Chapter Three-Hundred-Seventy-Six
When Brooke, Riley, the boys, and the rest of the caregivers had the children all under control they sent them off to their rooms (with caregivers or without, it depends on their age) to be cleaned up. Brooke turned into the mean headmistress once more when they were all gone and gave Meagan and Mackenzie a bitch session – Meagan her second one in just an hour. When she was through with them she sent them off to their rooms to get cleaned up and instructed them to come straight back so they can clean up the mess that they caused. (Or rather Ellie caused). When they were gone and out of her sight Brooke groaned and rubbed at her temples as she was the one with the headache now. AJ frowned at the condition that his girlfriend is in at the moment, and not liking it at all, he slid his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.
“You okay?” he wanted to know while planting a kiss on her forehead.
“I just don’t like being the mean headmistress is all…what is this kids gone wild?”
“It happens sometimes, that’s what kids do…especially when you have a whole Orphanage full of children and each of them have their own unique personality. Its bound to get a little chaotic sometimes.” AJ insisted while rubbing his hand over her back gently.
“That doesn’t mean I have to like it” Brooke pouted. “I don’t usually have to be the bad guy so when I do I don’t really handle it very well.”
“I know,” AJ told her sympathetically and he tilted her chin up and brushed his lips lightly over hers. “Why don’t you let me handle the clean up and you go lie down?” he asked and then after making sure Jaime wasn’t around he continued. “I’ll meet you in there soon?”
“As tempting as that sounds…I think I better not disappear anytime soon babe. Things are crazy around here enough as it is.”
“So why don’t you let me handle it?” Riley spoke up. “That’s what assistant mistress is for, remember?”
“Cause…your pregnant and don’t need all of that stress.” Riley rolled her eyes.
“It is because I’m pregnant that you should let me take over” She insisted.
“How do you figure that?” Brooke raised her eyebrow.
“Cause I’m pregnant and bitchy and not afraid to tell anybody how it is these days. Just ask Brian,” Riley insisted while grinning as big as the Cheshire cat.
“Mhm,” Brian answered in playful irritation and he gently wrapped his arms around Riley from behind, pulled her to him, and placed light kisses on the back of her neck as he placed his hands on her very much pregnant belly. “She definitely has me wrapped around her finger that’s for sure.” Brooke opened her mouth to protest when Brian interrupted.
“Come on Brookie, let her do it. You need a break, you do so much…and anyway, I will be right by her side to help if she needs me. I want to talk to her about some things anyway.”
“Okay,” Brooke sighed and just then Marcus poked his head in. “Brooke, I have a couple out here who is looking to adopt. I told them to sit in the chairs and wait while I come get you.”
“Riley is going to take care of it,” Brooke explained. “She will take all of my meetings for the afternoon with any couple that might come in. I’ve been banned to my office for a nap…”
“Alrighty then,” Marcus replied, and then turned and walked out and Kevin followed him. At the sight of Marcus he suddenly remembered that he left Ellie sitting out in the lobby. Not that he forgot her or anything, the chaos in the cafeteria just delayed him in going to her is all. Brooke, Riley, and Brian followed him then after Brooke gave AJ a brief kiss, a sexy smile, and walked off shaking her hips knowing perfectly well that he is staring. AJ groaned and then looked to Nick.
“Okay, so how long do we have to wait for these kids to come back down?”
“Why? Whats the hurry?” Jaime asked while suddenly joining them and AJ nearly jumped out of his skin.
“Where did you come from?” He asked, ignoring Nick and Jerald as they laughed.
“I was over there talking to the other caregivers,” Jaime answered while casually pointing over at a group of caregivers and Jennifer happened to be one of them. “Where did Brooke go?”
“I sent her to her office to lie down, she was stressing out over having to be the bad guy. I told her we would take care of clean up.”
“I see,” Jaime replied while eyeing AJ suspiciously. “Whats the matter with you?”
“Nothing, nothing, I’m great” AJ insisted innocently. “The more important question is, why are we all standing around here discussing me when we have a cafeteria to clean up?” he added and then rushed off to grab a rag leaving Jaime staring after him.
“So Jaim, why don’t you go upstairs and see what’s keeping Meagan and Mackenzie?” Ashley asked jumping to her brother’s aid after watching him squirm for a little bit – just long enough to teach him a lesson.
“Right…” Jaime replied while still eyeing AJ suspiciously, and then he turned and walked out of the cafeteria. Ashley smirked and walked over to her brother as he was wiping down tables. She slid her arms around him from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder causing him to stop and look at her curiously.
“How does it feel?”
“How does what feel?”
“Being scared of your girlfriend’s brother?”
“I’m not just scared of Jaime Ashley…that is a huge understatement,” AJ insisted. “I have nightmares at night of the man coming after me with a baseball bat.”
“And I bet it’s pretty awful having those nightmares, huh?” Ashley asked while gently taking the wet rag from his hand, setting it down on the table, and turning him around to face her.
