Wicked Love

Chapter 3

Once I got far enough away that I couldn't see him anymore, I walked the rest of the way to daycare to compose myself because if Clarabelle saw me like this, with red-rimmed eyes and a puffy face, she'd start asking questions and worrying about me and she doesn't need to be. She may be three but, she perceives more than she should for a girl her age.

When I reach the daycare, I swipe both of my cheeks, careful not to press too hard on my bruised cheek so I don't take any concealer off. Then I enter the building. I go to the front desk to pay the lady and sign her out.

I keep the money that I need to pay for Clarabelle's daycare in a wallet in my backpack so that dad doesn't find it. The rest of the money is in a bank account I opened when I was sixteen and dad found my savings in a box in my closet and took it all. Then when I got home from school, he beat me for not giving it to him even though he gets his own money from his job.

My dad works for a big business firm. I don't really know what he does. He mostly works from home so he doesn't have to go out much but he sometimes goes out to people's houses and fixes their TVs or set up wifi for them and gets a lot of money for it.

I finished signing Belle out and looked up to see her running towards me with a wide smile on her face. She threw her arms around me when she reached me and said, "Do we get ice cream now?"

"Yeah, come on. Let's walk to the Cafe and I'll get you some ice cream while you color, okay?"

She nodded excitedly and ran for the door, pulling it open for me. I thanked her and we walked to the Cafe talking about what she did today. She colored a picture of a unicorn out of a coloring book, played tag with the other kids when they went out for recess after their nap, and she got to feed the fish in the giant fish tank they have on display in the playroom.

"What did you do today, Mama?" She asked

My mind went back to Spencer and how he'd probably come back to torment me more at school tomorrow.

"I went to school, did my homework, and came to get you," I said instead.

"When will I get to go to school?" She asked, skipping and holding my hand.

"When you're four or five you'll get to go to pre-school, and when you pass that you'll go to kindergarten and then first grade," I answer.

"Yayyy!" She exclaims.

"Nooo," I fake-whine. "You're supposed to stay my little girl forever."

I pretended to be sad and she immediately said, "Okay, I'll always be your little girl."

I smiled and chirped, "Okay."

We reached the diner and my friend and co-worker Tori said, "Hey, girl." When we walked in.

"Hey, princess," She said to Irabella.

Clarabelle ran around the front counter and gave her a hug then grabbed the coloring book and crayons I kept back there for her and pulled herself up onto one of the chairs at the front of the counter.

Tori is twenty-three years old and started working here when I was sixteen. Clarabelle and I both instantly liked her. She has such a nice personality I don't even think I've ever heard her yell at anybody before. She has straight blonde hair and greenish, blue eyes.

"Watch her, please," I tell Tori so I can go change into my uniform.

The uniform dress-code is a skin-tight white tank-top and black shorts, and I wear fishnets under my shorts to make the outfit look better and to show less leg. I've had a number of guys try to feel me up on multiple occasions even though this is a Cafe and not a bar, so I bought a couple of pairs and put them here in my locker.