Everything is Not What it Seems-Newtmas AU

Chapter One

Thomas finished wiping the crumbs and coffee stains off a table before returning to the till. Friday afternoons at The Homestead Coffee House were the busiest. The café was rammed with customers, mostly parents before picking their children up from school or kindergarten. Thomas recognised a few of the woman there as they had children in the same group as Rosanna- his daughter.

Although she was only four and a half, she was put into kindergarten early to suit Thomas's work. So, when she starts school in a couple of years, it will make her the youngest in her class. Rosanna was everything Thomas lived for. Her hair was light brown and her eyes shone ocean blue- like her mothers.

Sadly, Thomas was a single parent. He didn't have a lot of money, but he had enough to pay for an apartment, food, bills and basic needs. He didn't have a car or bike, so he walked Rosanna to school every morning before going to work. Minho, his boss and best friend, was very understanding of his situation and offered to help him in any way possible. Thomas's sister Teresa adored Rosanna and visited whenever she could.

Thomas worked weekdays, thirty hours in total, and had weekends off. Minho never asked him to work then because he knew he needed time with his daughter which he usually spent watching Disney films he'd already seen one hundred times. He didn't complain, though, as long as Rosanna was happy.

Thomas checked his watched, noticing it was almost time for his shift to end. "Minho, I've got to go," he yelled as he entered the staff room. He took off his apron and got his jacket, wallet, keys and phone out his locker.

"Alright, buddy, see you tomorrow," Minho yelled back, knowing Thomas didn't have much time to spare. He quickly took off out the side door and began running in the direction of the school.

Bells rang in the distance, signifying the school day had ended. The crowd of parents flooded at the gates. The children in elementary came out one side of the school and those in kindergarten came out the other. Thomas stood with the parents of the latter, trying to blend in. Thomas was tall, so he could see over people.

Rosanna walked out and smiled widely when she seen her dad. She ran towards him and jumped into his arms, making Thomas pick her up and give her a massive cuddle.

"Hey, princess," he said as he kissed her cheek. She giggled at him and Thomas put her on the ground. He held her hand tight enough so she wouldn't run off. "How was kindergarten?"

"Good! We painted pictures this morning, then we played in the sand before lunch then read a book this afternoon! Miss Campbell said my hair was really pretty," Rosanna said happily. Her hair was in bunches at either side of her head and blue ribbon was tied around them.

"That's nice, princess," Thomas replied.

Their walk home took barely ten minutes. The apartment was on the third floor, so they had to walk up three flights of stairs before they got to their door. The jingling of keys echoed throughout the building as Thomas hurriedly unlocked the door.

Thomas hung up his jacket before helping Rosanna take hers off and hung it on the lowest peg. Her bag sat on the ground and their shoes in a small cabinet.

"Are you hungry?" Thomas asked the small child.

"Mhm," she replied, sitting up at the table in the kitchen. Thomas fetched her a yoghurt from the fridge, opened it, then got a spoon out a drawer and sat it in front of her. She thanked him before scoffing it down.

The apartment didn't look too shabby; they weren't aloud to paint the walls or change the flooring, so Thomas kept it as clean as possible. Thomas promised Rosanna that, one day, they would have a house and her bedroom walls would be pink, unlike the beige ones in her current room.