Page 10 of The Accidental Nanny (All Of You #1)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Alex

I 'm not gentle as I rip Julia’s clothes out of the wardrobe. I carry them downstairs in batches and throw them in a pile on the kitchen floor. The faint smell of her perfume lingers in the air, twisting my gut.

I stare at the clothes, my mouth pulling down at the corners. I wish they were voodoo dolls I could poke holes into, and Julia could feel the pain she's putting my children through.

I don't consider them our children anymore, just mine. Julia doesn't want them, she said so herself. She's horrid, mean, and heartless, and doesn't deserve them anyway.

It’s getting dark, and Eden wants Gemma to read her to sleep. I listen to Gemma's voice float down the stairs. It should be Julia's voice… their mother should be tucking her children into bed, not a nanny.

I storm out of the house in a fit of sudden rage and go into the garden shed. I grab a shovel and storm back into the garden, finding a spot where I dig a hole.

“You know you aren’t allowed to burn clothes.” Gemma stands a good few feet away from me, watching.

“How do you know that?” I ask.

“I chucked my brother’s favourite clothes on the bonfire once when nobody was looking. God, I got into so much trouble. The smoke was so thick.” Gemma smiles at the fond memory, but it just gets me more curious.

“Why did you throw them on the bonfire?” I ask, leaning on the shovel.

“He was being a dick, as usual. He told his friends I had started my period, which might have been in retaliation for me telling them he fancied his Maths teacher.” She waves a hand as if it doesn’t matter. “Why don’t you give the clothes to charity?” Gemma suggests.

Looking up at her, I notice her nipples poking through her thin t-shirt. She is in a pair of pyjama shorts and a matching top. Does she know I can see her breasts?

“Are you cold?” I ask.

“A little.” Gemma shrugs. “I came out to stop you.”

I throw the shovel on the floor next to the lawn. It makes a loud noise as it clanks against the concrete path, sending the birds flying from the nearby trees.

“I don’t know what to do. For the first time in my life, I don’t know how to handle this situation,” I admit to her.

“What did she do?” Gemma crosses her arms, trying to keep warm.

I remove my thin jacket and hand it to her. She takes it graciously, putting it on.

“Drink?” I offer.

Gemma

“Gin and diet lemonade. If you have it," I add.

“I’ll see what I’ve got,” Alex replies .

He leaves me, and I sit down on the garden chair. Alex soon joins me with a dark-looking drink and a blanket.

“Diet Coke and vodka, no gin, sorry.” Alex gives me a boyish grin by way of apology.

I take a sip through the straw. It isn't bad, but a bit weak for my liking.

“What’s wrong with it?” Alex asks when he sees my face.

“Nothing. It’s nice, just more mixer than I’m used to.”

He takes it from me without a word, going back to the kitchen before I can protest. He must think I'm an alcoholic.

I wrap the blanket around me and look up at the night sky. It's quiet in this neighbourhood. Alex soon comes back with the drink and hands it to me. I watch as he sits down and sighs.

“She wants nothing to do with the children,” he admits to me. “She said she doesn’t love them.”

No wonder he was in such a bad mood last night. I can’t imagine my parents ever saying that to me or even Brody. We have our differences, but I know they mean well and that they love me.

“Did she say why?” I ask.

“Just that she never wanted them,” Alex says in anger, as though he has been blind this entire time. Maybe he has.

“Alex, I’m sorry.” I reach out to put a hand on his, but he pulls away.

“Don’t be, they have me,” he grinds out between clenched teeth.

“And what an amazing dad you are.” I want to make him feel better, but I don't know how. So, for the first time in my life, I listen.

“She’s the one missing out: she’ll miss out on them growing up, their birthdays, graduations, weddings, and grandchildren.

She’ll miss out when they turn out to be beautiful humans.

She will miss out on everything.” He stands and throws his glass across the garden in anger.

It shatters, and I worry that it will wake the children.

