Chapter 7 - Babysitting from Hell
The next week in the Miller household went by fairly smoothly. Ben, for the most part, attempted to stay out of my hair and kept to the shadows. The only time I almost exploded on him was when he flirted with London purposefully, just to get under my skin. It made me shake, but if I bit my tongue I was able to keep quiet. The reality of it was that he wouldn't actually do anything with a fifteen year old. At least I hoped not.
The longer I spent in the huge house, the more natural it felt. At first I had felt like I was being swallowed up, but now it was almost normal to walk through the large front doors and into the front living room. Savanna said it was only used for guests, but every now and then I saw the boys sneaking a little nap on the couch.
I had also gotten to meet Rosie, their twenty five year old maid who had the cutest little four year old ever. His name was Justin, and I had taken to watching him while Rosie cleaned. It kept him out of her hair and entertained me for most of the day. Rosie was also fun to talk to, and was probably my favorite person to spend time with. The Miller boys were fine, but there was something about Rosie that just made me feel at home.
She also liked to make me cookies, so who could complain about that?
After we had been in the house a week, Savanna apparently decided we had been here long enough to be introduced to even more people than we already had been. I had been in the bath, soaking in gloriously hot water that soothed my muscles, when the intercom beeped. "Could you girls please come down to the kitchen? I have something to talk to you about and Rosie just made another batch of cookies." she said sweetly.
I was going to get fat, I swear.
I also swear I was in the bath when Savanna decided to call me downstairs.
Groaning, I pushed myself out of the tub and wrapped myself in a towel. "Be there in a second," I told her, letting my finger off of the button. It had taken me about an hour to figure out exactly how the system had worked. Every time I had tried to say something an alarm would go off; apparently the red button was the panic button, not the speak button.
After throwing my hair into a messy, drippy bun, I put on some baggy, black sweat pants and a crop top. It showed half of my stomach, which Savanna would not approve of, but I was just too lazy to put on a jacket to cover up. It's not like I was parading around in my bra, anyway.
When I jogged into the kitchen, all of my sisters were leaning on the island, hovering over a plate of cookies. Rosie was in the corner, bouncing up and down as Justin wailed in her arms. Frowning, I held my arms out and offered to take him. She quickly shook her head, spinning on her heels and rushing out of the room. Poor Justin, I hated it when he cried. Someone so precious should never be upset.
"Shiloh," Savanna sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. I bit my lip, giving her a sheepish smile. "We're never going to get anywhere with this, are we?"
"Sorry, Savanna," I said, crossing my arms over my stomach. Even though I tried, it did little to cover it up. "My Gran let me wear stuff like this all the time. I'm just used to it."
"Modesty isn't a bad thing," She frowned, holding out a cookie. I took it gratefully, letting my hands fall to my sides. "I'm just not used to parenting girls, that's all." Even though she meant well, I couldn't help but flinch at that word. Parent. I had known her for a week, this woman was not, and never would be, my parent. "Anyway, I called you down because I have something to tell you..."
"Is it bad?" Zoe asked, placing a hand on her hip. "Because we already start school on Monday and that's bad enough news." Winter break was ending, and that meant it was back to learning for all of us. Starting a new school in the middle of the term was not the easiest thing in the world, and I definitely was not looking forward to it. Every time I thought about it my stomach would clench, and not in a good way.
She laughed, shaking her head. "No, I think you're going to enjoy it. We're having a barbecue tonight, all of our friends and family are invited."
"Seriously?" London breathed, eyes widening. Her hair fell loosely around her shoulders, as it had most days since we had arrived at the Millers, and I still wasn't used to it. Usually she had it in a bun, but she had seemed to abandon and forget about that. She looked older with her hair down, and I didn't like it.
"I think it will be a good thing," Cora said, placing a hand on London's shoulder. "I mean, if there will be people my age there. That way I can get to know a few people before we go to school."
"Of course there will be people your age there," Savanna gushed, placing a hand over her heart. "Good Lord, do you think I'd stick you with old people all night? I'm not that evil."
