1. I guess this will be my home for the next four months 🚪🏡✔

Chapter 1: I guess this will be my home for the next four months

Kelsey's POV

*****

The alarm woke me up at 7 a.m. sharp. Groaning, I turned off the gadget that had the audacity to interrupt a well needed slumber. Waking up had always been the worst part of my day.

As I was walking towards my bathroom to get ready, I tried not to be mad at the fact that my alarm clock woke me up from my dream right when my fantasy boyfriend was about to kiss me.

Couldn't it have given me just a couple more minutes?

What can I say? My heart longs for love.

Not only was I woken up from one of the best dreams I've ever had, but I was also being woken up to get ready for my new job.

It was the day where I was supposed to leave my house for four months to go babysit for my best friend's neighbors.

The Walkers were going away for work and they needed someone responsible to look after their children. After they talked to my best friend Meg's family, they suggested them to call me since I needed a summer job to help my dad with our financial problems. Meg's family was going away on holiday for some time, which meant they couldn't babysit themselves and so they instantly thought of recommending me.

It was the perfect offer for me. I loved children, and the job would pay rather well. After all that he's done for me for the past sixteen years of life, I wanted to help my dad with the taxes and any necessities.

He argued that he didn't see a reason for me to go out for work instead of enjoying my teenage years, but I knew that he was struggling even if he didn't want to make me aware of it. Growing older helps you figure things out without the need of someone to tell you, and seeing my dad tapping frantically on the calculator with a bunch of papers on the table at around midnight was a dead giveaway. He was trying to see what things he could cut from the budget to make it work.

The only problem there was with me working as a babysitter was the fact that I was not yet seventeen years of age, hence it would not have been legal for me to take care of minors.

But sometimes, things can work out on their own, especially when they were made for you.

All the Walkers needed was someone to help their seventeen-year-old son, Ethan, to take care of his siblings, allowing me to be able to accept the offer.

Things would have been a lot more perfect however, if it wasn't Ethan Walker who I had to live with for a couple of months. Ethan was not exactly the easiest person to be around. He was cute and we were friends when we were younger, but not everything could always be forgotten. He grabbed everyone's attention and I could never understand why people were so obsessed over him. Looks are never the only things one should look at.

"Have you got everything baby?" My dad asked as he knocked on my bedroom door and entered my room, coming over to help me zip the luggage that I was struggling to close.

"Yeah dad, and if I forgot something I can just come get it," I said, offering my dad a smile, trying to cheer him up a bit.

I knew how hard it was for him that I was going to be leaving. He never took separation well, in fact he was one of those parents that cry when their children leave for their first day of school.

"I'm going to miss you so much," he said sadly as he pulled me in for a huge bear hug before releasing me and taking my luggage downstairs, placing it safely in his car.

During the short drive to Meg's neighbourhood, my dad made sure to remind me of all the rules that he had mustered up during the years, including the one where I had to be careful of teenage boys.

Stopping in front of the Walker house I tried to calm down my nerves. It was crazy to think that that gorgeous house would be my home for the upcoming four months.

It was a huge house, nothing compared to the small house my dad and I shared. It had always been just me and my dad ever since my mother passed away when I was only three years old due to a fatal illness. I was young, I didn't know what was going on, and trying to hide the truth from me, she would act as normal as she could. I often felt so horrible for not having realised, going as far as feeling guilty for having made her work and take me places when she was sick.

Her death had crushed my dad and I knew how hard it was for him to raise a girl all by himself. That was why I wanted to work and help him financially, it was one of my ways to show him that I cared about him and to show him how grateful I was for everything he did for me ever since I was just a tiny little girl.

The house seemed to have 2 floors, a front yard and a huge garage. It even had a large gate, locking the front yard, bordering the house from its' neighbouring ones. I wouldn't have been shocked if it had a backyard too. I wasn't really flabbergasted at the enormity of the house since the Walkers were basically loaded with money.

Giving my dad one last hug goodbye, I took my bags out of the back and made my way towards the front door of the enormous residence.

Take a deep breath Kelsey. Maybe it won't be so bad.

Ringing the doorbell, I tried to keep myself steady, reminding myself to be as formal as could be.

I was slightly taken aback when the door opened straight away, revealing a middle aged woman with dark wavy hair and brown eyes, reminding me of those of her son.