“The worst.”
“Then what do you say you ease up a little bit on my boyfriend Alex, huh?” When AJ didn’t reply she went on. “Because think about how much Jaime terrifies you and then imagine how Nick must feel everytime you threaten him. Just think about it…the next time he catches you off guard like that.” When she saw that he got her point and could just see him thinking about it in his head, she leaned up and planted a kiss on his cheek and then walked off.
“Have you thought about what you were going to do if Brooke should end up pregnant?” Jerald questioned while wiping down the table next to the one that AJ was currently wiping down. “This whole act that you and Brooke are putting on for Jaime right now is not going to work forever you know.”
“She’s on the pill, she can’t get pregnant.”
“Things happen man,” Jerald shrugged. “The point is, you can’t keep this act up forever and why would you want to? Shouldn’t you work on getting Jaime to accept that Brooke has moved on from her past and he should to? What if someday you two decide that you want her to get pregnant? Wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to be terrified of him anymore?” AJ shrugged his shoulders in response and then moved onto the next table. Just as he was beginning to wipe that down though he noticed Meagan and Mackenzie come in and headed on over to deal with them.
~*~*~*~*~
When Kevin, Brooke, Riley, and Brian got into the lobby they all discovered Elenore gone and the couple sitting in the chairs waiting. Kevin paused and stood frozen in his spot as he stared at the chair his daughter used to be sitting in and Brooke gently wrapped her arm around him and gave him a look that clearly said ‘not now, please’. Much to her relief, he obeyed and stood there staring at the chair, just waiting – but barely.
“Brooke?” the woman sitting in one of the chairs asked while looking back and forth between her and Riley.
“Hi…yeah that’s me,” Brooke began with a friendly smile as she kept an arm around Kevin. “But I’m going into my office to make some very important phone calls so my assistant mistress Riley is going to be handling all of my meetings with couples looking to be parents for the afternoon. She’ll take you to her office?” She explained and looked to Riley questioningly about the last part.
“Absolutely, if you two will just follow me” Riley answered quickly knowing Kevin was about to explode any minute. The couple stood then and followed Riley to her office while Brian stayed behind incase Brooke and security needed help with cleaning Kevin up from the ceiling. And the floor, and the walls…cause this is going to be one messy explosion. Kevin stood there heaving heavy breaths; his hands balled up into fists at his side as he waited for the couple to round the corner and Brian silently admired him for his patience. As soon as Kevin heard Riley’s door shut behind them, he whirled around and looked at security who were all three crouching down inside their booth.
“WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?!” He roared, finally letting it all out. “Somebody had BETTER show themselves and start talking RIGHT now because if it isn’t already obvious I am PISSED off!” When no one revealed themselves, Kevin narrowed his eyes.
“Q! NOW!” Q slowly stood up then and looked at Kevin innocently. “I specifically looked at you when I told her that security would be watching her, did I not?”
“Well…yeah…”
“Then why don’t you explain to me why she is NOT here right now?”
“It’s all Marcus’s fault” Q insisted while pointing down at his fellow security guard accusingly. “He’s the one who had to go use the restroom and told me to help Laney out when that couple came. He’s the one who said you were being too hard on her in the first place and that there has to be someone around to give her a break. I’m sorry Kev, but I had no choice.”
“No choice? It is your duty to protect these kids, is it not?” Kevin growled.
“Kevin,” Brian warned, and Brooke placed her hand on Kevin’s shoulder. Q narrowed his eyes.
“Yes but it is also my duty to protect Ashley and correct me if I am wrong here but that is exactly what I was doing,” he snapped angrily. He is getting highly annoyed with Kevin’s increasing attitude. “I cant keep track of your daughter while she is in time out and at the same time make sure that no threat to her or Ashley walks into this building under our noses! Now if she were in any immediate danger, which she is not, then that is a different story but she is just somewhere in this building hiding from you. Not that I can blame her or anything.”
“Then what good are you if you can’t keep an eye on a little girl in time out?” Kevin snapped.
“Kevin that is enough!” Brian demanded.
“NO. I want to know!”
“I am not superman, you know!” Q insisted. “I can’t fucking do everything at once and you of all people know that it takes more then one pair of eyes to watch her. If you wanted to make sure she didn’t run off then perhaps you should pay a little more attention to her instead of dumping her off on someone else.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“You know exactly what it means!”
“Q,” Marcus warned but his fellow security went on anyway.
“If you want to know what’s up why don’t you really take a good look at your daughter?”
“Q that’s enough.”
“If you care enough to, that is. You don’t even know HALF the shit that is going on with her so don’t you dare yell at me for not watching her when I have her more then YOU do.”
“Well that’s about to change, because you’re fired!”
“Kevin!” Brian snapped.
“No I’m not because I quit!”
“No! Q we need you!” Marcus insisted eagerly.
“Well obviously not,” Q informed moodily and he turned around and stormed out of the building. Throwing all restraint out the window, Brian turned around and shoved his cousin hard up against the wall.
