Safe Place

Chapter One

Sienna

"Lizzy!" I yelled. "Come on; we're going to be late!" I shouted for the millionth time.

"I'm coming." She shouted back for the millionth time.

I tapped my foot impatiently at the door and looked down at my watch. She was going to be late for school, and I was going to be late for work—this little brat. I opened my mouth to call her again when the five-year-old brat stomped down the hall in her pink shoes.

Her pink bag with every single princess known on it was strapped to her bag, with matching pencils, crayons, lunchbox, and water bottle. Once this little girl put her eyes on the matching everything set, she wanted it, and I dutifully bought it for her.

Her light brown hair was in two braids, her curly bangs pinned back with bobby pins, and her warm honey-like eyes shined at me as she showed me her school outfit.

Jeans with a blue Elsa and Anna shirt from one of her favorite movies, and I watched her point the colors to me so she could show me how much she matched. I nodded, listened, and dragged her outside so we could walk the block to her school.

I grabbed her hand, and she swung it as she told me about her friends at the preschool and how excited she was that they were going to fingerpaint today. Her school was about a ten-minute walk from the cozy apartment we lived in and about a fifteen-minute walk from the diner I worked in.

We lived in a small, cozy, two-bedroom, one-bathroom apartment with some working appliances and an elevator that you had to kick a few times for it to work, but it worked for us.

I worked at Sally's Diner six days a week, from eight in the morning until seven at night. Frank and Sally were the married couples that owned the diner, and they allowed me to leave so that I could pick up Lizzy from the preschool where she'd spent her time at the diner until my shift was over.

I had Sundays off, and I spent half of it running errands and making sure the bills were all paid, while the other half was with Lizzy.

It was exhausting having to run around all over the place like a headless chicken, but I had a child, and it was worth it. She was worth it. She'd always be worth it. I bent down and grabbed hold of her backpack straps.

"Be good, okay?" I told her.

"I will. I promise."

I kissed her cheeks, and she gave me a quick hug before dashing inside to play with her friends. Once she was inside and out of sight, I lit a cigarette as I made my way to the diner.

I didn't like smoking in front of her, so I always had to find a way to sneak in a cigarette. Sally's Diner, open 24/7, where the pancakes aren't a side but a whole damn meal. Seriously, Frank's pancakes are made with a custom-made pan that is bigger than the Earth itself.

They're huge, warm, fluffy, and always so buttery. They're a guilty pleasure, for goddamn sure. I flicked the cigarette onto the floor before pushing through the back door entrance and making my way to the locker room so that I could change into my uniform.

It was a blue and white three-button short dress that reached right at my knees, with a modern-maid-like taste with a small collar. I pinned my nametag on my chest and looked into the mirror of my locker. I put my hair up into a high ponytail, and with my fingers, I let my bangs fall into place.

My eyebags were too apparent from lack of sleep, and I dabbed some concealer with my fingers to make them less noticeable. I was good to go with some blush here and there, a coat of mascara, and some lip gloss.

"Hey, Frank!" I called, waving my hand to him.

"Hey darling, how are you today?" He asked, without turning around as he flipped his infamous pancake in the air.