Recovery Road

Chapter 1

"Hudson, you have only five minutes to eat breakfast!" Catalina yelled up the stairs before returning to the kitchen to scrape scrambled eggs on to a plate.

"Olivia, honey,you gotta eat your toast. Don't you want to be big and strong?"Hudson rushed into the room, picked up a piece of wheat toast off his daughter's plate and took a bite of it. His dark hair was cut close to his scalp; he always joked that it kept his gray hair from showing. Catalina always had to remind him that he was only in his twenties.

"Daddy! No!"The little girl sat up straight and snatched the toast from her father's hands. She looked so grown up in her pressed navy blue jumper and white polo shirt.

"Don't tease her, babe. You know today is a big day." Catalina sat her husband's plate in front of him. "And, little miss, don't get any food on your new uniform."

"Oh, yes. A big day for a little girl. First day of school. You ready, ladybug?"Hudson scooped up a large helping of eggs and beamed at his daughter while chewing. He tugged on one her pigtails, her brown hair glossy and neat.

"I'm scared,Daddy. I don't know if I'll like the other kids."

Catalina sighed as she slid into her seat and gulped down some lukewarm coffee. It was like her daughter to worry about whether she liked the other kids and not the other way around. She raised her eyebrows at Hudson.

"Don't worry,baby. You'll do great." He reached over a large hand and squeezed her little one in his. Olivia smiled softly and her bright gray eyes shone at him. His big hands were almost always stained with oil and grease from working at the shop. Catalina smiled over her mug at their hands wrapped up in one another. There was a time, before they had Olivia, that Catalina couldn't imagine having children,especially with Hudson. They were too alike, too much fighting between the two of them. There was rarely a Friday night that didn't end with them screaming at each other in a parking lot somewhere. The fights started over something small—Hudson was insecure about a look Catalina gave the waiter, Catalina didn't like Hudson's tone when he said something, and then their quick tempers took over and a nice night out with their friends or at the movies would turn for the worst.

She twirled the gold wedding band on her tan finger. Hudson gave her the ring, now chipped and dulled, the night she found out she was pregnant with Olivia. Of course, they had fought when she told him. She had screamed at him with tears welling in her eyes.

"God, we're such dumbasses! How could we do this?" She practically threw the pregnancy test at him.

"It takes two to tango, Cat. This can't all be on me." Hudson picked up the test in disbelief. He stared at it as Cat paced around him.

"I can't believe this. I thought we were safe. I thought we were doing things to protect ourselves."

"Nothing is 100 percent, I guess...but it's okay, Cat. We'll figure this out.We'll do whatever you want to do."

They were so young and stupid. They thought they were invincible, like all teenagers do. But now they had a beautiful and bright little girl who was growing up too fast. Catalina's heart clenched, thinking about her tiny daughter who wasn't so tiny anymore.

"Daddy's right. You're going to do great. Now, give Dad a hug and go get your backpack. We have to get going. We don't want to be late."

Hudson wrapped his arms around his daughter tightly, and she gave him a quick peck on the cheek before scooting up the stairs.

"Oh, man, I didn't realize how late it is. I gotta run. Thanks for breakfast,beautiful." He kissed her cheek and squeezed her arm. He stomped his boots on.