Unlikely

Chapter 6

I’ve never dreaded a driveway as much as I was dreading this one. At least it was long putting of the inevitable. I can’t believe I messed up this much. I guess all that is left is for me to get this over. I took everything in as we drove towards the house. It really is a spectacular place. It’s the last time I’ll get to see this view. Matthew still hadn’t said anything else, but I could see his gears twisting in his head. His hands kept clenching and un-clenching. I drove to my parking space. I turned the engine off and looked over to Matthew. He wasn’t moving. He was clearly dreading this as much as me.

“I’ll go in and take the full force of his anger. You can then come in when I’ve left his office. Whatever he says, go with it. There is no point in getting him angrier and getting more punishments. Make sure to tell him that you are sorry and that you won’t do it again…You won’t do it again, right?” I asked him, looking at him earnestly. I needed to know that he wouldn’t do something so stupid again before I leave, even if he is lying. I just need some peace of mind when I leave.

”I promise I won’t. I’ll ask next time.” I was glad to hear that. I don’t know if he is being honest, but at the moment I don’t want to know.

“Also, remember that none of this is your fault. I am an adult and I’m the one who was supposed to watch you. I’m the one responsible for you.” He only nodded before turning to the door and getting out. I did the same and made my way into the house. I walked past the kitchen and saw Alexis and Ava just finishing up dinner. They are a bit behind their schedule and I will probably hear about that too. I walked to his office. The last time I was there was when he hired me. I remember the spectacular view. I wonder how it looks at night. I’ll take a quick peak before leaving. These thoughts were all just to distract me from what was about to happen. I knocked and waited for permission to walk inside. As I heard him grant that permission, I opened the door and walked inside. I turned towards the door as I closed it. I took a deep breath before turning around and facing him. He wasn’t looking at me. He was focusing on the work before him.

“I found Matthew with a few of his friends,” I said after a while of silence. I don’t understand why he wasn’t saying anything. It was making me feel very uncomfortable. He still didn’t have anything to say. Since this is my last time talking to him, I decided to say exactly how I felt.

“He was to afraid to ask you if he could go out with them. That isn’t normal. A child should fear to ask for something they want, especially not if it is something as innocent as going out with friends to play games and eat some pizza. He should never have felt the need to go to such extreme measures. You can’t run your kids like a business. They won’t respond to schedules, deadlines and management. Kids need a lot more than just structure to strive.” I had finally gotten his attention. He was staring at me, his whole face pulled up in absolute anger.

“Who do you think you are coming in here and telling me how to raise my children? You don’t even know them! I assure you that I have done the best job at raising them. Alexis is a straight A student. She can speak three languages and she is on the fast track to early admission to university. Matthew is seen as a genius at his school, where he excels in everything he does and he has made the adult tennis team. Ava is far ahead of any other toddler her age. My kids are exceptional and it’s because I push them. You have only been here a couple of days. You don’t know them at all. You are just a small town nanny that was over her head. You lost an entire human being for hours today. I have never done that, I know where my kids are at all times.” She couldn’t believe how wrong he was. He was only mentioning their prestige and nothing about the people they were and how they actually were going to turn out.

“You only see them for their achievement, but I bet you can’t tell me one honest thing about them. Alexis is on a very terrible path and if you don’t fix it she will turn into a horrible person. She is too spoiled and she thinks she can get away with everything. If this behavior continues, she’ll stomp on everyone with her nose held so high in the air she won’t even notice. The problem with that is that she will end up all alone and she will resent you for it. I had a talk with her and I think things will be better, but not if you enable her. Matthew is heading down the road of rebellion. At this moment, he will keep testing your limits. Today he snuck out to an arcade. Next time he might sneak out to a bar, for all you know. And just so that you understand you lost him today, he wasn’t running away from me. Yes, I was the one who was responsible for him at that moment and I’m at fault, but so are you. Then there is Ava. Yes, she is exceptional, but no one will see that because she is so introverted. She doesn’t know how to be a child or how to act. She craves attention and she latches on to whoever gives her the slightest bit. I haven’t noticed her latching on to you, have you? Yes, I am a nanny from a small town and yes, I haven’t known them long, but I really fear that I know them better after a couple days than you who raised them.” I finished my rant completely out of breath. I’ve never been so brutally honest before. I just feel for these kids, they have everything they want, but nothing they actually need.

He just sat there staring at me, he possibly couldn’t believe the nerve of me at that moment, but I had to say something. He needed to see his errors, because I wouldn’t be there to look out for those kids and the next person might not care as much. He needs to fix this.

”You are fired. I gave you a time limit and you failed to do your job in that time frame. I want you packed and out of my house by tomorrow morning.” He spoke calmly like nothing she said phased him. She couldn’t understand how he could be calm after everything she had just told him.

“I just want to enquire about my pay. I did the work and I deserve to be paid for my time here, excluding today, of course.” I needed the money, even though I didn’t want his money at the moment, I couldn’t go without it. I could finally see a c***k in his demeanor. He jumped up, the chair falling over behind him. He grabbed his wallet and opened it up, pulling out the money he had inside of it before he stalked over to me. He took the money and threw it at me. It hit me in the face before falling to the floor. I was shocked no one had ever disrespected me like this before.

