Babysitters

Chapter 18

         VERONICA VALDEZ

I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing.
I groaned and reached for it on the nightstand, still keeping my eyes closed. I had no desire to wake up yet, it was summer break. I should be able to sleep for as long as I'd want. After a bit of searching I felt my phone and brought it in front of my sleepy face.
Mom.
"Hello," I mumbled, covering my eyes with my hand as I tried not to fall back asleep.
"Hi sweetie." My moms soft voice filled my ears and suddenly I was wide awake. I just realized how much I had missed her.
"Miten sulla menee?" She asked, changing the language to Finnish. (How are you doing?) She clearly waiting for the right moment to start talking about something.
"Ihan hyvin, just heräsin," I responded, sitting up. (Good, I just woke up.)
"Hyvä kuulla. Tiiätkö vielä milloin pääsisit käymään? Mulla on kamala ikävä sua," she finally admitted. (Good to hear. Do you know when you could visit? I miss you so much.)
It sounded like she had wanted to ask that for a long time but just hadn't called for some reason. I hadn't either, so we were both to blame.
"Mä en oo ihan varma, mun pitää kysyä isältä." I had no idea if my father had something planned or if I could just travel back to Finland. (I'm not really sure, I have to ask dad.)
"Okei, no jos sä ilmottelet mulle kun tiedät?" My mom responded. "Mun pitää nyt mennä, on töitä, mutta soittele mulle! Rakastan sua." (Okay, well how about you tell me when you know? I have to go now, got work to do, but call me later! I love you.)
"Rakastan sua myös." (I love you too.)
And then the call ended. Just like that.
I had been so distracted with everything else going on that I'd completely forgotten to actually ask him to visit my mom. She even sent me that message not too long ago, and I still forgot.
I feel so bad.
I set my phone back down on my nightstand and rubbed my eyes, adjusting to the light that filled the room despite the curtains. I didn't feel like sleeping anymore, I wanted to go ask my father about going to Finland right away.

I picked a blue crop top from my closet, the same one I wore to the horror house.
The same one Tom had a problem with for some reason.
With it I chose a pair of white jeans I had never used before but I just knew they'd fit me perfectly. Ava had bought them for me and she knew me and my style the best.
I have to wear double protection since I'm on my period.
I didn't even want to imagine how embarrassing it'd be if I bled through and Theo saw.
I got dressed and stared at my reflection from the mirror. A casual yet cute outfit, perfect.

I don't think the walk from my room to the dining room had ever taken me as long as now. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was watching my phone intensively, trying to ease my anxiety about how my dad would react. Most likely he'd let me go, but if he had plans of some kind I was afraid they'd ruin the whole thing. Especially if his pathetic excuse of a boss—AKA Voldemort—would 'need' my gracious presence again.
I won't go to one of those meetings ever again. I refuse to. It was straight up horrifying.
As I finally walked through the massive doors to the Malfoy's dining room, I didn't see my father as I hoped. Instead, I see the boys. All of them.
They were sitting at the table, discussing something clearly serious judging by the look on their faces. Theo was standing in front of the table, back turned towards me. I was just about to walk in and ask them if they knew where my dad was, but a sentence made me reconsider and hide behind the corner.
"Do you want to go through with this? Let your father choose who you marry?" Theo's harsh voice echoed in the room.
"It is my duty, you know that, I know that, literally everyone knows that." Tom answered just as aggressively. His voice made my blood run cold, he was terrifyingly similar with his father. "Children from pureblood families are to marry someone equal to keep the blood clean. It doesn't matter what I think of it or what she thinks of it. It'll happen either way."
My eyes widened and I pressed my hand in front of my mouth. Tom Marvolo Riddle was getting married to someone?
God help whoever the girl is.
"Theo, there isn't anything we can do," Mattheo sighed. "You'll just have to accept the fact. You'll find someone else, she's just a girl."
Even though I couldn't see them anymore, I could hear how Theo sharply inhaled.
"She's not just a girl, you prick," he hissed through his teeth. "I've finally found someone I'm genuinely interested in, who is not just a hookup to me. And then this shit happens!"
I felt my heart drop. I thought he was interested in me, but this new revelation changed everything. The hand I was holding in front of my mouth was shaking and the tears stung behind my eyelids, begging for me to let them fall.
Was I just a hookup to him?
I thought—
"Theo, I get where you're coming from but this isn't mine or Tom's fault! You have to let it go, mate. I can't help you," Mattheo responded in a sharp tone.
I slowly took a deep breath to calm down the feeling of betrayal. How could I have been so stupid? I seriously thought he could like me.
Stupid, stupid girl.
When am I going to learn? My heart always tries to see the best in everyone and it never brings me anything good. I'm so naive, so stupid...
And the worst part? He has no obligation to like me. We're not together and he has barely shown any signs of taking interest in me. I've just been stupid and let my hopes get too high. I've been delusional. Again.
Nice job, Veronica. Very nice. You like being delulu, eh?
I forced my trembling legs to get to work and walk away from the door, back towards my room. Suddenly I didn't care about the riddle(s) anymore, I just needed to get out of here. I needed to find my dad and get back to Finland.