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

Chapter 26

Edited – 03/9/2020

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When we closed the café and got back to the apartment, I felt like I could breathe again. I wasn't nervous about her threat; I was nervous as to why she would make it in the first place. It didn't make sense for her to just magically want to be a part of Tilisia's life.

I had already dropped Cadence back at her house, and texted Amy that Ain was spending the night, and with that done, I decided that flopping onto my bed was the best course of action.

Unfortunately for me, peace never came easy and my phone decided it was the best time to start ringing.

When I looked at the caller ID and realized it was an unknown number.

I took a moment to pray that it wasn't Kimberly before answering.

"Hello?"

"Carter? Honey, is that you?"

You have got to be kidding.

"Jenna?" I groaned loudly, "First it was Kimberly and now it's you. I can't catch a break, can I?"

"I guess, that answers my question then..." She said quietly.

"What does...?" I trailed off as the pieces began to connect in my mind. What were the odds that I'd be contacted by both my ex-girlfriend and my ex-mom? "You told her where I was, didn't you?"

The ten seconds of silence answered my question, and quickly became furious.

"You have once again proven why you people can't be trusted." I growled out, "You had no right to tell her where I was! Do you even know what she wants?"

"She wants to be a part of her daughter's life again. Why can't you understand that?"

"Her daughter's life? Are you kidding me? Tilisia is my daughter. Not hers. And what the hell do you mean by again? She wasn't even there in the first place."

"You don't know where she's coming from, but I do. She knows she made a mistake and wants to make up for it... just like me..."

Of course. She thought this was her ticket back into my life.

"You are so low." I ran my hand through my hair in frustration, "If you really wanted to make up for all of your crap, you wouldn't have helped her. You had no right to tell her where I was or anything about us."

"But honey, I-"

"I don't want to hear it! Just stay out of my life and out of my business. I was serious when I first said it and I mean it even more now."

"Carter, had you been there when I showed her a picture of Tilisia-"

"I don't care."

"Sweetie, plea-"

"Goodbye, Jenna."

I quickly hung up the phone before she could say anything else.

I debated throwing it against the wall but decided against it when I thought about how it would probably break. Speaking of breaking, I felt myself on the verge of doing the same.

Once again, someone was trying to take my world away from me and tell me I'm wrong for not wanting them to.

Before I knew it, all my stress turned into melatonin, and I found myself drifting off to sleep. As my conscious mind came to a still, the last thing that crossed it was thought of my daughter being taken away from me. And it was that final thought that broke into my dream and turned it into a heartbreaking nightmare.