Freedom Series: Chasing Butterflies

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"What do you want to eat today Neil?" Nova cooed, as she pushed her shopping cart through the local supermarket. She had connected Neil's car seat to the cart and he was now mesmerized by all the fruits and vegetables.

Neil turned towards her at the sound of his name and did his happy dance. Neil was such a pleasant baby to be around.

At his response, she put five apples into the shopping cart and a bundle of bananas.

"Good choice little man." A voice sounded behind Nova, causing her to jump and whip around out of instinct. Behind her was a male slightly older than herself. He was taller than her 5'7 frame, had fluffy black hair, steely grey eyes, and tanned skin. Not to mention the tattoo sleeve he had on his right arm that looked tribal.

Realizing that she hadn't said anything she responded with an awkward laugh and moved on to the carrots and green beans, hoping that the overly bubbly man would understand that she wanted to be left alone.

Apparently, he received the message because he began to back away slowly "Well it was nice meeting you...?" He stuck his hand out and left the question hanging.

"Nova." She said, giving his hand a firm shake.

"Nice meeting you, Nova. I'm Maddox." He said, and with a quick wink, he sped away. She continued on with her shopping, stopping next in the frozen food section.

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And I have C-H-R-I-S-T
In my H-E-A-R-T
And I will L-I-V-E E-T-E-R-N-A-L-L-Y

Nova sang as she scrubbed the kitchen floor on her hands and knees.

That was a song her mother had learned during her days in Children Church. Her mother always sung that song to Nigel and Nova when they were hurt or scared. She even hummed it to herself sometimes when she was nervous or afraid.

Thinking of her mother made her eyes sting with tears, but she held them in and took her sadness and frustration out on the kitchen floor, scrubbing it until she could see her reflection. She sat up and sighed looking around. She had changed her pants into a comfy pair of leggings and had tied her wild hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head.

She jumped up when she heard a splash and remembered that she had been boiling some noodles for spaghetti. The water had begun to boil over the pot so she hurried to strain the noodles, and pour the sauce and ground turkey into the pot.

A cry from behind her had her turning towards Neil, who was sitting on the living room floor playing with his toys. Which consisted of a worn out rattle and a couple of those plastic rings that hook together.

"Time to feed you, big guy." She said, lifting him into her arms while she prepared his bottle. The sound of the front door opening alerted her that Nigel was home, seconds later he came walking into the room all dirty and grease stained from his job at the mechanic shop.

Nigel started to cough and hack as he looked around the now clean living room and kitchen.

"What did you clean this place with, bleach?." He said, coughing some more and sneezing.

"You can stop being so dramatic now." She said, with a roll of her eyes knowing that it wasn't that bad. Neil sneezes then and Nigel broke out into laughter while heading straight back to his room. "He's just copying you now!" She yelled at him, but just in case, she took him back into the living room where she hadn't been scrubbing the floors to get him away from the fumes.

She pulled out two paper plates and ladled out some of the piping hot spaghetti onto each of them, sticking plastic forks into them. She handed one to Nigel and took the other one for herself and sat beside him on the living room floor.

"So, I overheard a guy at the garage today talking about how this fancy restaurant downtown is looking for a violinist," Nigel said, as he stuffed food into his mouth. "I told him that I had a sister that might be interested in the position," Nigel said cautiously, looking at Nova like he expected her to explode.

He knew that Nova had been playing the violin expertly for years and while she never played in front of big crowds, he knew that she was up for the challenge. He waited impatiently while she took her time thinking.

That was one of the differences between Nigel and Nova. Nigel was a doer, while Nova was a thinker. They were complete opposites personality wise, it was uncanny. Their mother often joked that they each were a half of her soul.

"Where would Neil go, while I'm at work?" She asked, spooning a bite of spaghetti into her mouth.

"He said that the job would only require you to work night shifts and big formal events." He said, with a shrug.

"When is the interview?" Nova asked, already knowing that he had given her answer of "yes" without asking her first.

"Thursday at three," Nigel said sheepishly, getting up and throwing his plate away, and putting his red Solo cup in the sink to wash so they could save money.

"I only have two days to prepare!" Nova stated, jumping up and running to her room. Nigel followed, holding Neil as he sat on the floor watching her rummage through her clothes.

"How do you think I should dress?" She asked him, glancing back.

He shrugs his shoulders while playing with Neil and says without looking at her "Definitely Classy and in all black."

Great that only left Nova with one option.

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Hello!

Second Chapter of Chasing Butterflies is up! Hope you enjoyed it.

Maddox on the side

Thoughts on Maddox? Good, bad, creepy?

I'm Out!

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