The Babysitter
Chapter Twenty
Title: The Babysitter Chapter 20
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Don’t own ‘em. Don’t
want ‘em. Seriously, think about it, can you imagine
the cost of food alone?
Notes: Hey guys, sorry it took so long again, long story. To suffice let’s say I hate boys.
Hospital
smells.
It
was late. She had no idea how long she’d been asleep. If it’d
been days or hours. She blinked once. Then again.
Slowly she opened her eyes. She was in a room with a window. The walls were
painted a cheery yellow that should’ve been soothing but reminded
coverlet.
Well,
let’s here it for
thought turning her head on the bed.
Her
father was staring at her, silent.
“Hello,
little one.”
“How
long’ve I been-“
her arms and Ava noticed for the first time that she
wasn’t hooked up to anything. “You’ve a few broken ribs, a concussion, you’ll
be on crutches for a bit, and that bandage on your head’ll
stay there for a good bit. But other than that…” his voice broke here, “you’re
absolutely fine.”
“Oh,
dad,” she reached for him and Tom
leaned over the bed, pulling her into a bear hug that would have hurt if he’d
been holding her loose enough for her to think straight. “Daddy, I’m fine,
really daddy,” Ava laughed finally, fighting for
breath, “Don’t worry about me, daddy, I’m fine.”
“Telling
a father ‘not to worry’ is like telling a cat to act interested.” He tweaked her
nose, sitting on the edge of the bed, “You should know better,
“Cara? She’s downstairs in the
waiting room.” He rubbed a hand over his face, “Billie’s there too.
fought to rise and Tom put a hand on her shoulder.
“You’re
not moving until a doctor says you can,” he leaned over and murmured a few
words into the phone before placing it back on the cradle. “Your mum says
she’ll call you later.”
“She’s
not coming back?”
Tom
sighed and Ava sat back, not particularly surprised.
“You see, she’s got an opening, Ava, and-“
“Don’t,
dad. How’re Billie’s kids?”
“They’re
shaken up, love. They saw the whole thing. Once a doctor looks at you, we’ll go
down there. They wouldn’t let so many people who aren’t family up here, you
see.” Tom looked at her sidelong, “Billie Joe was pretty shaken up too.”
“Oh?”
Ava couldn’t help that she was suddenly on guard. Tom
arched an eyebrow at her expression.
“Cara
said he was giving the doctors fiery hell before I got here.”
Tom
stopped, his train of thought cut. Ava “Whatever do
you mean, Ava?”
“Daddy,
don’t, okay? Since I’ve been here I’ve only talked to
her a few times and every time it was her bitching about something you’d let me
do. And Billie said that you told him she wanted me back in
both know that’s a damn lie. So what gives, dad?”
“What’d
you tell Billie?”
“That
she was in
didn’t happen. Don’t change the subject.”
“She
is in
answered carefully.
crossed her arms over her chest and winced when it hurt. “Doesn’t
matter. Seriously, dad.”
“Bullshit.
She didn’t want me.”
“
“She
told me, dad. You
have so she’d take me in the settlement. Admit it.”
“Your
mother told you…” Tom shook his head, rose, looked out the window,
question. He laughed shortly and looked back out the window. “Emma was always a
bit… was she angry with you when she told you that?”
“Yeah,
it was right after Cara got into that magnet school. Remember? You’d just given
me the-“
around to…?” At her look he trailed off, “Right. I’m evading. Don’t look at me
like that, Aviva. She was-well the thing about your
mum—Ava she… One day I came home. And she was with
this other man. They were …together… on top of a canvas that was covered in
paint. She had the nerve to tell me it was art. The name of the painting was
way of telling me she wanted a divorce.”
“What’s
that got to do with me?”
“
you were there. I thought that if I… left you with her, then, well she’d-“
“
“She
was tame around you, darling. You might not believe that, but it’s true. Emma
took her role as a mother very seriously. You never saw her like I did.
she was how she thought a mother should be. I thought if you stayed then she’d
be forced to grow up.”
“Are
you serious?” Ava was thinking back.
was gone all night. All the times Ava had to fend for
herself until finally Ava
said fuck it and stopped asking for help. “Did you really have to give her
money to convince her to keep me?”
