First day

Early the next morning, Celine and I headed back to my place to pick up whatever had not been destroyed by Baron's men. The landlord had estimated everything that was destroyed, and it amounted to a lot of money. Thankfully I still had enough money left.

By the time we finished cleaning the house, it was already noon. We had to throw almost everything away as they were either broken or badly destroyed. Thankfully they had not destroyed all of my clothes, so I still had a few stuff to pack.

"Ughhh, I'm so hungry," Celine said, slumping on the bed. We had come here as early as 7 am and had only had coffee since then. So it was expected that she was hungry.

"Now that you said it, I think I'm hungry too," I said as I brought out my clothes from the closet and dropped them next to Celine.

"You wanna go eat something?"

"I do, but..." I raised a hand full of clothes. I still had a few hours before I had to leave for my new job. I had no idea what this new phase of my life would bring. I could only hope it would be a good choice, that would bring some goodness into my life.

"I saw a restaurant around the corner on our way here, maybe I should get us some takeouts."

"Maybe we should just order something."

"I'll be dead of starvation by the time they come." she stood up and took her purse next to mine and her phone on the broken nightstand. My nightstand and bed were a few of those things that were not completely destroyed, so we decided to keep them. Many others were not so lucky.

"Okay, just be careful." I was still a little scared after the meeting with Baron. I had paid him back the full amount, but that did not mean that I could trust him just yet. And my biggest fear was that he was going to send someone after Celine. I would never forgive myself if any harm came to her because of me.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself," she waved the taser in my face, trying to emphasize her point. I wanted to remind her that they had guns and the taser would not stand a chance, but I didn't. Celine was a strong girl, and I knew she could take care of herself. "What do I get for you?" she asked, stuffing the purse between her arm and her body.

"Some curry would be nice."

"Okay," she headed for the door, then turned to blow a kiss my way. "don't starve to death before I come back."

I laughed lightly, as she opened the door and left. I continued putting my stuff together. A few minutes later, my phone rang, and I picked it up to see the caller 'Mia.' I had been so busy in the last few days that I forgot my promise to call her when I made a decision.

"Hi Mia," I put the phone between my ear and shoulder as I continued to fold my clothes into the suitcase.

"Chris!" I could hear the excitement in her voice, she sounded really happy, and I could tell she had gotten the news already. "Is it true? Are you really coming tonight?"

"Yes I am Mia," I chuckled lightly. She sounded like a child that just got a new toy.

"Oh my God. The kids are going to be so excited to see you."

"I can't wait to see them either. How are they?"

"They'll be better when you come over this evening. What time would you be here?" she asked

I had intended to be there early, but it was already noon, and I was not done packing yet. "I might be there a little late, I'm still packing."

"Oh, that's perfect. That means I only have a few hours to make the needed preparation."

I liked that she cared enough to make preparations for me, but the last thing I needed was to bother her, or anyone in that house for that matter. I would just mind my business as much as possible and focus all my attention on the kids.

"Oh, Mia. You don't have to do so much. Actually, just a clean room would be more than enough."

"Yes, I do. I have to go now, there's so much to do. I'll see you in the evening."

"Really, Mia you do..."

"Byeee." she cut my protests short and ended the call before I could protest any further. I laughed to myself as I put the phone back on the stand.

I continued packing my stuff into my suitcase. It had been more than 30 minutes since Celine left, and I was starting to worry. I was ready to pack the last of my stuff into the suitcase and, go find her when I heard the sound of the front door unlocking.

"Heyo," she said as she strolled back into the room.

"Yay! Finally, you came back." I cried

"Of course I did, I told you I'm a big girl," she said, wiggling her brows.

"Oh, I was actually talking about the food." I teased

She laughed and plopped on the bed. I put the last of my stuff, which was my drawings and a few brushes that were spared. Then, I joined her on the bed.

"So you're done packing?" she asked as she removed the food from the bags.

"Yeah, now I just have to pay the landlord, and I'm outta here." I crossed my legs on the bed.

"I can't believe you would be moving all the way to the other side of town," she said with a sad smile.

"Hey, don't be like that," I cooed and squirmed closer to her, "I'm not moving to the other side of the world, we can still visit each other when we want right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm used to having you around all the time."

"You don't have to be sorry, and I'm only a phone call away whenever you need me." I meant that. She had always been there for me since the first day we met and the last thing I wanted was for our relationship to be strained in any way due to this change. She was more than my best friend, she was my sister from another mother, my only family.

"Promise?" she asked as she raised her pinky to me.

