Billy Carter

Chapter 2.5: Nelly Carter

~:Nelly:~

My alarm woke me up at four o'clock, and I heard Steven groan as I turned the irritating beeping off. I yawned and started to get up, but he wrapped a big, strong arm around me and pulled me in close, so we were spooning. I giggled and turned my head to see him as best I could: I could only make out half of his handsome face in my peripheral vision.
"Steve, I have to get up," I told him. "The longer I lie here the harder it gets."
"You're absolutely right; the longer you lie here the harder it gets - only I don't think we're talking about the same thing," he told me, his voice husky. He pressed his hips against my bottom and I felt exactly what he meant. "And I think you owe me an apology for making me wake up so fucking early." I could hear the smile in his voice and smiled too.
"I have work in two hours, Steven," I told him.
"I only need five minutes," he murmured, leaning closer and starting to kiss my shoulder and neck. "And you shouldn't go anyway, you've worked twelve days in a row - and mostly double shifts. That fucking boss of yours is practically a slave driver," Steve growled.
"I have to go, I'll be fired otherwise," I argued half-heartedly. "And we need this job."
"I'll get a job soon, alright? I promise," he said. I sighed, and Steve propped himself up on his elbow and turned me around to face him. "I mean it Nelly, and I'll keep it this time. I found an opening for an electrician that seems promising, I have an interview this week." He reached out to brush my tangled hair off my face and tuck it behind my ear. "Promise me, if I get this job, you'll quit at that stupid cafe and get a new job, preferably somewhere you're treated well and your dependency on said job isn't taken advantage of. At least promise me you'll stop working these crazy shifts?" Steven asked, looking at me pleadingly.
"It's just until I save up enough for Billy's birthday present," I told him.
"Promise me," he said again. "I'll save for it too, once I get a job," he told me. I sighed.
"I promise," I mumbled. He smiled and leaned down to kiss me, still with his hand on the side of my face. He shifted again so he was leaning over the top of me and deepened his kiss. "Steven, I have work-"
"Just five minutes, Nelly. Please? I'll stop if you want, but what's a better way to start the day, huh? I love you," he told me, pausing a couple of times to press little kisses against my bottom jaw and neck.
"I love you too," I replied automatically. His mouth found mine again, and when he kissed me I kissed back. He pulled away though, and sighed.
"You aren't into it, are you?" he asked with a sad smile.
"I'm sorry, Steven. I'm just so stressed about everything at the moment - work, money, your job-seeking, Billy's academics - especially Billy's academics," I sighed.
"He's a smart kid Nelly, he just needs to knuckle down and try harder. If he put as much effort into his classes as he does with his music we'd be laughing," Steve assured me. "He's a teenager, he's distracted and he's full of hormones, but he'll come around. I'm sure it's just a phase."
"But what if... I just don't want him to end up stuck in rotten jobs like us. I want so much more for him," I told Steve.
"And he'll have it, Nelly. We'll wait and see how those tests turn out then we'll make a plan on how to move forward from there. Harry'll look after him, don't you worry." Steve gave me another kiss, this time short and sweet. I smiled up at him.
"Thank you, Steve," I said. He smiled back at me.
"Thank you for being so strong this past month while I've been looking for work. I'm so sorry I've put you in this stressful situation," he said earnestly, before the wolffish grin returned to his face. "But I happen to know a fantastic way to remedy stress..."
I laughed quietly and he started kissing my neck again, working up to my jaw and mouth. "You've got five minutes," I teased. "Make 'em count."

