Love Hate Relationship

Chapter 20

"Syyney!" Rylie shouts. She waddles over as fast as she can, right into a hug.

"Hi, Miss Rylie!" I say, twirling her.

She goes over and hugs Calum's legs.

"Watch out, she's a hugger." My aunt warns. Calum laughs and picks her up.

"Hello." he says.

"Hewow." she says, kissing him on the cheek.

"Aw, quit cheating on me, Cal!" I say with a laugh.

"Bed time is at 8. The diaper bag is in her room and she has to pick the book you read to her. Don't forget Austin, although he'll be in his room the entire time. Dinner is easy, here's some money for pizza." she says, handing me $20.

"Thanks. I'll make sure they have fun. You guys enjoy yourselves." I say. I hug her and my uncle before they leave.

"Thanks again." they say.

"Bye mommy, bye daddy!" Rylie says with a wave.

Calum sets her down and she runs to her room, holding his hand.

"She loves books." I say with a wink. He smiles and follows her.

"Austin!" I say, knocking on his door.

"What?" he asks sharply. I push it open and lean in. He sits on his bed playing some violent video game.

"You shouldn't be playing that, you're only 11." I scold.

He glares at me, "I told my parents to buy it for me so they did."

"Well, we're going to the park. Hopefully, there's no GTA there." I say.

"Have fun without me." he says, glancing back at the screen.

I walk all the way into his dirty room. There's underwear and pants everywhere, probably burying the shirts. "Why don't you put these in the hamper?" I ask him.

"Why don't you quit nagging me?"

I walk over and unplug his TV. He yells something incoherent and throws his controller at me.

"We're leaving in 5 minutes." I say, just as sharply.

I walk out of his room as he grumbles to himself. I walk into Rylie's room. Calum sits on her floor, reading her a fairy book. She sits on the bed, snuggling her animals and wearing his hat.

"Hey, you guys wanna go to the park?" I ask, putting my hands on my knees.

"Yeah!" Rylie squeals, jumping up and throwing her plush animal.

"Go get your shoes." I say gently as she bursts out of the room.

Calum smiles, "But Tinkerbell was just about to go see her friend!"

"C'mon, help me get Austin." I say with a laugh. He gets up and puts the book back on the small shelf.

"Woah," Calum says as he walks into Austin's room. "What tornado hit this place?"

"Fuck off, loser." Austin growls.

"Language! As long as I'm here, you aren't touching that controller." I shout.

"Wtf you're worse than my mom." he says.

I cross my arms and look at Calum. He nods and picks the extremely skinny child up.

"Hey! Get off me!" he shouts. He makes a pathetic attempt to pry Calum's strong arms off him.

"If you don't put your shoes on, I'll set your game on fire and we'll roast marshmallows." I threaten.