"Hi, you must be Kelsey, I'm Katherine Walker but you can just call me Katie," she introduced herself, shaking my hand before leading me inside.

Katie Walker was a beautiful woman. She looked young for her age, barely any wrinkles visible on her face. Her energetic aura would instantly attract any person who had ever had a conversation with her, or who was even at a mere two feet away from her.

"I'm really glad you accepted this job. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't," she said, flashing me a smile. "I didn't want to leave Ethan alone with them. He isn't really the best with kids. I was so happy when the Andersons told me that the little Wilkinson girl is looking for a job. Normally I would be skeptical about leaving a girl with my son, but I have such huge respect for your father, and if you are anything like him, I'm sure I'm going to be very happy with your work."

I found myself surprised at how blunt she was towards the fact that she couldn't trust her son to stay alone with his siblings, I didn't find it that fair on Ethan that she would just say that to a person she barely knew. She was basically implying that she trusted me more than she trusted her own son. She might have known my dad, but she did not know me.

As soon as I stepped into the house I was amazed. The inside of the house, as imagined, was huge. They had a huge living room on the right hand side of the entrance, a huge staircase on the left and a kitchen next to the living room. They even had a pool in their backyard which was visible through the glass door separating the living room and the backyard. I couldn't help gaping at the enormity of it all for a couple of minutes.

My house was so much smaller than that.

"I'll call Ethan, to help you with your bags," Katie said, snapping me out of my thoughts as she took a bag from my hand. "You two have known each other for quite a while, right?" She asked before yelling for Ethan.

I could tell by how she rushed around that she was very agitated.

My stomach dropped at just the sound of Ethan's name. What was he going to think when he saw me?

I had made sure to avoid him ever since the 'incident' happened, and seeing me in his house would probably be quite a surprise.

Soon enough, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs and towards our way, making me gulp before looking down to the floor, not wanting to make any type of eye contact straight away.

"Mom, I've already told you, she's the munchkins' babysitter not mine," Ethan said as soon as he was halfway down the stairs.

"Don't call your siblings munchkins Ethan, now would you mind cooperating and helping Kelsey with her bags?" She said, clearly annoyed with his attitude.

Ethan let out a loud sigh, his eyes growing wide as soon as he laid eyes on me. "She's the babysitter?" He asked his mom, looking at her in what appeared to be disbelief.

It seemed that Ethan was not made aware prior to my visit that I was the one he was stuck with for the duration of my work period.

"Yes, she is. Now go and help her with her bags," she said, glaring at him.

"Listen to your mother, Ethan," Mr. Walker said, coming out of the kitchen attempting to put on a blazer, his hair gelled neatly backwards.

I could tell that Ethan wasn't happy with his parents' orders, and I did not want to start off my job on the wrong foot.

"You don't have to," I intervened, right before Ethan cut me off by grabbing one of my bags, not even sparing me a glance or acknowledging the fact that I was talking.

"Follow me," he said, heading upstairs without even caring whether I was behind him or not.

He opened a door to what I guessed was the guest room, setting my bags on the bed, my eyes wandering around the room, analysing every detail.

"The closet's over there," he said, nodding towards the closet. "Feel free to use it, I guess," he continued before retreating towards the door.

"Erm Ethan?" I said, stopping him, wanting to thank him for the trouble. I knew we didn't see eye to eye, but that did not mean that I had to be cold towards him.

"What?" He asked as he turned to look at me, clearly annoyed.

Jerk

"Nothing, I just wanted to thank you for helping me with my bags, but never mind I guess," I said, closing the door on him.

So much for not wanting to start on the wrong foot.

I didn't understand how he could be so annoying when all I wanted to do was thank him. I knew he didn't do it for me, but I appreciated it nonetheless.

After he left, I took some time to look around the pastel blue room. On the wall opposite to the door was a huge bed with white and blue sheets, a closet next to the door and another door that lead to the bathroom on the right side of the wall.

There were two nightstands near the bed, one on each side, a huge desk, and an enormous boxed book shelf filled with tons of amazing looking books.

Reading was something that I had always loved to do. There were so many books, probably more than I could ever possibly own. Seeing all of them made me forget all about Ethan's rude behaviour. I felt like I was Belle stepping foot into the beast's library for the first time ever.

