Perfect Doesn't Last Forever

Chapter Five

Perfect Doesn't Last Forever- Chapter Five

"Mama, purple!" Hayley exclaimed through her pacifier, holding a purple crayon up to me. "Color!" She shook the crayon in my face once more and then pointed at her paper.

"Not right now," I told her, swatting her hand away. "Mommy needs to study." I turned back to my biology book and tried to refocus my attention on cyanobacteria, but just when I turned away from her, she began to whine. "Seriously Hayley, mommy needs to study."

"Come here Hales," Damien said, plucking her into his arms after returning from the kitchen a few seconds before Hayley could begin a full out tantrum. "Let's leave mommy alone."

"Thank you Damien," I said gratefully, running my hands through my hair and pulling it into a quick ponytail. "I don't know what I would do without you."

"Don't worry about it." He took Hayley out of the family room and left me in peace. Peace that I'd been able to find within the past few weeks to actually get some studying done. But, it was short lived as I was interrupted by a shrill from my phone. "Hello?" I answered without checking the caller id.

"Baby sister! How are you doing?" my sister shrieked over the phone. "I miss you so much! How's your first quarter going?"

"Hey Jess," I smiled, missing my sister. "I haven't heard from you since you left! I miss you too! I've been doing pretty well, busy at first, but better now. How about you?"

"I've been great! Drew is so adorable! Austin and Callie made such a cute baby. I literally have to stop myself from going over to their place just to see him. Jeeze, I can't believe you and Austin have made me an aunt so early. I feel so freaking old." Drew was so beautiful, not as beautiful as Hayley, but the two were clearly cousins even though they only shared a grandfather by blood. I'd only seen him a few times and I really missed him.

"Sorry?" I said, thinking about how old I felt being the mother of a two year old. "How do you think I feel?"

"Oh baby sister... I love you, but anyways, I called to check on how you were doing! How is Hayley doing and what's going on with Damien?" she asked quickly.

"Well, Hayley is doing great. She's talking more and more and apparently compared to the other kids at the day care she's advanced for her age." The day care people kept on telling me that it was weird that Hayley could talk so much and speak her mind so well. It was so scary to know that she was really turning into a person who would interact with others. And it was because they told me she was developing so quickly, that I really wanted to work on things with Damien; I didn't want her to begin to understand our fights and ask me questions that I just couldn't answer.

"Well of course she's advanced for her age, her parents are freaking insane. A swim prodigy and a straight A student for a dad and a miracle mom who graduated high school at the top of her class even though she got pregnant. Hayley is going to be a freaking genius when she grows up," she gushed, leaving me with that sobering thought. Hayley was going to grow older and she was going to go to school. She was going to learn the same things I learned in school. My daughter, who I gave birth to, would no longer be able to fit perfectly in my arms and soon she wouldn't even need me. "But let's not think that far into the future. Tell me how things are going with Damien now. I know he was kind of being an ass when I left."

"Well, he got so much worse after you left, but then we had a talk a few weeks ago and now everything seems to be working out." Everything was working out perfectly. My daughter had two parents who got along and I had a wonderful and supportive boyfriend. Life could not get any better.

"Really? Well, I mean, I know that Damien is a sweetie at heart, but I can't imagine things getting worse than they were before. What could be worse than not even talking to you?"