Thank you so much Puppybhai for the cover! ❤

Four
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I settled down on the couch next to Arizona, wondering what I could do to lift her spirit. Her eyes lingered on me for a brief moment before dropping to the floor.

"Is he your dad?" I asked her softly.

She shook her head, barely looking at me. The little devil in my head sank into its imaginary couch with a breath of relief.

"So, your mommy's at work?" I dug around a bit.

She slowly shook her head again as she stopped fiddling with her bunny's ears.

"I don't have a mommy," she returned in the faintest voice while her big green eyes looked up at me.

"I don't have a mommy," she replied in the faintest voice, her big green eyes looking up at me.

No kidding, Sophia.

My eyelids squeezed shut, and my teeth sunk into my lower lip, realizing I'd asked a question I shouldn't have.

"Sorry."

This was more challenging than I expected. I'd never felt so nervous and awkward in front of a child before. Blame it on the way PuddinPants had threatened to fire me. I shifted my attention to the sleeveless, light blue dress she was wearing with daisies printed on it.

"You have a very nice dress!" I said.

And for the first time, Arizona smiled up at me. "It's my new favorite. I love daisies."

"Haa!" I gasped softly, my eyes lighting up like a Christmas tree. "You do? I do too?!" I lied.

I didn't really hate them. I just wasn't the kind who was crazy for them. I preferred trees more, but I had to make common grounds to bond with Arizona.

After showering praises on her dress for five minutes, and asking where she got it and how great it looked on her, we were best friends. Our relationship sped ahead like a breeze.

"Let's see how many daisies you have here," I suggested and pulling on the side of her dress, we slowly began to count them together one by one. She could count pretty well.

"Eighteen. Nineteen. . ."

Occasionally, I gently poked her on the side and she'd laugh at how it tickled her. But then I remembered PuddinPants warning me about the pacemaker in her tummy, so I stopped. Arizona enthusiastically shared one story after another – tales of daisies, her beloved dresses, and the adventures of finding them. No doubt there that we belonged in the same squad. Storytellers.

Twenty minutes later, our shoes were kicked aside as we sat cross-legged on the couch, engrossed in Arizona's lively stories. From the upper floor, the so-called Romeo descended.

Radha on the dance floor
Radha likes to party
Radha likes to move that desi Radha body

He came down bobbing his head to the song, a fourteen-year-old with beachy curls matching my height of 5'7". Arizona and I watched him dance down the steps to his own earnest singing. He had a sunny aura about him and his brown eyes (unlike the green of his brother's) twinkled, seemingly reflecting the radiance of his personality.

"Well hello, Miss Decent!!" he called cheerfully with a bright smile when he saw me.

"So, it's you. MisterPuddinPants."

"In this house, you can call me 'King,'" he declared grandly and confidently, approaching us. "But that's only... when my brother isn't home." He shrugged and leapt onto a single couch. "Continue what you were doing. My job today is to assess your performance and see if you are eligible to further continue with this work as the Royal Babysitter cum Royal tutor to our highness, Princess Arizona de la chop chop Daisyqueen." He winked at Arizona with a mischievous smile.

"I actually thought your brother was PuddinPants."

"August? No way." He laughed.

"Yeah."

"He's not PuddinPants, of course. I can't even imagine." He laughed more.

"He seemed pretty cool when I called him PuddinPants."

"Yeah. After all, it's not like he has never had a funny name."

"What did he have?"

"I don't know if he still uses this but, he had an email address that went like - [email protected]."

Pulling my eyebrows together, I felt my jaw drop and burst laughing. August didn't strike me as that type of person. It was amusing just to think about it.

"He made it when he was in sixth grade I think. Don't tell him I told you that."

Arizona slid down from the couch and went over to him. Romeo picked her up on his lap and kissed her cheek as she leaned into his arms, mirroring the affection she showed her elder brother. Strings of delighted laughter escaped from her as he hugged her tight and playfully pretended to bite off her ear.

"So, where does your brother work?"

"He goes to the gym. He'll train some people, he'll train himself, swim some, then come back home. . . and that's some." Romeo nodded thoughtfully.

"Oh. A fitness freak."

"Not really." He made a face and shook his head. "He does it mostly for us. I mean. . . that's how he earns. He's has us to support when he should be studying, to be honest." Guilt laced his words although he tried to hide it with another smile.

"Is it just the three of you in the family?"

"Just the three of us. August, Princess and me. August is our parent."

To say that I was surprised would be an understatement. Learning that their brother, that scary dude, was looking after a teenager and a toddler was beyond me. Who would have thought that someone who looked that frightening on the outside could be a family guy who lives each day for his siblings? Besides, he didn't seem much older than a teenager himself.

"I bet he's a great parent." I said.

