Keeper

Chapter 4

Just like Keina had said, Sylvia's first shift at THE BOOK AND CLUB at nine in the morning. One of the other employees who went by the name of Glide had let Sylvia use a baby carrier he had on him. From what Glide told her, he bought it for his granddaughter, but she was too big for it. With Wander strapped to her back, Sylvia started her first task of the day and that was cleaning all the rooms on the first floor.

"Dirty!" Wander said as he looked around.

"Yep, sorry bud, but I can't leave you alone, not after what happened yesterday," Sylvia told the baby.

The child returned to his babbling and cooing and Sylvia put the gloves that Keina had given her. She grabbed the broom and started sweeping the trash into the middle of the room. After sweeping the trash into the middle, Sylvia grabbed the dustpan and swept it into the dustpan. 'Nine hours, five days a week with Saturday and Sunday as your days off.' Sylvia repeated Keina's words. Sylvia sighed and moved on to the wooden furniture in the room.

"It's going to be a long day." Sylvia murmured to herself. "A long fucking day."

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Nine Hours Later...

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"How old are you kid?" Glide asked Sylvia.

Sylvia was struggling to keep herself awake while Wander drank from his bottle. Sylvia sat at a booth while cradling Wander close. Glide sat down across from Sylvia and awaited her answer.
 

"20."

Glide walked over to the mini-fridge that was in the room for some reason and pulled out a jug of milk. He walked farther away to get a cup and came back with the cup almost filled to the top. He sat it down in front of Sylvia and she started to gulp it down.

"It's a shame that Melissa can't see her baby brother grow up." Glide looked away. "She was so excited to be a big sister."

"How long did she and her parents stay here?" Sylvia asked.

"Nine months, so Molly's entire pregnancy. Keina used to let people stay here for more than a week. But after Melissa's death, she only lets people stay here for three days to a week." Glide answered.

"Well, maybe she's going to let me stay more than a week," Sylvia responded to what Glide said.

"Until you mess up. She'll do everything to make your life miserable, and she won't stop until she succeeds at doing that." Glide took the cup once Sylvia was done. "And by the looks of it, she's not going to stop until she has your boy."

"She's not touching Wander," Sylvia told the older man and pulled Wander closer to herself.

"Well then, you better be careful, kid." Glide warned and got up. "Good night."

Sylvia sighed and turned back to Wander and placed a kiss on the top of Wander's head. "Good night Glide."