Chapter Two

There’s an extra skip in my steps as I make my way to the teacher’s office. Mrs. Danvers had asked me to see her after school hours, and it’s all I could think of throughout the day.

Six thousand dollars for two weeks… That’s more than I can save in months of back-to-back babysitting.

Students trudge along the hallway, their voices echoing past as they make their way home. But I’m too lost in my own world to notice when they suddenly go silent.

Humming to myself, I forge ahead. However, my steps slow when I notice a prickling feeling on my skin, like I’m being watched.

I raise my head, and just like that, every warm feeling inside me is squeezed out and replaced by cold dread.

Tyler Brooks stands just ahead of me, flanked by his best friend, Alex Thornton, and the rest of the football team. He looks every bit Westfield High’s star quarterback with his wide chest puffed out and his icy blue eyes glinting with dominance as he stares right at me.

Oh, God. Not again.

A slow build of “ooohs” rises through the hallway as everyone stops to watch the latest saga between the king of the school and his lowly servant.

I swallow, quickly scanning the hallway for exits. However, each one is blocked by eager students, and Maya isn’t here to save me this time since she had to stay behind for music lessons.

If I want to get to Mrs. Danvers, I’ll have to go through him.

So, I suck in a deep breath and bravely take a step forward, then another. For that amount, I will brave the deadliest storm.

Tyler arches a brow and starts walking directly towards me. The pound of his boots against the floor matches my growing heartbeat as we approach each other head on.

“Move. Move, please,” I plead internally the closer we get to each other.

When he’s only inches away from me, I squeeze my eyes shut as I attempt to make myself smaller. But the collision never comes.

My eyes fly open as I turn to see Tyler walk past me. For one momentary second, he pauses and I feel my heart thump faster. Then, by some miracle, he continues ahead with the team without sparing me a glance.

The confusion I feel is mirrored on the faces of everyone watching. And once they realize nothing is going to happen, they disperse.

Meanwhile, I keep staring at Tyler’s back until his form disappears completely. It’s like his tripping me in the cafeteria yesterday didn’t happen, nor did the years of bullying I’ve had to endure from him.

Refusing to dwell on anything other than what really matters, I whip my head forward and run the rest of the way to the teachers’ office.

“Hey, Lila,” Mrs. Danvers greets me with a smile.

“Hi, Mrs. Danvers. You asked to see me?”

“Ah, yes. The babysitting job,” she says, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “As I said in my text, the parents are going to be out of town for the next fifteen days, leaving the kids with their older brother…”

I blink. “I’m sorry. Did you say kids?”

Mrs. Danvers’ brows furrow in confusion. “Did I forget to mention that? How silly of me.” She waves a hand carelessly. “Well, you’ll be babysitting two kids.”

“But, I… Two kids are a lot.”

She leans back in her chair. “Well, why did you think they agreed to pay you that high a sum?”

Usually, I wouldn’t balk at the idea of babysitting two kids since it’s something I’ve been doing since I turned fourteen. But for fifteen days?! And with the SATs coming up, I’d barely have enough time for myself.

“Why can’t their older brother watch them?” I ask, suddenly remembering that she’d mentioned it.

“Something about football practices,” she says dismissively, clasping her hands. “It’s worth it, Lila, trust me.”

She’s not wrong. I’d be a fool not to take the job.

Sighing, I nod. “Okay.”

“Great. I’ll text you the address,” she says, and I bid her goodbye.

I’m walking past the football team’s locker room when the sound of raucous laughter stops me in my tracks.

Shouldn’t they be on the field by now, practicing?

I contemplate running once again before someone notices me, but a voice cuts through the noise.

“Jake Holland is going to be gunning for your spot, Tyler. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, you’d better up your game next week. We can’t afford to lose our QB1,” someone else says.

Everyone at Westfield High knows Jake Holland as Tyler’s rival. The backup quarterback has made it clear he wants Tyler’s spot, which leads to them always fighting. Considering how much the team worships Tyler, you’d think they wouldn’t see Jake as a threat.

“We’re not going to,” Tyler says, his deep voice recognizable amidst the others. And it’s that simple.

I snort as I continue on my way home. His arrogance… then again, Tyler Brooks has always been untouchable.

Later that evening, my mind is zeroed in on one thing and one thing only as I stare up at the large, suburban house towering over me.

Sweeping a hand slightly across my well-ironed dress, I lean a bit forward to check myself through the one-way glass window. My brown hair is still pulled into a neat ponytail, and my equally brown eyes portray the right amount of eagerness.

“Good evening, I’m Lila Garcia - the babysitter,” I mumble beneath my breath like I’ve been doing all the way here.

I release a breath and then push the doorbell button. But as I wait patiently to be answered, my eyes swing sideways. Engraved on the mailbox is a name that has been responsible for most of my nightmares…

Brooks.