“There is your money. You didn’t deserve a cent of it. You are just a money-hungry b***h. You almost had me believing that you cared for my children.” He made me feel lower than I’ve ever felt before and I wanted so badly to just walk out his office without the money, but without it I wouldn’t have any money, which meant no bed and no food. So, against my better judgement, I got on my knees and started collecting the money. It was a very demeaning thing to do and at that moment I swore I would never feel like this again, that I would never be treated like this again. I am not a doormat for people to just walk over. After getting all the money, I got up and made my way to the door.

“Don;t be too hard on Matthew. It isn’t his fault,” I said before walking out the door. I could feel the tears trying to slip out, but I couldn’t let that happen. It was a good thing that I haven’t unpacked all my things because I really just want to get out of here. I folded the money and placed it in my pocket. I walked over to Matthew who was waiting down the hall.

“Give him a few minutes and then you can go and talk to him. Just be honest with him. He is your father. He might just understand.” There is no way that brute will understand. He is a robot. I don’t even know if he understands his own emotions. Out of no where, Matthew threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly.

”I really am sorry I never thought doing this would cause so much trouble. I didn’t really think that anyone would actually care if I was missing for a few hours.”

“It’s fine Matthew, don’t worry about me for even the tiniest bit. I will be just fine as long as you are fine. I’m going to go and say goodnight to your sister. Don’t wait too long to go and see him. It’s already past our bedtime.” I smiled at him before walking away. I really wanted to cry. I felt that ache in my heart from how he treated me. I just have to keep myself together until after I leave. I walked over to Ava’s room. She was already in bed so I walked over to her and took the book I started reading to her at night. I wanted to finish the book. She smiled at me, but her eyes were already drooping. I sat down next to her bed and started reading the book. Even after she fell asleep, I continued until the book was done. I’m going to miss her a lot. I put the book back on the bookshelf before kissing her forehead and leaving the room.

I walked over to Alexis' room. I’ve never been here before, since she made it clear that I wasn’t allowed in her space. The door was open a bit so I checked if she was asleep. She wasn’t, so I knocked before walking in. There was only one word for her room and it was sad. It was very bare and basic with a bunch of school books and university memorabilia. 

”I was wondering if you would be coming to say goodbye to me.” I get why she would think that because we aren’t that close, but I do appreciate that she waited up for me, probably hoping that I didn’t show up, so that she could have reason to be angry at me.

“Of course I came to say goodbye, why wouldn’t I?” I asked her even though I already knew the answer to this question, but I wanted to hear her say it.

”I haven’t exactly been nice to you.” She said, staring at me. Her eyes told me she was expecting something from me.

”Just because you weren’t nice doesn’t mean I didn’t like you.” I reassured her. “Maybe just try a bit harder with the next nanny.” I told her, trying to make whoever takes my positions work a bit easier than it was for me.

”You were right about me spending time with Ava.” I knew it was a good idea to give her a bit of family responsibility.

“She really needs you. She is very lonely. I need to go and pack my things. You need to get some sleep. Dark circles won’t be to nice.” I waved to her as I left her room and went to the basement to my make shift room. I took my dirty laundry and put it in my bag. Next, I packed my letter stuff. The sad thing is my letters haven’t even reached him yet and I’ve already lost my job. That urge to cry was back again. I was done packing, so I took out my phone and called a taxi. I couldn’t keep my tears in anymore. So I took my bags and left the car keys on the bed before I left. I couldn’t stay anymore. So I started to make my way down the long path. The tears finally slipped out as I was walking down waiting for the taxi to reach me. I’ve never felt so degraded. I don’t even want to spend this money. All the extra money I’ll send back to him. I only wanted what he owed me and not a cent more. I saw the taxi’s headlights so I signaled them, not wanting it to drive past me.

I got in the taxi wiping at my tears. It was embarrassing being an adult crying late at night as I walked down with all my bags. It’s so clear as to what had happened. The taxi driver seemed oblivious as he started to fan girl Sebastian and the house. Telling how much he had wished to see it up close. I had spoiled his plans by coming down. I couldn’t care less. I started to tune him out because, honestly, I had too much on my mind. I also don’t have a kind word for Sebastian right now. The taxi driver finally picked up on her foul mood and kept quiet. He took me to my old bed and breakfast. I felt so bad coming in so late at night, but there was no where else I could go. I rang the bell a few times before someone came to open the door. The old lady helped her with her bags and showed her to a room. I was tired, but couldn’t sleep so I started to write a new letter, venting in it. Getting everything out made me feel better. I finally felt ready to sleep, so I put everything away and got into bed. I need to rest because tomorrow I need to find a new temporary job. I drifted off pretty fast, but I had a very restless night. Tossing and turning the whole night. I had so many feelings that were unresolved and so many worries that I needed to sort out.