Dreams Worth More Than Money

VII

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South Philadelphia, PA

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"I'm so tired." Milan muttered to herself as she pulled Czar's small load of clothes from the dryer. She carried the basket to the couch intending to fold them before putting them away. It was nearing noon and she had been cleaning up since the moment she'd woken up. Between doing laundry, cooking breakfast and chasing after a busy two-year-old, exhaustion was beginning to set in.

Just as she settled down to start folding, Czar's cries echoed through the baby monitor that lay beside her. She sighed deeply feeling the weight of the day pressing down on her shoulders. She still had so much left to do and tending to Czar would only push her back further.

"Rome?!" She called out hoping her boyfriend would step in this time. A few moments later, she heard rustling from the bedroom. "What?" His voice was thick with irritation clearly upset that she'd disturbed him.

"Would you mind getting Czar? I'm trying to get this laundry done before I have to head to work later." Her tone was even but the exhaustion was evident.

Jerome grumbled his words dripping with resentment. "Well, sounds like you won't be getting your laundry done then."

Milan blinked, taken aback by the harshness in his voice. "Are you serious right now?"

"As a heart attack," He spat back coldly before brushing past her heading into the kitchen as if their conversation meant nothing.

For a moment, Milan just sat there stunned by the casual cruelty of his words. But the shock quickly faded as this wasn't the first time Jerome had been rude to her or refused to help with Czar. A familiar knot formed in her stomach as she realized she had allowed herself to end up in this situation again with Jerome. She hated how easily she had overlooked the red flags, how easily she had hoped for better even though deep down she knew better.

Milan had dated Jerome before, right after she graduated from high school and the same jerk he was then is who he is now. When they first started dating again everything felt magical—like most honeymoon phases do, but after a few months the spark died leaving Milan feeling unhappy. Jerome quickly revealed his true colors: he was demanding, possessive and downright mean when he wanted to be. They reconnected not long after she had Czar, running into each other in the old neighborhood where they grew up. Milan was picking up Czar from her grandmother when Jerome spotted her. He had been excited to see his old fling but that excitement faded fast when he learned she had given birth to another man's child. From that moment on, Jerome carried a chip on his shoulder making snide comments like, that should've been our child. His resentment was obvious in the way he treated Czar—distant and unhelpful, almost as if he was punishing Milan for moving on. She knew she had to get rid of Jerome and fast but she didn't want to set him off.

She eventually stood from the couch and headed into Czar's room, where he stood in his crib crying with his sippy cup in one hand and his favorite blanket in the other. Milan scooped her toddler up and placed him on her hip.

"What's the matter baby?" Milan cooed as she gently rocked him back and forth trying to soothe his cries.

"Juice!" Czar shouted through his tears, waving his cup in the air.

"Of course. You always want juice." Milan carried him to the kitchen, sat him on the counter and took his Paw Patrol cup. She opened the fridge and grabbed the apple juice filling his cup halfway. "Here you go. Now, can you chill for Mommy? We'll be going to Grandma's in a bit before I head to work."