SADIE
The first week of my nannying was fairly straightforward, mostly consisting of getting to know Megan’s routine. She woke up at six every morning, had breakfast, and got ready for school. Mr. Grave had a driver who took her, but I would ride with her and make sure she got into the school building. Her uncle had enrolled her in a prestigious private elementary school that probably cost about the same per year as my college tuition did.
While she was at school, I would help Mrs. Plumb with errands, housework, or I would spend time writing. Shortly after lunch, I would return to Megan’s school with the driver to pick her up and bring her home. She would have a snack, change out of her school uniform, and we would spend time playing together until it was time for dinner. After dinner, it was bath time, then bed time.
Every day was very structured, and we rarely deviated from the schedule. I didn’t mind that so much. It’s important for a little kid to have a routine, especially when that kid is in a new environment. I understood that, and I did my best to abide by it.
What I didn’t understand was how little time Mr. Grave seemed to spend with his niece. I knew he was a busy man, and that his job was demanding, but he had a kid now. He needed to make her more of a priority.
How could he be so heartless?
That whole first week, no one ever actually explained to me why Mr. Grave had custody of Megan. I assumed it was because there was literally no one else to raise her, but I had no idea what had happened to her parents. I kind of expected Mr. Grave or even Mrs. Plumb to tell me, but in the end, I heard the story from Megan herself.
It was Saturday morning, and the two of us were sitting in the living room watching cartoons and playing with some of her dolls. Mr. Grave was working in his office, as usual, but I didn’t really care at that moment. As much as I wanted him to spend more time with Megan, I definitely didn’t want him to spend any time with me.
I was busy brushing the hair of one of the dolls, as I had been instructed to do, when I glanced up and saw that Megan was staring at the TV. She had a look of such concentration, I turned to see what it was that had her so focused. The cartoon that was playing was showing a scene with two talking bears. It appeared to be a mother bear and a baby bear. The mother bear was giving the baby bear some sort of life lesson as they cuddled together in a rocking chair. It was cute, but I didn’t think it was all that fascinating. Then again, I wasn’t a child.
“My mommy died,” Megan suddenly said in a soft tone.
Blinking, I froze, completely in shock.
“Wh…what was that, honey?” I asked, not certain I’d heard her correctly.
She looked at me, and I was startled by the blank expression she wore. It was as though a mask had fallen over her and the happy little girl I’d been interacting with a few moments before was gone. In her place was this somber child.
“My mommy died.”
Dang…that’s what I’d thought she’d said.
Choosing my words carefully, I said, “Megan, are you telling me your mommy went to heaven?”
She nodded but didn’t speak further.
“How…how did your mommy go to heaven?”
She pressed her lips together, and I could tell that she wasn’t going to say anything else. I didn’t want to push her, so I smiled gently and reached out to cup her cheek.
“It’s okay, sweetie. You don’t have to tell me.”
She stared up at me for a moment before slowly giving me a smile.
Letting the matter drop, we went back to playing as though nothing odd had happened, but I wasn’t about to forget what Megan had said…or the haunted look she’d had on her face.
***
Early that afternoon, Megan grew sleepy, and I ended up putting her down for a nap. Since I had a bit of free time, I decided to find Mr. Grave and ask him about Megan’s parents. Clearly, whatever had happened to them had left a mark on her. She was traumatized, that much was easy to tell.
I first made my way to Mr. Grave’s office, expecting him to be there. However, when I reached the door, I found it open and the office empty. I stood in the doorway, confused.
“Are you looking for Mr. Grave?”
I jumped and let out a little cry of surprise. Spinning around, I found Mrs. Plumb standing behind me with a small smile on her face.
“Oh…yes, I was,” I answered with a nod. “I thought for sure he’d be here.”
“He’s out in the pool,” she explained. “You can go out there, if you’d like.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
Chapter 7
“You’re welcome,” she replied with a little twinkle in her eye. Before I could make sense of that, she turned and walked away without a backward glance.
Deciding to ignore whatever that look was, I made my way in the opposite direction toward the stairs and headed up toward the roof of the townhouse. There was an outdoor space with a thin, rectangular pool. Reaching the rooftop door, I opened it and stepped out into the sunshine. It took me a moment to get used to the brightness, but once I was, I crossed to the pool.
I could see Mr. Grave moving through the water, and he reached the pool’s edge about the same time I did, though I don’t think he realized I was there. He began to climb out, and I froze in place. Water sluiced off of his chiseled chest and six-pack abs. When I realized he was wearing nothing but a Speedo, a little squeak slipped past my lips.
His head snapped up, and he met my gaze. His brow furrowed and his jaw tensed as he finished climbing out of the pool.
“What is it?” he snapped.
I blinked and jerked my head back, jolted out of my stupor.
Narrowing my eyes, I sharply replied, “Hello to you, too, Mr. Grave.”
Scoffing, he moved to a nearby lounge chair to pick up a towel resting there. As he started drying himself off, he turned back to me.
“Well?” he sighed, clearly irritated. “What do you want?”
Crossing my arms over my chest, I took a second to collect myself before saying, “I wanted to ask you about Megan’s parents.”
He went still. “What about them?”
“Megan let it slip earlier today that her mother died, but she wouldn’t tell me anything else. She’s clearly traumatized by it, though. Her expression when she told me was…chilling.”
Mr. Grave’s nostrils flared, and he looked away from me, wrapping his towel around his waist.
“It’s not something you need to worry about,” he said, walking past me toward the door that led into the house.
I swung around to follow him. “It’s something I should definitely worry about! You’ve entrusted her care to me. I can’t do my job if I don’t know how to support her.”
He opened the door and stormed inside, ignoring me. I persisted, however, and hurried after him. Once we made our way down the stairs and into the long stretch of hallway, I dashed forward and grabbed his arm to stop him. His bicep flexed beneath my grip, and my breath hitched. I tried to ignore the shot of heat that went through me, but my grip tightened slightly, as if I didn’t want to let him go.
Stopping, he whipped around and jerked his arm from my grasp.
“What the hell?” he snarled. “Didn’t you hear me? Leave it alone.”
“No,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I’m not going to leave it alone. I care about Megan and want to do everything I can for her, but I can’t do that if you keep things from me.”
He gnashed his teeth, and his face turned red, but I held his gaze, refusing to look away or back down from his clear anger.
At length, he released a hiss through his teeth and said, “She died in a car accident.”
I blinked, taken aback by his sudden acquiescence.
“Oh, my gosh,” I gasped. “Was…was Megan with her?”
Pain flashed across his expression before he nodded and answered, “Yeah. She was. Kate, my sister, was trying to leave her abusive piece-of-shit husband and was taking Megan with her. Her car skidded off the road and flipped. My sister was killed in the impact, but Megan thankfully survived.”
I covered my mouth with my hand, shocked.
“That…that’s terrible,” I murmured, my heart breaking for Megan…and even a little bit for Mr. Grave. “I’m so sorry. That’s…that’s awful.”
He swallowed and, for a moment, appeared to be struggling with his emotions.
Finally, he managed to choke out, “Yeah. It is. It’s been hard on Megan, obviously.”
“What…what happened to her father?” I cautiously asked.
In an instant, Mr. Grave’s expression hardened, and his eyes flashed with sudden rage.
“Her father will never see her again,” he said, the determination clear in his tone.
The display of fury chilled my blood, and I didn’t attempt to follow him again when he turned and walked away.