“Alex.” I stand up, putting my hands on his arms I want to comfort him. The blanket falls to the chair.

“Hate me, but not them… Don’t take whatever I did out on them." He sounds desperate.

“Did you do anything wrong?” Whatever is happening right now, I want him to know I’m here for him.

“I don’t think so… maybe work too much. I never cheated on her or hurt her. We argued now and again, but all couples argue. I didn’t know anything was wrong until she left. How could I not know? I had a call from the school to say she hadn’t collected them… She just left.”

His fingers run through his hair and he sits back down. I join him and hand him my drink, which he takes. The straw is removed and he downs it. I stand up, putting the blanket over him. He needs to be alone.

I go up to my bedroom and look out the window, watching him. His hands are in his hair, as he looks at the ground. His body shakes up and down as he cries. I close the curtains, giving him the privacy he needs.

After a restless night, I wake early. I head downstairs, and I’m soon armed with a load of black bin liners. Grabbing all the clothes, I put them into Alex’s car whilst cursing his wife. I drive to the nearest shelter, then get some help offloading all the bags.

"Thanks so much. Can I ask who these clothes came from?" the shelter worker asks.

I'm tempted to say the Devil, but instead, I shake my head. "Anonymous donation."

She smiles and nods, and I get back into my car, driving home. It's one less job for Alex to do. By the time I return, the three of them are in the kitchen eating breakfast.

“Where have you been?” Alex asks.

He’s in his dressing gown, looking rough. Seems as though I’m not the only one who had a restless night. Part of me kind of wishes I'd stayed to comfort him.

“I tidied up. The clothes are gone.” I say, pouring some coffee into a mug.

“Gone where?” Alex asks curiously.

“The woman's shelter.”

“Good.” A surprised smile crosses his face before he turns back to his food. He eats his cereal in silence while he is standing by the sink.

“La, la, la,” Eden starts to sing, she’s rather loud.

“Eden, be quiet,” Ace shouts at her.

“Nooooooo! La, la, la. No school,” Eden squeals in delight.

“You’ve got school,” Alex tells her.

“What?” Eden screams, then she starts to cry. “Can I have chocolate? I’ll go if I can have chocolate for breakfast.” Her tears stop as soon as they start. She is definitely a schemer.

“No! I haven’t got time for this, Eden.” Alex walks off.

Eden looks at me, her big brown eyes fluttering up and down.

“Gemma, I don’t feel well.” She starts to cough now.

“If you tell your dad, he will kill me,” I say, shaking my head.

“Well, at least it’s not me.” She giggles.

Alex

“Eden, why are you eating chocolate?” I forgot my phone and return to the kitchen to get it.

“Gemma let me.”

Gemma is nowhere to be seen. Where is she now?

“She only did it because you refused to go to school.” Ace walks out of the room, heading upstairs just as Gemma comes in from the garden with the shards of glass I threw last night.

Gemma catches my eye and turns around as fast as she can, leaving Eden to fend for herself.

“Gemma, stop,” I say.

“I’ve left my…” she starts to speak.

“No chocolate for breakfast!” I order before I swipe my phone and head upstairs for a shower, bumping into Ace on the way. “Hey, mate, what’s up?” I ask, watching him.

“Nothing.” He runs up the stairs.

I need to spend time with him. Eden is so demanding, and then Gemma joined us. I am sure he is feeling pushed out.

I run back downstairs one more time to find Gemma eating chocolate with Eden.

“Can you just collect Eden tonight? I’m taking Ace out; a bit of father and son time.” She doesn't look surprised, which means she knows it's needed as well.

“Sure, I think we will go and get our nails done after school,” Gemma says. "If that's okay?” she asks.

I nod. Gemma can walk to school this morning and pick up Eden in her car after she collects it later. I’m taking mine today.

After school, I collect Ace, who seems surprised to see me.

"Why are you collecting me?" he asks.

"I thought we could hang out a little," I say.

