CHAPTER ONE

Alex huffed as she threw the sofa cushions about the room. "Where are my goddamn keys?" She yelled at Elizabeth "I'm going to be late for work!" Elizabeth just sat on the floor looking around Alex whenever she stood in front of the TV. The brunette slammed her hands onto the table in exasperation, making Elizabeth jump.

"Don't you ever do that again Alex" shouted Diane. Alex jumped at the sound of her mother shouting as she rarely did so. " Here are your keys Alex, and what ever you do, do not terrify, yell at, belittle or harass the new babysitter, for God's sake do not even look at the poor girl" Diane continued calming her tone as it was evident it had shocked Alex. "oh, and do not invite Nicky around whilst the baby sitter is here. We really need this one." Alex nodded and threw her head back in exasperation "Fine. Sorry Elizabeth, bye mom" and with that she left.

Piper looked down at her text message for the apartment address as Alex rushed past.

"Move! I'm late" the brunette yelled at the blonde who jumped out of the way just in time.

"Rude" Piper thought to herself as she reached the apartment door '21A'. She looked down at her text and back up at the door. She had arrived.

What felt like seconds to Diane after Alex left the new babysitter arrived.

"Hi im Piper, the babysitter, we spoke on the phone. Nice to meet you Diane" Diane just nodded as she shook Piper's hand.

"This is my little baby, Elizabeth, please look after her carefully, she's my favourite, although don't tell Alex." She joked. "Alex?" Piper questioned. "oh, Alex is my big baby, Alex is out and hopefully wont be back anytime soon, I'm off out to work, there's a little bit of food in the fridge so help yourself. Her bedtime is at 7 and i'll pay you when I get back from work." Diane was rushing, mentally cursing herself for not being out of the house on time. "Be good for Piper" she slurred at Elizabeth as she stepped around the blonde and out of the door.

Piper knelt down next to where Elizabeth was sitting. "Hey, I'm Piper, your new babysitter, I'm new to this house, why don't you give me a little tour and then we can make some dinner" Elizabeth looked away from the TV and towards Piper. "Okay, lets do that but this is an apartment, not a house, and we aren't allowed in Alex's room, she is mean about it."

Piper nodded and stood up, brushing off her knees. "You lead the way Elizabeth" she gestured away from the TV and towards the kitchen. Elizabeth put her hand on Piper's and used it to pull herself up, that was when Piper realised how tall the oung girl was. "Wow, aren't you tall for a 6 year old?" Elizabeth just sighed, "I get that a lot, mummy says I will be tall like Alex one day. Big tall." Piper laughed as Elizabeth started to walk away. "I'm sure you will."

Piper followed obediently as Elizabeth pushed the door to every room. "Here's the bathroom, mum's bedroom, that is Alex's room" she pointed towards a door that looked exactly like the rest of the doors. Piper made a mental note to remember which room was which. "And this is the shoe cupboard and then this is the best room of all, my room!" Elizabeth shouted running in, jumping over the array of scattered toys and diving onto the bed. "Wow, your bedroom is messy isn't it?" Piper laughed as she stepped carefully into the minefield of plastic. "Nice bedding though" Piper pointed out as she sat down on the Star Wars clad bed. "My brother Cal would love these."

Elizabeth hung her head slightly as she twiddled the sheets in between her fingers. "They used to be Alex's, mum says I cant have new sheets 'til I'm bigger because she doesn't have the money." Piper was beginning to get a better picture of their family already. "Why can't you go into Alex's room?" Piper questioned wanting to change the subject.

"Because Alex gets angry when I go in, and is mean to me, mummy says I'm better off playing in my own room and mummy says Alex's room smells funny."

"Typical teenage boy" Piper thought to herself. She was intrigued by the whole family.

"Shall we go and see what to have for dinner?" Piper stood and held her hand out for Elizabeth to take. As they were making their way out of Elizabeth's surprisingly big room, being careful not to step on any Lego pieces or Polly Pocket figurines, Elizabeth spoke "You're pretty, I bet Alex would like you, Alex likes pretty girls."

Piper smiled, "Oh, he would?" Elizabeth jumped up onto one of the barstools and Piper began rifling through the cupboards. "She" Elizabeth corrected.

"Pardon?" Piper questioned, not taking her eyes out of the cupboard. "She. You said he, Alex is a she, she's my big sister." Piper was fairly amused and somewhat confused by the way Elizabeth spoke about Alex. This family was getting more and more intriguing by the minute. "So Alex is a girl who likes Star Wars eh? Mac 'n' cheese?" Piper suggested looking at the time it was almost five, she had arrived at half past four. Elizabeth simply nodded pointing at the microwave. "Mom says Alex isn't allowed pretty girls in the house anymore, she is only allowed Nicky in the house, Nicky plays Monopoly with me sometimes" Piper laughed at the young girl, completely dismissing the reality of what she was saying.

"How old is Alex?" The blonde found herself intrigued by the mystery surrounding Alex as her mind fought to build a better mental picture of her. "She's 18, she's old!" Elizabeth giggled. "Hey, I'm 18 too, does that make me old?" Piper found herself liking this little girl more and more, she seemed somewhat sophisticated and understanding for her age, it was clear that she didn't really hang out with kids her own age. "I guess so" Elizabeth smiled and once again pointed towards the microwave as it was a short silence as Piper whisked the Mac 'n' Cheese and returned it to the microwave.

"How come Alex doesn't babysit you then?" Piper mentally cursed herself straight after asking as she knew that this was prying a little bit too far into their lives. "She works to help mummy pay the bills and the apartment and buy food." Piper stood moouth agape as she slid the white ceramic bowl full of cheesy pasta towards the young girl.

"You are only six, you shouldn't know about the money and bills." The older girl thought to herself. She was amazed at the strange family she had walked into. Piper came from a well off famil with a working mother and father who supportd eachother and their children, she wanted for nothing, other than a bond with her parents which it seemed that Elizabeth had. "What about your dad?" Piper blushed as the words slipped out of her mouth before she even had time to think.

"Mum says we don't talk about dad, mum says he's not a very nice person so I don't see him and we don't talk to him." Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders and went back to eating her pasta. "I'm sorry for being nosey!" the blonde gushed as she realised how deeply she found herself prying. The pair sat at the breakfast bar for over a hour talking about Elizabeth's family and her home life and school and her friends. Piper felt sorry for Elizabeth, her mother was constantly at work, her father nowhere to be seen, her sister working to help her mother support the family and their lack of money, something that was very foreign to the blonde.

At quarter past six Piper ushered the small brunette off of the breakfast bar and towards her bedroom after not one but two bowls of ice cream. "Go on" the blonde coaxed, "Go and put your pyjamas on and I will come in ten minutes to help you tidy your room, brush your hair and read you a story." The young girl smiled widely and skipped towards her room "Don't forget to brush your teeth" Piper hollered after her turning towards the dishes in the sink to wash them. "This family needs all the help they can get" She thought to herself as she placed the bowls on the draining board.