After examining my new room, I opened my bags and started unpacking, organising everything appropriately.

As soon as I unpacked my stuff and arranged the room a little bit, I went downstairs so that Katie could introduce me to the other kids that I would be babysitting.

"Kids, come down, we want to introduce you to somebody," Mr.Walker called out from the staircase.

Instantly, three cute kids came running inside the family room, flopping down on to the couch.

"Guys, this is the girl that will help Ethan take care of you while we're gone. Please be nice to her and make her feel welcome. I don't want her to go out of this house running in fear like the other babysitter," Mrs. Walker warned, making all of them look down in shame.

What happened to the other babysitter?

"Okay, so Kelsey, this is Ellie, she's 7 years old and she's the youngest of the bunch. She's very sweet but she can get a little stubborn," Katie said while pinching Ellie's cheek.

"You can cook pancakes, right miss? The other babysitter didn't know how to cook pancakes," she asked, with a hopeful look as she waved at me with a smile.

"She didn't know how to cook anything for that matter," a tall boy with a guitar strapped to his back commented.

"Ellie these aren't things you ask someone the first time you meet them, and Noah, watch your mouth," Katie reprimanded, making Ellie's face drop.

I knelt down next to the little girl and shook her hand.

"I sure can," I whispered, making her squeal in delight.

I loved children. I had always wanted a younger sister, but the circumstances never allowed me to have one. Babysitting at the Walker household could have possibly given me the chance to finally have one.

"This is my 10 year old Lara, she's young but she is a really nice girl once you get to know her," Katie said while motioning to a sweet girl with long brown hair and red rosy cheeks. I could really see the resemblance between her and Ethan.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," she said, giving me a small friendly smile.

"You too," I replied, sending her a smile of my own.

"And this is Noah, he's 15 and a bit of a trouble maker. Once you get to know him you would come to realise that he is very mature for his age, even if he can act reckless like his brother sometimes," she said, gesturing to the tall kid with the guitar.

"I'm standing right here mom" He said, rolling his eyes.

I gave Noah a small smile, feeling bad for the way that his mother introduced him. I knew all about embarrassing parents when introducing you to someone. My father had never said anything that made me look horrible in other people's eyes, but he always loved to brag about me, telling people that I learned how to read by the age of four, and that by the age of six I could already read Enid Blyton books, making people think that I was some sort of protige.

To some extent Noah also looked like Ethan. They both had that...look. That mischievous look that made me think that I should be weary of the kid. I could tell that he was an intelligent guy, but I could also see the reason why he would feel as if he had to rebelle from time to time.

"He might seem a bit difficult at first, but he has to learn to trust you. He is a very reserved kid," Katie said, whispering so that no one else could hear. "Anyhow, that's all of the little ones. As you know there's also Ethan but you two already know each other," she said, letting out a sigh.

"Now I'm afraid we're going to have to go or we'll end up being late for our flight. I don't want to go through that again. Bye guys I love you a lot," she continued, hugging each one of her children before giving me a kiss on each cheek.

I never understood why people felt the need to do that when wanting to be polite, I for one always felt awkward when someone came to greet me by kissing my cheeks. Not wanting to seem weird, however, I simply smiled at her, not knowing how else to act.

"Ethan, come down and say bye to your parents" Katie yelled over to Ethan.

With a sigh, Ethan entered the family room and hugged his parents. "Bye mom, bye dad I'm going to miss you," he said, a faint presence of a smile on his lips.

"We're going to miss you too, be good and help Kelsey in whatever she needs okay? You're not a little kid anymore you need to learn to be responsible," she said, hugging Ethan once again.

"How can I learn to be responsible when you couldn't even let me take care of my siblings by myself and hired someone to help me?" He said, glaring at me.

Someone's in a good mood.

After they left, Ethan decided to go lock himself in his room leaving me all alone with his siblings, not knowing what to do or how to act.

I really wished that that babysitting job came with a handbook.

Maybe I can try to find one on Amazon, they sell everything nowadays.

I just hoped that things would turn out okay. I did not want to break the Walkers' trust, nor did I want to spend four months living with a guy who was hostile towards me.

I didn't know what happened to the other babysitter, but I surely did not want to end up like her.