“What?”
Tom looked affronted. “Is that what she told you?”
“Darling,”
Tom crossed the room, taking her hand gently in his. “Do you remember that time
you spent with my sister?”
“Aunt
Monica? Yeah, that year right after the divorce. Ma said it was so she could decide
what city she liked best.”
“Yeah…
Ava I paid your mother to go to rehab.”
thing?” Ava laughed, “And now you’re
telling me she’s in
she ever in
love you. She’s just… well, to put it bluntly she’s
very selfish. When she thought you could be the next Georgia O’Keefe she wanted
to groom you.”
“And
when she found out I’d rather be
“She
didn’t know how to relate to you. Darling it was never about her not loving
you.”
“What
about you?”
“Do
you know how difficult it’s been for me to hear my little girl crying and not
go give that rock ‘n roll prick what for?”
Tom
tweaked her nose, “There’s the smile. You know he asked my permission?”
“What?”
“Yeah,
not in so many words of course, as I’d have had to trounce the bastard, but
when he took you to
me from the hotel. Told me about the tattoo.
if he caught anybody putting the make on you, as it were.”
“What’d
you tell him?”
The
doctor walked in and Tom got off the bed, letting the man examine his daughter.
“I
told him I’ve got a daughter who knows her own mind. And if she wants
something, there’s no point in trying to protect her.” He nodded to the pile of
what was left of Ava’s clothes. “And she’ll probably
have a matching utility belt for the occasion anyway.”
In
the hall outside of the waiting room Tom glanced at Ava
sidelong. “Alright?”
“Yeah,
I’m fine.”
“Good,
sure you still want to do this?”
“Yeah,
I hate it when people worry about me.” She looked over her shoulder at the
orderly steering the wheelchair. “Can this thing do wheelies?”
entrance.”
“Sorry
ma’am.”
“
room in half a second. Tom caught him around his middle and lifted, placing the
child more gently on Ava’s lap and she looked at her
dad gratefully. “We thoughted you
you said you’d be at my next year’s party too!”
“I’m
okay, dude,” Ava looked over Joe’s head. Cara grinned
at her, obviously relieved.
“
probably frantic.” She got out of the ugly plastic chair, jerking her head at
Billie discreetly on her way out. “Total
drama queen, some people just can’t handle pressure, you know?”
back to the other occupants of the room. “I really am alright, see?” She waved
to prove her point.
“Right
then, I’m off for some coffee,” Tom shot the orderly a meaningful look and the
guy muttered something about being down the hall. Ava
wondered if discretion were another
because in
or whatever.
“Jake?”
Ava murmured. “You wanna
and nodded at Ava. When Jake didn’t move Billie
sighed, “Will you go if I go?”
Jake
nodded solemnly, one finger in his mouth. Ava
furrowed her brow at that. She’d only seen Jake suck on a finger once. And that
was the week Fats had the puppy flu or something and everybody thought he was
standoffish, though. It was weird. Not really strange considering the
circumstances, but she’d sort of been hoping from the way Tom was talking that
as soon as he saw her he’d run over, roses in hand and take it all back. So
much for wishful thinking, she thought with a sigh.
“See,
Jake? She’s fine! I
bounced on her thigh triumphantly and Ava winced. At
Billie’s worried look she waved her hand away. It was just awkward. She was
holding him well away from her ribs. She’d be fine.
“I
really am fine, dude.” Ava ruffled his hair.
“Honest.”
Jake
smiled tentatively, then bit his lip, “Are you mad?”
Billie. “Why would I be mad?”
“He
thinks you’re mad because he made you run into traffic,” Billie Joe murmured,
leaning over the side of the wheelchair and covering it by taking Joseph off
her lap. Ava looked up at him, eyes wide, he winced
at how banged up her face was. Her right eye was bandaged pretty heavy. Tom
said gravel or something cut it pretty close.
The
car hadn’t been going to fast, but fast enough that if not for Tom and Billie’s
clout combined, a really talented plastic surgeon, and three hours where
broken glass out of her skin, she’d have permanent scarring.
He
wondered if the reporters were still gathered in the lobby.
