Army Way of Life

Chapter Twenty Five

The next morning, I woke up and felt like I'd been hit by a truck. All the crying I'd done the day before had done a number on my head. The worst part was, there was nothing I could take for it because I was pregnant so I'd just have to deal with it.

And that was not something I wanted to deal with while caring for a toddler and tackling my to-do list for the day. But what other option did I have?

I climbed out of bed hesitantly and set about the room getting ready. Because I was already feeling bad, I just put on an oversized t-shirt and leggings. I brushed my hair up into a messy bun and brushed my teeth. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and shrugged, knowing that was all I had in me today.

Thankfully, Ryker was in a good mood when I went to wake him up; that would make today a little easier.

I dressed him quickly in play clothes, having decided he'd go to daycare today since I had to pay for this week anyway.

"Are you going out?" Macie asked as I walked into the living room with Ryker on my hip.

"Yeah. I've got a lot of stuff I have to do today," I told her.

"I'm off this week. Want me to come with?"

I looked at her hopefully and saw the genuine question in her eyes. I smiled softly and said, "Of course. I'd love some company."

Without more words spoken, we both went out to my car and took Ryker to daycare. I gave the secretary Macie's and Luke's numbers as the primary emergency numbers and told them that I didn't have my phone anymore in case something happened and they needed to get ahold of me.

"What's first on your list?" Macie asked when I climbed into the car.

"Bank. I'm getting my money out before my dad touches it. Not a penny in it is his."

"Is his name on the account?" I nodded. "Good call."

Luckily, because it was fairly early on a Monday morning, the bank wasn't busy and it didn't take long to open a new account, one my dad had no ties to or knowledge of, and moved my money to safety. I closed the old account so when he tried to do something, he knew exactly what was happening.

The next stop on my list was the university. It killed me a little inside when I had to go to the Registrar's Office to withdraw from the fall term. Because it was the third week of classes already, I would only get a refund for a part of tuition, but it was better than nothing. I could care, but that was a big 'screw you' to my father. If he wanted to mess up my life, he could lose some money because of it.

The lady was kind, though I think she was quietly judging me for my decision to drop out of college. Sorry lady, I was left with no other choice for the time being.

Macie and I stopped at the Starbucks on campus to grab a quick breakfast before continuing on down my list.

I needed a phone, and badly. I had a 17 month old in daycare and they had no real way to get in contact with me directly, and when I started applying for jobs, I needed a way to be reached. Jeremy also had no way to contact me.

Despite my protests and reassurances that I could just get a simple pay-as-you-go phone from Target, Macie insisted that I be put on her plan and then when I had a stable income, I could just pay her monthly for my part of the bill.

We went to Verizon and they had a promotion going on where it was buy a Google Pixel XL, get one free. Macie found out that she was eligible for an upgrade, so I gave in and let her help me.

That was the hardest part of all of this; knowing that I needed help. It has always been so hard for me to accept help from others, even in times like this. I felt like I needed to do it all by myself, all the time.