Fate's Cruel Hand

Chapter 5

Lise

I woke up to the sound of Asher's alarm and shortly after, the sound of Zak's cries. The alarm stopped and I felt the bed shift as Asher got up, I stubbornly kept my eyes closed, Asher could deal with the baby this morning. The crib creaked as Asher picked the baby up,

"Shhhh, Zak it's ok," he whispered, "Quit your crying or you'll wake your Mama." Zak's cries weren't going to get any quieter so I rolled over and sat up,

"I'll take him," I whispered. Asher turned to face me. He had Zak in one arm on his hip and he held a clean outfit in the other hand, sighing he walked over to the bed. I stretched out my arms and he carefully shifted Zak into my hold.

"I was trying not to wake you up, you've been so tired lately," I offered him a small smile,

"It's alright Ash, I've got to work in two hours anyways." He nodded and stepped away, heading towards the bathroom to go change. I shifted my attention to a still crying Zak. "What's wrong baby?" I asked, hoping that by some miracle he'd just learn the whole English language and tell me.

He continued to cry, despite my attempts to reason with him. I stood up and glanced down at what I was wearing, I was still in my short shorts and a tank top, I'd have to change later. I stepped into the hallway, glancing down at the bathroom, the door was shut and the I could hear the shower running. I headed to the kitchen, bouncing Zak on my hip. His cries started to quiet until they turned into little hiccups and I sighed in relief.

I set him in his high chair and locked the tray in place. He stared up at me with wide green eyes. His hair fell into his eyes as he turned his head to look at the fridge, he needed a haircut.

"Mama!" he cried, pointing at the fridge, "Juice!" I nodded, this was the daily routine. Asher would wake up, try to keep Zak quiet so I could sleep, I would end up taking him while Ash got ready for work and Zak would beg for juice, which he didn't get in the mornings. I closed my eyes for a second as I was mentally prepared for the tantrum I knew he was going to throw.

"You can't have juice right now baby," he showed no recognition that he understood, even though by now he knew that he wouldn't get juice in the mornings. It didn't stop him from trying though,

"Juice!" I shook my head at him,

"No," I tried to say it as sternly as I could, but it was hard to deny him. His eyes started to well up with tears again,

"Mama," this time he was less commanding and more, begging and sad, "juice." I shook my head 'no' again and he burst into tears.

"Baby, I'm sorry. But you know you can't have juice in the mornings, there's too much sugar in it," and we can't afford for you to drink juice whenever you want, I mentally added. I shook my head at his tears and turned to get him yogurt for breakfast. I opened the fridge and almost cried when I saw how empty it was, we only had one yogurt left and maybe two cups of juice. There were a few apples in the drawer, and there was like, a sip of milk left. I grabbed the yogurt and shut the fridge door. I opened it and stuck one of Zak's baby spoons in it before putting it on his tray.

His attention was immediately diverted from the lack of juice as he began to eat the yogurt while making a mess of course. I heard Asher's footsteps upstairs and looked at the clock. It was almost six o'clock, I needed to get ready for work soon, my shift starts at eight and I still have to take Zak to daycare.

While Zak was busy eating his yogurt I opened the freezer to see if we had anything for dinner. We had a half empty carton of ice cream and a bag of frozen meatballs. I shut it and glanced into the pantry, which was open so I could easily see what was in it from across the kitchen. I spotted some pasta and tomato sauce. At least we'd be ok till tomorrow, but we'd spent the last of our money paying rent and neither of us got paid till Friday. It was Tuesday now.