Stumbling Through It {C.H}

Chapter 1

"Why do you gotta be in my business all the time?" Jake shouted at me.

"Uh, I don't know, maybe because you're my boyfriend and I kinda need to know if you are cheating on me!" I shouted back.

"Well you know what? I am! And she's way better than you."

I tried to hide the hurt on my face, "Good I'm glad! Now get out of my damn house! And never come back!"

He stormed out. As soon as the door slammed, I broke down crying. Jake had been my boyfriend for two years, but the past few months he had been acting suspicious. I finally confronted him and got the truth. You'd think I would be happy that the jerk was gone. But I had been with him since junior year of college and I had felt something for him.

I spent the rest of the night on the couch watching movies and eating a tub of Ben and Jerry's, the typical breakup combo. I thought about my life. Everything got so much harder after I graduated from university. Suddenly I wasn't a kid anymore. I was faced with finding a job, playing bills and loans, and just keeping myself alive. I lived in a dinky apartment in the dumpy part of town. I worked at Toys R Us for just a bit more than minimum wage. Life sucked, I always thought that I would be living my dreams at 23, having a dream job, the perfect boyfriend, having lots of friends and going to fun parties. But nothing went according to my plans.

I turned off my tv and trudged to my room, the only bedroom in the apartment. I got into my pajamas and put my clothes in the hamper in my closet. Something caught my eye. In the corner of the closet, tucked in a box was a scrapbook I had made when I was a senior in high school.

I wiped the tears out of my eyes and picked it up. I sat in my bed and opened it up. The inside cover read, 'Ellie's Scrapbook 2016' I flipped through pages of memories. It cheered me up a little. I flipped to a page titled '5sos concert!' Taped on the page was a concert ticket and two pictures. One was a photo of me at the venue. My dark red hair swung over my right shoulder, my lightly freckled face lit up with a bright smile. I wore a black shirt that said 'I have OCD: Obsessive Calum Disorder' I shook my head with a slightly cringing laugh. Under the photo was a picture of Calum that I must have torn out of a magazine. Five years later and I still found him attractive. His fluffy dark hair and puppy dog eyes made me swoon. The band faded out in 2019 but I had stopped listening to them a little bit before I turned 20. I became too busy to fangirl over a band. Occasionally I would hear about them through magazines or the radio but nothing much.

I closed the scrapbook with a small smile. Then I settled under the covers and fell asleep.

=

I wandered down the isles of Toys R Us bored out of my mind. It was a quiet day and the store was practically empty. I was on the floor, so I was meant to help customers, but it was really hard to do that when there was no one there to help.

I turned the corner into the toy train isle, when I came upon a little boy trying to reach a Thomas the Tank Engine on a shelf that was just a little too high for him.

"Here, I got it little guy." I easily picked up the box and handed it to him. He smiled back at me with tiny teeth. He had black scruffy hair, tanned skin and bright green eyes. He was adorable in every way possible. I glanced up and down the isle but didn't see any signs of the little guy's parents.

"Where are you parents, buddy?" I asked him bending down to his height. He couldn't have been more than four, his parents wouldn't have let him wander the store himself.

The boy looks around in horror and began to cry when he realized he was alone.

"Oh buddy, it's okay, don't cry! I will help you find them. Who did you come here with?" I asked him, taking his hand and walking out of the isle.

He clutched the train box close to his chest, "My daddy." He whimpered.

"Okay let's find him. What is your name?" I asked him, trying to distract him so he would calm down.

"Daniel." He answered.

"Hi Daniel, I'm Ellie. How old are you?" He struggled to hold up four fingers.

"Four? Wow! You are so big!" I gave him a big smile. He smiled back with a sniffle.

"So you like Thomas the train?"

"Yes!"

"He is very cool, isn't he?"

Daniel nodded happily. We continued to chat as we walked up and down the isles, looking for his dad. Finally in one of the back isles Daniel found him.

"Daddy! Daddy!" He called out running towards the man who had his back to us.

He spun around upon hearing his son's his voice, and he quickly scooped up the boy with a tight embrace.

"Oh my god Daniel I've been looking for you everywhere! You can't just run off like that!" The little boy's father sighed in relief.

"I'm sowwy daddy. But Ellie helped me!" Daniel pointed his chubby little finger to me.

The man looked to me and my jaw dropped when I got a look at his face.