"He's the best. Right, Princess?" Romeo shook  Arizona a little.

"Yes." Arizona bobbed her little head up and down.

"Three is a. . ." Romeo prompted.

"Happy number," Arizona added right away.

"Small family is a. . ."

"Happy family!" Arizona returned with a little leap on Romeo's lap.

"Oh my God!" I awed at the cuteness of the little girl.

In less than an hour with this family, I couldn't help but be seriously impressed and totally in love with the bonds they share. I found myself more intrigued and curious like I had walked into the lives of a family you only read in books. Something about this family clicked right in my mind, and I thought maybe the scary brother isn't that bad at all.

At around six in the evening, I found myself wrapped up in Romeo's furry bear suit, brandishing a play sword. We were in the midst of an epic battle – me playing the role of a zombie-bear and Romeo as the valiant pirate captain defending the Princess of Chopchopland. Arizona, adorned with a tiara, giggled from her perch on Romeo's arm, caught in the excitement of our playful swordplay.

Costumes, it was.

Grimacing and emitting various guttural zombie noises, Romeo and I clashed swords all around the living room, creating our own battlefield. Romeo, in his pirate captain role, was chanting pirate slogans and slangs with fervor. While busy in the middle of our spirited play, the door clicked open and in came the one I called Mr. PuddinPants. He stood at the door, holding the doorknob and observing us curiously. As our eyes met his, he snorted and broke into low chuckles, clearly amused by the unexpected pirate invasion in his living room.

Arizona called from Romeo's arm, "August!!"

Romeo set her down on the floor and she ran up to PuddinPants. He took her in his arms with a face illuminated with laughter.

"Hey, Princess. Have you been a good girl?"

Arizona nodded and whispered something in his ear again. PuddinPants returned in the same secretive way.

He hung his keys on a peg by the door and approached us. I pushed back my bear hood, exhaling a heated breath. The combination of the August heat and the furry suit had me boiling underneath, dangerously close to passing out.

Throwing his backpack down on a couch, he laughed again when he looked at me, "You look hot."

"Thank you very much. I am really hot. Literally." I huffed as I zipped down the suit and stepped out of it.

"Come have a drink," he offered as he headed for the kitchen.

I followed and sank onto a stool at the island. He opened the refrigerator, pulled out a bottle of coca-cola and poured it into three glasses. He offered one to me and called Romeo as well.

"This is great." I breathed in relief after I gulp down the first sip, the chill washing my throat.

I'd been so into the mood of the play and impressing the kid I hadn't realized I'd formed a drought in my throat. PuddinPants set Arizona on a stool and handed her a mixture of apple juice and water in a cute pink open cup. Seated beside her, he held her close and helped her drink it.

"You're a freshman at the University, aren't you?" he asked suddenly, gently wiping the mess around Arizona's mouth with a tissue.

"How'd you know?" I questioned back. "Do you go there too?"

He rolled his eyes up at me in a way that made me think I should've just answered his question. He took a moment, staring at me, and looked back at his sister, "I thought I saw you somewhere."

"Oh." I breathed.

"I'm in my third year," he said.

"What major?"

"Physics," he said and I immediately felt my throat go dry. Bryce too was taking Physics.

"Wow. Physics is my doom. I don't have the brain for it," I said, placing my cup down on the counter.

"What's yours?" he asked.

"Sociology."

"Great subject."

I shrugged, sipped from my drink and I couldn't help but ask, "Do you know Bryce Carter? He also takes Physics."

"Yeah. I see him sometimes in class," he answered quite normally but when he looked up and met my gaze, it felt as if he'd seen through me as clear as day. He had a mischievous gleam in his eyes and I couldn't look at him for more than two second.

Just in time, Romeo came in singing again.

Radha on the dance floor
Radha likes to party
Radha likes to move that desi Radha body

"Well, now that I'm here, you could call it a day," PuddinPants said.

"Really?" I grinned at him.

"Are you really that excited to go?"

"No. I mean... Yeah. Why not?"

He chuckled again, clearly amused, and this time I made sure to watch him well, not too scared of him anymore after having spoken to Romeo. He had a seriousness about him - not kidding - but he seemed fairly approachable, and just too handsome to be true, finding myself drawn to his consuming eyes and deep stares, almost as if they were the poems I search for.

Before leaving, Romeo told me at the door that I got an A for the day's performance.

I grinned at him. "Thank you very much! So, I guess I'm not out yet?" I turned to August who stood by his brother, holding Arizona in his arms.

"We'll see tomorrow."

I smiled at him, at his curt reply. Just what I expected. He tried to swallow it as much as possible,  but somehow he ended up giving a small smile.

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Next chapter available for free on stck.me

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!! 💃💃💃💃💃

Love, Hermyne