1st place in ChickLit Discovery Awards!
1st place in ChickLit Doughnut Awards!
Reached #1 in beingalone on 07/08/2019
"I floated away at the hands of the wind, seldom resisting the manipulation..."
Meet Rosalyn-or Ro- as she goes by, a beautiful, k...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The rest of my shift passed by uneventfully. And honestly, after the morning I had had, a break from all the chaos was welcomed. Xander and Dylan stopped at the front counter to say goodbye, reminding me again about the party tomorrow, begging me to come.
They were really nice guys, with big hearts, and I decided to go, even if it meant seeing Ryder again.
Sunday nights were pretty quiet down at the Artist's Prison, so Eddie had given me the night off. Just as I slipped off my apron, and got ready to lock up the diner, my phone began ringing from my pocket.
I looked down at the number to see that it was Julie, my neighbor.
"Hey Julie," I greeted into the phone as I balanced it between my shoulder and ear. "What's up?"
"Hey Ro, can I ask you for a huge favor?" Julie desperately asked.
"Sure thing Jules, what do you need?" I said as I shut off the lights and locked the front door.
"The school is making me come in for some mandatory meeting right now. Something about re-training and updating curriculum to prevent budget cuts. I don't even know, but they said I have to come in tonight. Can you watch Alanna? I'll pick her up before your shift tomorrow morning," she breathlessly said.
I could hear her stressfully pacing about her kitchen through the phone. Julie was always working her ass off, not even for herself, but for her 3-year-old daughter. Julie was a teen mom. A drunken night with a guy she then thought was the love of her life led to a whole new life for her.
Her parents kicked her out, and at 17, she had a newborn and was homeless. Luckily, she had some family that took her in, but Julie was determined to create a life for herself and Alanna. And that's exactly what she did. She graduated from high school, got her GED and eventually a job teaching.
It was a hard life, but she never complained, because it was all for the love of her life, her baby girl, Alanna.
"Of course Julie. Always, I love Lannie. Anything for you." I assured.
"Oh Ro, thank you, thank you, thank you! You just saved my life. I love you," she exclaimed.
"Love you too Jules," I laughed. "I'm just leaving the diner, so I should be home in 15 minutes. See you then."
"Oh, and I swear, if you try and pay me, you'll regret it," I threatened.
She laughed as I headed towards the parking lot and said goodbye. Honestly threatening Julie was useless. She had a special little system to sneak me some cash. Every time I babysat Alanna, she would give her some cash and tell her to hide it somewhere in my apartment. Alanna, loving hide and seek, happily agreed.
So every now and then, I would find bills under couches, in pillowcases, inside my guitar, etc. Alanna was like Julie's personal Trojan horse. Some of the spots I found bills crammed in were insane.
