Calista

"I cannot believe we are watching Lincoln Pierce's kid," Harper whispered, her green eyes glued to the preschooler perched on my bed.

I had given Sadie my tablet for the night. It took a few minutes to decipher what she wanted to watch. A few head nods—and shakes—and I finally was able to get a show on for her. Now she was sitting on my half-hazardly made bed, earphones in and her teddy bear by her side.

"We don't know for sure if she's his kid," I reminded her from my spot on the floor.

"Have you seen the man?" Ella countered from her bed. "She's his kid."

I turned my head to regard Ella. "How can you be so sure?"

"First of all, he's delicious. I'm sure he gets his fair share of baby-making action," Ella said, eyes still glued to her romance novel. "Second, look at her. The resemblance is uncanny."

"I don't think they look alike at all," Harper implored from Ella's desk. "Her features are so light compared to his."

"You're not looking into it enough," Ella insisted. "Their eyes are the same shape. Even their noses are the same. Although, Lincoln's is a bit crooked."

I peered at Sadie with a calculated stare. Their features were vastly different. Sadie's blue eyes and blonde hair. Her porcelain skin held a rosy glow on her round cheeks. She was the traditional image of what an angel might look like. Lincoln, on the other hand, had the richest brown eyes I've ever seen. The dark brown colour matched his hair and in my mind I could picture his olive complexion and sharp jawline. I hated to admit it, but Lincoln Pierce was devilishly handsome. Both him and Sadie were abnormally beautiful.

I would have suggested asking Sadie about her relation to him, but I knew I would be met with silence. The little girl hadn't uttered a word to me since the day that I met her. Lincoln didn't seem too surprised by her lack of speech and it made me wonder if she spoke at all.

"Can't we just ask her?" Harper read my mind.

"She doesn't—" I started before changing direction. "I haven't heard her speak yet."

The faintest hint of a smile graced Sadie's features as she continued to watch whatever cartoon was on the screen. The tug of her lips had my heart leaping out of my chest.

"Regardless if she's related to Lincoln or not, she's freaking adorable," Ella concluded.

Harper's nose scrunched. Since I'd known her she hadn't been a fan of small children. "I suppose."

"Okay." I threw my hands into the textbook on my lap. "We need to get back to studying. Stop scrutinizing the poor girl and let's get back to work."

"You have to study," Ella said. "I'm going to enjoy my Friday night."

"Affirmative." Harper unpaused the game on her laptop.

"Are you sure you two even take classes here?" I asked.

Ella slipped off of her comforter, sliding her novel on her desk. "I'm heading out for the night. Apparently there's a graffiti party going on in the quad. I'd ask if you wanna come, but... you know," she said as she motioned to Sadie.

"I won't take it personally. Promise," I said, before twisting to the right and flicking Harper's leg. "Did you want to go with Elle? I don't want you to feel forced to stay here and babysit with me."

Harper removed an earbud and glanced down at me. "Do you know me at all?"

"Guess that answers that," I laughed.

Ella chuckled along as she grabbed a light jacket out of our shared closet. "Don't wait up."

→

My eyes burned from how heavy they were. I was battling to stay awake. Ella had returned to the dorm over an hour ago. To her surprise, Sadie was still here and had made herself comfortable in my bed.

I was thankful that Harper had been here tonight. While she watched Sadie I managed to sneak out and make myself another cup of coffee from the communal kitchen. It was the only thing keeping me awake right now.

It was well past twelve o'clock in the morning and concern was growing in the pit of my stomach. What was taking Lincoln so long? Had he forgotten that Sadie was still here, soundly asleep in my dorm room? Had he gone to an afterparty and lost track of time? Did something happen to him?

I had sent him a number of texts—short messages asking if he was on his way.

No response.

I was in the process of finishing up my weekly reading when my phone lit up.

Lincoln: Here.

I was about to text him back and let him know that I was going to be a minute. Sadie had fallen asleep on my bed soon after Ella had left for the quad party. Her blonde hair was splade across my pillow, the braid she had been wearing earlier had come undone. But before I could answer him a knock sounded at my door.