As they stood there laughing, I felt like my heart was about to pound out of my chest. I had never really been good with people. When strangers introduced themselves I forgot the whole English language, quite literally. I felt like my tongue got ripped out of my body and my vocal chords had shriveled up. I was lucky if I could squeak out a hello before I ran away.
"Is Shi okay?" Jason asked, pausing as he came into the room. "She looks like she's seen a ghost." Suddenly, all eyes snapped to me and I gulped. Sweet baby Jesus, it was getting hot in there.
"You okay?" Zoe asked me, cocking her head to the side. I forced a smile and nodded, but juding by the look that crossed all of their faces it came out as more of a grimace and twitch. "I think she's loosing her mind," she whispered to Cora, placing a hand over her mouth so I wouldn't hear her. It didn't work.
"What's wrong?" Arielle asked me, grabbing my hand. In my mind I knew I needed to calm down, - that this, of all things, was not what I needed to be panicking over - but I couldn't stop the pounding of my heart or the sweating of my palms. It was like I had been put in a bubble and I was drowning.
"Close your mouth, you look like you crapped yourself," Ben's voice said, pushing up on my jaw so that it snapped shut. I hadn't realized it had been open, but as it closed my tongue clipped my teeth and I hissed. Suddenly, the bubble was popped and I was snapped back to reality. "There, that's better," he cheered, flashing me a smile.
"Go to hell," I whispered, shooting him a toothy grin back. As far as Savanna and Jason knew, we were getting along. The last thing either of us wanted was another family bonding day, so we kept fights to a minimum and only bickered when no one was looking.
"Okay," Savanna said, turning her attention to her husband. "The girls like the idea, so it's a go for the barbecue. Do you want me to come with you to get the meat?"
"That'd be great," Jason said, looking a little relieved. I sort of felt bad for him. Already I had seen that Savanna was almost always busy - she did have seven kids, after all. They probably didn't get much time together. "Should we bring Skylar with us?"
"I can watch him," I volunteered, taking a step forward. "I'll be watching Justin anyway while Rosie cleans, I don't mind."
"Are you sure?" Savanna asked, biting her lip. She almost looked scared, and I would have been offended if I didn't know how protective she was over her kids. "He's a handful, and you'll be busy with Justin-"
"I can handle it," I promised, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I used to babysit for Gran's bible study group. There were five toddlers and a handful of preteens. I think I can handle your son. Besides, Justin goes down for his nap in an hour. It'll be fine."
"Come on Savanna, she can do it," Jason urged, grabbing his wife's hand and stroking it with his thumb. "She's seventeen. Back in the eighteen hundreds girls were married with kids at this age."
"Not what I needed to think about," I snorted, grabbing a water bottle from the refrigerator. Ben reached over me and grabbed the orange juice bottle, knocking me so that my face hit one of the shelves.
"Fine," she sighed as I rounded on Ben, nostrils flaring. "We'll be a phone call away if you need anything."
"Sounds good," I smiled, discreetly sending Ben a look. He winked at me, taking a swig straight from the jug. My blood seemed to boil as I clenched my hands into fists, trying to hold it together until Jason and Savanna were safely out the garage door. "What the hell was that?" I finally hissed, slapping his shoulder.
"Nothing," he shrugged, taking yet another swig from the jug.
The jug we all drank out of, I might add.
"Bullshit," I accused, crossing my arms and jutting out my hip. I was hoping it made me look more fierce, but judging from the look of amusement that crossed Ben's face, it hadn't worked. "What?"
"I'll just never get used to your cursing," he laughed, pushing himself up so he sat on the counter. "You look all sweet and innocent until I actually have a conversation with you, and then you have the mouth of a trucker."
"Not true. I don't use the F word," I defended, stomping out of the room before I lost it. It was true, my Gran had hated the "F word," so every time I used to say it she would take away some item I loved. One year I spent the whole summer without any electronics and I was only allowed to go into the back yard. It was torture.
