Struggles of a Single Father (Book 1 of the Struggle Puff Series)

Chapter 4

Edited – 1/21/2020

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At four-thirty, I re-entered the building I had dropped Tilisia off at. As I walked through the hallway to Tilisia's room, I noticed that most of the classrooms were empty with exception of a few kids with late parents. I, of course, was one of those late parents.

Upon approaching the two-way mirror that looked into Tilisia's room, I saw the back of a little boy with jet black hair standing less than a foot away from Tilisia. She was giving her best grin and her eyes were lit with sparkles. Her cheeks were tinted with a slight blush and he- wait what? Blush?

Hell no.

I bolted into the room and called out to her.

At the mere sound of my voice, Tilisia ran towards me and captured my legs in her tiny arms.

"Hi daddy!"

"Hey Liz. Did you have fun today?"

Her face scrunched into an irritated expression, "Not at first. A meanie kep' messin' wit' me." The way her cheeks were puffed out made me think of how adorable she was even when she was mad.

"Did you tell the teacher?"

"Yes. And she didn' do nuffin!"

I felt myself get nervous as I slowly asked my next question, "Then what did you do?"

That was when a nerve-wracking grin made its way to her face.

"I didn' do nuffin!" She said excitedly, "Aim helped me!" She pointed to the boy she had just been talking to a moment ago.

At the sound of his name, the boy sauntered over to where we were standing.

Aim? Who names their kid Aim? That is such a try hard book character name. How ridiculous...

Before I could complete my mental rant, Tilisia tugged me closer to the boy, "Daddy, this is Aim!"

When I finally got to look at him, I was stunned at his facial features. Not to be weird, but he was a good-looking kid.

His long, dark, eyelashes complimented his almond shaped, vibrant blue eyes perfectly. His jawline and cheekbones were surprisingly defined, and his features were already mature for someone so young.

I found my gaze returning to his eyes and suddenly felt vulnerable under their intensity. It was as if he was looking deep into the confines of my soul and he didn't like what he was seeing.

"It's actually, Ain. Two syllables and no 'm'." Even his speaking voice intimidated me. It wasn't grown, but it was mature and authoritative. I was beginning to feel a bit nervous.

"What's a... sy... sybalel?" Tilisia asked unsure of the pronunciation of this unfamiliar word.

Ain just sighed as his serious expression melted into a gentle smile, "Syllable. But don't worry about it. It's not important, right now."

She shrugged it off and returned to the bright smile she wore before.

"That's my daddy!" She excitedly pointed up at me.

"I'm Carter." I said as I held out my hand, "It's Ain, right? Not aim?" I asked, making sure to pronounce it the way he did.

He gave me a half smile as if he were some magician who knew he had vexed me, "Yes sir. Not the best name, but it's better than some try hard name in a book, right?"