Unexpected

Chapter 1

BAILEY'S P.O.V.

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I awaken early on this beautiful Summer morning, natural sunlight shining through my curtains. This is the first official week of Summer and I'm already thinking ahead and making plans. I don't want this Summer to be boring like all of the other ones. I have a feeling that these 3 months will be the best ones yet. At least, that's what I'm hoping for.

I get out of bed right away and I decide to change into some shorts and a t-shirt. I go to the bathroom and I wash my face and brush my teeth. Then, I head downstairs. There's a note on the counter, from my dad. 'Hey Bailey, there's pancake mix in the cabinet, feel free to make yourself some. Love, dad.' That sounds delicious right now, but I decide to go on a run before I eat.

My black and green Nike's are sitting in the laundry room with all of my other shoes in a big messy pile. I make a mental note to clean those up later, otherwise my dad will clean it up, and I don't want him to have to do that. I know he would never actually ask me to clean them up, he would just do that himself, but he's got enough on his hands.

He's been so different for the past 7 months, when my mom was in a tragic car accident on her way to work. We never saw it coming, no one would have guessed that her simple, 10 minute drive to work would end up this way. At first, I didn't feel anything. There was no emotion at all. I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, I didn't cry, and I didn't speak to anyone for one week straight. I was sure I would never talk again, and that scared me. My dad, being the great man he is, took a stand. He really helped me through that tough time, and I could never thank him enough for that.

I let my mind travel back to the task at hand, running. I grabbed my phone, my earbuds, and my house key. I quickly slid on my shoes, and I was out the door, locking it behind me.

I ran all around my neighborhood, and even in neighborhoods I wasn't familiar with, but that was just to have a change of scenery. On my way back home, I was about 10 minutes from my house, I see a woman standing at the end of her driveway, grabbing her mail. She turned toward me, and waved at me.

I stopped, and turned off my blaring music. "Hi, sorry to bother you, sweetie! Are you Bailey Henderson? I'm Mrs. Mendes." She said in a sweet tone. "I am, nice to meet you." I replied. "You too, dear. The other day I saw your father on a walk, and I stopped to talk to him." I was confused. Why was she talking to my dad? "He mentioned that you babysit. I was wondering, well, I have a daughter, her name's Aaliyah. I'm going to be working Monday-Friday every day this Summer from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. I have one other babysitter that will be watching Aaliyah on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. Do you think you'll be able to watch her on Tuesday and Thursdays? I would pay you $9 an hour." This was a lot to ask, but I needed the money, desperately.

She continued. "I don't get off of work until 5:00 p.m, but my older son, Shawn, will be home at 4:00 and he can watch her until I get home. I could have you come over tomorrow and meet Aaliyah while I'm there, and you could get a feel for everything. That is, if you want to. I don't want you to feel obligated to take this job."

I thought for a minute. It's only one girl, I'm sure she'll be easy to take care of, all I have to do is keep her busy. "I'll have to check in with my dad about all of this, and if he says that it's okay, I'd be happy to sit for you!" "Great! Thanks. hun. Why don't I give you my number, and you can give me a call after you talk to your dad?"

"Sounds good!" She typed her number into my phone and I thanked her for the opportunity. After that, I headed home.

When I got home, I called my friend Megann, she said that she wasn't sure if she could make it, but I bribed her with the pancakes I was going to make. Soon enough, she was at my house and we were eating pancakes.

I told her about the job and she was really happy for me. We finished eating and I needed to shower, so I asked Megann to wait for me.

When I got out of the shower, I slipped on a white tanktop, a thin denim jean jacket, a floral high-waisted skirt, and my white converse. I put on some light makeup, and Megann and I decided to head to the mall.

We shopped for a while, and we grabbed some lunch at the food court. Right when Meg and I sat down to finally eat our food, I looked up and saw a group of boys that looked familiar.

Michael, Jay, Ryan, and Shawn. The meanest, dumbest guys in school. At least, that's what I've heard. I've never actually had any classes with any of them. Next year would finally be the last year I would have to go to school with them, and I was so relived.

They whistled and eyed Megann. I don't blame them, she's gorgeous. The only one that didn't seem to pay any attention to us was Shawn. He looked the other direction, pretending we weren't even there. I honestly didn't mind.

Megann scowled and turned away. At least they let us finish our meals in peace. After lunch, we headed home and I dropped Meg off at her house. My dad would be home soon and we had to talk about the babysitting job that I was offered.

I went upstairs and watched Netflix until he came home. Finally, he did.

"Are you sure you want to take on this responsibility, Bailey? It's a lot, but it does pay really well."

"I've been thinking about it a lot today and I'm sure I want to take this job. I've got nothing else to do this Summer, and I'll save a lot of the money for college."

My dad insisted on paying for my schooling after high school but I wasn't going to let him. He needed that money for himself. Not me.

"If you're 100% sure, then I definitely think you should try it out."

"Thanks dad." I gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"You're welcome, sweetie. I'm going to quick make some spaghetti for dinner."

"Why don't I help you out?"

"That would be great, Bails. Grab the noodles from the cabinet."

So we told each other about our days, and as usual, he told me that he sat behind his desk and made phone calls and arranged things with customers.

He talked in that slow, quiet voice that he has had since my mom passed away. I think he's scared that if he's loud he'll trigger some kind of emotions inside of me, and that's not true. He doesn't need to worry about me, I should be the one worrying about him.

We ate our meal in silence, and he went upstairs for the rest of the night.

I remembered that I had to call Mrs. Mendes back and accept the job that she offered to me.

She answered quickly and was excited. I told her I'd see her tomorrow and we said our goodbyes.

I was nervous. What if I messed something up? What if Aaliyah didn't like me? These questions filled my mind and I let them scare me until finally I drifted off to sleep.