The Angels' Share

[Zander Ellison]

Zander couldn't believe how badly he had messed up, he couldn't believe it at all. The man had thought he was well organised but it appeared as though this one thing had slipped his mind, and he couldn't believe how much it had. He didn't have anyone to call, he had tried any of the friends who might've but it was just too late notice for it to be possible, and he was currently very quickly running out of options over what he could do about it, and so he had turned to his last resort, that neighbour of his, Sanctuari. He was ringing on her doorbell repeatedly, with no time to waste, he had seen the lights on in her house, he knew that she was in, and all he needed her to do was open the door and return the favour that he'd once done for her. It wasn't exactly to do with children and looking after one of them while he went to do some last minute things in work, but living in their house until the window got fixed he felt merited this little startle of an interruption to whatever she had been doing with her evening.

The man was just so relieved when Sanctuari eventually opened the door, "I know it's short notice by I need you to look after Abby while I go to work for a couple of hours," he lightly nudged his daughter towards the woman before barely waiting for a response and then turning to leave, "if you need anything, please just give me a call or go to the house, I'm sorry to dump this on you," he told her before continuing to walk away, he knew that he had barely left her any option but to say yes to it, and to have to hold on to his daughter for several hours until he got back from work, but the man had been desperate, and the desperation had been clear in the expression he'd held, the way he tried to smile but it came out stressed and forced. It was ridiculous he had eight younger siblings two of whom were dead, but the rest couldn't pick up the phone and help him when he needed them to. Zander couldn't give it much more thought as he headed off to work.
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[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari was still stuck on picking out colors or her walls. She'd bought countless number of swatches and yest nothing seemed to be what she wanted. Of course she hadn't gone through all of the colors yet - but she was nearly halfway through the 500 squares. What was she going to do with those colorful squares anyways? After all it seemed a shame to throw away the pretty colors that scattered her house. That would be an issue for another day though - as now she needed to cross the ocean of cardboard to her door, which was beeping at her signalling someone was there. Sanctuari disenchanted the sweeping broom on her way over, and brushed hair back from her eyes. Adjusting her tank-top she finally opened the door with a smile. "Zander, what a pleasant surpr - Oh Abby you too? It's a party!" The smile did not falter as Zander spoke, and instead increased. Though the young Honduran woman would never admit it, she was honored to be trusted with Zander's daughter. She invited the little munchkin in and waved Zander off with a smile. "Now what should we do?"

At first Sanctuari showed Abby magic tricks and such, and used her wand to pick up the colors. Then she and the young girl sat and looked at them, pushing them up against the wall to see what would look best. Abby liked the pinks and purples - but Sanctuari felt that they would be too much. She and Abby finally got tired of holding paint square up, and sat down or a break and drinks. Pouring lemonade Sacntuari sighed. "I wish that there was a way to get them to just, stick to the walls." To which Abby asked her why she wasn't using tape. Feeling rather silly Ri laughed. "That's a good idea. But I have an even better one. Do you have glitter?" The eight year old nodded. "Why don't we do some fun arts and crafts, come on!" Sanctuari and Abby walked over to her house, where Abby, with glee on her face, told her to wait there and that she'd be right back.

