Ed Bar

If you haven’t read the first chapter, you can do so here.

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All caught up? Good. Keep reading for chapter 2 of The Babysitter.

Chapter 2
“What in the hell is going on up here?”

I was too busy gasping for breath to hear her approach my door. I jumped out of my skin at the sound of her reproach.

“Nothing,” I croaked.

Janet crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows. She glanced around the room, knowing that I was lying, and the corners of her mouth twitched in a self-satisfied smirk as her eyes landed on the abandoned glass and the wet spot on the carpet. “Nothing?” she asked with a musical lilt to her voice. She walked over to the glass, picked it up and took a huge sniff. “Doesn’t smell like nothing.”

“I didn’t… I wasn’t… I…” I had no excuses. She caught me red-handed. “I was curious.” I offered a noncommittal shrug as a last resort for a defense.

She cocked her head, her smirk growing. “Curious? Are you trying to be a big boy now?”

My cheeks blazed with the heat of indignation. “Jesus, Janet, I’m not seven!”

“Aw,” she cooed. Her smirk fell from her face as she glanced over at my nightstand. “No, you’re twelve, and you shouldn’t be drinking. And you definitely shouldn’t be looking at naked women in mag…”

My heart jumped into my throat as I watched her storm over to the nightstand and snatch the magazine. I looked away, the scarlet hue of my cheeks deepening.

“Is this supposed to be me?”

“No, God.” I scraped my toes against the carpet. “Her name is Christy.”

“Oh my God, you little perv. You’ve been fiddling yourself while you look at this and imagining me, haven’t you?”

I fought the urge to run. Where would I run? I could never admit that I had; the humiliation alone would kill me. Yet, I knew better than to deny it. She would be able to see through any feeble denial I had to offer. Hell, just the way she looked at me told me that she knew that I had. My best course of action was not to say anything.

Janet looked back at her naked doppelganger, and her eyes sparkled. “It’s kind of flattering.” The delighted light died when her eyes turned back to me. “Don’t get me wrong, this is creepy as fuck, but it’s still kind of flattering. So, tell me, what do you think about when you do it?”

“Oh, God,” I groaned. I prayed for aliens to swoop down and abduct me, even if I have to suffer their probe. Anything would be better than suffering this conversation. My entire plan of showing her that I was mature had drained with the liquor that soaked into the carpet.

Janet giggled and tossed the magazine on the bed. “Okay, I won’t embarrass you anymore. Let’s talk about the liquor. How much did you take? If your dad notices it missing, he’s going to blame me.”

“I-I didn’t take much,” I informed her. “I only took a splash from each bottle.”

“What?” She grabbed her belly as she laughed. “Eeewww. How did that taste?”

“Like the gates of hell opened in my mouth.”

She laughed even harder. I smiled slightly. I missed the sound of her laughter and felt comforted by it, even if it was at my expense. She ruffled my hair. “You’re supposed to take a shot from each, but drink them separately and mix them with soda.”

“Oh.” That would have been useful information before I tried to gulp it down like an idiot.

Her expression softened. “I’ll tell you what; I’ll go downstairs and make you a drink. How does that sound?”

I trailed my head from side to side. “I don’t know.”

“It’ll be good, trust me.”

“Well, okay.” The way she was talking to me now was much better than her earlier patronizing tone. Maybe my chance of her seeing me as a grown up wasn’t completely lost after all.

“Awesome. But there’s one condition.” Her eyes grew cold. “I’m having some friends over, and I want you to stay in your room for the rest of the night. Understood?”

And there it was; she still saw me as a goofy little kid. My heart sank into my stomach. “Whatever.”

She ruffled my hair. “Cheer up, Billy. You’re still going to have fun. You’ll have booze…” She leaned over me, her breasts brushing my shoulder, and grabbed the Hustler from my bed. “…and I’ll let you have some fun thinking about me.” She pushed the magazine firmly against my chest.

Even as my hands moved up to clutch the magazine, my cheeks heated up, and I looked away, my body humming with humiliation.

