Babysitting the Player

Chapter 1

My eyelids are torn from their closed position and it doesn't take me long to discover why. All I can hear is the brutal roaring of an engine. I sit up in my bed and push the curtains away from the window. It takes a minute for my eyes to adjust to the near-blinding sunlight and I look out towards the road and see what turned my peaceful cul-de-sac into a highway: a moving truck.

It is way too damn early for this.

I shove my black room darkening curtains back into place as I flop backwards and the back of my head reconnects with my pillow as a knock on my bedroom door arrives.

Now what?

"Alex! Are you awake?" my mother calls.

"How could I not be?" I yell back.

She nudges my door open and invites herself into my room. I can barely make out her shoulder-length blonde curls through the darkness.

"The new neighbors are moving in." She smiles.

"Yay," I say sarcastically and roll my eyes to prove my point.

"This is exciting." She sits on my bed and squeezes my leg. "We should go over and introduce ourselves."

"Mom, no, that's weird." I shake my head.

"It is not weird. It's nice."

"Okay, well, I will not be going over."

"Let's see what they look like." She reaches over me and opens my curtains.

"Mom, it's too bright!" I bring my hand up to cover my eyes.

She completely ignores me as she pulls the curtains open wider. "Oh, there's a little girl!"

"How little?" I ask through a yawn.

"Probably about four or five."

"Cute," I say.

"Looks like there's a son, too."

"Cute," I repeat.

"Yeah, he is." She smirks.

Oh no.

"What's that about?"

"He looks like he's about your age."

"Okay."

"Come look."

"Not interested."

"Alex."

"I have a boyfriend."

"Oh, please. Johnny is hardly a boyfriend. I give you two another month at most."

I roll my eyes.

"Just come look."

I sit up and join her at the window.

I take in the boy's short brown hair and tanned skin. He's gotta be at least six feet tall and it's easy to see he spends plenty of time working out.

He is pretty cute.

"What do you think?" She grins.

"I think I'm exhausted from their truck waking me."

"They gotta get their stuff to their new house somehow."

"Doesn't have to be this early."

"It's nine."

"Still early."

"Do you want them to move in the middle of the night?"

"That would be better than waking me up this early."