FOUR

We arrived at Jackson’s school, and as we walked toward the entrance, I could feel Archie’s gaze fixed on me.

"What?" I asked, not even looking at him.

"Nothing." He shrugged but didn’t stop staring at me. "It’s just that you don’t seem like the type of person who likes kids."

I furrowed my brows.

"And what type of person do I seem like?"

"Someone who would rather be anywhere else."

I rolled my eyes.

"Well, that’s true," I admitted with an ironic smile, "but that doesn’t mean I can’t do my job well."

"If you say so…"

At the entrance, a woman with her hair up and glasses that had slipped down to the tip of her nose greeted us with a quick smile as she hurried to put on her jacket.

"Good morning. Who are you here to pick up?"

"Jackson Walker," I replied.

The teacher nodded and looked toward the playground.

"Jackson, come here, please."

A blonde boy came running over. His shirt was stained with paint, and his shoelaces were untied. He stopped in front of me and looked me up and down, like he was evaluating me.

"Are you the new babysitter? Why are you with Archie?"

"He brought me to pick you up."

Jackson seemed to think about it for a moment, then nodded, satisfied.

"Hm… Alright. Can we go to the park before we go home?" He then turned to Archie and pointed at him accusingly. "You promised to play soccer with me, and you didn’t. You can do it now."

"Sorry, buddy. I was busy."

"Filming the second part of Wolverine?"

Archie smiled with amusement, but before he could respond, the teacher snapped her fingers.

"That’s where I’ve seen you!" she exclaimed, her eyes suddenly shining with excitement. "How did I not recognize you sooner? I’ve seen all your movies. Hey, is it true that…?"

"Shall we go?" I interrupted before this turned into a red carpet interview. "If we want to go to the park, we need to leave now."

I turned to Archie, intending to end the conversation.

"Mrs. Walker wants Jackson to do his homework."

The teacher stepped forward anxiously.

"Wait! Can we take a photo?"

I rolled my eyes, but Archie, with his movie star smile, agreed without hesitation.

Why was he nice to everyone but me? He was nice to my dad, to the doorman, and now to the teacher. He even seemed to get along with the kid.

After the photo, Jackson pulled on my arm impatiently.

"Are we going to the park or what?"

"Yeah, yeah, let’s go."

We got in the car and headed to the park. I left Jackson on the swings and sat on a bench. Within minutes, he had claimed the seesaws, blocking the way for any child who tried to climb on. I watched him without lifting a finger. Should I correct him? No way. I was here to watch him, not to teach him to share. For that, he had his mom.

"So when do you plan on leaving?" I asked, not taking my eyes off the kid.

Archie, standing to the side with his hands in his pockets, let out a short laugh.

"Nice way to thank me for the ride."

"Yeah, yeah, thanks and all that, but seriously, what are you still doing here?"

"Jackson wants us to play ball."

"He seems pretty busy with other kids," I murmured, just as I saw him push another kid who was trying to get close.

That kid was a future school bully.

"There’s a hot dog stand over there. Want one?"

I squinted at him. Was he not getting that I wanted him to leave? But… it was a hot dog. And no one in their right mind turns down a hot dog.

"With ketchup, mustard, and jalapeños."

Archie nodded and walked off. He came back shortly with two hot dogs and a bucket of fries. He sat next to me without asking and handed me one.

"Can I ask you something?"

I took a bite and, with my mouth full, responded,

"Since when do you ask for permission?"

"You don’t even know me."

"You don’t need to. From the little I’ve talked to you, I already know what you're like."

"Oh, really?" He raised an eyebrow. "Enlighten me."

"One of those who does whatever they want without warning. Like when you disconnected my Wi-Fi."

Archie chuckled quietly and took a bite of his hot dog.

"I had my reasons."

"Oh, of course, the music!" I exclaimed, putting my hands on my head as if I’d committed some terrible crime. "What was I thinking? They should arrest me right now. I don’t deserve to live in society after such an offense to your delicate ears!"

Archie looked at me, chewing his hot dog calmly.

"A bit exaggerated, don’t you think?"

"Not at all. I’m sure you need therapy now because of me."

"Definitely," he nodded with mock seriousness. "I’ll send you the bill."

I rolled my eyes and kept eating.

"You’ve got something on your lip," he suddenly said.

I looked up.

"What?"

"Here," he pointed to his own lip.

I ran my tongue over the corner of my mouth.

"Is it gone?"