Sanctuari promised she'd be there when Abby returned, though she couldn't just stand in the middle of the kitchen. Besides, what if Abby needed help grabbing the glitter? Sanctuari began to make her way down the hall, and as she did she stopped occasionally to admire pictures of family that hung there. It was an odd site - Zander looked fairly happy in the photos. Of course he smiled around Ri, but she always felt it was so empty. It was part of the reason she tried not to bother him; she felt as if he didn't like her that much. Finally making it to Abby's room, the woman smiled at the petite child was on tiptoes trying to reach her craft supplies. "Here." Sanctuari grabbed the glitter for them and they headed back to her house, a small feeling sinking in Ri's stomach about the photos.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Rushing into work, and actually having to do things in work was never easy for the mostly work from home Zander. He went in once or twice a month, but everything else he did from home, his bosses understood most of Zander's situation and were pretty good to him in that way, but he had needed to be in that day, a different day from his normal ones because of the scale of the work happening, it was then a hellish few hours spent in work, trying to work on everything he needed to while not associating with anything else, his mind going back to his daughter at home with the neighbour. He was just so exhausted and having barely slept that night was running on the cups of coffee he'd drunk which in no way actually helped him feel more awake, they just made him be awake. The man was finally able to leave work, he spoke to his manager and arranged the next time for Zander to come in, and this time it wouldn't be during his kid's school holidays or on such short notice, despite the fact Zander fully realised that not everything would go his way, and he was going to have to bend occasionally when it came to work. With it all squared out the man had just gathered his things and left the office heading straight to his neighbour's house. He just prayed that his daughter had been good and that he hadn't lost another possible babysitting friend, he had too few and having one next door would be useful to him.

Zander knocked on the door, running a hand tiredly through his hair and sighing deeply. He had to put his game face on for his daughter, for her he would do anything, and it was because of her that he even smiled. The man rang the doorbell again, feeling impatient to see daughter, he needed her today, he needed the incessant child chatter, the glitter, the toys and the demands, he needed the hugs and the love that she showed him. Zander was world weary, he was so tired all of the time, and unable to sleep for most of it, he just tried to push through. He stepped slightly away from the door as it opened and suddenly his arms were filled with his daughter he lifted her in his arms and put held her close kissing her head and smiling at her, a smile of fondness and just about the only smile he ever had that looked remotely real. He looked up at Sanctuari, "Thank you," he said which came out as tired sigh, "Hey sweetheart, you have a good day?" he asked Abby as she nodded her head against his chest, "I honestly can't thank you enough Sanctuari, you're a life saver," he told her nodding looking grateful towards her.
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[Sanctuari Ellison]

By the time that Zander arrived both girls were fairly covered in glitter. On the walls she was painting were many paint swatches, all of them different shapes. Butterflies, hearts, and stars with glitter lining the edges were all over, and frankly Sanctuari though it looked better than just painting it. The brunette gave the little one beside her a high five as there was a knock on the door. Off rushed Abby, though she didn't throw the door open until Ri was there. "Zander, welcome back from work!" Sanctuari exclaimed to the man, watching him scoop up his daughter. The brunette looked at the two of them. "Hey, there are a lot of crafts to return, lemme help you with them." She grabbed the box, allowing Zander to carry his daughter if he wished. The woman wasn't about to take no for an answer, she needed to ask him something rather important after all.

Once at his door, Sanctuari stopped, and worked up her nerve finally. "Zander..." She started, her tone more serious than what was normal. Her breath was shaking in her throat - she hated asking serious questions. What if Zander thought she was snooping. She honestly wasn't! "I'm really happy you asked me for help but... Why didn't anyone in your pictures come? I mean, you all looked so happy in the photos, but they weren't here when you needed them. Not that I didn't have fun. Abby made my wall look amazing." She looked down. "I just want to know why you are kind of all alone taking care of your daughter. It's hard being widowed, I'd think your family would understand that."

 

[Zander Ellison]

The man was so glad to be back, and have Abby in his arms, he just held her close to him and held on tightly, just kissing the top of her head as he then made sure she had everything so that they could go home and he could just spend some time with his daughter. As the man headed back to his house from hers he didn't even pay attention to the fact that Sanctuari was following him back to his house, he was just so focus on his daughter and on going home that he didn't want to have to even think about if they would've been followed by her. It had been as he had been about to open his door that she spoke, and startled him so much that he dropped his keys, but the entire day had shaken him, it had been a stark reminder of how much he needed to keep on top of things so that he didn't end up needing this again, he didn't have enough friends for such a thing and he didn't want to have to do it so much that he lost her too, the man had so little of his family left and of course that was what Sanctuari was asking about.

