“Here you go. Don’t worry, cleaning in here isn’t required. You will need to keep the kitchen and the living room at least clear of toys. Nothing too bad. I typically have one of the girls from the club come over about once a month and give the house the once over. I would ask that you have Jazzy clean her room every week. I’m trying to teach her to keep things at least a little cleaner. Plus it’s how she earns her allowance. She gets five dollars a week to take out the trash, clean her room and keep her toys put away. Don’t let her hoodwink you into doing it for her like she does her uncles. She is perfectly able to do it herself,” Peanut said as he handed her two t-shirts and a pair of jogging shorts that looked way too big. Although maybe not with the weight she’d gained. Taking them from him cautiously, she nodded.
“Now let’s show you the munchkin’s room and see what she’s up to. If I know her, she’s playing with her Xbox. I don’t let her play mature games either so make sure she doesn’t buy them if you take her somewhere to spend her money. She’s really convincing sometimes, and it gets her into trouble. I caught her playing Call of Duty with her Uncle Phoenix one day and she is definitely not allowed to play that.” Peanut smiled as he spoke.
Phoebe found herself a little bewildered at his obvious care for Jasmine, or Jazzy as he called her. It confused her that he cared enough to tell her the things she shouldn’t be doing but was inviting a complete stranger into his home to care for her. Was the man crazy? Not that she would ever hurt Jasmine but still, it was kind of blowing her mind that he wasn’t asking her a million and one questions before leaving her with his child. He obviously cared about Jasmine but his judgement where she was concerned was in question.
Peanut led Phoebe down the hall knocking lightly on the door before opening it. Jasmine was sitting in a pink rocking chair with a controller in her hands. She was wearing a headset and talking to someone. Phoebe looked around the room noting that it was decked out in an odd assortment of colors, mostly black and white with some hot pink and green thrown in. Her bedspread was black with a white devil with red eyes. Phoebe realized that it matched the vest that Peanut was wearing. It must be the club’s logo. She suddenly realized with a bit of surprise that Jasmine was some kind of biker club princess.
She looked again at Peanut who was kneeling beside Jasmine talking into the headset to whoever she was playing the game with. Jasmine was laughing as she ran her flower character towards a zombie. She couldn’t help questioning her decision to take this job. Yes, they looked like a normal family but she knew all too well about the darkness that could lurk behind closed doors. Phoebe wondered as she watched them if she could trust Peanut. Every instinct she had screamed at her that she was safe here, that Peanut would protect her. But those very same instincts had let her trust Johnny. She wasn’t sure she could trust herself to know the difference between a good and a bad person anymore. Was she fooling herself that Jasmine was a happy little girl with a father who loved her?
Everything she’d observed so far was telling her Peanut was different. He hadn’t pressured her like Johnny would have when she was deciding to come with them earlier. He hadn’t lost patience when she was skittish and so far, he hadn’t been harsh or demanding with her or his daughter. For now, she supposed she’d have to take a chance on Peanut. He seemed harmless enough and she could leave if she wanted to. Only then she’d be on the run from two men instead of one. She wrung her hands and shifted from foot to foot as worry ate at her. Peanut had given Jasmine back her headset and she watched as he kissed her forehead before standing up.
“I leave in forty minutes, Jazzy pants. I’m going to show Phoebe to her room and let her settle in before I leave. Phoebe will order you guys something from one of the takeout places. Help her with that and don’t get yourself into trouble by breaking the rules,” he told Jasmine after lifting the headphone away from one ear so she could hear him.
“Yeah, yeah. I know. I promise not to do anything bad, Dad,” Jasmine said, her eyes still trained on her flower as she bopped along shooting zombies with her character.
“Don’t you yeah, yeah me kid. I want you off that game and doing your homework before I leave, capisce?” Peanut tapped her cheek.
She brushed him off with a grin. “Okay, Dad. I will do my homework. I hate math though so can I wait till you get home so you can help me?”
“Nope, I’m not getting suckered into that again. You do your work cause I’m going to be late and you know you’ll already be in bed and Mrs. Jenkins will be calling me to ask why it wasn’t done again. She might be Teeter’s old lady, but she doesn’t show favorites and you know it. Last time we got a pass because I had the flu, but she will nail my balls to the wall if I let you do that again. No conning Phoebe into doing it for you like you did Uncle Phoenix either,” he said, his face serious.
“Alright, I’ll make sure I do my math