When
one of punk rock’s veterans cum pop/punk heart-throb goes absolutely ape-shit
in the emergency room of one of
biggest hospitals and wholly demands
that a nameless teenager be taken to a more private
facility for seemingly no reason… well, people notice.
And
he didn’t give a shit.
Well,
he did.
But
only because…
Fuck
it. He’d deal with Adrienne later.
“…
please, Jake?”
Billie
realized Ava had been trying to talk
kid latched onto an idea he didn’t let go. “Jake, it’s okay, really.”
Jake
stared at Ava some more, not convinced. She sighed.
“Jake, it’s really really really
not your fault.”
“How
come you’re in a wheelchair?”
“Because
I broke my ankle and messed up my knee.” She flicked the hospital gown up and
gestured to the bandage on her left knee, “I’m gonna
have a really cool scar.” She sighed, looking at Billie. But he was at a loss
too. “Listen, doll. I’m not that smart, so could you
maybe tell me why you don’t want to believe me that I’m fine?”
I saw it! And you looked like the
tell us anything! And you weren’t
said you had to go!” At that point he
was crying pretty hard.
“Fuck
it,” she muttered, reaching out and hauling the kid into her lap. Billie was
probably the only one of the three who realized how much the move cost her, but
aside from the sudden white pallor to her skin, she was doing a pretty fair job
of covering it up.
deep breathing exercise a yoga instructor had tried to teach her years ago.
Back then she’d told the fruity guru to go double-mint himself. But she was
finding it helped a lot. Deep breath. Slow in, breathe
in the good. Slow release, breathe out the pain. Ow.
She
held him, not saying anything other than soothing murmurs, rocking him as best
she could in the wheelchair. Ava basically let him
cry himself out. She sighed, bone deep and wondered
again how she was supposed to make a little person understand what she was
trying to get across. She finally gave up and was just honest. No, it most
certainly was not his fault. Yes, she
still liked him. But she didn’t know when she’d see him again.
scrawled her cell phone number on Jake’s forearm so he could call her whenever he
wanted. She figured that that was really the best she could do. She probably
would have done more, but Tom was back in the room. Muttering
urgently to Billie.
Apparently
there was press downstairs.
“They
know she’s my daughter.”
“…What
about…?”
“Just
that she was in an accident. That she’s babysat for you. That
your children are close to her. For now that’s appeased them. But
someone got a pretty good shot of you going ballistic and Jake having hysterics
at the E.R. Jane’s working on that.”
“They
are not-!”
anyone who prints it on your behalf, mine, your son’s. Anything you can think
of. But I’ve got to be honest-“
“It
looks bad,” Ava finished for him. Tom glanced at her.
He’d hoped to shield her from the mess downstairs. Ava
looked at Billie. He read regret in her eyes. From the beginning she’d been
almost obsessive about not creating any kind of bad publicity for him. He shook
his head at her. Not her fault. Hardly her fault. If
she blamed herself he’d kill her.
She
smiled back tentatively as though she understood and then bit her lip. He’d
have to go. With the kids. Now.
If they stayed much longer then someone would get upstairs. Someone would get
pictures. Someone would notice something about the way she looked at him.
He
was Billie-Joe-fucking-Armstrong and if he wanted to stay with her he would.
They had a lot to talk about. Besides, the way he looked at her was pretty
telling too.
“Do
you really want to explain what they’ll say to the boys?” she asked finally.
He
let out his breath slowly. “No. You’re right. You’re fucking right. Tom?”
“Jane’s
sent a car ‘round back. There’s a security officer outside the door waiting to
take you to it.” Tom looked at him apologetically and the two men had a moment
of complete understanding that Ava didn’t even try to
get. She gently disengaged Jake from her neck and set him on the floor.
you guys real soon. We’re goin’ to see Charlie and
the Chocolate Factory at the dollar theatre, okay?”
Billie
held Tom’s gaze for a few moments longer. “I’ll be by tomorrow…”
“She’ll
be released early morning. They’re holding her for observation.”
“Good.
Tom-“
“
want to speak with you.”
“Just
go, please, Billie.”
And
then, because his eyes were what she loved about him the most and because they
were so very expressive and because he knew she could read them so well. We’ve
got a lot to talk about. So there.