Authors: Sadie Grubor
Once her piece was complete she stood at the edge of the stage and bowed to the crowd. I clapped from the Bench. She turned from the crowd of applause and walked back to me, taking my hand and walking us off stage. The minute we were through the curtain and I picked her up and swung her around.
"I told you! You were amazing! You did sooooo well!" I laughed and she giggled as we spun.
"Thank you Sophia," She hugged my legs after I setting her down.
"What are you thanking me for? You were awesome." I rubbed her back.
"You came out there with me." Victoria looked up at me with her arms still around my legs.
"That was nothing." I waved her off. She was still holding on. "You are going to have to let go so I can walk." I laughed and she let go.
We walked hand in hand toward the waiting room for those finished performing. After another hour, all the performers were pulled back out on stage for one last bow before they could head to their families. I grabbed Victoria's hand and walked her down the side stairs and out into the crowd of people.
"Oh dearest, you were so fantastic!" Mrs. Bishop walked quickly toward Victoria. She stopped in front of her and patted her head. "Wonderful darling, just wonderful. Don't you think so Connor?"
I looked over her shoulder and saw a white haired gentleman, who was obviously older, but still extremely handsome.
"Yes, yes, she was amazing. Come give grandpa a hug." He knelt down to her and Victoria hurried to wrap her arms around his neck.
"Connor, please, you are making a scene. Put the girl down." Mrs. Bishop snapped. Well that right there shed some light on the coldness in the house I now lived. It's not every day you can say you met the mother of the antichrist.
"Come Victoria, we are taking you out to dinner." Allison grabbed Victoria's hand and then looked over her shoulder to glare at me. It took all the muscle I had to
not narrow my eyes and stick my tongue out. Did Satan have a sister?
"What about Sophia?" Victoria halted her steps.
"What about her? Now come on." Allison insisted.
Victoria released Allison's hand and ran up to me.
"Are you coming with us?"
"Oh, Victoria, thank you, but this is for family okay?" I smiled and rubbed her cheek.
"I'll see –"
"You are family." She looked at me with a sad expression and my eyes widened. I couldn't bring myself to look around at her families faces. I knelt down and kissed her forehead.
"Thank you, but you should go. I'll see you when you get home. Now, go get your Aunt Allison, okay?" She furrowed her brow and then nodded slightly.
"Okay." Her words were just above a whisper and I felt horrible for pushing her to go with them, but they were her family. As I stood up I instantly felt the tension and groaned internally. He was here.
"Sophia?" I turned to see Dr. Bishop standing there. "Can I speak with you for a moment?" I nodded and he started to walk away from the crowd. I followed. Stopping abruptly he turned to me. "Did you yell at my sister?"
I bit my lip and furrowed my brow.
"I'm afraid so." I wasn't going to lie.
"That's it. That's all you have to say?" He looked at me confused.
"What do you want me to say? That your sister had Victoria on the verge of a mental breakdown before going on stage and I got angry, or do you want me to lie and say I was being irrational and yelled at her?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
He stood looking at my face with the same familiar intensity, but with a mixture of emotions splayed across his beautiful face before he resumed his familiar stoic expression.
"I apologize for arguing with your sister." I spoke quickly and then turned to go. He didn't stop me.
Once in the car I screamed at the top of my lungs to alleviate some of the tension and then slouched into the driver's seat. After the moment it took to regroup, I started the car and headed to the house.
I was sitting in the living room of my suite when I heard them come home.
"Victoria, don't run." His normal icicle tone was in effect.
"Sorry, daddy." I heard her feet on the stairs. Getting up, I headed out to meet her at the top of the steps. She saw me and ran the other half of the steps.
"Don't run." I laughed. "You're going to get in trouble."
She giggled.
"So, how was dinner?" I asked as she hugged me.
"It was good, but I wish you would have come. It would have been more fun with you there." She headed toward her room and I followed. Then I felt the tension and heard his footsteps behind me. Ignoring him, I kept my course.
"Let's get you changed for bed, okay?" I headed to her dresser and pulled out a nightgown.
"Okay." I could hear the zipper on her dress. "I can't reach." She whined.
"I'll help you." I spun around and then stopped when I saw him standing in her doorway.
"Yes?" I managed to choke out.
Victoria froze when she saw her father standing there.
"I, uh, I wasn't aware Victoria had invited you to dinner tonight. Not until we had gotten into the car and you were gone. You could have joined us." He rubbed the back of his head.
"That's alright. It was a family thing, but thank you." I returned to the task at hand and walked to Victoria. I had her zipper completely taken care of when she spoke.
"I told you, you are family." She turned her big eyes on me.
I ruffled her curly hair.
"Thank you. I think of you as family too, but still tonight was for you and your family. We'll do our own family thing tomorrow, I swear."
"Nanny swear?" She smiled large.
I nodded with a big smile on my face and a light chuckle. I stood up and pulled her dress over her head, but while her arms were trapped in the dress with her head covered I tickled her sides.
"Ahh…stop," She laughed. "Quit it!" She laughed harder. I stopped and finished taking her dress off of her. Turning to toss it in the hamper I realized Dr. Bishop was in the way. I snapped my wrist too late and couldn't get the fabric back in my hand. The dress hit him in the face.
"I am so sorry." I spit out. "I didn't realize you were still here. I thought you had left when I started to undress her. I am so…"
He lifted a hand.
"It was an accident." Then I think for the second time since I've met him, his face cracked into a smile, but I couldn't be sure. Victoria burst into laughter and I tried to get her to stop.
"That was so funny!" She laughed and then I couldn't help but let the laughter bubble up and out of my mouth. "You hit daddy with my dress," She giggled out, "In the face!" Tears formed in her eyes.
