A False Sense of Security

Chapter 15

We knock on the door and am greeted by a woman maybe in her 30's.

"You must be Aiden," she looks at him. "And you are?" She eyes me.

"I'm Kiara," I greet.

"That's a unique name," She smiles.

Calm down, Kiara, calm down. I only smile at her. She hands us a page of instructions and introduces us to the children.

She points to the four year old, "That is Sophia,". Then she takes the one year old out of his carrier and holds him. "And this is Liam," she beams.

I am handed Liam and she leaves, yelling a goodbye to her kids on the way.

"So," I say to Aiden. He skims through the page she handed us.

"The first thing we're supposed to do is make them lunch." He states still looking at the piece of paper.

"How about a sandwich with a snack." I state. "Is she allergic to anything?" He shakes his head no.

I set the baby down in his carrier and head to the kitchen.

"What am I supposed to do?" He softly shouts into the kitchen.

"Make sure they don't stick pointy objects into power outlets, choke on small thing, drink bleach. You know the usually sh- stuff," I recover.

"Nice save," He says as he goes into the living room where Sophia and Liam are.

I make Sophia a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a small cup of strawberries, and a glass of milk. Gotta get that calcium. When I bring her out the plate, Liam starts to cry. He's probably hungry. I hand the plate to Aiden so he can give it her.

I bring Liam in the kitchen and make a bottle for him. I tried to give him the bottle but he pushed it away. "Oh c'mon Liam! Don't be all fussy like that. Eat! Or more accurately drink," I tell him. He smiles and giggles. "Oh you think I'm funny, huh?" I say as rub my nose with his and gently tickle his belly.

I try giving him the bottle again and this time he drinks it. Once he's finished I bring him back into the living room.

The sight I see makes me laugh. Sophia put make up all over Aiden's face with a hint of glitter. He also had on a tutu, butterfly wings, a tiara, a boa, and to top it all off he was holding a fairy wand.

"Oh! Your majesty," I say in a posh English accent as I bow. I can't control the giggles that escape every so often.

"Isn't he pretty!" Sophia asks cheerfully.

"Very," I say as I go over and entertain Liam. She beams at my statement.

"Okay! Now recite the poem of the magical fairy princesses!" She tells Aiden.

"What! No! There is no way I'm gonna do that!" He says adamantly. Sophia gets mad at that.

"Recite it!" She says in a cute angry voice. Aiden sighs.

"A sprinkle of fairy dust and a cup of fun. The magical fairy princesses meet under the sun. With a dash of color and a pinch of glitter. Magical fairy princesses are no quitters." He says in monotonous voice. I laugh really hard at that.

"Yeah, yeah I know my misery is funny to you," he says sourly.

"Only on Sundays," I reply giggling.

***

It was now dinner time. I made Sophia mac and cheese with chicken nuggets and milk. I just fixed another bottle for Liam. Liam started to cry after dinner.

"Kiara," Aiden calls.

"Yeah, Yeah. I know!" I reply picking a crying Liam out from his carrier. I cradle him in my arms and take him into the kitchen. I bounce and coo at him. Then I get an idea.

"Rock a bye baby on the tree top. When the wind blows the cradle will rock," I start to sing to him. He calms down and when I finish the song he is fast asleep in my arms.

"You have a wonderful voice," I hear Aiden say from behind me. I freeze. Fuck.

I turn around and smile. "Thanks, I'm gonna go put Liam in his crib." I inform him as I walk past.

Once I make sure Liam is secure I come back downstairs and go to put Sophia to bed.

"No!" She refused.

"Sophia, its bed time!" Aiden says firmly.

"I don't wanna," she yells. Shit, she's gonna wake up Liam.

I step in and bend down to her size. "Hey Sophia how about we go upstairs and I tell you story," I suggest.

She nods and follows me upstairs. "Hey why don't you brush your teeth and get into pjs, since we're up here anyways." I say as we walk past the bathroom. She walks into the bathroom brushes her teeth and heads to her bedroom.

I hand Sophia her pjs and exit the room, allowing her to change. She opens the door and pulls me to a seat next to her bed. I start to grab a book but she stops my hand.

"I want you to make up a story," she says. Ooh.

I tuck her in and get comfortable on the chair. "There once was a magical fairy princess named Sophia. She was the prettiest and the kindest of them all...." I begin. She starts to drift off into sleep halfway through the story.

"And they lived happily ever after." I finished. She was asleep. I went downstairs and plopped on the couch. I was exhausted. I soon fell asleep.

***

I woke up with a jolt due to the nightmare I always have. I end up slamming my head against the dash board of a car. The pain wasn't intolerable, but I have been in worse pain.

I held my head in my hands, groaning in pain.

"Fuck!" I scream from the pain.

All of a sudden I hear laughing. Out of breathe laughing.

"Holy shit! Kiara are you okay?" He asks through his laughter.

"I know, I know. My misery makes you laugh." I say while rubbing my head.

"Only on Sundays," he replies. I give him a one sided grin. He smiles back, butterflies erupting in my stomach.

Okay, it's official I like him. More than a crush.

Fucking Shit.