Another Family (CLEXA AU)

1)First Day

"Come on Madi, today we are going to that place I told you about." I say, helping Madi put on her silver puffy coat.

"Yay!" Madi cheered, clapping her hands together. Today is going to be Madi's first day of preschool, and I'm pretty sure I'm more nervous then she is. My life has been a mess, but the only thing I know is never a mess is how I feel being a mom. At only 21 years old, people are surprised I have a 4 year old daughter. I am constantly bombarded with disapproving stares and disgusted looks, everywhere I go. Do I wish I could have gone to college and settled down married first? Yes of course. But do I regret anything? No. I love Madi more then anyone or anything in the entire world, and I don't regret having her at all.

"Ok Madi, let's go get in the car." I say, picking her up in my arms and taking her to her car seat to be buckled in.

"Mommy I love you forever." Madi said, looking up at me from her car seat.

"I love you forever too Madi." I say, bending down and giving her a small kiss on the forehead. It's kind of our special way to say I love you, and I cant help but smile every time she says it.

When we got to the preschool I helped Madi out of the car and helped her grab all of her things. I had to carry not only Madi herself, but also her sleeping mat, her school stuff, and some paperwork for the school office. Sometimes I wish I had someone else to help me because being a single parent is very difficult. I was pregnant with Madi when I was 17 and her father Finn said he didn't want any part of being a dad. Finn left us and my mother didn't approve of me becoming a teen mom so she abandoned me too, leaving me with just Madi.

"Ah shit!" I sigh, as I drop all of the paperwork on the ground, still holding Madi and the rest of our things.

"Here let me help you." A low voice called out from behind me, and I watched a young man bend down to pick up all of the papers that were all over the parking lot.

"Thank you so much. You are a lifesaver."

"Ah, no problem." The man said, standing up and handing me the papers back. "I'm Lincoln by the way."

"Hi Lincoln. I'm Clarke and this is Madi."

"Hi Clarke. Hi Madi." Lincoln said, waving to my daughter who was smiling.

"I think she likes you. You must be a nice guy because she rarely likes men." I joke, shrugging my shoulders.

"Aww, well I rarely like men too Madi. Definitely prefer the ladies, so much better. Here I can carry some of that if you want Clarke." Lincoln said, sticking out his hands.

"Thank you so much Lincoln." I say smiling widely.

"It's no problem."

I hand Lincoln some of the things I'm carrying and then we both walk through the main doors of the preschool building. I approach a desk with a man sitting behind it and he helps me and Lincoln set all of the stuff down.

"I gotta go pickup my kid but I hope to see you around Clarke." Lincoln said, waving goodbye.

"Thank you Lincoln. You are the best." I say, waving goodbye and moving Madi's hand around so she's waving too. We watched as Lincoln walked to the back of the preschool and then the man from the desk came close to me and Madi. I set Madi on the ground and the man called in a woman who was Madi's teacher and we introduced the two and I made sure Madi was comfortable.

"Ok Madi, I'm gonna go take care of some mommy stuff but you can stay here today and play if you want."

"Yeah! I wanna stay!" Madi cheered, clapping her hands again.