“Brian don’t!” Brooke ordered but he ignored her.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” Brian shouted incredulously. “You must be because I don’t understand how you can do this!”
“We don’t need him.”
“Like hell we do! Do I need to remind you of the danger that is lurking about out there god only knows where? Did Summer completely take over your brain?”
“Leave Summer out of this!”
“No I won’t leave Summer out of this, because she has everything to fucking do with this Kevin!”
“That is NOT fair! Summer is NOT even here, you have NO right—“
“—She is TOO here Kevin, don’t you see? She doesn’t even have to be PRESENT anymore to be here! She’s completely corrupted the man we USED to know and LOVE!”
“She hasn’t corrupted anybody Goddamnit! And if you people DON’T stop saying that she did I’m—“
“You’re what Kev? What are you going to do? Tell me because I would really like to know.”
“Oh trust me you don’t.” Brian raised his eyebrow.
“You know what? I can’t deal with this anymore. If you don’t bring my cousin back to me right now I am going to take Jerald’s lead and completely disown you! Is that what you want?” Kevin looked away from Brian then, tears pooling his eyes.
“What did I hit a nerve? Its about fucking time that someone does! How far are you going to go Kevin? What are you going to do when your entire family is no longer standing by your side?” Kevin started to walk away when Brian pushed him right back into the wall. “Answer my question. Is Summer really that important to you? Are you willing to risk your entire family for her? Because you are VERY close to doing so.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is. We have four other security guards its not like we’re completely vulnerable.”
“We aren’t, but what about Ashley?” Brian snapped. “You’ve taken away one fifth of her protection, are you going to be the one to break the news to her? And Q was more then just our security guard, he is family to us. He has done more for you then Summer ever will. So you know what? I will leave the news breaking to you since it was your doing.” And with that, Brian let go of him and stormed out of the building to go reason with Q and hopefully try and coax him back. He’s not fired if the other four boys still want him. Kevin looked at Brooke and Brooke frowned at him before opening her office door, going inside, and slamming it shut behind her. Kevin turned his attention on Marcus and Laney then, who instantly turned their backs on him and made themselves busy, the both of them clearly very upset right now. Kevin rolled his eyes and stormed outside to sit out on the playground where the pressure wasn’t so intense at the moment. When they were gone Marcus sighed heavily, rubbed at his eyes as the tears threatened to fall and then looked at Laney.
“Watch the booth. I know there’s only two of us right now, but call Drew or something,” He insisted and then walked off toward the cafeteria. When he reached it he went inside and discovered Nick knelt down in front of Sarah who was currently sitting in the corner of the room where she was placed right after lunch and Nick was trying to coax information out of her to no avail.
“Stop interrogating the kid Nick, I know where they are at.” Everybody paused and looked at Marcus curiously then.
“Marcus? Whats the matter?” Ashley was the first to ask upon looking at her favorite security guard and noticing his red puffy eyes.
“Nothing sweetheart, its just allergies” Marcus insisted while forcing a smile for her and he looked at Nick again as Ashley frowned.
“Ellie has escaped,” he began explaining. “We caught it all on tape…and by the way, those two are not the one’s who caused the food fight.”
“Let me guess, Ellie?” AJ asked unsurprised.
“Mhm.”
“So where are they then?” Nick asked after sighing heavily.
“In the air vents of course. We should’ve known all along really…it’s quite obvious.”
“How did you figure this out?”
“Well, because one…we caught Josh opening up the air vents right above the chair where Ellie was sitting in time out at earlier on camera,” Marcus explained softly. “And two, she snuck through this cafeteria to get to the kitchen. Once she was in there we saw her go into the pantry on the kitchen camera. What other business would she have in there unless to use the air vent?”
“Good point.”
“She also managed to sneak a plate of chicken sandwiches and enough sandwich toppings for two before she did. Josh and Kota must’ve requested lunch.”
“How is Kevin taking this?” AJ questioned. “Ellie sneaking off I mean.”
“Not now,” Marcus sighed causing the worry lines on Ashley’s forehead to increase even more.
“So what do we do now?” Nick changed the subject while walking up behind Ashley and enveloping her in his arms. “How do we get to them? We are too big to get inside them.”
“Yeah, but Ashley isn’t” Marcus answered while concentrating his eyes on a crack in the floor so she won’t see how upset he is.
“She’s thin and short, she should fit in the one upstairs very easily.”
“Yeah but they know their way around up there better then I do. With our luck they are probably listening to us right now. They’ll run and hide from me…it could take days before I get them down.”
“Yeah I have to agree with her Marcus I’m sorry. It’s going to take us out-smarting them to get them down and that alone will need time. We need a well thought out plan otherwise it will be one great big game of hide n seek.”
“So what do we do?”
“We get out of this building that’s what we do. Because any conversation that we have could be over heard.”
Author's Chapter Notes:
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