Shattered

Chapter 13

I've grown paranoid after I found out that bastard followed me around. I kept looking over my shoulder, looking for any signs of him around. I watch for any cars that strike me as suspicious, I glance down areas he can possibly hide in. I became even more worried during the day when I couldn't do that so freely. I called Harmony, asking if we could skip today.

She thankfully agreed and I sat on the couch with Willow and we watched TV together. "Aren't you going to go see your friends, mommy?" I shake my head. "Not today, honey." I turn to her and smile. "It's like to spend time with you today. We don't spend as much time together." Willow gleams brightly at me and turns back to the TV.

I try my best to forget what he said. Give up on trying to break it? How can I? We came this far. "Willow?" She turns to me with shining eyes full of innocence. "What do you want to do when you grow up? I know you're young and you'll probably change your answer later in life but I'd like to know." She looks up in thought with a cute expression. "I don't know. What about you? What did you want to be when you grew up?" I shrug as well. "I don't know. I didn't think about it much."

"What do you want to do now?" I think about it for a bit but nothing comes to mind. "I-I don't know." She smiles almost reassuringly at me. "We'll figure it together then!" I smile as well and we turn back to the TV again. Seconds later, the doorbell rings. I get up and answer the door to find Connor smiling at me. "Hey." I furrow my brows in confusion. He's dressed nicely with a bouquet of flowers in hand. "Hi?"

I step aside and let him in. Willow's head turns and when she sees Connor, she jumps up and runs around to greet him. "Connor!" She hugs him before noticing the flowers in his hand. "Who are those for?" Her eyes meet mine and she smiles though I see it more as a smirk. "These are for you." She turns back to him with a surprised expression. Connor bends down, handing her the bundle of colors. She takes them with awe before the biggest smile I've ever seen graces her features. I smile as she runs up to me to show me her gift. "Mommy! I got flowers!"

"Yes, and they are absolutely lovely. Connor knows how to win a lady's heart." I glance at him with an amused smirk as he sheepishly smiles back. "I'll go put them in water real quick." I take her flowers and move into the kitchen to put them in a vase. I hear Willow and Connor's voice in the background but I didn't pay attention to what they were saying.

After placing the vase on the counter to show off, I hear someone fake a cough and I turn around to see Connor. I notice his hands are also behind his back. "Oh! Let me guess! You were hiding another bouquet of flowers under your shirt!" He laughs, shaking his head. "How'd you know?" I poke at him with a playful grin. "I thought you look buffer than usual." I immediately froze, wanting to go back in time and punch myself for saying something so utterly stupid. Connor's face was frozen blank but I did see a soft hue of pink. "I'm sorry. What were you going to say?" I sharply turn back around, pretending to pay attention to the flowers to hide my embarrassed blush. I just mess around, rearranging them in a way that made the beautiful arrangement worse.

I was taken by surprise when I see something from the corner of my eye. I turn towards it to see it's a rose. A single beautifully grown red rose. I turn around towards him still shocked. "Who's this for?" He laughs, pushing the flower towards me. "I couldn't leave you out." I take the flower and I couldn't stop the smile from overtaking my features. I feel childishly happy over this simple action. "Thank you."

I turn back to him and look him over. "You look nice. Do you have a date?" I tried to make my tone sound teasing to him but it sounded odder than teasing. "Well, maybe." My heart skipped a beat after hearing his words. "How do you feel about going out to dinner?" I laugh and turn to the side. That's when I notice Willow watching us closely with a smile. Connor turns to her too. "Are you hungry?" She nods her head, turning back to me. I nod in agreement. "I guess we'll have to get dressed then."

Willow turns around and runs into her room. I follow after her, closing the door behind us. "What do you want to wear?" She slides her closet door open and we go through her clothes. We have small disagreements about some outfits. She wanted to wear a dress or skirt but I tried to convince her it was too cold. Eventually, I unlock and open her window to show her how cold it was. She reached her hand outside to feel for herself. Shortly after, she pulled her hand back inside with a frown. "See? It's too cold. You'll get sick." I watch as she sighs in disappointment but understands what I mean.

"What if you wear pants and a skirt?" She turns to me with a curious look. "But that won't match!" I raise a brow with a smirk. "Let's see then." I close the window and stand up, approaching the closet. I pick out an outfit for her and show her by laying the outfit on her bed in a plan so she could see. We both stand to the side and stare at it with scrutiny. She seemingly tried to imagine the outfit on herself. Suddenly, she turns to me and nods with a serious expression. I smile, doing all I can to stop laughing at how serious she looks. "See?"

"You should get dressed too, Mommy!" She takes my hand and drags me out. "I can get dressed by myself, I'm getting bigger." She turns around and closes the door behind her before I could respond. "She's a little bossy." I turn to Connor and nod. "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing."

"Depends on the situation." I laugh and agree. "I guess we'll see then." I turn around and move into my room to change. I change into something at least casual formal. Just a pair of jeans with a blouse. Willow walks out as well in her outfit and we smile at each other. "Do you like it?" I ask her. She nods, turning around for me to see. She looks at me and her eyes widen. "You look pretty too, Mommy!" I giggle, doing my own spin for her.

I feel more confident about myself after hearing Willow's words. "Thank you, honey." We walk out to meet with Connor in the living room where he's waiting for us. "Who's ready for a break tonight?" Willow and I raise our hands in the air with gleaming prepared faces.

***

"This is nice." Willow is excitedly bouncing in her seat beside me. I'd be lying if I said wasn't doing a bit of the same thing though. Connor laughs at us as we impatiently wait for our food to arrive. He turns to me with a smile. "She really is your daughter." I turn to her and smile jokingly. "I just raised her right," I joke. Our food arrives and Willow makes a strange laugh that makes her sound excitedly manic. I only mentally agreed to her, understanding how she feels.

Just as I'm about to dig in, I feel a shiver run down my spine and I suddenly remember that I'm being followed. I froze in my seat and Connor notices my weird actions. "Brooke?" I glance around wearily, looking for him. "I think he's here. How could I have forgotten?" I whispered it so no one else around would notice. Connor glances around without question what I mean. "I don't see him." I take a deep breath before I continue cutting into my food. "I'm probably just paranoid. I've been worried about it all day." I feel another shiver run down my spine. This time, I look up to see a vent above us. "Are you cold?" Have I been so worried about him that I didn't notice I was cold? I slowly nod, unsure anymore. I grab my jacket and slip it on.

"I'm sorry. I've just been so paranoid today after hearing what he said." Connor nods. "That's why I wanted to bring us out together. I was hoping it would be a good distraction for you." I smile at him, feeling grateful for his consideration. "Well, it worked for quite a while. I'm sure I'll forget about it after some time." He smiles at me but it was as light as the others he's shown me. I continue eating and enjoying my time with Willow and Connor. I was right, I temporarily forgot about earlier and just enjoyed my time with them while I still could.