Short Stories | Sean x Kaycee

Sweet Creature (II)

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

Sean has been chanting the same profanities inside his mind in the past few minutes, distress slowly overwhelming him in his current predicament. First, this unusual heavy storm that would surely cause inconvenience for the next days, then his daughter getting sick.

And the strange appearance of the woman who was the splitting image of Brianna –or Brianna being the splitting image of her –was the cherry on top. The perplexing situation was slowly driving him crazy.

He remembered taking a few seconds to recover from all the staring that he did; the deafening rain penetrating his temporarily-dulled senses and taking in the petite, shivering figure of the woman in front of him.

"I'm sorry, what's your name?" he asked distractedly.

"K-Katherina Ch-Charis," she answered, her lips now trembling with the cold.

His muddled brain was unable to take that, so he just shut his eyes momentarily, shook his head in frustration, and hastily removed his coat with one hand.

"I'm Sean. Listen," he panted, as he took a step towards her so she can put on the coat. "I have to go home as soon as possible, and judging your present state, you need the help you can get. I swear I am not a bad person. You have to trust me," he said in almost one breath, shuddering with the cold, too.

"I-I believe you," she answered.

"Come on," he breathed, pressing his side against hers as he fit themselves under the umbrella. It was already completely useless at that point for her, even with her bare feet, but anything to make her feel safe.

They arrived in his apartment in silence, their entrance alerting Nicole who exited Bree's bedroom. She was supposed to greet him when she caught sight of the woman behind him, and her jaw slacked with her face slowly dawning in realization. Sean didn't know if it was because of the woman's soaked and bare-footed state, her unearthly beauty, or the fact that she looked like the older replica of his child.

But as Nicole's surprised gaze went to him, he exactly knew what she was thinking. He sighed, subtly shaking his head, silently telling her not to ask any questions with his hard gaze.

"How's Bree?" he asked as he hastily removed his layers of clothing.

"Still sleeping, Mr. Lew. She was talking in her sleep, I couldn't wake her up," the baby-sitter said, furtively glancing at the soaked woman who was looking around the cozy apartment with interest.

Sean muttered a curse under his breath. "Nicole, another favour please?" he said as quietly as possible, trailing his gaze towards the stranger. "Can you prepare a bath for her? You can use my bathroom. I have fresh towels at the middle shelf. I –I'll leave some fresh clothes on the bed and please help her dress up, too," he paused. "I know it's not part of your job, but I promise I'll double the pay for tonight."

"It's no problem, Mr. Lew. But is she –?" the teenager started to ask.

"I wish I could tell you, but I...don't know. I really don't know," he breathed, helpless. "I have to go to Bree."

He entered Bree's room without giving his unexpected guest a glance. He would talk to her later; right now, his daughter is his first priority.

The room's temperature was already cool enough even without the airconditioning, considering the temperature outside was dropping by the hour, but Sean's skin glistened not because of the rain but because of the cold, clammy sweat erupting on his skin. The last time he had felt this distressed was when Bree was two, when one day she was suddenly vomiting, and was repelling everything she tried to eat or drink. Later on at the hospital, it was discovered she had mild food poisoning, and it was the first time Sean felt so scared in his life. From then on, he prepared every meal for Bree and always made sure the food was fresh and healthy every time they eat outside.