Live In The Now (Sequel to Let's Forget The Past)

THE HEART Part. 1

"And please remember to do your research tonight so that we can finish this discussion tomorrow." Miss Sylvester the summer camp teacher excitedly reminded the class.
The hours seemed to drag on as the entire day passed by. Corey impatiently waited for that loud ring of the bell to happen, but the longer that she babysat the clock hanging on the wall the longer the day became. Until finally....
The blaring shrill of the bell rang throughout the building, signaling the end of the day.
Students passed by her desk raving about today's topic as she gathered her things and placed them into her bag. Just as she headed for the door she was suddenly stopped by the voice of her teacher.
"Could you stay for a few minutes? I have an important matter to discuss with you." The woman said.
Corey turned back to face her while she allowed her backpack to collapse onto the classroom floor. She wasn't sure what it was that Miss Sylvester wanted to speak with her about, but she also knew that it couldn't have been anything too bad; she was one of her favorite students.
"Yeah sure, what is it?" Corey asked her. "Charlie will get whinny if I keep him waiting too long."
A small laugh made its way through the gaps of her teeth as she thought about the socially awkward kid. But when her attention focused, she noticed the lack of laughter coming from Sylvester when she mentioned the name.
"What's wrong Miss Sylvester?"
The silence grew louder and louder, filling every nook and cranny in the room until Sylvester's mouth opened again.
"Charlie isn't waiting, Corey that's why I wanted to speak with you alone sweetie." She said now kneeling down in front of her.
The bell rang again once more as she received the news. All of a sudden she didn't feel well; to be honest she watched the clock hanging on the wall again as her skin drained of all color...not hoping for the time to go by faster, but wishing for it to go back before this very moment.
"I don't get it, where is he?" Corey asked.
The words that came after Sylvester's declaration exited her lips with no sound at all; at least to Corey.
Suddenly it was like her chest had gotten tighter, and her eyes...her eyes just couldn't stop running of that clear liquid that gave her tongue the flavor of salt as it strolled down her cheeks and hit her lips.
"I know that Charles was your friend, and I know that this is tough for you to hear so I took the liberty off calling your mothers to come and pick you up." The woman softly spoke to her as if she would break any second.
"Corey, baby let's get you home." Her mother's voice enunciated in her ears."
"Mama where's Chuck?" Corey asked again as they passed the empty coat cubby with his name and picture printed above it.
That night in her car seemed almost insufferable to Raven. She sat in the drivers seat of her old beat up car, fighting her sleep while watching the drug addicts and homeless people who sat across the street from her drinking and injecting things into their veins. She rolled the window up in attempt to drain out some of the noise after seeing Will stir a bit in his sleep; but the thin glass between the two of them and the outside world didn't seem to help.
"Mommy, I'm sleepy." Will sat up to say.
A grin made its way across Raven's face as she watched her son wipe his eyes with his forearm.
"Go back to sleep and you won't be." She chortled out while staring at him through the rear view mirror.
When he got quiet she could tell that a question was coming; and sure enough she was right.
"Mommy, when can we go home?" He asked.
The burning liquid sensation that sat locked inside the bottom lids of Raven's eyes finally rolled free.
She knew that the question would come sooner or later, but honestly she was banking on much later.
"We can't, Will." She truthfully told him now climbing into the backseat. "But that's okay because-mommy's healthy and baby's healthy."
The small poke that she gave to his belly made him laugh until his giggles faded.
"Right now we're just camping; you love camping, right?" She asked as she snuggled his small body and caressed his golden brown hair.
"Yes." A slumberous answer came from his mouth.
"Yeah! That's exactly what we're doing right now, can't you see that giant family of grizzly bears over there?" Raven playfully lied.
Will's eyes went wide with excitement as he peaked out of the backseat window and gasped.
"We havta hide." His tiny voice whispered pulling the blanket over both their heads.
"And we have to be really really quiet until their gone or else they'll eat us up....shhh they're coming." She continued to play along.
After minutes of the game a silent sob broke loose from Raven's mouth as she watched Will's innocent face while he drifted back into a deep sleep.
"I'm sorry." She apologized to both herself and Will. "I'm gonna fix it; I swear I'm gonna fix it." She promised as her body finally gave in to the nodding of her head.
By the time she opened her eyes the sun was already shining over the entire city.
She could smell the sweet morning dew that was engulfed across the grassy areas nearby the parking lot through the slightly opened window next to the driver's seat.
And even though she and Will were probably at their lowest point and living out of her car; for some reason she felt happy, until a tap on the window tore her happiness away.
The next tap was loud and chilled almost every bone in her body as she watched the man from the semi tinted glass.
Her first instinct was to stay as still and quiet as possible until he went away, or maybe to just pull off without warning.
But that was against the law.
Raven took another Deep breath and climbed over the cushioned shoulder of the chair into the front seat.
She placed the key into the ignition and slowly rolled down her window with a gigantic smile plastered on her face as she observed his name tag.
"Good Morning Officer Leland," She said in the fakest tone of voice. "Is something wrong?" She asked.
A brisk "Yeah," slid from his parted lips as he placed his hands on his hips.
"You know it's considered child neglect in the state of Pennsylvania to live out of your vehicle with a child under the age of eighteen right?" He asked but his tone seemed more-consequential.