Janet bent down, picked up the glass and then rushed out of my room. Just as she crossed the doorway, she looked over her shoulder, a huge grin planted on her face. “I’m going to make you a drink. Please wait until after I come back and am gone again before you get pervy.”

“Shut up,” I mumbled and turned away from her before she could see the hot, stinging tears that were filling my eyes. I dropped the magazine to the floor and kicked it under my bed. Rage and humiliation flooded me. This had to be the most embarrassing thing that I had ever experienced. How was I supposed to convince her that I was mature now?

Through wet, blurry eyes, I saw the one thing that could make me smile through my meltdown, my drone. Sitting on top of my bookshelf, the micro camera stared back at me. Maybe I wasn’t “mature” enough to hang out with Janet and her friends, but that didn’t mean I had to miss out on the experience. With a five-inch diameter, the drone could very well go unnoticed by drunken, partying teens.

I snatched up the remote that set next to the drone and turned it on. I looked around sporadically for my tablet, found it in my desk drawer, and then I synced the app to the drone. My tear-streaked, red cheeks, watery brown eyes and sweat-drenched brown locks stared back at me. No wonder why Janet didn’t take me seriously, I looked like a frightened child. I shook away the thought, and focused on the business at hand.

I had to act fast.

Holding the speaker on my tablet to my ear, I whispered, “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid.” My voice resounded in my ear with crystal clarity. I took a deep breath, held it in with my budding excitement, tossed the remote and tablet on my bed, and then ran down to the living room, clutching the drone.

I heard Janet rummaging around in the kitchen and exhaled in relief. I spun around, looking for the best spot to hide the drone that would offer the best view, and decided on the entertainment center. I opened the glass door to the top right cubby and set the drone on the shelf, next to a wedding photo of my parents. They were barely older than Janet was in the photo, three short years before my mom died giving birth to me.

I closed the door and spun around to see Janet walk in with two glasses, which, by appearances, looked no more ominous than regular soda. Yet, I knew better, and that knowledge put a smile on my face. She was voluntarily giving me alcohol, letting me partake of something meant only for an adult, and, whether or not she knew it, I was going to be a part of her get-together tonight. A surge of satisfaction washed through me.

“Here ya go,” she said, handing me the glass.

I accepted the proffered drink with a grin. “Thanks.”

“Remember, you need to stay in your room tonight. All night.”

“Don’t I always?” I kept my eyes on her as I tossed back the glass, taking a huge gulp. Thankfully, the soda diluted the hellfire burn of the whiskey. “But maybe you can bring me up another glass later?”

She laughed. “I’ll think about it. Now, run upstairs before I change my mind and take that back.” She pointed to the glass in my hand.

“What are you going to be doing tonight?”

“Nothing.” Her eyes narrowed. “Now mind your own business.”

“Seriously.” I had an uncontrollable urge to know, even though I would find out as it happened later. “I always stay in my room, so why did you make such a big deal about telling me to stay in my room tonight?”

Janet put her hands on her hips, deepening her surly look. “I told you, I’m having friends over. Adults doing adult things and you don’t need to be a party to it.”

I took another defiantly large gulp of my drink. “I’m not a kid anymore, Janet. Stop treating me like one.”

Her expression softened, and she reached out to ruffle my hair. I stepped back, and her hand fell to her side. She smiled and said, “It’s called baby-sitting for a reason.”

“Whatever,” I muttered, as I turned away. “I’ll stay up in my room, but I’m going to masturbate to you all night.”

My heart raced as I rushed upstairs, my breaths falling short. I had no idea where that came from, or why I would just announce it the way I did. My skin crawled with a nervous energy as I imagined the look on her face, a mix of shock and disgust. My own face burned with embarrassment. When I reached my bedroom, I quickly shut the door and jumped on my bed, visibly shaking and panting for breath.

The end, but only for the second chapter. To get to the good stuff, pre-order The Babysitter here for only 99¢!