The Edge of Everything

Chapter Eight

The best part about my job at the coffee shop was that the owner allowed me to bring Rey even when she was a baby. She understood how hard it was for me to find a job and take care of my child. She was the first and only person who truly cared to offer me a place to work while I was still learning how to be a single mother.

I loved working in this place. It was small and quiet, I knew most of the customers by name. I didn't have a lot of hours, but it was nice to get out of the house and do something other than laundry and chores. It was nice to be needed as more than a mother. It kept me sane in those months when I thought the depression would drag me under.

The cafe was crowded today. I set Rey up in her corner table, the one where I could see her and yet she could color to her heart's content. I kissed the top of her head as I grabbed my apron.

"Remember I can see you," I pointed to the counter.

She giggled, "behave."

I nodded and tapped her nose, "that's my girl. And no talking to strangers."

She nodded and started to color another picture of her family. She was always drawing pictures of her family. It was either me and Feyre or me and Cassian with her. I smiled, it had been three days now. I needed to talk to my best friend. I needed to hear his voice. I missed him more than I realized after yesterday.

And I knew my daughter missed him too.

I could put aside my pride and my pain for her.

If I was being honest I wanted him back. I wanted him back in my life as my best friend, even if that's all he would ever be. I missed his smile, I missed his stupid jokes. Three days without hearing from him and I missed him more than I ever thought was possible. It hurt to know he was angry at me, for something that wasn't even my fault. He was angry at me because of Tomas.

How much was that man going to take from me? When would I let him stop ruining my life even when he wasn't even in it?

I tried to push Cassian out of my head and my heart as I was working. I distracted myself by making drinks instead of taking orders. I served a few people and then the crowd filed down. I kept my eye on Rey while still doing what needed to be done. I manned the register and filled the coffee. I smiled as the day seemed to go smoothly. I hadn't been to work in a week. But it seemed like no time had passed at all.

The cafe was small, there were the regulars who came in and ordered the same thing. Those regulars watched Rey grow into her two year old self. There was even one older lady who used to watch her when she was really little, when Feyre couldn't watch her for me. She still came in and asked about my sweet little girl. I loved how many people loved her. It was nice to know that people truly cared about her even if they heard the rumors of how she came to be.

No one faulted Rey for it. And no one should. She wasn't a product of her father's evil. She was a result of it and she was a product of the love and devotion Feyre and Cassian and I had given her over the last two years. She was my daughter and no one else would ever tell me otherwise.

I glanced up after an hour of working, my eyes automatically landing on Rey's table. My heart stopped as I walked out from behind it and towards my daughter. My heart was in my throat as I picked her up out of the chair. My stomach groaned, my ribs were still tender.

But I'd be damned if I let Tomas sit there and talk to her without me present.

"You aren't allowed here," I held Rey's face close to my shoulder.

He smiled, that wicked smile I remember flashing before he hit me. I was actually shocked at the fact that he physically assaulted me. No once in our relationship had he touched me. But the night he took away my choice, he left bruises in his wake.
Now he thought he could do whatever he wanted to me. As if he still owned me. I wasn't sure what kind of world he lived in, but I wanted out of it.