Chapter 3 003

Riley's POV

Easton's stare hit me like a cold wind, his arms crossed on his chest.

“I said what the hell are you doing here? Are you deaf?" he snapped, his voice low and full of venom that made my stomach flip. I stepped inside anyway, ignoring his question and held my bag like a shield.

Getting inside, a little girl with pigtails ran up to me and screamed as she wrapped her arms around my legs.

“This must be the baby I am to babysit,” I thought to myself

"You must be Riley! I'm Lila. Mommy said you will read me stories. Come see my room!" Lila said in excitement as she grabbed my hand, her big eyes shining bright, pulling me past Easton's frozen stare.

Mrs. Caldwell hurried over from the hallway, with her keys jingling in her hand, her smile quick and tired.

"Riley, thank goodness you're here. Lila has been asking about you all day," she said as she hugged me and smelled like flowers. She quickly went over the rules: "Lila goes to bed at eight, there should always be snacks in the kitchen and remember to call if anything went wrong. I'm leaving in five minutes for the airport.”

Easton stood silent, his eyes moving between us like he wanted to disappear.

“Mum,” he finally said. “Don't tell me this is the babysitter you have been talking about.”

“Yes, she is the one,” she replied, grabbing her suitcase, then turned to Easton. "Be nice to Riley, okay? She's doing us a big favor.”

“But–”

“No but Easton,” Mrs Caldwell interrupted. “Your father and I have decided to employ her, so don't question our decision.”

Then she turned to me. “I'm sure you and Lila are going to have a nice time together Riley. And don't bother yourself about Easton, he can be a dick sometimes,” she winked at me before turning to Lila. “Remember to be a good girl, mummy loves you hmm.”

She gave Lila a light peck and turned to the door, ignoring Easton as if he wasn't there in the first place.

As the door closed, Easton grunted in disagreement but felt like a threat to me. Then his phone pinged in his pocket, he pulled it out quickly, his thumb scrolling it. As he read the screen, he gave a small smirk.

"Cass says hi," he said under his breath, just loud enough for me to hear, making my cheeks burn hot.

Lila pulled me toward the stairs, chattering about unicorns and puzzles, her small hand warm in mine, and I followed, trying to ignore the heavy air between me and Easton.

Upstairs, the guest room smelled clean like fresh sheets. It had a big bed and windows that looked out over the pool, which sparkled in the evening light. I dropped my bag on the floor and started unpacking, folding my shirts slowly as I thought about how hell this house will be for me.

My hands shook a little on a sweater, but I took a deep breath and told myself this was for Mom.

Suddenly Lila jumped into the room, waking me out of my thoughts. She was holding a picture book tight in her hands.

"Read this one to me first, it's about a brave princess!" she begged, climbing onto the bed with a smile that eased some of my worry. I stopped what I was doing and sat beside her, opening the pages, my voice calm as I started reading the story about a girl who fought dragons and won.

Lila moved close to me and put her head on my arm, and for a minute the big house felt smaller, safer, like I might be able to handle this. When the story ended, she yawned and said, "You're nice, Riley, Easton never reads to me like that," her words soft and sleepy.

I carried her to her room and laid her on the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. Then she whispered, "Can you stay until I fall asleep?" Her eyes are already drooping.

I nodded, sitting on the edge of the bed, humming a soft lullaby that my mom used to sing to me when I was little. Suddenly a footsteps came down the hall, heavy and slow, and Easton's shadow appeared on the doorway.

He stood there and watched us, his arms crossed, face hard but eyes soft in the dim light. He didn't say anything; he just looked at Lila's calm face for a few seconds before turning away. But before he did, I caught the quick flicker of something gentle across his face.

Later, after I confirmed Lila was deeply asleep, I quietly left her room and closed her door softly behind me. I could hear Easton's low laugh and a girl's sharp tone on speakerphone coming up from downstairs.

I stopped at the top of the stairs to listen to their conversation.

“She's so pathetic, East. Having the guts to apply to be your sister's babysitter," Cass's voice crackled through the phone, mean and clear.

“Yeah, total charity case, mom must be desperate or something to employ a stupid girl like her." Easton said as he chuckled softly. His words hurt like new cuts, and I knew he said them to make Cass happy.

“Pathetic fool, trying to impress his ex-girlfriend. Between me and you, who is more pathetic.” I spat, keeping my voice low as I could.

I crept back to my room and sat on the bed hugging my knees tight. My phone lit up with a text from Amara. I ignored it even though I wanted to gist with her badly. But I couldn't bring myself to do it at that moment.

Outside, there was loud, close thunder, and rain started hitting the windows hard.

The lights blinked once, twice, then everything went blank with a pop that made me jump. The house fell into a thick, sudden darkness that was only broken by lightning flashing through the curtains.

Suddenly, Lila's scared cry came from her room, loud and tiny. I ran out fast out of my room, bumping into a warm body in the hall.

"Watch it," Easton growled close to me, his hand grabbing my arm to stop me from falling before he let go quickly like it burned.

"Lila's scared of lighting, go get her," he said roughly, but his grip lingered on me for a second, giving me a strange feeling.

We rushed to Lila's room together, her whimpers pulling us forward in the dark.

"It's okay, baby, we're here," I said softly, picking her up as she clung tight on me, her tears wet on my shirt. Easton found a flashlight on the dresser and turned it on, the beam of light cut through the darkness and showed his worried face.

“The house power has been cut because of the storm, why does this have to happen now," he muttered, sitting on the floor beside us.

Don't leave me," Lila whispered as she hid her face in my neck. I rocked her gently while Easton watched us both.

The storm got worse, with wind roaring like it wanted to come in. Lila began to calm down, and her breathing slowed down as she rested on my shoulder. Easton moved, and his arm touched mine again in the dark. It was a quick, electric touch that made me gasp for air.

Easton cleared his throat awkwardly. "Thanks for... handling her well,” he said. His voice was softer than before, almost like he meant it. The words sounded strange to me, so I nodded, not sure of how to reply. The air between us was heavy with something new and scary that neither of us could name.

Lila finally fell asleep, and small snores broke the awkward silence. Easton stood up slowly, moving the flashlight beam around.

“I'll check the breaker, stay with her," he said, heading for the door.

Before he got to the door, his phone buzzed brightly on the floor where he had put it, lighting up his face as he bent to grab it. He looked at the screen, jaw tightening hard, and muttered under his breath, "Cass... not now."

Because his back was turned to me, I saw the message clearly in the dark:

"Make sure she quits tomorrow or I'll make her life hell myself."

Easton glanced at me, seeing that I saw the message, his eyes widened for a split second, before he shoved the pho

ne in his pocket and said sharply,

"Don't worry about what you saw, just stay out of my way.”