All of the other kids were lounged out in the living room, watching some children's show on the TV. I plopped myself down on the couch next to Matthew - or was it Mason? - and hoisted my legs across his lap. "Hey!" he exclaimed, pushing my legs off of him immediately.
"What?" I asked, cocking my head to the side. Of course I knew what was wrong, I was just being a brat about it. It was way too much fun to mess with the twins.
"Get your fat legs off of me, I'm too young to die!" Matthew exclaimed dramatically, letting his head drop back so that it rested on the couch cushion. I rolled my eyes, wiping a hand over my face. These kids, I swear, would be great actors. They could act like nobody's business.
"Whatever," I chuckled, ruffling his hair. "Hey Skylar, everything okay?" I asked, eyeing the little boy, who was laying right in front of the TV, head in his hands.
"Yep," he called, not bothering to look away from the television. He was way more interested in the animated rabbit about to fall off a cliff than anything I had to say. What was Savanna worried about? This would be a piece of cake.
"Shiloh," Rosie's timid voice called as she walked into the room. Justin had finally stopped crying, and how he rested his head on his mom's shoulder, thumb in his mouth. Just one look at him and you could tell he would be asleep in minutes. "I hate to ask, but could you hold Justin while I mop the kitchen?"
"You know the answer to that," I laughed, holding my arms out. She put her son in my lap and smiled as he nuzzled into my neck. At first he hadn't liked me, but now I was one of the only people he let hold him other than his mother. "Take your time, we'll just sit here."
"Thank you," she smiled gratefully, scurrying out of the room. I felt for her, I really did. Although I didn't have a child, I could only imagine how difficult it was to be a single mom. It was hard enough to take care of my sisters, and they weren't even babies!
"What are we watching?" I whispered to the twins, shifting as Justin kneed me in the stomach. He was trying to get comfortable, but Ouch!
"Shh, it's getting to the good part," Mason hissed at me, moving his hand in a shooing motion. Rolling my eyes for what felt like the millionth time that day, I sighed and looked down at the toddler in my arms. He had rolled over so that he was sprawled across my lap, head in the crook of my elbow. As I stared at him his body went limp, and a content sigh left his lips.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to sleep whenever you wanted to? Little kids have it made, they honestly have no idea. I would have done anything to not be the responsible one, even for just a day. The past few weeks had really made me grow up for my siste's sake's, even if they hadn't needed it. I wanted to be there for them, I wanted to be strong and handle things like an adult. More than anything though, I wanted them to trust me as much as Justin did. He fell asleep in my arms without any hesitation in less than a minute.
Not that I wanted my sisters to fall asleep in my arms, they were much too old for that. But I wanted them to have that sense of security with me, which they clearly didn't. We were drifting apart, I knew it.
***
The next thing I knew, someone was shaking me awake frantically. My eyes flew open and I shot up, almost dropping a still sleeping Justin in my arms. The first thing I noticed was that the room had been vacated; all of the children were nowhere to be seen. Yawning, I wiped the back of my hand across my mouth and looked up, flinching as I saw Ben hovering over me.
"Where the hell is Skylar?" he asked, narrowing his eyebrows. His words hit me like a slap in the face and I jumped up, clutching the kid to my chest. He was heavy while asleep, but I was too panicked to notice.
After turning in a full circle and realizing he wasn't in the room, I stomped my foot. "Fuck," I hissed, pressing my eyes closed. Behind me I heard a slight scoff, which only made my blood boil more.
"I thought you didn't say the F word."
"Some situations just call for it," I said, basically shoving Justin into Ben's arms. "Here, take him. I'll find Skylar." If I hadn't been in such a hurry to find the kid, I would have laughed at the expression on Ben's face. It was like he had never held a child before, which I didn't think was possible because he had so many younger siblings. His face scrunched up and his body went rigid. As I ran out of the room, I prayed he wouldn't drop Rosie's son.
