✅3️⃣ Treating the Babysitter [Camp NaNoWriMo July 2023]

2. Child from Hell

Adam obediently picked up the suitcases and carried them out to the back of Mrs Cartwright's car, where there was just about enough space to fit them in. It took a couple of tries, taking things out and putting them back in different orders, but eventually anything was ready to go. Then he had the task of chasing down Lorelei and getting her into the car.

She kicked at his shins when he tried to catch her. Of course she did; she wanted to run around the garden and play with her toys, especially now she had been let outside in the sun. But when Adam gave her an intense stare, she went a little quieter and allowed him to carry her over to the car. She could still remember that Adam had been the one to end her reign of terror, and she was nervous about getting on his bad side just yet. Or maybe she didn't feel up to doing whatever the new problem was while her mum was still here.

But putting Lorelei in the car didn't make any kind of sense. Adam was supposed to be looking after the little demon and watching the house while her mother was away. At least, that was what he had thought. Was he actually going on holiday with them to keep the child under control? That was a very different prospect, and as soon as the thought crossed his mind he knew that it couldn't be right, because the back of the car was entirely filled with an absurd amount of luggage. He didn't know what to think, and he couldn't even ask because of whatever drugs Mrs Cartwright had given him. Something based on St Jeremy's Root, he guessed, but a different version. He still couldn't bring himself to ask questions after she had told him to stop.

He opened the car door and manhandled the youngest Cartwright inside. She didn't have a baby seat now, just a thick cushion to sit on, so that she could use an adult-sized seat belt. And she still tried to grab the cushion and throw it out, hating that she was treated like a small child when most of her peers were tall enough not to need anything like that. He couldn't tell her to behave now, but his serious stare did its job, and before long Lorelei was sitting down and buckled in. She turned to him and pouted as he closed the door – double-checking for any fingers in the way – and then she started protesting to her mum.

He could only watch in confusion as the car drove away.

"Well, that was a lot of effort," Claudia said with a laugh, resting one hand on his shoulder. A few seconds later, the hand moved to his butt. And when he didn't make some sarcastic comment, she finally seemed to understand. "Oh, she told you to be quiet, right? That's okay. Talk again."

"What's going on?" he blurted out. "She said Lorelei's been a nightmare again, but that was just a normal hyperactive kid."

"Actually, she didn't say anything like that," Claudia answered with laughter in her voice. "Mum got a new phone a month ago, and I picked up her old one. Thought I might see how long I can get away with pretending to be her in text. Turns out I managed nearly three weeks."

"What, so there's no babysitting job?" he said. He knew that he should be happy; he didn't have a nightmare child to deal with, just a weekend with the girl he would have certainly trying to spend more time with if they hadn't been hundreds of miles apart for the last ten months. But... "I thought so hard over this plan, for how to reform her. I've been stressing so much about making the plan perfect, and... Sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry," she said. "There's a reason for that. And you still get to use your plan. You've just got a different troubled child to look after."

Adam didn't know what to say, but Claudia only waited a couple of seconds before she continued.

"Me, if it isn't clear. We had so much fun playing around with that root, seeing what it could do. You were such a good slave when you couldn't disobey, and so caring when you had the choice and submitted anyway. We got the same hobbies, and the sex was pretty good. So, why am I not your girlfriend now?"