The sound of something ripping apart woke me up the following morning.
I opened my eyes and looked around, confused. It was still so early; even my alarm for 5 a.m. hadn't gone off yet.
'Why is that little devil awake at such an hour?' I wondered, still sleepily.
RI—P!
That was enough to get my attention.
Rip! Rip!
My ears picked up the sounds of something tearing paper and running around.
'Oh crap!'
"LIANNE!" I screamed as I ran into my room.
"Uncle Ally! Good mooooorning!"
Lianne chirped cheerfully, throwing a stack of books towards me.
"Hey, hey, Lianne! What are you doing?!" I yelled as I grabbed them before they hit me.
The moment I took a look at the content, my heart dropped to my stomach.
They were the contracts I signed last night.
I panicked.
'No! No, no, no… What am I going to do?! They're all shredded! How the hell did she find them?'
"What are you doing? Where is the rest of it?" I demanded, looking around frantically.
"Don't worry! I put them somewhere safe," Lianne reassured me, giggling excitedly.
"You put them somewhere safe?" I repeated it in disbelief.
"Yep!" She nodded vigorously. "There!"
Lianne pointed at a drawer.
I opened it and saw two stacks of neatly folded papers inside.
"These are the rest!" Lianne added proudly. "Now Uncle Ally and Lia can sign them together!!!"
I looked at the pile and froze.
'Sign them together?!'
I knew that those papers were important.
"I'm doomed; Miss Johnson is going to kill me." I groaned, shaking my head slowly.
"Is Uncle Ally mad at me?" Lianne asked worriedly, picking up one of the pages and handing it to me.
She looked so adorable with her big brown eyes wide open and her cheeks red from embarrassment.
I sighed.
"Of course not, Lianne," I smiled reassuringly. "I just need to ask a friend if I still have a job to go to."
Lianne gave me another cute giggle before skipping out of my room.
'Mia, when I catch you, Mia!!! You will regret everything you've done to me.'
I tried to calm myself down and walked downstairs.
'A babysitter will be arriving in a few minutes,' I repeated to myself as I headed straight for the living room.
Ding dong!
The doorbell rang.
"It's Miss Jen, the babysitter," I heard through the intercom.
Miss Jen was the name of the woman I'd hired.
Her job was to take care of Lianne while I went to work.
She was a single mother, raising two kids on her own.
We had met at a local support group and became friends soon after.
Miss Jen had been searching for a job since then, but it wasn't easy for a single mom to get one.
At least until she got a call from me.
When I explained my situation to her with a sprinkle of lies, she agreed without hesitation.
And now she was standing outside my door, ready to help me.
I unlocked the door and let her in.
She was dressed in her usual uniform: a pair of jeans and a loose white shirt. Her long blonde hair fell freely over her shoulders.
Miss Jen looked like an angel sent from heaven, but there was nothing heavenly about her.
In fact, she was quite terrifying.
If anyone would give Lianne a run for her money, it was her.
She was the perfect example of what a mother should be: kind, caring, protective, and loving.
But most importantly, she always had her children's best interests in mind.
Even though Miss Jen was only three years younger than I was, she seemed much wiser.
She was exactly what I needed right now.
"Hello!" Lianne ran into the living room, greeting the new face with a smile. "Lia likes pretty ladies."
"Hello, dear." Miss Jen greeted her back with a gentle smile. "My name is Miss Jen, but you can call me Jenny."
She leaned to whisper in my ear, "She's a little angel; what's so scary about her?"
I laughed.
"That's just how she looks, trust me." I assured her.
"Do you want to play with my toys?" Lianne suggested taking Miss Jen's hand and pulling her towards my room.
'My collectibles are going to be treated as princesses!' I thought with regret. 'I should have hid them better.'
"Yes, please." Miss Jen followed obediently behind Lianne, watching my little niece skip happily away.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. She'll be having dinner at 7 p.m. sharp, so please make sure she eats the food I left for her."
"Okay."
I could hear them talking as they entered my room.
"This is where I keep my toys, momm—ah, Jenny!" Lianne said it excitedly, pointing towards the shelves.
They both sat on the floor and started playing with my collectibles.
I took a glance at the time on my phone and saw that it was almost 5 a.m. already. That meant I had less than 10 minutes to get ready for work.
'Damn!'
I rushed to change quickly, grabbed my backpack, and made my way to the front door.
–––––––––––
"You're fired!"
I had expected that reaction from Miss Johnson, but not this fast.
It almost felt a little too easy.
She stormed into her office, threw the ripped papers on her desk, and slammed the door shut behind her.
Fredrick took a few steps back, placed an arm on my shoulder, and pulled me aside.
"What happened, bud?" he asked, concerned.
"Nothing really; things were out of my control, and I can't really tell what it is; it'll make me look even more crazy than I want it to be," I answered sadly. "But I'm okay; don't worry about me."
'I got stacks of cash on my side, waiting to be spent on a vacation to cool off. Hehe!'
He patted my shoulder comfortingly, giving me a reassuring smile.
"Take it as an opportunity to have a fresh start. You'll do fine if you put your mind to it. I know you can do it."
"Thanks, bud," I replied sincerely. "You're the only friend I've ever had since we started out five years ago. I'm just sorry that you'd take on more workload because of this."
"Don't mention it. No pain, no gain, right? I'll check up on you once in a while." He smiled, patting my shoulder again before leaving the room.
Stepping out and into the hall, I couldn't help but feel relieved. The weight had been lifted off my shoulders, and I was finally able to leave this place behind.
I walked down the corridor until I reached the main exit. There, I turned around and pulled out my middle fingers.
"Fuck you all! Hahaha!!"
After I stepped out of the building, I felt somehow lighter. My shoulders no longer weighed as heavily as they did earlier.
The air outside smelled cleaner, making me breathe deeply in relief.
Next stop: home!
–––––––––––
As I approached the gate of my house, I noticed that something was wrong.
Crash!
I jumped in surprise as a loud noise came from the living room, and then there was another crash.
"Shit!" I cursed under my breath as I raced through the gate, rushing towards the source of the disturbance.
When I arrived there, I ducked the moment I saw an incoming plate, barely dodging it and stumbling forward.
"Whoa! What the hell is going on?!" I shouted in frustration.
Miss Jen was standing on top of a table, trying to pull Lianne down to the ground, who seemed to be resisting as she held onto the shelf like her life depended on it.
"Lia want to fly like a superhero!!! Let go of me!!!" Lianne cried in panic, struggling hard against Miss Jen's grip.
"No!" Miss Jen shouted, grabbing hold of Lianne's legs and holding them tightly. "Get down, young lady!"
Lianne shook her head stubbornly, refusing to let go.
Miss Jen looked down at me with pleading eyes.
"Help me, please!"
I didn't think twice. I rushed over to step in front of Lianne's view and opened my arms wide open, asking for her to jump into my embrace.
"I'm a superhero!!" Lianne squealed at the top of her lungs.