The man ignored the question and instead picked up the key and let himself into the house, he put Abby back down on the ground and shooed her to go get washed and ready for dinner and that if she was to need anything to just call. Zander put his keys down and pulled off his jacket, bring Sanctuari into his house without a word to her, he just continued to put down his things, and organise them until he got to the kitchen, the man rolled up his shirt sleeves and turned on the kettle. He then just stopped what he was doing and stared blankly at the kettle, "Please Sanctuari don't," he started his voice breaking ever so slightly, but he took a deep long breath, "I don't have anyone in my family left that I can call upon," he muttered with a small sigh, "There's just me now," he said, he had the weight of the loss and abandonment of his family sitting heavily on his shoulders, the weight was so great it was almost visible, he had all of this loss and he'd never had the chance to deal with any of it, he'd been moving between places, between duties and it had just grown worse and worse and he spent most of his days barely keeping it together.
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[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari couldn't help but smile as pink eyes lingered on Zander and his daughter. She was astounded by what an amazing father the man was to the girl. If Ri was honest with herself, it made her far more interested in the man than she should have been in the first place. Of course she'd thought he was attractive, but that should have been all. It seemed to her that they lived in two different worlds. As they made it to the house she realized he may not have been fully aware of her presence. Her cheeks turned a shade of pink and she giggled ever so slightly. "Sorry, didn't mean to spook you." She responded coming inside with the things that Abby had brought over, which she sat on the table. She then moved to hug herself, not having a jacket on was not smart, but it was only a short distance and didn't quite matter to her.

Being that Sanctuari knew how touchy Zander could be, she hadn't exactly planned on prying, though worry was evident on her face. The man truly hadn't shown much emotion to her in the short time they'd known each other. Sanctuari was accustomed to his stoic act - but hearing that small break made her wonder if it was just that; an act. "Zander..." Sanctuari's voice was quiet, and for a brief moment she thought she should reach out to him. However she stopped herself and instead turned to look at the house, search for Abby. With the sound of running water in the background though she knew she wasn't coming back just yet. "Zander, I know you and i didn't get off on the best foot, and that we don't know each other well, but if you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask me." She reached out finally and put a hand on his shoulder, though she wanted to touch his cheek, to hold him strong as many others have done for her. "I know it is hard to be alone, so as long as I am here you wont ever be, okay!" A soft smile found it's way onto her lips as she watched for confirmation that he understood. Not that he would take it.

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander hadn't had many prying into his life, and he really didn't talk about it, even with Peyton what little she had known about it was really only enough to get a brief picture, he didn't feel like telling Sanctuari much about it either but it sat heavily on his mind so much he almost felt like he had to tell someone, and considering how much had changed since his last break up the man felt a far heavier weight sitting on his shoulders, he just felt so sad all of the time, but he was just grieving he would argue, attempting to keep it all together so that he could give Abby the best chance in life, which was why his voice had broken slightly at his words, he was barely keeping it together and this day was just an indication of how alone he was. He didn't think she would ever understand it, and he was glad for her as a friend, more than she really likely realised, the fact he could actually rely on her was a little bit of a godsend in this trying time for him, although everyday since his parents had died was a trying time for him.

As she spoke, he just shook his head, she was just in front of him, he feel how close she was, and before he could even say anything she started speaking, and he couldn't help but shake his head at her, knowing that he would ask anything of her if he really needed to, but he'd for so long relied on only himself and the few friends he had that introducing someone else was tricky, it was likely a good thing that Abby really liked her, that made this far far easier, "Abby really likes you," he mutter as an almost acceptance of her words. He would take a little more persuading, years of the opposite being true definitely made him more cynical towards it, less trusting although he really desired it. Zander met Sanctuari's gaze having been staring at the floor between them, he was vaguely aware of the noise of the kettle, he understood her words but how did he express to her how truly alone Zander felt, he didn't think he had words to express it, a way to describe it, "I'll try to remember that," he muttered although he was thankful for it, he didn't think she'd ever understand it, "Being alone is hard, I just wish Abby had more than me, I don't want her to feel alone," he agreed quietly, wondering what she knew of it and how much it compared to himself.
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[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari's pink orbs softened more and more each moment she spent with Zander. The emotions in her orbs were not that of pity, but rather that of the caring she held for the rather reclusive father-of-one. She knew that many men were prideful, and hated pity. The fact that Zander was not an open book told her he too may be one of those men. Thus she did not want to exude any of those feelings towards him. Her hand still rested on his shoulder, and in the boldest move she could have possibly made she placed a hand on his scruffed cheek for a moment. It was warm but she withdrew it quickly before replying to what he said.

