From Rags to Riches

No way out

Rebecca:

"Every ending is also a beginning, and we just don't know it at the time."
Yeah, the ending was three years ago, and still to this day nothing good has begun. I open my eyes to see the sun just rising and knew we would have to set off to find food. I softly run my hand through my daughter's hair and she stirs before looking up at me with her big blue eyes.
"Morning princess" I whisper and kiss her head. She just giggles and buries her head further into my chest. It kills me everyday knowing I can't give my daughter the childhood she deserves. I grew up in a stable home, with two parents who loved and supported me through anything. I've always had a love for books, and when I decided to become an editor, my parents supported me and funded me wherever they could. I thought I had let them down when I fell completely in love with my high school sweetheart Conrad, and fell pregnant with Sienna. My parents were my rock when Conrad decided he would rather play baseball than support his child, and I still had my heart set on my dream job. I studied English Literature at the University of Washington and held a part time job while Sienna stayed with my parents. I hated relying on them so much, but they insisted. It was all too good to be true, and shortly after I completed my first year I got a call that turned my life upside down. While a family friend watched Sienna, my parents went out to lunch downtown, and never made it back. A young driver trying to impress his mates decided it would be cool to run a red light; not realising my parents were pulling out. My mother died instantly and my father died two days later in hospital due to internal bleeding on the brain. Within two days, I went from a single mother who still studied and had parental and financial support, to a single mother with a part time job, no degree and little money. The money I earned from the restaurant I worked at lasted me four months before I was being swallowed by debt. I had to sell the house and move out. Having to use the money from the house to pay off medical bills and other debts, I was left with no money, nowhere to live and eventually no job. How have I survived this long? The money I earn now comes from cash in hand cleaning jobs, dog walking, baby sitting, you name it; I've probably done it.

I look down at my four year old daughter and realise she has never had a stable home since my parents died. The longest we've stayed in one place was for a month, before the hostel got closed down. Recently it's been bus shelters, moving between twenty-four hour fast food chains and riding the bus on the little money I have in my pocket.
"Mumma?" Sienna's little voice brings me out of my thoughts and she pats my cheek to get my attention.
"You hungry honey?" I ask and she nods. I stand up with her in my arms and we set off for another day of desperately earning a bit of cash to last us the day. I have twenty-five dollars to last me until I can add to my collection, and right now I need to get Sienna breakfast. I make sure I can give her food first before I think about feeding myself. I would rather go days without food than let her miss one day. I probably would have given up on life years ago if it wasn't for Sienna. We walk into the nearest Starbucks and make our way to the restrooms, where I pull out the packet of baby wipes I bought a couple of days ago to wash ourselves. If I manage to earn enough money we shower at a hostel, or some of the people who I clean for are kind enough to let us clean up before we leave. In the meantime, the baby wipes will have to do. We make our way to the back of the line and I ask Sienna what she would like.
"Cheese sand'ich please Mumma"
"Cheese sandwich, and a drink?" I ask while picking up a sandwich.
"Babycchi" she whispers with a giggle, and I can't help but giggle back.
"Babycchino it is. Anything for my little princess" I reply and kiss the top of her head. I get myself a bottle of water and a packet of chips before we make our way up the till. I order Sienna's drink and we make our way towards a table. I get Sienna seated and walk away to grab a couple of napkins when I hear her start to cry. I whip my head around and see that a man is crouched down in front of her while she's crying her eyes out. I run over and kneel down next to the man.
"Sweety what happened?" I ask as I wipe her tears away. Before she could answer, the gentleman next to me began speaking.
"She tried to open her sandwich and it fell out of the packet and onto the floor" he explained and abruptly left. I frown but quickly focus on my daughter.
"Sweety calm down don't worry. You can have my chips" I smile and open the packet of chips for her. She smiles and sniffs before reaching her little hand into the packet. I stand up and sit her on my lap when the guy from before comes over holding another cheese sandwich and a croissant.
"Here you are peanut" he said and handed her the sandwich and put the croissant in front of me. I looked up at him in shock and he just shrugged with a shy smile that warmed my heart.
"I would be upset too if I dropped my sandwich" he said with a chuckle and I smiled the first genuine smile in years.
"Thank you, that was very kind of you" I reply while opening the packaging and giving it to Sienna.
"Say thankyou" I whisper into her ear. She looks up at him and I can see he is drawn in by her big blue orbs.
"Thankyou mister" she says and takes a bite out of her sandwich.
"You're welcome peanut" he smiles and I find it sweet that he calls her peanut. He then looks into my eyes before pointing to the croissant.
"I noticed you only had a bag of chips, and figured you needed a more filling breakfast. I hope you don't mind"
"No erm... I'm very grateful, you didn't have to"
"It's nothing, you don't need to thank me"
"Are you going to sit down and join us?" I ask, and I'm shocked by the confidence in my voice. I normally shy away from social interaction. I find it easier to not make friends and get attached to people.
"I would love to but I've got to get off to work. Enjoy your breakfast" he smiles and waves at Sienna before walking out the door. My eyes watch him until he's no longer in sight and I sigh. I wish everyone was that kind, and I wish it was easy for everyone to have the money to buy luxury food. Yes, I just called a croissant a luxury food, but it is to me. After finishing our food and sitting around for another hour, we decide to head off for the day. It's hard walking straight past job advertisements because you know you won't get the job. They're either full time or require experience; two things I don't have. By the time it hits seven o'clock, I manage to gain ten dollars only because I had found it in the grass at the park. I carry Sienna who is falling asleep into a McDonalds where I buy her a cheeseburger for her to eat before she settles for the night. I just watch her sleep in my arms and become washed over with emotion. There's no way out of this life, I can't escape it. I'm running out of energy, and it's become more obvious each day that I'm close to my breaking point.

So this is my first story on here, and I will be basing the story loosely on the characters from Fifty Shades of Grey. There won't be any BDSM or anything like that, just the actors and basic characteristics. I would be very grateful for any advice any of you have to offer. Thank you!