We drive to the local animal park, where we can hold bunnies.

He wants a pet rabbit, but animals need a lot of time and care, as I keep reminding him.

It isn't a sensible idea at the moment, never mind that we need more than one bunny and a massive enclosure.

Though I said no, I have been doing my research and have contacted a local rescue for more advice.

Ace is holding onto his favourite, a black and white bunny with huge floppy ears called Jimmy. He looks content to just sit there with the ball of fluff in his lap.

“How are you doing, mate?” I ask him.

He doesn't look at me. "I like Gemma, but she’s not Mum.”

“No, she’s not your mum." It breaks my heart to hear how sad he is.

“She’s far less strict.” Ace grins.

I laugh at his comment. Trust Ace to find a random positive spin to something crappy.

“I’m glad you like her.” I mean it, too. I want someone in my kids’ lives who is happy to be there for them.

“Do you want to talk about your mum?” I ask as I stroke Jimmy’s ears.

“She didn’t love me.” He looks up at me with big eyes.

“Mate, don’t say that.” I don't want to badmouth Julia in front of him, but I could curse her for what she’s doing to the kids.

“She didn’t, she wouldn’t even talk to me.” I can see tears forming in his eyes, but he blinks them back, fighting his own emotions.

“She didn’t?” I ask. What the hell was this woman doing when I wasn’t around?

Ace shifts Jimmy around so he can stroke the bunny's side. It’s like Ace was born to look after animals. I should encourage him to be a vet one day.

“No, she would play on her phone and tell me to go away, make me watch Eden.” My blood is boiling. “I had to put Eden to bed if you weren’t home.”

“I’m sorry, son. I didn’t know.”

Ace shrugs his shoulders. He is so young and has been neglected by his mother.

“Why didn’t you tell me before?” I ask.

“She’s my mum. I thought it was normal until Gemma… Sh e likes me.” Ace's voice cracks a bit, I can tell he wants to cry. "She lets me play and she doesn't shout."

I take Jimmy from Ace, returning him to the enclosure. Then, I sit back down. I put my arm on his shoulder, pulling him in for a hug, which he desperately needs. My shirt is soon soaked in his silent tears. I wait until he’s ready to move out of my arms, before we talk again.

“I’ve been doing some thinking. I know how responsible you are.

How about you give me another few months, and we can rescue some bunnies.

There are plenty out there that need a loving home, and I think we could do that.

” I know I'm giving in to my own emotions, but Ace is so caring and needs something to love—something more than just me and his sister.

“Can I?” His whole face lights up.

“Yes, but we have to make sure the enclosure we get is big enough. You know bunnies can live for around ten years, right? Sometimes even longer. So, when you are a teenager, I don’t want you to lose interest. I mean, we will have to tell Eden one is hers, but I don’t think she will be bothered.”

Eden’s attention span is rather short, to her they will be something she will love for five minutes then forget about and that’s the difference between them. I trust Ace to care for and look after the rabbits.

“Can we get some older ones?” he asks. "They need homes, too."

“Of course.”

I know I am going to be the main person to look after them, but he needs this. I have the perfect spot in the garden where we can install a large rabbit shed and attach a big walk-in run. At least the garden is fenced off so they can run around.

I pry Ace away from the rabbits and take him to get some food.

Something light before dinner, though I think I'm going to have to cook, as my mother hasn't prepared anything that Gemma can reheat.

Ace orders a toasted sandwich, and even though I tell him to be careful that it's hot, he takes a big bite and makes "fa fa fa" noises as he holds his mouth open to cool it down.

I get Eden a stuffed bunny as a consolation prize for not spending the evening with us. I let Ace pick it out for her and give him the money to count out to pay for it.

Ace looks pleased with himself, then he spots a fake red rose. "We should get that for Gemma," he says.

"We'll take one red rose," I say, pulling out more money. I just hope Gemma doesn’t get the wrong idea.