"I like her too, reminds me of a young me." She smiled wistfully and looked at the ground for a moment. "I know it doesn't mean much, but maybe I could make sure she doesn't feel alone. You know, I'm not the most motherly, and I'm sure I'm not the most fun either but, I'd love to spend time with Abbey, maybe when she goes Robe shopping I can come too, and help her pick the prettiest one. Having a woman's touch might be nice for you - well her." Taking a breath Sanctuari finished her sentence with a sense of finality in her tone. "I'd like to be here for both of you however you need it, okay?"

 

[Zander Ellison]

Zander didn't know what else to say to Sanctuari, he wanted to believe what she was saying, but he couldn't, he couldn't believe how badly he'd messed up that day, how little grasp he had on this strange and cold world, he was trying so hard, trying every day to be the best version of himself and give the best life to his daughter but he was slowly being crushed by the weight of everything on his mind and the fact that he simply had no one to turn to. He didn't know if having someone else in Abby's life would help anything but he was sure that for him, having the company of another adult would definitely push him towards something better, that it would push him towards being able to being better, to improving his life and hers, but he didn't know if Sanctuari was really quite ready for what she was signing up for, he didn't know if she was ready to face what she had to face with him, and the scale of his own loss and the weight of his world, which he could barely hold up. Zander knew that she meant well, but he stared at her and didn't know if he could ever bring her into his awfully dark and lonely world.

At her words he just found the small smile on his face, he knew that himself and Abby didn't need the presence of a mother, they did manage, but he knew that it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen, he wasn't sure how much Abby remembered of Peyton and he knew that having Peyton about had been truly great, it had been lovely and good and losing her had been hard on him, and he had felt bad for his daughter who'd lost the comfort of someone else. He looked at Sanctuari, only glossing through her words and just smiling at the last statement an almost relieved smile, as if just even the smallest weight on his shoulders had been lifted off,he didn't even know what to say to her in response, lots of people offered their help but Sanctuari had helped first and now she was offering and that meant so much more to him than anything that she could've said, he knew that he probably wouldn't rely on her as much in the beginning as he could but it was a start and a start was all he was looking for, "Thanks," he said quietly before looking up at her, "It means a lot," he told her, but his tone truly showed how much it really meant to him that she was offering such a thing.
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[Sanctuari Ellison]

Sanctuari shifted her orbs from Zander to the floor briefly, attempting to keep herself steady emotionally. Memories of loneliness during the dark part of her life seeped from recesses long locked away into her frontal lobe, to dance behind her eyes, only visible to herself. Thankfully Zander might not know those times - not if she had anything to say about it. After all, she was going to be a friend, and had promised to herself that if she was to come across someone whom had been in the same position as she had, she would help them. No one - adult or child - deserved to be both alone and lonely.

Sanctuari hear a tiny thank you, his voice almost as small as she was sure he felt. "Zander, anything I can do you you two I will." She reiterated her point before glancing at the clock. "I suppose it's getting late though, maybe I should, uhm, get home." She stuttered out the last part, trying hard not to feel awkward for leaving his house at a semi-late time. After all, neighborhoods liked to talk, it was something the young woman had realized living in small areas such as the village in Honduras. She smiled at Zander before giving an awkward nod. "So, uhm goodnight, Zander." She spoke, before turning to leave.

I thought I replied forever ago! I'm sorry!