A/N: ....Sooo, I accidentally uploaded the wrong chapter...Lol. THIS is chapter eight.
Before I hung up the phone, I gave him my answer. In exchange he gave me an address, a couple of names, and a time. It all sounded foreign to me, but I wrote it all down nonetheless.
After finally getting home, I dropped my backpack off at the door and went into the kitchen. How was I going to get there?
I had a list of options: tell Mom the truth and borrow the car when she got home from work, or call a cab and make something up. The latter seemed more logical in the situation…I couldn’t tell her now…at least not yet.
Taking a piece of paper from my backpack, I scribbled a quick note to my mother. I could send her a quick text, but she probably wouldn’t catch it till she was off work—it was rush hour. And knowing Mom, her phone would most likely be dead by the end of her hour-long break.
The country club was short of staff tonight, so I had someone pick me up.
—Ashleigh
She’d understand. She knew that we needed the money, but I stared at my lie for a second, contemplating whether or not I should just rip it up and tell her the truth. This lie wasn’t going to be able to go on forever…I wasn’t that good of a liar, anyway. But lying to my momma torn a piece of my heart.
I closed my eyes, released the paper, and walked away. She didn’t deserve this—none of us did. I was determined to at least try and enjoy this new job—no matter what it was. Well…not if it include erotic dancing or cooking. Other than that, I’d be fine.
I was determined to make the money, and that’s all that mattered right now.
***
I calculated the time it took to reach my destination: forty-five minutes. My stomach dropped…not because I’m traveling to a place so far from home, but the fact that I’m going someplace that some guy I just met told me to go…for money.
Maybe I didn’t think this through. I knew nothing about Christopher Livingston except for the fact that he was rich and somewhat powerful. I was an hour and a half away from home. I could be murdered in the next hour or two for all I knew.
When the cab pulled into a large neighborhood, I said a prayer. Hopefully this wouldn’t end as badly as I thought. I had to expect anything.
I glanced at the piece of paper that I wrote all of the information on.
Brandon and Jasmine Greene
267 Lily Lake Ln.
6:30 PM
The car finally came to a halt. I was right on time.
I paid the cab driver—which was way too expensive, I’d have to figure out how to get a ride here or something—and walked up to the house.
The neighborhood looked very friendly—friendlier than my own. At least everyone here cared for their yards. Judging the sizes of the homes and how nice the cars looked, this place looked pretty expensive.
What if this was Livingston’s house?
I quickly shook away the thought. There were reasons why it couldn’t be.
When I finally made it up to the door, I rang the doorbell. The women who opened the door had a worried frown on her face, although her features were beautiful. She had dark brown skin, matching eyes, and curly black hair that shaped her face. For a few seconds we just stood, staring at each other.
I honestly didn’t know what to say. I just showed up to the place at the time Livingston told me to go, and I had to expect anything these people would through at me.
Her frown eventually turned upright and she gently smacked her forehead. “Oh, you must be the new babysitter! How did I forget?”
Babysitter—at least it wasn’t erotic dancing. Thank you, God!
She widened the door and stepped back. “Come in, come in.” She heaved a sign of gratification. “My husband and I were worried that you wouldn’t show up.”
I walked inside the house praying these people weren’t the crazy murderous type. Mom always taught me to never walk into a stranger’s house, but this was different wasn’t it? I was eightteen, not five.
Before the women could even introduce herself, I was welcomed by a little mulatto girl with tan skin and big, curly, tan hair. Her smile reached her green eyes—well, one of her eyes, because of the pirate’s eye patched. I instantly grinned at her pirate costume.
“Arg! Who are you? Arg!” The girl held her little plastic sword to me at a safe distance.
The women took the sword from the young girl’s hands, scolding her. “Valerie, didn’t I tell you not to point these weapons at people?”
The girl instantly lost her act. “But, Mom!”
The women’s face was serious now. It reminded me of my own mother when she scolded me as a child. “Do you want me to take this away from you for a week?”
The girl was close to tears. She pouted her lip and spoke with a small voice. “No,”
The women’s eyebrow’s straightened as her mood turned into a forgiving one. She handed it back to her daughter and her face lit up as she skipped down the hall and around the corner.
“I’m sorry, I’m Jasmine Greene,” She held out her hand and I shook it. “You must be Ashleigh Wills.”
I grinned and nodded. I was still unable to talk—I mean, I was supposed to be at home doing my homework or making sure all of the bills were paid, but…here I was.
When a tall man with blond hair emerged from the corner, he was talking to a young boy with glasses who was nodding his head. When the two noticed they stopped and the man grinned.
Jasmine Greene introduced me to the man as Brandon, her husband, and Ethan, their son.
“Hey!” Brandon nearly yelled. He seemed to have a pretty ebullient personality which made me smile again. “New babysitter, right? Our last one got married and moved across the country. How are you?”
He threw out his hand for me to shake while he talked at a thousand words a second.
I’d never babysat before, but I had to be open to try it. “Should I call you guys ‘Mr. and Mrs. Greene or—”
“Oh, no, honey!” Jasmine gasped. “You can call us Jasmine and Brandon.”
I nodded. Jasmine called out two other names and down came Valerie, the female pirate. “Arg! Yes, Mom?”
“Where’s Vanessa?”
“Nessie, Mom said come on!” Valerie shouted into the hall in which she ran from.
A few seconds later, another young girl peeked around the corner. She was an exact replica of Valerie—her twin.
“Come here, girls,” Jasmine said, and the girls came forth—well, while Valerie ran, Vanessa quietly walked. I noticed the blood-blush on her cheeks and her wide, curious eyes. She seemed a little shy.
“This is Ashleigh, your new babysitter. While Dad and I have to go work the evening for the next couple of months, she’ll be watching you, so behave.”
I heard Ethan scoff. “But, I’m twelve. I don’t need a babysitter.”
His mother gave him a pointed look. “And you can’t babysit you seven year-old sisters. I expect youto be on your best behavior, Ethan.”
Ethan rolled his eyes, then ran up the stair to what I assumed was his room.
“You’ll have to give him some time,” Brandon said as he gently wrapped his arm around his wife. “It took him a while to get used to the last babysitter.”
I wondered why that was.
“Would you like a tour of the house?” Jasmine asked. I nodded and she did just that.
Since I had never babysat before, I expected this first experience to be like the one in those scary movies. The sitter casually sits on the couch while some strange caller rings the house telling her to check on the children.
Luckily, none of that happened. I also didn’t receive another call or text message from that guy, so I guess my night ended well.
I wasn’t exactly sure when Jasmine and Brandon would be back home, but I began to get a little worried when it hit ten o’clock. By then, Valerie and Vanessa were already in their beds—I didn’t even have to remind them…such great kids.
Ethan on the other hand decided to be more difficult. It took me about four different times to tell him to go to bed. By the fourth, I was done asking—I simply demanded him to go. Eventually, he went…after madly stomping up the stairs and slamming his bedroom door.
And then, it was peacefully quite.
It wasn’t long until the parents came home. They gave me a twenty and thanked me, asking if I’d be back tomorrow.
I didn’t have another job—especially one that paid me twenty bucks to babysit for three hours—so I didn’t even have to think twice about my answer.