Frenemies

05

After Grayson leaves, the girls head to the couch and take a seat. They turn on the tv and watch that while Stacie scrolls on her phone. Nathan latches onto my hand and pulls me toward his room. I find that his room has a small bunk and regular sized bed. 

"Does Grayson sleep with you?", I ask as I watch the little boy dig through his things on the floor for something. Nathan finds the item and turns to me with a smile,"Yes, he is the best roommate ever!" 

"Oh and do the girls share a room?", I ask as we walk out of his room.

"Anna and Lily. Gray gave Stacie her own room last year so she can have more privacy." 

That's sweet of him. Nathan and I arrive at the living room and I look down to see the item in his hand is an iPad. We sit on the couch and I asked the girls,"Can he watch his iPad?" 

Lily nods at me and Anna explains,"He hasn't had any screen time today, so he's good. Gray only allows him two hours a school night." 

"Oh that makes sense." 

For the next hour, the siblings spend their time quietly watching the TV and on their respective devices. When 8:30 hits, the younger girls turn off the TV and head to the bathroom. I hear them rummaging around and ask Stacie,"Are they getting ready for bed?" 

She looks up from her phone,"Yes, they are usually good at this. But Gray helps Nathan." 

"Okay", I smile kindly at her helpful answer. I turn to Nathan who has been watching a cartoon the whole time,"It's time for bed, buddy." 

"No", he says, not looking up from his iPad. I turn to Stacie for help but she only shrugs at me. I sigh and put a gentle hand on Nathan's shoulder, "Come on, buddy. We can read a story before bed." 

"Really?", he perks up, dropping the device he was holding on the couch, suddenly not interested in it one bit.  "Grayson hasn't read me a story in a week", he says frowning. 

"Oh I'm sure he hasn't found the time. I'll read to you", I say and we both make our way toward his room. He walks to his dresser and pulls out a set of clothes. I nod proudly at him and he heads to the bathroom. "I'll put this on and open the door, okay?" 

"Okay, just don't lock it. That's not safe", I say to him. 

Nathan shakes his head,"You sound just like Gray." Even so, he leaves the door ajar and after a few minutes he opens it wide for me. 

"And now what do you do?", I asked him. He steps up the bathroom counter and grabs his toothbrush. He then grabs a toothpaste which is themed paw patrol. I smile at the cuteness. 

I watch as he puts toothpaste on his brush and runs it under the faucet for a second. He then brushes his teeth and I don't even have to say anything because he is doing so well. I laugh when he does a silly dance while spitting out the paste. He then washes his face for all of a second and then turns to me. He flashes his newly brushed teeth and says,"All done." 

"Storytime", I say and he giggles as he follows me out of the room. We walk into his room and I tuck Nathan into his bed. I then grab a book from his dresser and sit on the floor beside him. 

"Are you ready?", I ask enthusiastically. 

"Yes!", he shouts with all the energy he has left, which isn't much.

•••••
After only 5 minutes and a lot of commentary, Nathan falls asleep. I still finish the story and set it down on the bed. I'm about to stand up and leave when Nathan's small hand covers mine. "Thank you", he says sleepily. 

"Of course, buddy", I say, giving him a feather-like kiss on the head. 

"Like Gray", he whispers to himself with a small smile on his face. 

I leave him in his room with the door left open and head to check on the girls. When I find their room, I don't even have to walk in to see that they are asleep. While I walk away though, I hear two sets of giggles and I smile to myself. They weren't asleep, they were just pretending to be. But I leave them alone. I walk downstairs to find Stacie still in the same spot and I take a seat next to her. It's almost 9. 

"Did Nathan cry?", Stacie asks and I turn to her with a confused expression. She explains,"Most nights, Nathan has been crying. Something about nightmares." 

"No, he didn't cry. Maybe it was the book I read to him", I say with a small smile. We are silent for a while before Stacie asks,"Do you like him?" Her voice is so soft that I could barely hear her. "Because if you do–"

"I don't", I say way too quickly, cutting her off. Stacie gives me a skeptical look and says,"So then he must like you because we've never had a babysitter. He doesn't trust any of them."

I'm about to ask what she means by, well, everything she said when she gets up from her spot and turns to me. "If you do, just tell him." 

"It's not like that. At all, with your brother and I." 

"Why not?" 

I pause for a second and put my sentences together in my head before saying,"Grayson and I haven't been the nicest to each other…" 

"But he trusts you enough to bring you here", she adds.

"I offered him my help", I said quickly. This conversation is not one I want to be having with his little sister because there isn't much to say.

"I don't understand this", she gestures to me,"But it's almost nine. I have to take my shower and get ready for bed. Thank you for your help, Julie." 

"Most people call me Jules", I say quickly. She turns to me and her eyes turn soft,"But my brother doesn't do so.."

"All of you guys are the same", I laugh and she walks up the stairs. She turns back a second and just waves her hand at me. I return her goodbye and stay rooted in my spot on the sofa. I spend the next hour in my spot on my phone until I hear a car pulling up to the driveway. I walk over to the front door and check that I was right, Grayson's home. 

I watch as he walks behind the car and opens the trunk. My eyes follow as he he gets some of the bags out and carries them to the porch. I open the door and Grayson smiles when he sees me. "Did Nathan cry?" 

"No", I say and grab a few bags to carry them to the dining room table. Grayson goes back to his car to grab more. The cycle runs for a few more times before all the groceries are inside and I'm outside waiting for him to lock his car. He makes his way to the porch and I say, "It's ten, my parents are probably wondering where I am." 

"Oh, I'm sorry", he says and his hand goes inside his pocket to retract his wallet. My brain doesn't register what's happening until after he pulls out a couple hundred dollars. I laugh, a little too loud, "Don't be silly. I was helping you out." 

"Take the money though", he says pressing it to my hand and I wave it off. 

"Grayson I'm not going to take money for watching over the cutest four-year-old ever." 

He tries to hand me the money a few more times before he puts it away. I pull my hair into a ponytail and say,"Okay, well I have everything. I'll get going." 

I walk down the steps and Grayson stops me with a hand on my shoulder. "Really, Julie for all the help. You are awesome." Before I can even react to his words, he leans in and presses a soft kiss to my cheek and I freeze. It makes my cheek heat up even in the cold septmeber evening. He pulls away and flashes me a smile and I try to replicate it even though my heart is hammering against my chest. 

"Bye, Grayson", I say and almost trip down the stairs. I steady myself and walk to my car. Only when I take off my clothes to change into pj's do I realize that Grayson put a hundred dollar bill in my hoodie pocket. I try not to think about the stupid kiss as I head off to sleep.