(A/N Ethan could stab me and I would beg him to do it again oml)

I open the bar.

It's just ten more minutes until Scarlett comes by, so I guess I'm perfectly on time. Last week was great. She came every day, and she was always smiling. I swear, her smile is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I'd kill for that smile.

Every night she was texting, and I found myself smiling at my phone. She started to text at the lunch too, and it was the perfect way to make work bearable. 

Elijah has been more open now. Every time we come home, he talks a little with us. Before Scarlett, he would just run off to his room, but now he talks about her with us. 

I see their car pull up and open the door. "Get in, fuckers," I grin. Aaron slaps my upper arm, and I roll my eyes. It's Friday today, which means Scarlett gets to stay an hour longer.

I read her text again.

Princess: I'll be a lil bit later. Got to get Ash x

I'm dying to see who Ash is. If it's her now boyfriend, I'm killing him on my own. 

The ten minutes pass by so fucking slow, it's unbelievable. I thought today moved slow, but hell was I wrong. And she's not even on time.

It takes her another fifteen minutes to pull up the parking lot. I move to the door and see the others watching her from the window.

She gets out, and I don't see another boy. Then who the fuck is Ash? 

Oh.

She opens the door of the back seat and a little boy jumps out. I sigh relieved. It's her brother. She takes him on her hip and walks towards me.

I smile as she waves at me. The little guy waves to and jumps off her hip, then runs inside. I expect him to hug me, but he runs past me and jumps on Owen's leg. Okay?

I look back at Scarlett, who just passed me. She smiles as she sees Owen and Ash playing, but I notice she's staggering on her feet.

She looks tired, and absolutely not good. I noticed it the past few days, but now is the worst I've seen her. She turns to walk to the table. 

But just then her eyes close and she falls down. I quickly catch her and pick her up, tuck her to my chest.

She fainted?

The others run to me, but I brush them off. "She looks tired. I'll get her awake, then ask her what she wants. Go play with that poor boy," I wave them off.

They sigh, but walk away. Elijah sits down, but stares at her. I glare at him. He doesn't always need to be such a stalker.

I walk to the bar and set her on the counter, still supporting her weight. I slightly tap her cheek. "Scarlett? Scarlett, can you hear me? Open those big brown eyes for me, sweetheart," I whisper.

Her eyes flutter, and I tap again. C'mon, please. She frowns and opens her eyes. Her fingers clutch the collar of my shirt, but all I care about is her big, brown eyes, which are staring at me. She's frowning, probably not too happy I waked her.

"You fainted, Scarlett. Ho are you feeling?" I ask her in a soft voice. She blinks a few times, but doesn't seem too comfortable. "I want hugs," she pleads.

I pick her up again and set her on my hip, like she does with Asher. She smiles and wraps her arms around my neck, happy like a little child. "When was the last time you drank, gorgeous?"

She shrugs. "Lunch?" I hum and pour her some water. "Here. Drink all of this," I order. She sighs, but obeys. "When was the last time you ate?" I ask.

Her eyes go down. "Three days ago." I gasp. Three days? "And why's that?" I keep my voice soft, I don't want to scare her off. But in real life, I'm mad. Very mad.

"M-my Dad doesn't care about feeding us, I'm out of money for school lunch and Mom left," she whispers. I can see she's ashamed, so I don't go any further on it. Later.

"And why did you last sleep for a good time?" I ask her, wiping her hair from her cheeks. "Also three days ago. I'm just too scared to sleep," she admits. I hum again, nodding. "Okay. Let's make a deal, shall we?"

She nods, closing her eyes and resting her head on my shoulder. Oh fuck yes. "So, you drink another glass of water now. Then, I let you sleep for a few hours. And when you wake up, I'll cook you something. Yes?"

Her mouth opens and closes again. I can tell she wants to give in, to admit she's exhausted. But something holds her back...

"Look. Asher is playing with Owen and Aaron. He's fine. Now, drink this and go to sleep."

She nods and drinks her new glass of water like a good girl. Then, she lays her head comfortable in my neck and closes her eyes. She's fast asleep, and I love the soft snoring noises she makes. They're too silent to really count as snoring, but it's cute as hell.

I keep her on my hips and in my arms. She clutches to me, and it makes me smile. I take people's orders and serve them their drinks with her on me. They look weird at it, but when they see my glances, they quickly look at something else. Everyone know not to mess with us.

The others are playing with Ash. He's really cute, and I think he appreciates us. Elijah isn't really liking him, but he doesn't complain either. I do notice he's more silent today, since Scarlett is sleeping. 

Should I give her to him?

But I like her in my arms. I decide she can go to him when she wakes up and I'm cooking her dinner. So I just go one serving the costumers and glaring at every guy who looks a little too long at her.

She's ours, assholes.

When it's almost six thirty, she groans and shifts a bit. Is she waking up? I watch her beautiful eyes open and she smiles at me. She looks better.

She looks around, but snuggles into my chest, which makes me the happiest guy in this moment. "Good morning," I tease and she giggles. "What do you want to eat?" I ask.

She shrugs. I walk to the bar and set her on the counter. Fuck Elijah, he can come sit here if he wants to be with her that bad. Sure, I don't want him to be upset, but Scarlett is comfortable with me now.

I cringe, remembering it was Aaron's day today. Well, he's doesn't seem mad, so I guess...

"Can you make lasagna?" she asks. My eyes snap to her. "Sure I can. But will you be able to wait that long? It'll take like two hours to make that," I tell her. She frowns. "Macaroni?"

I nod and get to work. She stays on the counter, wiggling with her feet. "So how's school?" I ask. She sighs. "Horrible. My best friend is always with his boyfriend, so I'm lonely. But I guess I can talk to you then, so it's a good thing actually. P.E. is a true nightmare, though. But it's all over in two months, so."

Humming, I nod and put the macaroni in the micro wave. I turn around and lean on the counter, supporting my chin with my hand. She locks eyes with me and giggles. 

And what a lovely sound it is.

*******

If Ethan isn't your fav now, idk who is

x- N