Chapter 4

Willow.

“When is this guy going to call me,” I muttered to myself, pacing around the dining room.

There was entirely no way I could work with that brat around. Not to mention, even with my boss away, I would still have to go to work. It was Sunday, Sebastian was supposed to come back on Wednesday. But I figured he would at least call to ask how the little guy was doing.

Not that I knew what I would tell him. I couldn’t say that his son was a little demon and that I couldn’t keep looking after him, especially not after I’d spoken with such confidence.

Really, what had I thought when I did that? Though it was more like I hadn't been thinking at all. The conversation we were having was awkward enough already, so when I heard his nanny had quit and he needed someone to look after his son quickly, I said I would do it.

What am I supposed to do, though?

I understand why that nanny quit, now.

Besides, it wasn’t like he was paying me for this, or I would get extra pay at work for this. I wanted to know if Andy went to daycare or something, or kindergarten. He was old enough that he should have started his schooling, and if I could only ask, I could take care of him for today and look forward to having some free time later on.

I heard another scream from Andy, and I looked toward the living room. He was still there, at least, jumping on the couch, like the last time I’d seen him a few minutes ago. I was keeping a closer eye on him so what happened yesterday wouldn’t have a chance of repeating.

What would I have done if he’d put that dildo in his mouth? And what if, after he got back to his dad, he told him about my sex toys? I was stressing over it, but I was stressed more over the fact that I still had to look after this brat.

“I don’t know a damn thing about children in the first place,” I groaned to myself after mom came in the apartment and quickly made an exit. Even Andy was too much for her to handle and she wished me luck as she left us alone.

They were cute to look at, at least when they were on TV, or it was someone else’s child I saw from a distance. I even sort of liked children, not that I’d ever thought of having any myself. But this was the first time I was around one as hyper as Andy was.

My eyes turned to my phone that I’d left on top of the table, and I glared at it.

Isn’t Sebastian at least worried about how his son was doing?

He was probably busy with work, but how long would a text, or even a short call take? He hadn't called even once! If anything, I was the one doing all the calling, and his line always seemed to be either busy or turned off. I’d even checked the time difference to call him at the best time, but there was still no response.

Dammit.

It seemed like I’d have to wait for him to come back. If it was the weekend and he wasn’t answering, then I likely wouldn’t have much chance on a weekday.

I sighed, then walked into the living room. Andy was still jumping all over the couch, but I was happy as long as he wasn’t giving me even more trouble. Then, I turned my eyes to my walls and groaned again.

Last night, getting him to go to sleep had been nearly impossible. I lived in a one bedroom apartment, so I’d had to leave him in my bedroom, too, and I’d made sure to lock away everything important. Then, I went to sleep on the sofa.

Only, when I woke up, he’d somehow gotten hold of my make-up. He’d found my eyeliner and somehow mistook them for colored pencils, maybe, because he went on to write on the walls with them.

My formerly pristine, cream-colored walls were more colorful now, but I couldn’t exactly be happy with it. The scribbles were all over the place because it had taken so long to get him to go to sleep, I’d fallen asleep late myself, and he woke up incredibly early. Considering the number he did on my walls when I woke up at around nine, he’d been up for quite a few hours. Aside from scribbling all over the walls, he nearly trashed my apartment, too, and I felt a bit like crying over it.

I couldn’t bring myself to wash it off yet, either, because I had to wash the kid, then make breakfast for the both of us, then clean him again because he made a mess again—admittedly, I should have thought that part through. He didn’t even get to brush his teeth because he was supposedly too young, but four should be old enough, right? His teeth probably hadn't started falling out yet, but there was no reason to wait it out, right?

When I finally get to talk to him, I should mention that.

“Andy,” I said, turning to the five-year-old, that should know better. I thought that they were supposed to be matured at this age, which was part of the reason that I didn’t expect this mess or all this choas. Damn! I really know nothing about kids. He was still bouncing, but he stopped and looked at me. “Can you play over here on your own for a while? I need to do some work, okay?”

He didn’t even give me any acknowledgment before continuing. I just sighed and went to look for some cleaning supplies. I was smarter than yesterday, and I hadn't let him be on his own for too long. If I was in a separate room, I was where I could keep an eye on him. Thanks to this, though, I’d gotten a lot less done today than I had yesterday, and I didn’t know if I would get the time to make up.

If only I had someone to help out. But when Mom came, I’d already asked, and she said no. She’d also given me a stern talking to about having toys, and especially leaving them in a place, a child could find them.

That conversation had been so mortifying I didn’t even mind when she refused because it got her out of my apartment quicker. I was trudging over to pick up the supplies when I remembered there was one more person.

Of course. Ivy. Why didn’t I think of her?

I hurried back to where I’d left my phone, glancing at Andy as I did so. I made sure he wasn’t doing anything reckless, then went to the dining room to make the call. I had no idea if she would be busy, but Ivy was my closest, if not my only, friend, and if there was someone that could help me with this, it had to be her.

Lucky for me, she must not be busy, because she answered on the third ring.

“Hi,” she said.

“Ivy,” I sighed out in relief. “You gotta help me, please!”

“What’s wrong?” she asked, sounding a little surprise.

“I did something stupid. So stupid! You need to help me out here.”

“Did you fall for the boss?” she asked cautiously. “Did you sleep with him?”

I went still because I couldn’t exactly say that wasn’t it, at least the second part, even if that wasn’t my current problem.

“Actually,” I said quickly once I came back to myself, “Sebastian is out of the country, and I’m looking after his son. His nanny quit on him last minute so he couldn’t find someone new, but Ivy, I’m dying here! I don’t know what to do about this kid! Help me!”

I kept my voice quiet, just in case Andy could hear. After all, I didn’t want him to think I didn’t like him. What would I do if it just set him off more?

Ivy wasn’t sympathetic at all, she laughed, and I let out a growl.

“Please, Ivy, please can I bring Andy over so he can stay with you? I already asked Mom to take him off my hands, but she refused. Saying something about being too old to look after kids at her age. What will she do when I have her grandchildren and need her to look after them?”

Ivy just chuckled some more. “If it were her grandson, she probably wouldn’t mind. But don’t bring him to me.”

My jaw dropped in shock. How could my one and only friend abandon me like that?”

“Ivy! You’re good with kids; I’m sure he’ll like you. And…he’s cute. When he sleeps, at least. I need to clean my place up, and I don’t know what I’m going to do about work tomorrow—”

“Don’t bring him here,” she said, cutting me off. Then she continued before I could protect some more. “There’s no need for you to bring him, because I’m coming to visit, and we could miss each other on the way. So wait for me, okay?”

I was silent with gratitude for a minute, and my eyes itched as if I would cry. But I pushed the urge back. I didn’t have the luxury of having a good cry right then. Even if Ivy came and looked after him for me, I still had plenty of cleaning up to do; then I had to decide what I needed to replace in the apartment, and what I could do without.

“All right,” I murmured, calmer now that I knew she was on her way. “Hurry up and get here, okay? You’ll laugh at what I tell you about my troubles, but I’ll tell you anyway because I want to rant to someone.”

“I’ll be there in about thirty minutes. I wanted it to be a surprise. I told Chad I was coming and he was happy that we were meeting up again, it’s been a while. So, much for the surprise,” she said a little disappointed.

“I’ll be there soon,” Ivy said and hung up.