don’t have
time
Ez, not now,’ Evie sighed, ‘I’m sorry. Later on, I’ll find you something to do. We should probably go and find some more stuff for downstairs from the market, make it look a bit better. And give it a fresh coat of paint.’ Evie quickly scribbled that down on her list.
‘But if you give me a job to do now, I can work on it.’
‘Ez, I
–
I just
–
’ Evie felt herself panicking, ‘Okay, why don’t you go and make a list of all the things you think we need? Go look around downstairs and analyse the space. What do we need for a good event?’
Esme nodded seriously, her blonde curls quivering as she saluted, ‘Aye aye captain!’ and trudged downstairs, grabbing a notebook and pencil out of her backpack.
As the time passed, Evie didn’t feel herself becoming more calm, or more at ease. The more things she did on her list, the more things seemed to appear. Her contacts didn’t need an art gig, or they were busy, or they couldn’t confirm. It was too short notice, or it was too far in advance. She priced up paint pots, and looked up events notices, and wondered about insurance, and sure enough, by the time lunchtime rolled around, and she’d had her fifth cup of coffee, she was pretty sure she was having a panic attack.
There was a sudden hammering on the door of the flat, and Evie jumped out of her skin, hands jittering a little as she opened it. There stood Killian, Esme standing next to him. Evie frowned at him, and Esme shrugged.
‘Want to tell me why there’s a little girl wandering around downstairs?’
Evie rolled her eyes, ‘That’s
Esme
, you’ve met her before. She’s downstairs because she’s helping me. Leave her be.’
‘You can’t just have her wandering around, by herself! She’s a kid!’ Killian half-shouted, pointing at Esme, who just rolled her eyes.
‘I made a list, Evie,’ she smiled hopefully, brandishing the notebook. ‘Do you want to see it?’
‘In a little while hun,’ Evie sighed, not taking her eyes away from Killian. ‘Why don’t you go to your room for a second whilst I make it clear to this pompous, judgmental…
person
where his priorities lie?’ She smiled widely at Esme, ‘Okay, hun?’
It clearly was
not
okay, but Esme shrugged and trudged down the corridor to her room, defiant but clearly waiting for her chance to complain.
‘Right,’ Evie turned to him, ‘let’s start again. You’ve dragged my goddaughter up here because she was bothering you downstairs. What exactly was she doing that was so damaging? Playing death metal? Throwing a crazy party? Yelling and screaming whilst she smashed everything in the kitchen?’
‘No, she was…’ Killian seemed to struggle to find something, ‘She’s a kid, she shouldn’t be left on her own!’
‘The front door was locked, Killian. We’re the only ones who have keys.’
‘I’m downstairs!’ he yelped, exasperated, ‘You know nothing about me! What if I was dangerous? You can’t just leave some little kid wandering around when there are people you don’t know!’
Any number of comebacks came into Evie’s mind, hovering at the edge so she could throw them back at him, but she felt all the energy leave her body. He was right. She didn’t know anything about him; she was responsible for Evie, what if something had happened?
‘This isn’t whatever backwards town you’re from, okay? This is the city, and it’s full of shitty people who take advantage and do shitty things. So just… sort it out.’ Killian seemed unsure of how to continue, probably because all of the blood had drained from Evie’s face and she was holding onto the doorframe. She nodded weakly at his retreating back, and closed the door behind him.
She couldn’t take risks. She couldn’t let Esme out whilst she was stuck indoors, and she had to find a way for them to survive and make money and make it all work without letting anyone down. And she had to do it all alone.
Esme poked her head out,
time
Ez, not now,’ Evie sighed, ‘I’m sorry. Later on, I’ll find you something to do. We should probably go and find some more stuff for downstairs from the market, make it look a bit better. And give it a fresh coat of paint.’ Evie quickly scribbled that down on her list.
‘But if you give me a job to do now, I can work on it.’
‘Ez, I
–
I just
–
’ Evie felt herself panicking, ‘Okay, why don’t you go and make a list of all the things you think we need? Go look around downstairs and analyse the space. What do we need for a good event?’
Esme nodded seriously, her blonde curls quivering as she saluted, ‘Aye aye captain!’ and trudged downstairs, grabbing a notebook and pencil out of her backpack.
As the time passed, Evie didn’t feel herself becoming more calm, or more at ease. The more things she did on her list, the more things seemed to appear. Her contacts didn’t need an art gig, or they were busy, or they couldn’t confirm. It was too short notice, or it was too far in advance. She priced up paint pots, and looked up events notices, and wondered about insurance, and sure enough, by the time lunchtime rolled around, and she’d had her fifth cup of coffee, she was pretty sure she was having a panic attack.
There was a sudden hammering on the door of the flat, and Evie jumped out of her skin, hands jittering a little as she opened it. There stood Killian, Esme standing next to him. Evie frowned at him, and Esme shrugged.
‘Want to tell me why there’s a little girl wandering around downstairs?’
Evie rolled her eyes, ‘That’s
Esme
, you’ve met her before. She’s downstairs because she’s helping me. Leave her be.’
‘You can’t just have her wandering around, by herself! She’s a kid!’ Killian half-shouted, pointing at Esme, who just rolled her eyes.
‘I made a list, Evie,’ she smiled hopefully, brandishing the notebook. ‘Do you want to see it?’
‘In a little while hun,’ Evie sighed, not taking her eyes away from Killian. ‘Why don’t you go to your room for a second whilst I make it clear to this pompous, judgmental…
person
where his priorities lie?’ She smiled widely at Esme, ‘Okay, hun?’
It clearly was
not
okay, but Esme shrugged and trudged down the corridor to her room, defiant but clearly waiting for her chance to complain.
‘Right,’ Evie turned to him, ‘let’s start again. You’ve dragged my goddaughter up here because she was bothering you downstairs. What exactly was she doing that was so damaging? Playing death metal? Throwing a crazy party? Yelling and screaming whilst she smashed everything in the kitchen?’
‘No, she was…’ Killian seemed to struggle to find something, ‘She’s a kid, she shouldn’t be left on her own!’
‘The front door was locked, Killian. We’re the only ones who have keys.’
‘I’m downstairs!’ he yelped, exasperated, ‘You know nothing about me! What if I was dangerous? You can’t just leave some little kid wandering around when there are people you don’t know!’
Any number of comebacks came into Evie’s mind, hovering at the edge so she could throw them back at him, but she felt all the energy leave her body. He was right. She didn’t know anything about him; she was responsible for Evie, what if something had happened?
‘This isn’t whatever backwards town you’re from, okay? This is the city, and it’s full of shitty people who take advantage and do shitty things. So just… sort it out.’ Killian seemed unsure of how to continue, probably because all of the blood had drained from Evie’s face and she was holding onto the doorframe. She nodded weakly at his retreating back, and closed the door behind him.
She couldn’t take risks. She couldn’t let Esme out whilst she was stuck indoors, and she had to find a way for them to survive and make money and make it all work without letting anyone down. And she had to do it all alone.
Esme poked her head out,
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