𝙱𝙾𝚄𝙽𝙳 ~ 𝚁𝙴𝙴𝙲𝙴 𝚆𝙰𝙻𝚂𝙷

𝙸. 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝚁𝙴 𝙳𝙾 𝙸 𝚂𝙸𝙶𝙽?

9TH OF JULY 2024
-THALIA MITCHELL-

She'd heard his excuses before, thousands of times, but this time she was sick of them. This was far from the first time Xavier had taken their child, Kai, on a 'vacation' and hadn't brought him back when he said he would. Not only was he three days late and Thalia was officially shitting her pants, but now he was saying he couldn't keep her for the morning even though she had a post-interview meeting with potential employers and wouldn't be home.

"Xavier, nobody will be home. You cannot bring him here." Thalia angrily yelled into the phone, enunciating every syllable as she threw her clothes out of the wardrobe and across the room.

"I can't keep him, Thalia!" His voice came through the phone, and immediately Thalia wanted to scream, just because she knew he was going to spill out the most incomprehensible nonsense she'd ever heard.

Thalia took a breath and steadied herself, picking the phone back up. "You stink at this parenting thing; you know that, right?" He wasn't always like this. He was ecstatic when they first found out, despite their early age. After Thalia first gave birth, she wanted to go straight back into education. It wasn't her most practical or smart decision, but she wanted to get it out of the way before Kai got older so she could provide for him. At the time, Xavier had really stepped up to his role as a father; they lived together, so arguably it was easier, but he did everything his job entailed and more. That, along with Olivia being there for her, made Thalia feel like doing this was possible.

It was when Xavier and Thalia broke up that things all broke down. Xavier moved out, and halfway across the country, he started sleeping around and using nonsense excuses as to why he couldn't take Kai or just taking him for way longer than they had agreed upon. It almost drove Thalia to insanity. It would have if Olivia hadn't moved in and filled in whenever Xavier let her down.

"Come on, T. That's not fair." He spoke. "I didn't ask for any of this. I'm trying my best." Thalia let out a long sigh and held her head in her hands. Thalia didn't care how hard he was trying or what he asked for; she lost that the fourth time he'd broken a promise. She sighed because she didn't know what to say anymore; she didn't want to go around in circles with Xavier anymore. It was too tiring.

Thalia loved Kai more than she loved herself, but she couldn't very well bring a four-year-old to a job interview or her university lectures. Now, she was rushing around her house, trying to pick out the most appropriate outfit for a meeting.

"Thalia?" Her housemate and best (only) friend, Olivia, lingered at the doorway with somewhat of a smile on her face while watching Thalia stress. She looked up and put on a tight-lipped smile that didn't hide nearly as much as she hoped it would, not to Olivia anyway.

"I cancelled on the girls." Olivia shrugged and skipped chipperly over to join Thalia on the bed.

Thalia slouched and sighed again. "You didn't have to do that." She hated how Xavier managed to mess up her plans as well as her best friend's.

"You fucking serious? Of course, I did. I love Kai, and I'd end up killing myself if I spent too long with those high-society yoga freaks anyway. You said the interview went well, so you need this." Olivia worked as a chef at a highly successful yoga studio, and her colleagues were a tight-knit bunch. They did brunch every Saturday; on Sunday, it was book club; and then back to work during the week. Olivia couldn't stand it, so she never, ever attended. She spent most of her time with Thalia and Kai.

"I should just raise Kai with you and not this fucker." She joked. Olivia laughed and wrapped Thalia in a hug.

"I heard that!" Xavier shouted through the phone. Olivia grabbed it before Thalia had the chance, pushing her away as she practically climbed Olivia to get it back.