AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Four
Hadley
“He’s doing it again,” Lucy muttered while staring out the window.
I knew who she was talking about, but I still placed my textbooks on the coffee table, taking a study break, and sat down beside her so I could spy too.
It had been a few days since the rude man had moved into the house, and a routine had started between him and the neighborhood kids. I frowned as I watched him yell at them messing around in his yard. “He’s only making it worse.”
Seeing him deal with the punks that aggravated me all the time made me glad I didn’t get a chance to buy the house. I wanted far, far away from this building the second I could get us out of there.
I winced as a Braxton Hicks contraction hit me. I laid my head against the cushion and closed my eyes until the cramp passed.
“Are you okay, Mommy?” Lucy asked.
I smiled and took a deep breath. “Yeah, it’s just getting close for Bubby to be here and he’s letting me know it.”
She placed her head on my belly. “Tell him to kick me!”
“He’s stubborn like you. You ask him yourself,” I told her. So cute watching her talk to my belly.
“Kick me, Eli!” When he didn’t move at all, Lucy looked up with a pouty face. “He’s stupid.”
“Lucy,” I warned. “That’s not nice.”
“Mom.” I could tell by the sound of her tiny voice that there was a question coming.
“What is it?”
“Can we go play on the swing set while we wait on Daddy?” she asked while batting her eyes. She was too smart for her age. It terrified me. She was far too observant for a child that was only about to turn four. I couldn’t remember my younger cousin’s toddler being like Lucy at her age. It made me proud but also wary. I couldn’t keep those little ears of hers from listening and trying to figure things out she shouldn’t worry over.
I peeked out the window again. The older kids were still there, and I hated going outside with them around. I normally didn’t take her down on the weekends. I knew they’d be there. Her play time was early morning—around two—after I’d picked her up from my parents or right before I tried to get some sleep. I rested while she watched TV. I had no other way of getting rest unless I let her stay with my parents and that would only mean that I’d see her less. A couple of hours here and there always got me through. I simply kept reminding myself, only four more months. I had a deadbolt on the door so Lucy couldn’t sneak out on me. She had tried once before while I dozed off.
My actions wouldn’t earn me any Mother of the Year awards, but I hoped when Lucy looked back on these days, she realized I worked so hard so we could have more. The idea of my daughter hating me one day because I was too tired to play with her scared me most of all. Between nursing school in the morning and my nights spent working, I knew my daughter missed me. I missed her.
Thankfully, it was March. The chill of winter still hung in the air and that was reason enough for telling her no. “It’s too cold. It’ll be summer soon enough, and then I’ll take you to play.”
“But they are.” She pointed toward the kids through the window.
“Kids who will get sick.”
She crossed her arms and sulked—bottom lip puckered. Even though she was the cutest thing ever, it wouldn’t work on me. I rubbed her head and pulled her in for a hug. “Look at it this way, when summer comes, not only will we get to play outside, Eli will be here and Mommy will have a new job.”
The words weren’t a lie. When I set out to do something, I was entirely different from my ex—I worked for what I wanted. Nursing positions were always opening up at the hospital. If anything, the hospital in Redford was only a thirty-minute drive and their hospital was huge and always needing workers. I could work there. Heck, we could move there.
“Will you still be working nights?” she asked, still pouting.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “Would you rather I work a different shift?” She nodded, and my heart broke. I considered the possibility of me getting to pick a shift and sighed. “Hopefully I can then,” was all I told her.
“Why do you want a new job for?” she asked.
“Um… It’s something Mommy wants to do and…” I grabbed her tiny waist and grinned. “They’ll give me more money. More money means more food in the house!”
“Really?” That perked her up.
“Yep! So this summer, how about you, Eli, and me make a plan to buy all the food we want when I get my first paycheck at the new job?”
“Yes!” She thrust her hands in the air.