"No."

I tried again.

"Now?"

"Nope."

I frowned, about to reply, but before I could say anything, Archie stretched out his hand and ran his thumb over my upper lip.

Just like that, without much thought.

The contact was quick, without ceremony. As if it were the most normal thing in the world.

"Ketchup," he simply said, wiping his finger on the napkin.

I froze, feeling the heat rise in my neck up to my cheeks.

Yes, that contact made me nervous.

You don’t do that kind of thing with people you don’t have that level of trust with, but Archie did it so naturally. Without looking at me weird or making a big deal of it.

He kept eating as if nothing happened and, to top it off, he looked at me normally before asking,

"What?"

And then, a sudden, loud cry snapped me back to reality.

I turned and saw a kid on the ground, sobbing with a red face and tears streaming down his eyes. In front of him, Jackson was holding a plastic shovel, the kind used for making sandcastles.

"Jackson!" I dropped what I was holding and ran toward them like a bat out of hell.

When I arrived, I pushed Jackson aside and crouched next to the boy, who was still crying so hard that people started looking. His breathing was ragged, and a red mark was starting to swell on his forehead.

"Jackson, what did you do?" asked Archie, who had just arrived at my side.

"He wouldn’t leave me alone!" Jackson exclaimed, clutching the shovel.

I closed my eyes for a second and exhaled slowly before looking at the boy again.

"Hey, kid. You okay? Where are your parents?" I asked softly, but he just sobbed louder.

The boy’s crying continued when a woman appeared, running from one of the nearby benches. Her brown hair fluttered behind her, and her face was twisted with panic.

"Oh my God, Lucas!" She dropped to her knees and hugged him tightly. "Are you okay, sweetie? What happened?"

The boy sobbed into her chest, mumbling through his sobs.

"He... hit me with... with the shovel..."

The woman lifted her head, and her gaze pierced us like daggers.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" she spat furiously. "What kind of parents let their kid attack another like that?"

I opened my mouth to correct her, but she was already standing, pointing at us with an accusing finger.

"This is negligence! Totally unacceptable! I can’t believe two adults are this irresponsible!"

Jackson, next to me, crossed his arms, completely indifferent. Archie, on the other hand, ran a hand through his neck and sighed before intervening.

"Ma’am, I think there’s a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding? Look at my son!" she shouted, her voice getting higher with every word. "He’s got a huge bump on his forehead, he’s crying, and your son," she pointed at Jackson with an angry gesture,

"attacked him with a shovel. And you’re taking it like it’s no big deal!"

I felt the blood boiling in my veins.

"First of all, Jackson is not my son. Nor his," I said, pointing at Archie. "Second, we’re handling the situation, not ignoring it."

"Standing there like an idiot counts as handling the situation?"

I gritted my teeth.

"I asked him where his parents were."

"Well, here I am!" she yelled. "And I demand an immediate apology from your son for hurting mine!"

"I have no problem with that," I said, turning to Jackson. "Jackson, tell Lucas you’re sorry."

The kid frowned and looked at the other one, still in his mother’s arms.

"I’m not sorry."

I sighed, rubbing my temples. Archie, who had remained silent until now, leaned toward Jackson and whispered something in his ear.

Jackson rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Sorry."

Lucas, still sobbing, turned his face away, and his mother crossed her arms, looking thoroughly displeased.

"This is unacceptable. I’m filing a complaint with the park management. And if I see your son," she shot me a deadly look, "hurting another child again, I won’t hesitate to call the police."

"Let her do whatever she wants," I murmured to myself, rolling my eyes.

Archie cleared his throat and stepped forward with his charming movie star smile.

"I’m very sorry about what happened. Jackson has already apologized, and we’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again."

The woman looked at him distrustfully, but her expression softened a little. Apparently, Archie’s smile worked better on her than anything I could’ve said.

"You’d better," she muttered before turning to Lucas. "Let’s go, sweetheart. I don’t want you near these spoiled kids anymore."

Lucas nodded and walked away, holding his mother’s hand.

When they disappeared from the park, I let out an exasperated sigh.

"Intense moms…"

"Aside from the whole hitting the poor kid thing… It was fun watching you argue with her."

"Yeah, because you just smiled, and everything magically got resolved."

He smiled again, proving my point.

"It works most of the time."

I shook my head and turned toward Jackson, who was now playing with the shovel in the sand as if nothing had happened.

"Let’s go before another mom tries to kill us."