My fingers paused over my phone screen.

The wheels of my chair squeaked as I got up from my desk. That couldn't have been him, could it? Visiting hours were cut off at midnight. It wasn't like the front desk to let anyone in the building after that. Cautiously, I twisted the doorknob slowly, hoping the creaky hinges didn't wake everyone inside. Lincoln was standing in the hall. His normally tousled hair was damp and hanging limp on his head.

"How did you manage to get into the building?" I asked, opening the door a bit wider.

Lincoln's hands were deep in his pockets, chin low as he tried to avoid eye contact. "Some freshmen let me in."

The light in the hall flickered. The dimly lit hall was enough for me to take in the dark shadows across his cheek bone.

"Your face," I whispered, not wanting to wake up anyone in my dorm room. "Are you okay?"

Lincoln's lip was swollen. A cut ran through the left side of his bottom lip. Dried blood caked to the fresh opening. The side of his face was one large bruise, stretching from his cheek bone and down to his jaw. Part of me wanted to reach out and gingerly touch it—offer him some ice or a shot of alcohol that Ella stored under her bed—but something told me he wouldn't take too kindly to being coddled.

Lincoln simply gave me a curt nod. "Is she asleep?" He made a move to enter the room and I opened the door wider to accommodate his large frame.

"Yeah," I said, trying to banish the concern from my mind. He was a boxer for god's sake. Of course he's bound to get banged up from time to time. "She fell asleep a while ago. How are you guys going to get home?"

"Drew's going to give us a ride. I was waiting for him to get off his shift." Lincoln was by my bed now, inspecting Sadie as she slept.

I gave him a nod. "Okay, good. Bringing her home on the bus probably wouldn't have been the easiest thing to do."

"I would have managed."

Silence draped the room again and Lincoln collected Sadie's things. I handed him her coat that hung by my closet.

Lincoln took it from me, carefully manoeuvring it around Sadie so as not to wake her. The action was so fluid and it made me wonder if he had done this before. He scooped her up in his arms. Her tiny body looked daintier curled up against him.

Sadie's head naturally settled in the crook of Lincoln's neck.

"Thank you." The sound was so quiet, I thought I had imagined it.

"You're welcome," I said.

Lincoln didn't move from the spot by my bed. Instead, he stood in front of my desk, taking in the polaroids I had pinned to the bulletin board above my bed. I picked at my thumb nail, the familiar feeling of self-consciousness pulsating through my body. Snapshots of the last ten years of my life were there on display.

"Drew has picked up more shifts at work and can't watch Sadie as often. Do you..." Lincoln trailed off, avoiding eye contact as he licked his bottom lip. "Do you think you could watch her from time to time?"

The request had me wavering. Was Lincoln Pierce asking me to babysit Sadie... on a regular basis?

When I didn't respond he pressed on. "I don't think you realize how much you've helped me out tonight. But if you can't, it's no big deal."

The vulnerability in his voice had me biting back a smile. Was this a sign that he was finally warming up to me? He must think I'm a half-decent person if he trusts me with the precious angel in his arms. That or he really has no one else to turn to.

"It's no big deal. She's not exactly the most difficult child to keep an eye on," I said, wrapping my arms around myself. "I don't mind watching her from time to time."

Lincoln nodded, silence engulfing the room.

"We should probably get going. Andrew is waiting outside in the parking lot."

"Okay," I whispered.

I stepped back and out of the way, making room for Lincoln's large frame to get back to the door. You forget how cramp campus dorm rooms are until you have five people in them. The carpeted floor creaked under Lincoln's boots. He paused by the ajar door, gaze focused on the dimly lit hallway.

"Goodnight, California."

I didn't even bother correcting him as he stepped out into the corridor and turned towards the stairwell.

* * * * *

author's note:

Is that a sentimental moment I'm seeing? Finally some progress! But as they say, one step forward, two steps back (;

What has been your favourite chapter/scene so far? It's always good to know what's working for further rewrites. Also, I'd love to hear any predictions or things that you're hoping will happen! Can't say I will be giving you any hints, but I might just let one or two slip lol

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!