I raised mine and locked it with hers, "Promise." I choked out, trying to keep the tears at bay. She reached out and wrapped her hand around me, I hugged her back with a smile. "I love you bess," I whispered.

"I love you more," she said back.

We stayed like that for a few seconds until my rumbling stomach reminded us of the food we had to eat. "I thought I was hungrier," Celine said as we released each other.

I laughed as I picked up a takeout box. Thankfully it was still warm because the microwave had been broken too. I flipped open the carton and began whirling noodles around the chopsticks.

Celine picked her's up too and started eating too. As we slurped down the noodles, we talked about different things, and I was glad that we were able to talk before I left. By the time we finished eating, we were fully sated, and I had not realized how hungry I was until I finished the entire carton of noodles.

Celine too had almost finished hers. "I am so full," she groaned in satisfaction as she put her almost empty carton down.

"Me too. I didn't know I was that hungry." I set my empty carton down and took a bottle of water.

We let our food settle for a few minutes, before finishing up our work and going over to the landlords. By five-thirty pm, we finished everything we had to do and headed out with my suitcase in my hand. I said goodbye to Celine and promised to call when I got there.

*** *** ***

"Chris!" Mia called with a beaming smile as I walked into the house, my suitcase in my hand. I think I was starting to like her a lot more. She was really sweet, and I wondered how was it possible for her and that grumpy fellow to be siblings. Before I could register it, she caught me in a squeezing hug.

"Oh!" I gasped in surprise, but quickly recovered from it and hugged her back.

"I'm so happy to see you." I could tell that from her facial expression and the tight hug she wrapped me in but hearing her say it made me smile. It was not every day someone told me they were happy to see me—Celine excluded—.

"I'm glad to see you too." Her smile was infectious, and almost immediately, I found myself beaming too. At least I could cope better here since she was so nice and the kids were so lovable. All I had to do was avoid Lucas as much as possible.

"Come on, let me show you to your room," she said as she released me.

"Okay," I reached down to get my suitcase, but she beat me to it and picked it up. She raised the handle and guided me through the house rolling the suitcase through the way.

The first time I was there, I did not get to appreciate how beautiful the house was. On the outside, it did not look like much, but inside, the decorations were ornate and thorough, and definitely luxurious. Pictures of the kids, and Mia, and a few other people who I could only assume were other family members, and friends lined the hallway on the first floor leading to the stairs. There were a few pictures of Lucas too. Most of which he was barely smiling or giving a tight smile, some he was frowning, and in some of them, he was neither frowning nor smiling. One of the pictures, caught my attention as we walked down the hallway.

He looked really happy, and I could tell he was young too, maybe in his early twenties. "So he does smile after all," I said under my breath, but Mia heard it anyway.

"Yes, he does," Mia said, chuckling lightly. She didn't seem to be offended at my comment, maybe because I was not wrong. "My brother might look like an unbreakable stone outside, but when you get to know him, you'll realize how much of a good human is under all that grumpiness."

I nodded tersely as we entered the elevator leading up to the second floor. I would probably need a bit more convincing to believe that. Mia led me to my room which was two rooms down from Aiden and Abigail's room, and three rooms down from Lucas's room.

She opened the door and walked in with me following behind her. "Ta-da," she said as she spread her hands out with a smile.

The room was large but still homey and decorated in warm colors, which gave a serene feeling. The closet alone was almost as big as my old room.

"Are you sure this is mine alone?" I asked, turning around slowly. taking in the beautiful sight of the room. I had never had a room this large or this beautiful before, everything was ornate yet modern and well-fitting in its right place.

"Of course it's yours," she said as she put the suitcase down. "I'll leave you to freshen up and get settled. Please come down for dinner soon."

"What about the kids?" I hadn't seen them since I came in, and I was dying to see them again.

Her lips curled into a mischievous smile, "Just come down soon." Before I could ask any further questions, she turned on her heels and left.

As soon as she left, I plopped on the king-size bed, savoring what would be my new living quarter for the next year. Everything about the room was beautiful and elegant, the pencil pleat curtain, the furniture at the other end of the room, the large flat screen tv on the wall, and the bathroom that looked like it was built for a celebrity home. The room was comfy, and I could easily get used to it.

I had barely started the job, but I was starting to like the job. Aiden and Abigail were adorable kids and I knew I would enjoy being their nanny, Mia was really sweet too, I could tell she and I would do more than just get along, maybe we could even be friends soon enough, the pay was awesome, and to top it all, I had a room that looked like a five-star hotel room.

Perhaps this job was not as bad as I thought it would be.