The Babysitter ✯ Kellic

Chapter Seven

"What?!" I yell into the phone, my heart beating a thousand beats a second. "Why the fuck would he call CPS?!" I mean, Copeland is in a safe environment; she's being taken care of. But why would my own father do that? Does he want her taken away from me?

"First of all: language, Kellin," my step mom replies. I roll my eyes. "Second: he figured you couldn't take care of your daughter and wouldn't have, as he put it, 'the balls', to give her to somebody who could actually take care of her." That dick!

"Well, it just so happens that I actually didn't have to have 'the balls' to give her away, because I found a way to take care of her!" My step mom actually gasps when I say that. "I found somebody who was willing to help."

"Like...on Craigslist?" she asks quietly. I face palm and sigh dramatically.

"No, not like on Craigslist. More like I went to a daycare center and a guy offered to help for free," I lie. Well, it's not entirely a lie, but it isn't the truth. I hear my step mom let out a breath in relief. "What does it matter? You don't care about Copeland."

"I care more than you realize. I would have taken Copeland but your father wouldn't allow it. I'm so sorry, Kellin. When CPS comes, you have to show them her crib, the food, and her toys," she informs me. I can't believe she actually cares about Copeland... Is this some kind of front?

"Okay. Thanks for the heads up," I say, slightly on edge.

"Call me back when it's over so I can tell your father how it went."

• • •

Honestly, I feel like CPS visiting your house, regardless as to how it ends, just sucks. You don't want somebody coming to your house uninvited to make sure that you're taking care of your kid(s) properly. They informed me that my father called and said Copeland wasn't being taken care of. So, I followed my step mom's advice and showed them that, in reality, she actually was just fine.

They asked me who was taking care of her and I just replied with "a friend." I mean, Vic and I are kind of friends, aren't we? Speaking of Vic, I told him about this little predicament and he said he was coming over despite the fact that he doesn't have to. Honestly, I'm finding myself falling for him way too fast.

I also told my step mom what happened and she was surprisingly supportive. Basically, she cares about Copeland and me, she just can't do too much because my father wouldn't allow it and she loves him too much to go against him. It kind of sucks how that works out.

I take my eyes off Copeland and look to the door instead once I hear knocking, figuring that it's Vic. I get off my couch and open the door to him, and he looks super nervous. He looks up from his feet and wraps me in a tight hug. My body stays stiff through the hug until he pulls away, which is when I simply pat his shoulder. "You know you didn't have to come over, I'm fine," I say.

"Fine?! This is fucked up!" he says. I cover his mouth pointing behind me, trying to say that Copeland is right there. He nods and wipes my hand off his face. "Seriously dude, why would your own father do that shit?" he asks quietly.

"My dad and I never had a very solid, nice relationship..." I say, matching his volume. "Do you want to come in or what?" I ask in a questioning tone. He nods and I stand to the side, letting him in through the front door which I then close behind him.

I turn around and see him holding Copeland, hugging her close to his chest. He's only been babysitting for a week and he already cares about her that much? He almost acts like Copeland is his daughter...I don't know if that should bother me or not, but it doesn't. I think it's sweet, actually.

I sit back down on the couch and watch him play a little xylophone thing with her. "So, you're going to hang out here on one of your days off?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows. Vic looks up at me and chuckles, shrugging.

"Guess so. You have a problem with me hanging out on a Sunday?" he questions, smirking. I shrug and look at Copeland playing notes on the kids' instrument. "I hung out her a little bit yesterday too, ya know," he points out, staring at me. I nod.

"Yeah, I know. What was that about my teacher that you brought up then, anyway? You said you two dated?" Vic blushes at my questions. "You also said he had anger issues, right?"

"Yes, but why does any of that even matter?" he asks as a rhetorical question, waving his hand to dismiss the subject. I look at him curiously.

"Why did you two break up?" I ask. He sighs and stares at his legs. I guess he finally realized that he isn't getting out of my questioning any time soon. "Well?" I urge. He looks up at me and shrugs.

"We just weren't compatible anymore," he says. Oh, that's such a lie. I can tell it's way more than that. I flash him a skeptical look. "Okay, fine. You want to know what really happened then?" he asks.

"Well that is why I asked," I reply. "Don't lie again, Vic." He takes a deep breath.

"Okay, okay. It was a mix of things, really," he begins. I nod, encouraging him to continue. "Well, I told you about how he does have anger issues. But, uh, when he would have anger fits like that he would push me around and hit me..." I gape at him and he pauses for a second. "It got really bad at one point though.

"It got to the point where instead of pushing and the occasional back hand or something, it was back hands all the time and the occasional punch. Of course, that lead to it becoming punching consistently." I could hear his voice start cracking at the end. "There were times when he would threaten to kill me, and other times where he would burn me and stuff like that."

I sink down to the floor and hug him as tight as I can. I hear him sobbing over my shoulder as I rub his back lightly. I'm not much of a hugger, but I couldn't stand to see him broken like that. "I can't believe somebody as amazing as you would have to have gone through that," I whisper. He clings tightly to me and sniffs.

"It's in the past," he whispers, even quieter than me. "I feel so bad for Mike though. He has Jaime as his teacher now, and they never liked each other," he continues, pulling away from me. Copeland crawls over to us and I sit her in my lap, still facing Vic.

"I have that class with Mike. Preciado asked to see him after class the other day," I say, worry shooting through me. "How did you get away from Preciado anyway?" Vic sighs.

"I told him I just didn't want to be in a relationship anymore, and I guess he got it. But, he was still angry. He's why I wear long sleeves all the time, too, I have so many bruises from when we were in a relationship," he says sheepishly.

"Can I-" he just nods before I even have to finish my question. He rolls up his shirt sleeves reveals tons of bruises on his arms. There's also other scars, but I can't tell what they're from. The bruises though look like Vic was grabbed roughly or even punched. It breaks my heart just to see them. "How long were you with him for?"

"Maybe three years or so," he replies, rolling his sleeve back down. I gape at him and he shakes his head. "Before you ask: I stayed with him because most of the time he was actually a good guy. But the anger fits got more and more frequent near the end."

"You deserve somebody so much better than that," I whisper. And, this crazy, insane, thought crosses through my mind. We're sitting so close...I glance down at his lips and back up to his entrancing brown eyes. "You should probably go home before it gets too dark," I say quietly, ignoring the pressing thought in my mind.

He nods. "I'll be back tomorrow to take care of Copeland. Stay safe until then," he replies, getting off the floor. I stand up with him, placing Copeland on the couch. He walks to the front door and pauses in the open doorway. I stare at his lips as he says his goodbye before leaving.
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what a kellic moment right there ??????