"Oh yeah, no I know; it's just his dad gets upset and gets a little handsy when he has a stressful project at work," Raven quickly came up with a lie. "I don't like him to see all of that so we come out here sometimes but there's no need to worry Officer, I gave my father-his grandfather a call and he's on his way to the cafe up the street to meet us now." She lied again.
Officer Leland eyed her up and down with a certain attitude; as if he didn't believe a word that came from her mouth.
"And what's your father's name?" He asked with a grin on his face, hoping that he had caught her in her lie.
"Wayne Fields." Raven quickly said with a smile.
The name seemed to ring a bell to him, but she hoped that it was just a quick thought that would simply go away.
She was wrong.
"Hmph," The Officer hummed. "Wayne Fields that's over in Montgomery County?" He questioned causing Raven to nod her head.
"Yup, that's him." She responded a bit too quickly.
He bit down on his top lip and covered the black object on his left shoulder while pressing down on the button.
"Stay right here for me mam." He said and walked back over to his car.
Immediately Raven began to curse herself.
She knew that he would check, and if he checked then there was a huge possibility that Wayne himself would show up.
And that was the last thing she wanted.
Suddenly the Officer stepped out of his car and walked back Over to hers.
"You're all good." He said.
"Am I?" She sarcastically asked with a raised brow.
"Look, I apologize for giving you a hard time-I just had to make sure you weren't an addict." He told her. "My mother and I were in a similar situation when I was a kid and I wish that someone had gotten us out of that car before she became turned to drugs; no kid should have to live in a car and see their parent high or OD'd on drugs."
"Let me make it up to you over dinner." He suggested. "I make a mean chicken lasagna."
His posture had loosened up a bit since he approached her nearly ten minutes ago and his face possessed a boyish charm that made Raven smile.
"I'm not an addict," She told him. "And I don't need your lasagna any more than you need to eat it." She smirked and said eying his makeshift elastic pants button extender.
The joke came quick and fast like a bullet, but he liked it.
Leland's smile suspended from his ears and nearly wrapped all the way up to his eyebrows as he blushed and rubbed his pudgy stomach.
"I deserved that one," He laughed and said. "By the way I never looked you up in the system just then, I just needed a distraction to get you to stay here and talk to me for a bit; I could tell that you were related to Wayne after you said his name, you look a lot like Emily-just prettier." He flirted one last time.
Raven's smile almost immediately faltered at the sound of her sisters name. She didn't know her one bit, but something inside of her hated her for having the life that she didn't.
"Yeah, I've been told." She rolled her eyes and pulled off.
  Hannah laid sprawled across the comfortable mattress, the midday air drifting through the opened window next to the bed onto the bare skin of her uncovered thighs and lower back. Her dreams were a swirling mix of Ethan's crooked smile, laughing uncontrollably at her and the wild flames that engulfed the DiLaurentis house the night before, blurred by the deep pull off her sleep. But slowly, the tranquil darkness of her eyelids began to thin as muffled voices entered her subconscious. At first, they were a mere ripple in the rough waters of her sleep. But gradually, they grew louder, tugging at her awareness.
"...can you just lower your voice?" She heard Dani ask, trying to avoid waking her.
"¿Quieres que me quede callado en mi propia casa por tu pequeña novia y su hijo?" Her mother rhetorically asked in spanish. "In my house Daniella!" She shouted this time.
Hannah sat up and turned to her side to see Hope still asleep in what seemed to be an old baby pack 'n play.
When she looked at her phone she realized that there were at least 40 missed calls from Mrs. D, who she assumed was back from Paris after getting the call about the fire.
"You don't even pay anything ma, remind me again how this is your house? She's staying!" Dani's voice echoed through the house as she swung the bedroom door opened and slammed it behind her making Hannah flinch.
When she saw that she was awake, she sighed before sitting on the bed next to her.
"You heard that?" Dani asked, gaining a shrug in return.
"Not all of it, but enough." Hannah quietly responded. "Look, if I'm in the way just--
"You're not."
"But your mom---
"My mom gotta deal with it," She cut her odd once again. "You not goin' nowhere." Dani responded slowly sliding her thumb along Hannah's cheek.
In attempt to escape the heated moment, Hannah stood to her feet, pulling the extra pair of basketball shorts that Dani lent her up to cover herself.
"We didn't..do anything last night, right?" She questioned out of curiosity.
Dani's expression softened with a slight smile, her eyes searching Hannah's face.
"No, as much as I would've liked that we didn't," she reassured, her voice gentle. "You cried for a bit, and then you fell asleep; I slept on the couch."
Hannah exhaled a breath she didn't realize she was holding, feeling a mixture of relief and confusion.
"I just... I don't want to cause any problems for you."
Dani shook her head, reaching out to take Hannah's hand.
"You're not causing any problems. She just... always been like this."
Hannah looked down at their intertwined fingers, feeling the warmth and reassurance in Dani's touch. "Maybe I should go, just to make things easier for you." Hannah said as she tried to slip her hand from hers.
Dani's grip tightened slightly, a determined look in her eyes.
"Nah. You're staying here with us, Hannah," she said with a small laugh. "We'll figure it out."
Hannah's breath caught in her throat.
She had never met anyone who cared for her like Dani. It was honestly a turn on, and she was fighting one hell of an urge to lean closer at the moment.
Suddenly, the sharp trill of a cellphone shattered the moment. They both moved away as Hannah's eyes caught the name on the screen.
"Sorry, I should take this." She said leaving the room to answer Courtney's call.

Sorry for the long wait.
Hope you enjoy this chapter
Let me know what you think
Got something special for Emison next
Enjoy
-D