"I," laugh, "really, laugh, snort, laugh harder, "don't mean…" laugh, "to…" laugh "laugh!"
Victoria and I broke into a larger giggle fit and had to sit on the floor to try to catch our breath. I thought I heard a masculine chuckle, but when I turned my head back in his direction he was on his way out the door. Once he was gone we laughed even harder.
Christmas was approaching quickly and Allison had already informed I was expected to be around. Apparently the Bishops held a Christmas party at the house. During the day was for all of the family and the evening would turn into an adult get together with friends of the family. However, I couldn't think about the Bishop party when I had to focus on Victoria's school play.
With Victoria in full costume we came down the stairs to leave for the play. When I reached the bottom of the stairs we ran into Dr. Bishop.
"You look nice." He spoke monotone to Victoria.
"I'm a snowflake." She beamed. He looked up to me.
"We were just heading to her school play." I started to wrap Victoria up the best I could with the costume and then reached for my coat. Dr. Bishop grabbed it first and held it open for me. "Um…thanks." I slipped my arms in and wrapped the coat around me tightly.
"I figured we would all go over together." I spun my head around and looked at him curiously. "One car is easier than taking two." He slid his coat on and held the door open. I swallowed and followed Victoria out the door.
I helped Victoria into the car and then considered sliding into the backseat with her, but that decision was made for me when Dr. Bishop opened the front passenger door for me.
"Thank you," I mumbled out and got into the car. He closed the door and rounded the car.
The drive over was quiet and, honestly, uncomfortable, at least for me it was. The typical tension was there and the inability to escape him was really pushing my limits. I think I audibly exhaled a large breath when we finally pulled up to the school and parked. I hopped out quickly and assisted Victoria out of the car. Turning to walk toward the school, I noticed Dr. Bishop's familiar look of irritation, though I wasn't sure what I had done this time. Taking Victoria's hand I walked her into the school and then to the door we were supposed to drop students off at.
She turned her big eyes on me, full of nerves.
"Sophia…"
"You got this." I kissed her forehead. "I'll be right out there in the audience and if I need to I will climb on that stage for you, okay?" I winked and she giggled.
She hugged me and then took the teacher's hand to go into the room. I stood and turned around, colliding with Dr. Bishop. My hands were on his chest and his on my waist. Heat radiated from our points of contact and that in combination with his scent caused my pulse to quicken. I pushed off of him quickly.
"S-sorry. I didn't realize you were behind me." I walked around him and headed toward the seating.
I was walking toward some familiar nannies seated off to one row, but was gripped by the arm, pulled back to another row, and pushed in. I turned and saw Max smiling at me with a wide grin.
"You are sitting with us." He chuckled a little. "Ow!" His shoulders hunched up.
"Don't scare her!" Larissa peeked around Max. "Sorry." She mouthed to me.
"It's okay, but I was going to go and sit with the other nan –"
"Nonsense." Larissa pushed around Max and took my arm, sitting me down next to her.
"Victoria told you that you were family to her, so you should sit with us." I didn't know what to say so I just relaxed into the seat.
Larissa didn't even look as if she had given birth just a month ago. She was gorgeous and statuesque. She could easily put herself in a bikini already. Regardless of her intimidating appearance, Larissa was so kind to me I didn't understand how she fit in with this family. As I sat there, I watched her and Max interact. Max wasn't as cold and conservative as his brother. Besides that Larissa seemed to keep him in line.
I was starting to feel comfortable, until we had to stand for a person to enter the aisle. When he walked in front of me it felt like he paused for a moment, the closeness of his body almost electrocuted me. He finally moved down toward his seat and his parents appeared next to him. I couldn't help but watch closely. It was all air kisses from his mother, no real physical interaction. His father shook his hand and pulled him in for the one armed hug, but Dr. Bishop seemed stiff. Then Allison arrived. I groaned and put my head in my hand.
"Shhh…it will be fine. Just ignore her like I do." Larissa leaned in to my ear and whispered.
"You are allowed to ignore her, you are her family. I'm just the 'help'." I took a deep cleansing breath.
"Did she say that to you?" Larissa looked at me wide eyed.
I shook my head. "No."
"But she's made you feel that way hasn't she?" I shrugged. She patted my hand. "She did the same thing to Amber, but I put a stop to it. Speaking of – Max!"
"Yes my love?"
"Where is Amber?"
"Ummm…she is down there with Ella and William." He looked back at her and was met with a scowl. "I'm going, I'm going." He got up and headed toward Amber. I watched him pull her up by her arm and then motion to our row. She shook her head, but he insisted. She grabbed her things and started to follow him to our aisle. When she saw me her face lit up.
Larissa and I stood to let Max through and Amber sat next to me.
"Thank God you are over here too." She leaned in and whispered.
"Phsh, Me? I was about to have a break down over here. Thank God Max brought you over." I whispered back and she giggled quietly.
Allison caught sight of me then and narrowed her eyes on me. She sat in the seat farthest from me, next to her mother, and I was never happier about a seating arrangement.
When Victoria came out on stage I saw her putting her hand over her eyes trying to look for someone she knew. I stood quickly and she caught sight of me. I waved small and then sat back down. I felt eyes on me, so I looked around out of the corners of my eyes. On my left, Larissa was smiling largely at me and she squeezed my arm. On my right, I could see Mrs. Bishop and Allison looking appalled, Dr. Bishop looked confused as he looked to the stage. Only then did he seem to realize Victoria had been looking for someone. He looked back to me quickly before returning his attention to the stage.
"Did I do something wrong?" I whispered to Amber.