The Babysitter ✯ Kellic

Chapter Twenty-Six

"Fuck!" Alex yells, sitting back and almost slamming his head against his wall. "You got me killed you ass!" I laugh and sit back too, leaning against a pillow. "Now we have to restart!"

"To be fair, it was partially your fault," I point out. Alex glares at me before tossing his controller next to him on the bed. "You're bailing? Really?" I ask. He pouts and crosses his arms as his character respawns on the TV. I take the opportunity to kill Alex's character before he can even grab his controller.

"Wow, that was a dick move," he says, laughing. I shrug and take a gulp of beer from one of the bottles on the floor, not really caring if it's mine of not. "You going home to take care of your daughter soon?" Alex asks, pulling his pack of cigarettes out of his back pocket.

"I'm sure Vic's got her under control," I say as he lights one up. "They love each other, it's almost like Copeland could see Vic as her second dad." Come to think of it, she has called us both daddy... I shrug it off, taking another sip from the glass bottle in my hand. "Actually, what time is it?" Alex checks his watch and reads me the time of 7:48pm. "Could I just stay the night?"

Alex nods his head slightly, taking a drag off his cigarette and blowing the smoke away from me. "Sure. The place obviously isn't very big, though, so I'll sleep on the floor if you want," he offers, shrugging. "Also, if you get hungry in the middle of the night, if we even really sleep tonight, I have a bunch of shit stashed in that drawer," he points to the lowest drawer of some kind of cubby thing. "You know where the bathroom is."

"Okay, cool. Let me call Vic," I say, getting up and walking to the bathroom. I close and lock the door behind me, pulling my phone out of my pocket. How convenient, I missed a call from Vic about an hour ago. I call his contact and he answers on about the third ring.

"Kellin, you called, good!" he says immediately. I don't even bother questioning it. "Do you need me to come pick you up?" he asks, sounding pretty eager.

"Actually, I'm spending the night with Alex. If you're willing to watch Copeland for the night, that is," I say. I almost hear his heart dropping in disappointment.

"Oh," he replies. "No, I don't mind. Just call me in the morning when you want to be picked up. Unless Alex can drop you off," he mumbles that last part, making it almost impossible for me to hear him say it. "Anyway, goodnight babe. Be safe."

"Goodnight, you be safe, too," I reply before hanging up. I leave the bathroom and make the short walk back to Alex's room, not appreciating the huge puff of smoke that leaves the room when I open the door. "Vic is gonna watch Copeland, which means I can stay," I inform Alex, sitting down next to him. He nods, but I don't think he was really paying attention to me since he's typing away on his phone.

"Cool," he says, finally putting his phone down. "You want the bed or the floor?"

"I prefer the bed, but it's your house so I'm gonna go with floor," I reply. He hands me a bunch of blankets and pillows, pointing at the carpeted floor beneath our feet. I lay the stuff down, not planning on trying to sleep yet. "This feels like such a middle school thing to be doing," I say.

Alex laughs, blowing his last breath of smoke and shoving his dying cigarette into the wall. "I don't think I've even had a friend over since eighth grade," he replies. "Now I live in another fucking country and I'm living the life," he says with bitter sarcasm. He takes a deep breath and sips his own beer. I can tell something is bothering him just by him mentioning where he used to live.

"I don't know if we're close enough yet or not, but when you said you moved because of family problems, what did you mean?" I ask curiously. I'm trying really hard not to be pushy or rude, especially since it's probably a sensitive subject for him. Another deep breath and swig from his beer.