With headphones buried deep into her ears, Kelly Prescott makes sure to look both ways before crossing the street even though she knows that there are no cars coming. It was a lesson she learned the hard way when she was in middle school and almost became roadkill thanks to her classmate's alcoholic father. To this day she can't shake the slight paranoia every time her feet land on pavement, even if it is the middle of the night when few people are out. She jumps up over the curb, taking a left on the sidewalk as she looks down at the GPS application opened on her phone. A thin bar at the top of the display lets her know that she is less than a minute away now and her eyes shift to the upper right corner of the screen, seeing she is right on time. 8:57 p.m.

The sidewalk wraps around to the right, taking her down another street in the small suburban neighborhood. When she spoke to Mr. Edwards earlier, he described the house down to the last detail but, as she glances around at the cookie-cutter homes surrounding her, in her eyes they all look exactly the same. Each one is single story and has a short, white picket fence like the ones she has only seen in movies. All of the yards are trimmed to perfection, along with the hedges bordering their sides, and none of the driveways have a car older than a 2013 model. She cocks an eyebrow, always finding it strange why a person with so much money would prefer to live in a community so strict and that has the neighborhood association monitoring them like Nazis at a concentration camp. She shrugs, figuring it must be a rich thing, and continues to walk down the sidewalk as she focuses her attention back to the music.

"You have arrived at your destination." The feminine, monotone voice interrupts the song.

She looks to the right to see a house no different looking than the others, her eyes immediately drawn to the address engraved on the bronze envelop mailbox near the front door. It's the one. She pulls her headphone jack out from the phone and wraps the cord up before tossing it into the pouch on the satchel she has hanging from her waist, the strap of the bag slung over her left shoulder.

As she walks down the narrow cobblestone sidewalk that cuts through the center of the small yard, she hears a faint humming in the distance and looks over to see a car idling in the driveway. Its headlights are cast on, and she can barely make out the figure of a woman sitting in the passenger's seat through the other side of the fogged glass.

Assuming it is the children's mother, she plants a smile on her face as she stops to wave at her.

Although slightly facing Kelly's direction, Deborah ignores her and continues to forward at the dashboard. She doesn't move a muscle.

"Rude much?" Kelly mumbles underneath her grin as she turns back to the sidewalk and carries on to the house. She walks up the small steps and onto the front porch, reaching over to push the doorbell.

Almost immediately, she can hear footsteps approach the other side of the door as the knob rattles. Shane pulls the door open, a wide smile already spread across his face. "Well, hello! Kelly, is it?"

He holds the door open for her and she nods as she steps inside. She turns around to see his hand already extended and shakes it. "Thank you. Yes, Kelly."

"Shane." His grip is tight. A little too tight. "Nice to meet you."

"You too."

"I'd introduce you to the wife, but she's already in the car." He leans in to whisper, as if Deborah has supersonic hearing. He still has yet to release her hand. "She can be a bit impatient."

Nodding, Kelly isn't sure of how to respond. In her short experience of babysitting, she has encountered numerous couples going through issues. She'd rather not be another reason to pin them against each other. She pulls her hand back and crosses her arms, flashing an obviously unsettled smile. Thankfully he doesn't pick up on her tension.

"Ready to meet the kids? You'll love them." With a gesture of his fingers, he signals her to follow him as he steps into the entrance to the rather large living room. The television is on, some over-the-top reality show with couples arguing flash from its massive screen. Across from the TV, a young eight-year-old sits on the couch with his back facing them. All they can see is his light brown, frizzed hair sticking up from behind the cushion. "This is Lucas."

"Hi Lucas." Kelly smiles, as if he could even see her behind his shoulder.

The boy doesn't bother to move or even respond and, instead, keeps his attention fully focused on the show. She rolls her eyes, already being reminded of her youngest brother who can be a major pain in the ass.

"Don't mind him. He's a TV junkie. Netflix, video games, whatever." Sighing, Shane shakes his head disapprovingly. "The boy can't live without the big screen."

He turns around, Kelly following him as he leads them down a short hallway further into the house. He stops at the first door on the right, slowly twisting the door knob. As he pushes the door open, a glittery pink cutout of the letter 'P' poorly tacked to the door sways along with the motion.

The light from the hall casts into the dim room, revealing vibrant purple walls along with white furniture that glisten in the sparkling nightlight plugged in next to the dresser. Tucked in under her fuzzy pink sheets, a teenage girl is turned to face the wall across from them as she sleeps peacefully. Behind her back are several stuffed animals taking up more space on the mattress than her own body.

"That's Paisley. My oldest." He smiles. "She'll probably be in her room the majority of the time, even if she wakes up. Not too keen on strangers."

Careful not to make too much noise, he pulls the door back shut to Paisley's room. Moments later, the two find themselves back in the front of the house and Shane grabs his jacket from the coat rack near the front door.

"They normally stick to their own thing so they shouldn't be too hard to handle." He smiles as he slips his arms into the sleeves of his jacket. He begins to fasten the large buttons. "They both need to be in bed no later than ten. Lucas is probably gonna try to fight you on it, just don't budge."

"I'm the oldest of three kids. All boys." She smirks. When it comes to handling children, especially nuisances, she considers herself overqualified. "Shouldn't be too hard."

"Great. Piece of cake then!" Shane pauses for a moment, looking around as he thinks if there is anything he has forgotten. His eyes turn back to her. "So, before we head out, do you have any questions?"

Kelly shrugs, truly unable to think of anything. She just wants him to hurry up and leave so she can pull out her phone. "Can't think of any."

"Perfect. Thanks again." He nods, reaching out to lightly clasp onto her shoulder. Although his solemn tone is soft and inviting, she can't help but find it a little creepy. "My wife and I really needed this."

"No problem."

His smile widens as he turns away, snatching his keys from the small table next to the window. As he reaches for the door handle, he turns back one last time. "Have a good night. Call if you need anything!"

"Will do." She waves at him impatiently. "Bye."

The second the front door shuts and she hears the lock twisting from the other side, she takes in a deep sigh. For a moment there, she thought he was about to make a move on her. That wouldn't be the first time a husband has done that during one of her babysitter gigs.

"Well..." As she gazes around the entryway she pulls the strap up from around her neck, slinging her satchel onto the cushion of the nearby bench positioned in front of the window. "This should be easy."