I had found Calum outside of the daycare trimming the shrubs, picking up garbage or managing small maintenance jobs every other day for the past two weeks.
Now that he had caught a glimpse of who my father was, it was incredibly obvious that he knew that I was off limits in every way. I would catch him sneaking peeks over his shoulder every time I would greet him or ask about his day. It was like he thought I was working for law enforcement or something.
As the days passed, my frustration grew. It was completely unfair that just because I was the daughter of a judge, every guy in town, whether they were delinquents or not, was intimidated by it.
I, however, also became intrigued.
Was he just a minor offender? A little spray paint here. Some class skipping there.
Or was he a class A criminal? Car-jacking and bank robbing.
I caught a glimpse of him wiping down the windows on the side of the building as I helped someone make a castle out of play-doh. There was no way in hell that guy was a bank robber. He looked like he couldn't hurt a fly.
But then again, looks could be deceiving.
As if he felt my eyes on him, he peered into the glass and caught my gaze. He gave me a smirk before going back to work.
"Damn it." I whispered.
Julie, the little girl I was sculpting with, turned to me. "What does that word mean?"
I fought off a smile and gave her the most serious face I could muster.
"It's, uh, only for adults to know. Wait until you turn 18 and then ask your parents...but don't tell them you heard it from me."
The polka dot bow in her hair jiggled as she nodded vigorously.
"Okay! It can be our secret!"
I breathed a sigh of relief and stood. "Good! Let's keep it that way. I'm going to take my break now. Ashton over there will help you finish your castle, okay?"
Upon hearing his name, Ashton looked up from cleaning up some Legos.
"Hey, Ash, will you help me out? I'm exhausted."
Ashton's dimples kicked in as he grinned and made his way over to the table. "Sure thing, Leisa. Take your time."
That boy was a life saver.
"Thank you sooo much! I owe you!"
As I walked away I heard him whisper to Julie, "Yeah, I'll put that in the pile with the rest of them."
Swiveling around, I gave him a face while he burst into laughter.
"You know I'm just kidding." He winked at me before picking up on the clay castle where I had left off.
I stumbled into the break room and groaned. I had taken a double shift today and was only 2 hours away from completing a ten hour sentence. Having Ashton there to help, though, made the time fly by.
My locker popped open as I spun the dial and removed the lock. I rummaged around through my belongings in search of a much needed snack. The locker door swung forward as I pushed, but it immediately sprang back.
Something was jammed in the entrance.
Pulling it out, I furrowed my eyebrows.
This hadn't been here earlier.
It was a wrinkled sheet of paper folded haphazardly and smeared in blue ink. My adrenaline rushed as I unfolded it.
"I'm not afraid of your father anymore...I want to get to know you. Give me a call? (or a text. whatever works for you :D)