"Skylar," I called, running to the kitchen. No one was there. My mind was spinning as I ran into the backyard, scanning the little playground off to the side. It was deserted. Where the hell could this kid have gone? At this point I felt nauseous, and it was all I could do to sprint up the stairs without throwing up. Savanna had trusted me, and what had I done? Fallen asleep.
Without even thinking, I barreled into the first room I came to, barely coming to a stop before I tumbled onto the ground. This room definitely belonged to a male, I could tell by the overpowering smell of cologne that immediately filled my nostrils. Ryder stood there, towel wrapped around his waist, ruffling his wet hair around like he was a dog. He stopped when he saw me, apparently not affected by the fact that he was naked under that towel.
"Can I help you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. My hands flew to cover my eyes as I squeaked, uncomfortable on so many levels. You know those moments when you're so embarrassed your throat feels like it's closing up? That was me.
"I...Have you seen Skylar?" I finally forced out, not surprised when my voice came out an octave higher. When I got nervous the tone of my voice rose significantly. Probably not the best thing, because everyone always knew when I was lying.
"No, aren't you supposed to be watching him?" Ryder asked, walking towards me. I swallowed, still covering my eyes. "You can look now, I put on a shirt."
"Thanks," I muttered, slowly lowering my hands. My cheeks were still as red as a tomato. "And yes, but I fell asleep. I have no idea where he is."
He rolled his eyes, as if not surprised by my lack of babysitting skill. He sauntered over to the intercom, cool and collected as if nothing was wrong. Shooting me a watch this look, he pressed the red button and said, "Hey Sky, you around?" We stood in silence for a few seconds, my heart pounding, waiting for a response.
"Ya, I'm in Mommy and Daddy's room," his voice finally said, making me sigh in relief. I wanted to fall over I was so happy.
"It's that simple," Ryder smirked at me, placing a hand on his hip. "Mom and Dad made sure all of us knew how to use the intercom, even the young ones. There are way too many of us to keep up with all the time. That's why we got this stupid thing in the first place." Well, that actually made sense. I thought it was just because they were rich.
"Thanks," I breathed before sprinting out of the room, frantically trying to remember exactly where Savanna and Jason's room was located. Then it occurred to me that I had never been shown that portion of the house, and was just running down the stairs, almost tripping over myself, for no reason. "Gavin," I called out, relieved when I saw him passing the staircase. He froze, raising an eyebrow at me. "Where's your parents room?"
"Uh, down the hall," he said, confused. "I should warn you though, the-"
"Thanks," I cut him off, taking off at a sprint. I really didn't care what he needed to warn me about; nothing was more important than finding Skylar before the Miller parents got home.
At the end of the hallway there was a door standing wide open, and I knew that had to be the one. I burst in, almost tripping over myself yet again, and tumbled to a stop just before running into a vanity. The first thing that caught my attention was the bright red markings on the wall. At first my stomach dropped to the floor; the red was way too close to blood. But then I realized that there were broken, empty lipstick containers cluttering the floor, and I let out a sigh of relief.
Next, my eyes shifted to the epicenter of the chaos. Skylar sat in the center of the bed, covered in various types of makeup, which also covered the previously white duvet. There wasn't an inch of his body that wasn't covered in makeup, not even his hair was clean. I felt like I was going to pass out; there was no way to hide this from Savanna even if I wanted to.
I was so screwed.
A/N: I have to words to apologize for how long I've been gone. I just really didn't want to write, and even 99% of this chapter I had to force myself to write (sorry if it's crappy because of that). I'm not sure when I'm going to update again, but I'll try to not let it be two months. Once again, I'm so sorry.
Picture of to the side is of Ryder (aka Steven R. McQueen) in case you were curious. If you watch TV, then you'll know him from The Vampire Diaries. ;)
If anyone even still reads this story anymore, please comment and vote. I promise I'm going to try and upload very soon, and the next chapter should be interesting. It's going to be about the family barbecue and Marks is going to make a surprise visit! :D
(Also, I apologize for errors. I haven't gotten to edit this yet, but I will really soon).