In Love With my Babysitter

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Morning, Jay." Luis smiled from the couch. "Finally, our sleeping beauty awakes."

I stood in the living room, my long wavy hair gathered to the left, wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt. I hadn't bothered to change or put on make-up this morning, because as soon as I'd heard the giggles, I brushed my teeth and ran downstairs. All of a sudden, though, seeing Luis and my friends sitting there, I felt ridiculous without pants on.

Well, at least I wasn't wearing my pink fluffy sleep robe.

"Nice to see you too," I muttered sleepily. "I awoke to your giggling."

Bex laughed and said, "We were just having fun with Luis here. He didn't want to wake you up 'cause he said he's not allowed in your room without an invitation."

"Well, I'm here now."

They giggled and rushed towards me, crushing me in a trio hug. When Luis called out, "Me too!" and slammed into the four of us in an even bigger hug, I couldn't help but laugh along with the rest of them.

"Where were you girls yesterday?" I asked, pouting a little. "You missed the pool party! And my awesome dive!"

Bex spoke up immediately. "Jaylee, hun, I'm so sorry!" She bit her lip and gave me a sheepish grin. "The truth is...I got grounded."

My eyebrows shot up immediately, and so did Celina and Sophia's. 

"You? Grounded?" I couldn't believe my ears. Bex's mom was one of the most carefree, go-with-the-flow kind of person I'd ever met. Bex being grounded was something to lo and behold.

"What did you do?" Celina asked, sounding just as skeptical as I felt.

Bex leaned back and sighed. "I, er, put Zoey in the hospital."

While we all sat staring at her, Luis looked around, confused. "Who's Zoey?"

"Her little brother." I answered, eyes still trained on her.

Bex went red and she held her hands up wildly. "Hey, it was an accident! I came home from that picnic we had, and then Zoey asked if I'd saved any pudding for him and I told him I forgot, and then he got all mad and flung himself at me from the top of the sofa, but I dodged just in time and then--" She swallowed and took a large gulp of air. "And then he fell on his arm."

We were all silent for a while, trying to process what she had just said.

Finally, Sophia spoke up. "So...you're grounded now for how long?"

Bex heaved a big sigh and leaned back against the couch. "A whole, damn, week."

Luis sucked in air between his teeth slowly. "Wow. Tough."

Bex nodded solemnly and turned to Celina. "So why weren't you there yesterday?"

We all listened as she explained how she was caught talking to Julia's boyfriend, Daniel, behind the school building a while ago. Apparently, Julia had freaked out and now Celina and her weren't on speaking terms anymore. 

"And all we were doing was talking!" Celina finished with a huff. "So I wasn't invited to her pool party. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier."

"It's okay," I told her. "The party wasn't that great anyway."

She smiled. "What about you, Soph?"

She shifted around uncomfortably before she told us. Her grandmother had had a heart attack yesterday, and her family was at the hospital the whole day. We all gave her comforting hugs, saying that it was going to be okay. Honestly, it seemed like a large coincidence, having them all miss the party. But maybe it was just that; a coincidence.