Neighbors

F O U R

The tea party was in full swing. Bryce was telling Sadie a story about how he fought off dragons and evils trolls as she stared up at him with a twinkle in her eyes. I watched the exchange between the two of them and a small smile played on my lips. I took out my phone and took a photo of the two. In the photo, Bryce had his elbows resting on the coffee table, him leaning forward as he told Sadie his magical fable. Sadie was gazing up at Bryce in pure amazement as she listened to every detail of the tale.

Story time was shortly interrupted when the front door opened and several loud voices were heard. I recognized the voices instantly and snatched the tiaras off of mine and Bryce's heads.

Gavin and Zachary rushed into the living room followed by Hannah and Stephanie. Beckett followed behind with Gabrielle latched on his arm like a leech.

Gabrielle's face fell as soon as her beady eyes that were caked with way too much makeup landed on me. She glared at me through her obnoxiously long fake eyelashes. "What is she doing here?" she asked pointed her manicured finger in my direction.

"She's my neighbor and she watches Sadie when I'm unable to," Beckett explained.

"Whatever," she scoffed, pushing past me to Sadie who was clinging on to Bryce as she sat on his lap. "Hi Sadie, I'm Gabrielle." She squatted down to Sadie's level. Her smile was just as fake as the rest of her. "You're just as cute as Beckett said you were." Gabrielle put out her hand for Sadie to shake. Instead of shaking it, Sadie lunged down and bit Gabrielle's extended hand.

Gabrielle yelped and jerked her hand back. There was a moment of silence and I looked down at Sadie who was still in Bryce's grasp. I glanced at Bryce and saw that he was trying to contain his laughter. I couldn't blame him, it was pretty hilarious.

"Sadie! We don't bite people! You know better! Go to your room!" Beckett bellowed angrily. I saw Sadie's lip quiver as her brother scolded her. Beckett's outburst was a surprise to me too. He was usually so calm even when she did something wrong. "Go to your room right now, Sadie Rae!" Beckett continued to shout.

"Beckett, she's six!" I fought back in an attempt to defend the small girl.

"I don't care, she just bit Gabrielle!" he screamed at me.

"Yeah, she bit her. She didn't stab her. I'm pretty sure Gabrielle is gonna be fine." I looked down at Bryce as he consoled Sadie as she cried.

Beckett disregarded everything I said and yelled at his sister to go to her room. Obeying her brother's wishes, Sadie stood up and quickly ran up the stairs to her bedroom.

After a few silent seconds passed, I turned around and glared at Beckett. "Way to be a dick to a six year old," I spat before rushing past him and upstairs to Sadie's room.

I made my way up the stairs and down the hall to Sadie's room and went inside. I saw her sitting in the corner, in a chair that faced the wall as she sobbed.

I walked over to her and sat down on the floor next to her. "What's wrong, Princess?" I soothingly rubbed her back.

"Brubby yelled at me," she sniffled.

"I know. It wasn't very nice of Brubby to do that but it wasn't very nice of you to bite Gabrielle." As much as it pained me to say that, I had to let Sadie know that was she did was wrong and unacceptable.

I heard the door open and saw Bryce enter the room.

I stood up and made my way over to Bryce. "Can you talk to her for a sec?" I asked. "I have an idea."

I stepped out of the room and quietly closed the door behind me. I pulled out my phone and dialed Mrs. Murphy's number. It rang a few times before she picked up.

"Hey Piper, Beckett told me you were watching Sadie for a few hours this afternoon. Is everything okay?" she questioned.

"Yeah, everything's fine. I was just wondering if I could take Sadie over to my house for a sleepover tonight," I explained.

"I don't see why not since it is a Friday night," Mrs. Murphy agreed.

"Okay thank you, Mrs. Murphy."

"How many times do I have to tell you to call me Kathleen," she chuckled. "But it's no problem at all. Sadie just loves going over for sleepovers. She always tells me about all the fun times you guys have."

"I have a lot of fun too," I smiled. "Sadie is like a little sister to me."

"Well you two have fun, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" she chirped before hanging up.

I reentered the room and saw Bryce making silly faces at Sadie. She giggled and wiped at the tear stains on her cheeks.

"Hey Princess, guess what?" I told her.

"What?" she asked, tilting her head slightly.

"We're gonna go over to my house and have a sleepover," I informed her.

"Really?" she perked up. I nodded. "Is Brycie coming too?"

"I can if you want me to," Bryce looked at little girl.

"Alright, let's get you all packed so we can go," I smiled.

The three of us got to work, Bryce grabbing Sadie's pajams and toiletries while Sadie and I picked out an outfit for her to wear tomorrow along with some underwear. Once we had everything she needed for the night, I packed everything into a bag. Bryce leaned down so that Sadie could climb up on his back. He carried her down the stairs as I followed behind.

When we reached the bottom of the steps, I called out for Beckett. He waltzed into the foyer and frowned when he saw Sadie's bag in my hand.

"What are you doing?" he asked quizzically.

"Sadie's spending the night at my house," I said flatly. Beckett opened his mouth to say something but I cut him off. "I already talked to your mom and she said it was okay."

Beckett glanced at Bryce and Sadie before looking back at me. "Can I talk to you out on the porch for a second?" He asked through clenched teeth. I rolled my eyes and sat down the bag before following him out the front door.

"What do you think your doing?" Beckett grumbled after slamming the door.

"Being nice to your little sister since you don't seem to give two shits about her today," I retorted.

"What the fuck!? You know I love Sadie," he raised his voice.

"Really? Because it sure as hell doesn't seem like it! Not today at least!" I spat. I could tell Beckett was shocked by my outburst and frankly, I was too. Never in my life have I ever been this outspoken. "You care more about some bimbo than you do your own sister!"

"That is not true and don't talk about Gabrielle like that!" he shouted.

"Yes it is, Beckett! You know damn well that it's true! You've never yelled at Sadie the way you did today and all because she bit your precious, slutty girlfriend!" I was enraged.

Before Beckett could say anything else, I stormed back inside the house to grab Sadie's bag. I quickly pushed past Beckett and to my house as Bryce and Sadie trailed behind, leaving a flabbergasted Beckett on his front porch.