Stay| Simon Brown

Chapter 3| Burns

"I better take Aggie up. Will that be okay Nanny McPhee?" Eliza asked, still holding Aggie.

"Yes, dear."

And with that Eliza began to ascend the stairs to the children's room.

Once at the top, she knocked on the door with her free hand.

The door opened to reveal a worried Tora.

"Here's Aggie. I just figured your arms would be sore. Listen, I'm sorry about all that. I'm Eliza."
She stuck out her hand as Tora situated Aggie on her hip.

"Tora." She shook her hand. "And it's okay. It's our fault, really."

"Do you want help washing Aggy?" Eliza asked.

"Yes, please." And with that, the two girl went in the bathroom. Eliza ran the water as Tora undressed Aggie and put her in.

"If you don't mind me asking, what are you?"

"You're fine, I'm a Government nanny in training. I pretty much go with Nanny McPhee and help with the babies since she has lessons to teach the older kids. Of course the little ones still have to learn, so that's why I take care of them rather than the older siblings."

"Makes sense."

The finished cleaning up Aggie. Eliza dressed her as Tora washed the rattle.

Eric then came in to brush his teeth.

"Eric, this is Eliza. Eliza, this is my first youngest brother, Eric."

"Hi." Said Eric.

"Hello." Eliza awkwardly said back and then mentally kicked herself for being like this. Maybe if she talked to people more often she wouldn't have social issues.

"You have to be careful with that, Aggie." Tora said as she handed her back the rattle. "Its Mama's rattle, and it's the only thing we've got of hers."

Just then, Simon came in.

"What on Earth are you doing? And who are you?" He asked, directing the last bit at Eliza.

"I'm Eliza." She stated. Looking at his face, she saw he had little burn marks where the boiling water splashed him. Her eyes flashed with sympathy.

"Do you want any help?" She offered.

"What?"

"Your burns. Here let me help." She says as she gets some ointment.  (It's 2 AM and I don't know if that right but whatever.)

"What? No. We don't even want you here." Simon huffs. (or states. Up to you lol)

"Simon," Tora warns.

"Fine," he huffs while rolling his eyes.

"Here," Eliza begins as she starts to gracefully walk his way.

When she was close enough, Simon could smell roses and vanilla. A scent that would make any guy swoon.

He reluctantly held out his hand as she took it in her own, adding the cool cream. Her hands were soft and steady.  (OK so HELP. How the actual fuck do you spell cream. Like is it cream or creme?) She felt his gaze on her the whole time, causing her rosy cheeks to become a shade darker.

Tora was watching the whole thing play out and trying not to laugh at her brothers expression. His mouth was slightly agape and eyes a little wider than usual. His breathing was significantly slower and her was blushing profusely.

Eric was standing there with his arms crossed and a smug look. He already knew what was going through his big brother's head.

Once finished, Eliza awkwardly looked up. "I can do your face next," she offered.

Simon took a second before he registered he was being spoken to. He looked at his sister who was suggestively wiggling her eyebrows. Snapping out of the trance the girl in front of him seemed to put the poor boy in, he rolled his eyes. 'We don't need her,' He thought, 'we just have to get rid of her and her mom and we'll be okay.'

"Fine," he huffed with his dramatic ass self. He made sure not to look at any of his siblings, already envisioning the knowing looks on their faces. He decided to focus on the wall behind Eliza. He obviously couldn't look at her again.

She carefully added some cream to his cheeks, blushing slightly. He had deep brown eyes that almost reminded her of the coffee her mom drinks. A few freckles gracing his pink-tinted cheeks. The slight burns where the water hit him making him look flushed.  (I feel like it's going too fast but we only have so much time😕)

"There all done," She muttered, quickly pulling away. She then put her attention back to Aggy after putting the ointment away.

The rest of the kids then came in to brush their teeth.

With one last glance, Simon scoffed at their behavior before leaving.

A/N: This is actually super short, I know. It already took me a while to get it this far from having a writers block. I kept on deleting what I had written and decided to edit everything. I feel like it's going faster than it should, which I'm not too fond of. I'll try to update sooner but it may take a couple weeks. Thank you so much for reading this far into this book!! It can be hard to stay motivated. Have a beautiful day, you beautiful soul.🥀