Matter of Time(Tom Holland Fanfic)

Chapter Fifteen

Author's Note: Sorry the chapter took so long but I just got sidetracked between getting a job and other things in general. So I made the decision to cut this chapter in half because it ended up being over 20,000 words long. The next chapter will be out soon. Thank you guys so much for your patience. Let me know what you think of the chapter.

Lindale, Texas

2005

Shuffling footsteps down the hall woke seven -year-old Billie from her slumber. The little girl drowsily opened her eyes, fully believing she would see sunlight streaming in from the window when she finally awoke but she saw no such thing. Her room was still dark with nothing illuminating it except for a tiny night light plugged into a power outlet on the opposite side of her room. Mr. Gator, her favorite stuffed alligator, was tucked underneath her arm as she slowly sat up in bed.

The small girl was in a state of confusion at being woken up when it was still so dark outside.

Billie immediately got up from her bed, her Power Puff Girl comforter slipping off of her as she finally left the safety of her own bed. She tiredly walked out of the room, her small feet cold from the hardwood floor, as she kept Mr. Gator safely tucked under her arm.

The small blonde opened the door of her bedroom to investigate the noise that woke her up.

The house was still completely dark as she padded out to the living room. The seven-year-old rubbed her eyes tiredly as she focused on movement she could see through the darkness. It was only then that she realized it was her father. Billie squinted her eyes through the darkness as she tried to determine what he was doing. She saw his old suitcase on the floor as he quickly moved back and forth, from the living room to the kitchen, almost as if he were in a hurry.

"Daddy?" Billie questioned as she stood there in the doorway of the living room. Ethan McCallister immediately paused in his search as he looked back at his daughter. He swallowed hard because he hadn't expected her to be there.

"Hey, Darlin'," Ethan said as he faked a smile.

"What are you doing?" Billie asked him, her innocent eyes looking up at him. Ethan's face flushed red before he quickly came up with an answer. He was always smooth like and he always had an answer for everything. It was all part of his sleazy way.

"I got a job up in Tampa. There's a real nice opportunity for me there, darlin'," Ethan told her convincingly. "I got a chance to play on a big team up there. I won't be gone for long and I'll send money back home to you and your mama. It'll be temporary."

This was only a half lie, he told himself. He did have a job waiting for him in Tampa but it wasn't playing baseball. A friend of his owned a business up in Tampa that he needed to get off the ground. His friend needed someone like Ethan who was very smooth and good at talking. There was a lot of money involved but Ethan knew he would never be able to talk his nagging wife and daughter into going Sarah would never approve so he was just going to go.

This town had gotten too small for him anyways. There was bigger and better things in store for him. Billie would understand it one day when she was older. Small spaces weren't meant for the McCallisters. She'd grow bored of the small town and she'd leave too someday. Maybe she'd even come visit him in Tampa when she was old enough.

"But I don't want you to go," Billie said, her eyes flooding with tears. Of course, Ethan should've expected the tears. He didn't really understand the tears but he should've expected them. Ethan was never really close with his own father so he didn't get why Billie always followed him around so much. She was a daddy's girl he supposed.