The Imperfections

Bri offers me a wan smile, but I can tell Theo’s tantrum is still on her mind. Reaching over and patting my hand, she tells me she’s gotta run inside real quick then she runs after Theo, even though she didn’t do a damn thing wrong.

I shake my head, wishing for the millionth time she would’ve married someone better than him. It’s a shame that man’s such a drain on her, siphoning the money she works hard for into yet another attempt to keep him happy, not even appreciating all the effort she puts into making his every whim a reality.

She does too much for him, and he does too damn little for her.

I sigh, sinking back in my chair and pulling my phone out of the pocket of my jeans. Yet again, I don’t have Alyssa’s number, but as soon as I think that, I realize Bri left her phone on the table.

I flick a glance back at the house, then grab it. No passcode, same as Alyssa. Goddamn, these women are trusting. I open her contacts and don’t have to scroll far before I get to Alyssa Babysitter.

Even though I tell myself I don’t need to have her number since I’m never gonna talk to her, I find myself copying it into my phone. There’s a picture of Alyssa with the boys as the contact photo, and even though I shouldn’t snoop through my sister’s phone, I open up her photos, thinking maybe I can swipe through real quick and find it. I’d like to send it to myself, but I need to be fast, because I also need to delete the message from Bri to me before she comes back.

I scroll through the camera roll quickly, my eyes peeled for Alyssa and only Alyssa. No one in my family is blonde, so as soon as I see a blur of golden hair, I stop scrolling and click on the picture. It’s not the same one from the contact page, but it is Alyssa with Levi in her lap, his finger in his mouth. Thompson is squeezing her neck in a strangling hug and Alyssa is grinning at the camera. She must have sent it to Bri one day when she was babysitting, because her arm is outstretched as she snaps the selfie.

I send it to myself real quick, then I delete the message from Bri’s phone so she doesn’t know I did. I steal another glance at the back door and go to close the phone, but something else catches my eye.

Screenshots of a woman’s social media profile with “the whore” written on it in sloppy red marker. I scowl and scroll to the next couple photos. One is just a close-up of a license plate on a blue car. One is a company photo cropped to emphasize Theo and some washed-out brunette with a big nose and mousy features. She’s standing next to him in the picture, and it’s the same woman whose profile Bri took a screenshot of.

The alarming thing is, it damn sure isn’t Alyssa, and what reason could Bri possibly have for slandering a woman Theo works with unless there’s something going on between them?

“Scout, no! Bad doggie! Uncle Brannnnnt!”

My gaze jerks to my nephew’s shriek. I see Scout running off with his ball, so I know it’s not incredibly urgent. Since I doubt I’ll get a chance like this again, I send myself the three photos that seem to allude to something going on with Theo and that woman he works with. Once the messages arrive on my phone, I delete them from Bri’s message chain like I did the picture of Alyssa.

Once I have what I need, I close out the apps on my sister’s phone and put it back where it was on the table.

“I’m coming,” I tell Thompson to stop his complaining. I slide my own phone back into my pocket and push back from the table, then I chase after Scout to retrieve my nephew’s stolen ball.

13

Alyssa

Much like it did before I met Brant, life goes on.

Now that I have a baby to support on my own, I have to amend my plans a little bit. I was planning to go to community college full-time for two years, so I figured I’d live at home to save a little money. Now, I think Brant might have a point about me and the baby needing a little more space.

I still have some occasional babysitting gigs, but since I worked for Bri and Theo the most, not working for them anymore has drastically cut into my income situation. It’s clear babysitting won’t be enough, and honestly, after everything with Theo, I’m ready for a different kind of job.

I manage to get a pretty good one working reception at a yoga studio in town. I mentioned my pregnancy to the owner during the interview since I didn’t feel right getting the job and then springing it on her. She was really cool about it, even telling me since their prenatal yoga class on Saturdays ends before my Saturday shift starts, I can attend for free.