Twenty minutes later I jumped in the shower to wash off the sweat. I showered for two minutes then I brushed my hair - no makeup for me, not since I was a teenager. I smiled, remembering when I was seventeen and wouldn't be caught dead without a full face of makeup. Of course, my parents credit card paid for it then, and they weren't short on funds. Feeding my baby is much more important than vanity.
I dressed for work and by the time I was ready Steve was fast asleep again. I went into the kitchen and had a piece of toast for breakfast, leaving the bread out for the boys. I had a quick tidy up while I had some time to spare, then when it was time to go I went upstairs and into Billy's room. It was a mess in there, and I was tempted to clean up for him until I reminded myself that it was his job to keep his room tidy and I am serious this time. I navigated a floor covered in clothes and school books and sheet music until I reached his bedside. I frowned in concern when I saw a mass of black and blue bruises on his bare chest and shoulder. His lip was split and his eyes looked swollen. I didn't remember him having any of those marks when I said goodnight to him last night. He's a handsome boy when he isn't all bruised up though. I'm very proud of him and I've heard from his friends that he's already got a few admirers, but obviously those girls have never seen him sleeping. He was snoring for a start - albeit quietly - and he's such a heavy sleeper I didn't have to worry about tip-toeing around his room. Billy tends to start sleeping on his back, but usually manages to somehow roll over onto his stomach in the night, which is a pain because he's a drooler, and when he does stay on his back or turns onto his side his mouth hangs open - and he still drools. Billy's sleeping position this morning was interesting. He was on his back, mouth open, drool down the side of his cheek causing a gross wet splotch on his pillow case and bedsheets. One arm was hanging off the side of the bed and the other was behind his head - he looked quite dramatic. I reached over and closed his mouth - he looked angelic now, besides the saliva on his face. Of course my opinion is undoubtedly biased. I smiled adoringly at him for a moment, until his mouth fell open again. I smiled and pressed a kiss against his forehead, leaving a little smear of lip-gloss by accident. I rubbed it off with my thumb and left him to go back downstairs. I grabbed my handbag off the kitchen counter and left for work.
I started at six but found solace in that I was only working an eight hour shift. My stomach was growling angrily by two o'clock, when my shift ended, and I was finishing up my shift when I saw a familiar face at one of my tables.
"Oh, hi Haris," I smiled at him when I came up to the table. He grinned back and combed his hand through his hair - a habit I think Billy picked up from him. Billy's always been close with Haris, he's the reason he got into music. I love their relationship - Billy respects Harry and looks up to him, but they get along like friends too, able to joke around and have hour-long conversations about music - it's like they speak another language sometimes, with all their music talk.
"Hey Nelly!" He smiled at me with his beautiful smile. "I didn't think you were working today."
"Well, I picked up some extra shifts, but I finish in about sixty seconds. Marissa will take your order in a few minutes, if you don't mind."
"No, of course not," Harry said. "You should go home and put your feet up," he told me, and turned to the person he was sharing the table with, a woman I'd hardly noticed. "Unbelievably hard worker, this lass," he said with a laugh. The woman laughed too, and I smiled at her.
"I'm sorry, I've been so rude," I said to her. "I'm Janelle, a friend of Haris. How're you?" I asked, careful not to be obvious as I looked her up and down. She looked about my age, had long blonde hair flowing down her back in gentle waves, had brown eyes, beautiful smooth skin, and a gorgeous face. I'm skinnier, I thought bitterly.
"I'm good thank you," she replied, smiling cordially.
"Nelly, this is Kelsie. Kelsie, this is Nelly. Nelly and I go way back, all the way to the start of high school," he told Kelsie with a smile, and I put a hand on his shoulder.
"Aw, that's cute," she said. Obviously Harry didn't notice her condescending tone. Another jealous bitch who can't let her man have female friends, I guess, I thought to myself, noticing the way she examined me like I was a threat. On the other hand, I was glad she felt threatened by me.
"Yeah, now I teach her son," Harry said, and I watched her evil eye disappear and a genuine smile light up her face. Of course, because who would want to date a single mother? I thought angrily. Wait, I'm not a single mother, I'm a married woman, I reminded myself, and took my hand off of Harry's shoulder like I was touching a snake. Oh my God, maybe I'm the jealous bitch?!
"I thought you taught high school?" Kelsie asked with a little frown.
"Yeah, he's fifteen," Harry told her.
"Oh! Wow, you look a lot younger," she told me with surprise. "I thought you were only in your mid-thirties, like me."
"I'm thirty-four," I told her, starting to get defensive and prickly. She frowned again in confusion, doing the mental maths, like everybody else who finds out I have a teenage son. "Eighteen, sweetheart," I said, probably coming off a bit snippy. "I was eighteen, and dumb."
"Oh, I don't- I mean, I just-"
Haris cleared his throat and smiled awkwardly. "You er, should see her boy play guitar, Kelsie," he told her, interrupting her fumbling. "He's like a mini Slash."
"Who's that?" she asked, and I snorted derisively, rolling my eyes before I could stop myself.
"Alright, I have a child and a husband to get home to," I said to remind myself as much as to make an excuse to leave the awkward exchange. "I'll talk to you later, Harry. Have a great lunch - if you like seafood, Kelsie, get the Alfredo marinara - it's delicious and low-fat, so I don't feel guilty when I order it for my lunch break," I said with a fake laugh. "Not that you have to worry about that of course. Alrighty, bye!" I gave Harry a quick kiss on the cheek - which isn't unusual for us, but it's not exactly common either - and walked away through the kitchen towards the backroom where our staff lockers and the toilet was. I looked in the mirror at myself and frowned.
"That was bitchy, you know full-well the alfredo sauce is not low fat," I told the girl in the mirror. "And what the fuck was all that? Getting all bothered over Harry going on a date... You don't even know if it is a date, it could be a... work thing. Maybe she's a teacher, you don't know! Maybe they're waiting for more people, I mean there's four chairs at that table. And so what if it is a date? That's great, Haris' thirty-four for Christ's sake, he should be getting married and having kids and stuff... All those things you jumped into way to early..." I sighed and tried to brush my tousled hair with my fingers. "And you're married. Happily married. You love Steven, you do. Sure, sometimes he's an arsehole, and he drinks and he smokes and he wastes money but he loves you and he loves your son and Billy loves him and so do you," I said sternly. "Besides, you can't afford a divorce," I muttered to myself, looking down at my left hand and the gold plated ring on my finger. I was mistaking it all to often for a ball and chain at the moment, not the symbol of love and loyalty it's supposed to represent. "It's just... It's just the stress," I said quietly, to reassure myself. "Billy's only got three years of school left, then we don't have to worry about school fees, just... University fees. Two-hundred quid fucking textbooks. Student loans..." I leaned against the sink and put my head in my hands, starting to sob. "Oh, God, I can't do this!" I cried. "How am I going to do this? My husband is unemployed, my baby needs glasses, debt collectors are getting worse, we're already two months behind on the bills, the school fees haven't been paid, we need groceries, we're losing the house, I can't get a loan, and I barely make five pounds an hour!" I cried. "And that dumb blonde bitch thinks I was a slutty little whore of a teenager! I should've taken that bastard to court for child support," I muttered to myself. I took a deep breath and sighed. I straightened up and wiped the tears from my eyes, drying my cheeks with the back of my hand. "Pull yourself together, girl," I said to my reflection. "You're tough. You're strong. Most importantly, you're a mother. You aren't the mother Billy deserves, but you're the only one he's got, so you owe him your very best. Ok? Ok. Good." I forced a smile in the mirror until it looked semi-believable, then I retrieved my handbag from my locker and exited the building through the back door in the kitchen.
"I need a burger with the lot and an Alfredo marinara for table ten!" I heard Marissa call from the service window as I closed the door behind me. I smirked to myself and headed for home.