, that's what Scarlett said my meal was called, came with a toy which I fiddled with for the rest of the drive.
We eventually pull into an underground car park. We go up super high in a lift before we reach what I think is the top floor. Scarlett gets us out of the car, Hunter following behind us as he grabs all the bags from the boot.
As we enter the apartment, I see all the windows lining the wall. I wriggle out of Scarlett's hold before hobbling over to see the view. Pushing my face close up to the glass, an amazed "wow" slips past my lips as I look out over the city, so many lights twinkling on the buildings. "It's amazing, isn't it tiny?" I hear next to me, making me turn to look at Hunter. "I've never seen anything like it," I answer back, not even thinking about whether he's safe to talk to.
Hunter seems nice, and he's nothing like Cooper or fake Daddy, as I have now coined my adoptive father.
"I want to explore it all. Can we go explore, please?" I ask, looking at Hunter pleadingly, all thoughts of being sleepy leaving at the sight of the city. I watch as Hunter's eyes widen as he tries to say no to my puppy eyes. "Please, Uncle Hunt," I say sweetly, going in for the kill. I watch as he nods before holding his hand out for me to take. I don't even think about it before I grab his hand and follow him as he walks over to Scarlett.
"Tiny, do what you just did to me to Scar. She will say no if I ask," he whispers loudly, making me giggle quietly. "Bet you five dollars; you can't get her to agree with us going out tonight," he says, actually whispering this time as I nod, shaking his hand quickly before I go back to holding his other one as we walk over to Scarlett.
"Scarlett, Hunter said he would take me to explore the city," I say in a sing-song voice. Watching as Scarlett smiles brightly at me and then looks at Hunter questioningly as she sees our conjoined hands, "he said we could go now," I say, jumping up and down the best I could on my casted foot. "Not tonight, princess, it's late. But Hunter can come with us to explore a different day," she offers, making me pout; I watch as Scarlett squirms under my puppy eyes, as I let fake tears line my eyes as I look up at her.
Knowing precisely what will get her to agree, I walk over to her, grab her hand, and look up at her. "But Uncle Hunt said we could go now. Please, can we go explore my new home, Mama?" I hear Uncle Hunt chuckle beside me as Scarlett goes to give in. "Fine, come on then, baby. We can walk around the block before bed, but we have to be quick. It's already nine, which is two am London time," she agrees, making me smile and jumping into her arms.
I look over to Uncle Hunt, who watches the whole thing hiding his laughs "Five dollars, please," I say sweetly, holding my hand in his direction as he passes me a green bill. "Scarly, I don't actually want to explore tonight; I was just winning a bet with Uncle Hunt. What's a dollar?" I ask the last question as I hand the note Hunter gave me to Scarlett.
"Well played, baby; you would give me a run for my money with those acting skills. Dollars are the currency in America; it's like a pound, really," she explains as she hands the note back to me before smacking Hunter, making me laugh as he grabs his arm dramatically. "Och," he whines, making me laugh more. "Tiny, you're supposed to be on my team," he grumbles, increasing my laughter even more. "Don't corrupt my baby with your bets Hunter" she warms playfully as she sets me down.
"Sawyer, say good night to Hunter. It's time for bed. Hunter, you are welcome to spend the night in the guest room since you're coming to dinner tomorrow night anyway," Scarlett says to the pair of us. "That would be great. Thanks, Scar. Good night" he says, giving her a quick hug before he kneels in front of me. "Good night, tiny," "Night, Uncle Hunt," I say before giving him a tight hug. He feels safe, not as secure as Scarlett, but similar.
The following day I woke up early; the clock read six, which wasn't too bad for me as I managed to sleep the whole night through; I thought today was going to be a good day. Deciding to give Scarlett more time to sleep, I slowly make my way out of bed and into the bathroom, brushing my teeth and doing my business before going downstairs. I was going to try and put the TV on, but as I got downstairs, I saw Hunter putting his trainers on.
"Where are you going, Uncle Hunt?" I ask, walking over to him. "A run, tiny; you want to come? I can carry you while I jog around the central park; that way, you can explore some while I work out," he offers, making me smile and nod. I run over to the suitcases that are still by the stairs before grabbing some clothes to change into. "Do you know where the bathroom is so I can change?" I asked, walking back to Hunter with my clothes in hand; by my clothes, I mean my leggings, t-shirt and Scarlett's hoody.
After changing, I return to Hunter, grabbing my hat from yesterday. I smile as I realise there is a little Ironman on it. "Ready tiny?" Hunter asks as I stick the hat on my head. "Let's get going, Uncle Hunt; I want to explore," I say excitedly. He picks me up and sets me on the settee before turning around. "Hope on cowgirl," he says in a silly voice, making me laugh as I jump onto his back. "Wow, it's higher up here than with Scarly," I say, making him laugh.
Central Park is excellent, and Uncle Hunter is being super funny and pointing things out in what he calls his tour guide voice as he jogs around.
Considering all the traffic and buildings we walked past to get here, the park itself feels like a whole different world, and I love it.
While pointing things out, we played a game Hunter called twenty-one questions, taking turns to ask random questions, which was fun. There are lots of other people, some who are jogging, others who are on their way to work, and some just reading. It's just a swirl of all types of people, and it's great to watch.
After a couple of hours, Hunter is clearly out of breath, making me laugh.
As he walks us out of the park, we pass some stairs going under the ground. "What's down there, Uncle Hunt?" I ask, pointing down the stairs. "It's the subway, Tiny; wanna ride it back home?" He asks, making me nod excitedly.
The subway wasn't that fun; it was like the tube but grosser; I had only been on the tube once, and I didn't like that either.
I don't think I will be asked to do that again soon.
Once we're off the subway, Hunter stops at a store to get bagels. Apparently, they are a New York must. "Ok, tiny, what sort of bagel do you want?" He asks as he tilts his body so I can see the counter. "I don't know, nothing with nuts in, though; I'm allergic," I say, listening as he orders three different bagels, saying I could try all of them before getting two coffees and an apple juice for me.
We were giggling over a joke Hunter had told us as we entered the apartment.
We only fall silent when we see Scarlett standing there with a stern look. "And where have you two been?" She asks, pointing between us. Uncle Hunter nudges me, whispering, "You talk to her. She likes you more," making me laugh before whispering back, "Yeah, she does, and I want it to stay that way; you talk to her" "Do that puppy eye thing with the tears and call her Mama. She will forget she was even mad at us," he says back making us laugh a little until a throat clears in front of us making our heads snap back to Scarlett.
"Hunter, give me my baby back," she demands, holding her hands out for me, which I gladly jump into once close enough. "Morning, Mama," I say, snuggling into her "Uncle Hunt bought bagels. Apparently, all New Yorkers love them, and now that I'm a New Yorker, I need to eat them too; he says I can try all three and next time, we can get different ones until I know what I like. Don't worry, Uncle Hunt checked. There are no nuts in any of them," I say before reaching over to Hunter excitedly, who laughs, passing me the bag as he sets the drinks on the kitchen island.
Scarlett just hugs me tighter as she sits us down around the island. I spent breakfast telling her all about my adventures with Hunter this morning while Scarlett just cuddled up to me, making me giggle every now and then when her hands tightened.
"...and Uncle Hunter says we need to do all the tourist things before we go film in Atlanta if we have time. He says there are tall buildings, bridges, and a big statue to see. Can we go see them all, Mama?" I ask, and she just nods before I continue telling her about a squirrel I named Gerald that I saw in the park.
So far, today is the best; I hope it stays that way.