Laura

Parents

I spent the day decorating Haven's box room, mainly because she deserved it. The walls were painted carnation pink, her wooden bed frame was white with pink fairy lights strung through the bars of her headboard. Her covers were a light pink with white kittens on it, which I knew she would love. I hung up a few picture of us together and I even put up a white butterfly clock. There was enough room for a set of white drawers at the foot of her bed and on top of that I hung a small oval mirror and I placed a small box of play makeup. It was an old eyeshadow palette that I had completely cleaned and emptied, before I used old nail varnish to paint some 'makeup' on the inside of the little trays. She used one of my old eyeshadow brushes and she loved playing with it while I did my makeup. She was 'just like Mummy' as she said. It warmed my heart when she said that. I unpacked her clothes and in two storage boxes, I unpacked all of her toys and her favourite ones stayed on a shelf above her bed. Once her room was completely finished, I began to move some things around, and I even added a few framed photos and a few small items to make the place more lively. In the main room, the paint was completely dry and so I started moving things around on the carpeted floor. The black sofa was pushed up against the back wall and there was a small wooden coffee table in front of it. The TV was attached to the wall and there was one or two framed pictures of Darren and I beside it. It hurt me too much to have more than two photos out on display, even though that would've annoyed him more than anything. I debated on whether or not I should nap at around three, but then I remembered that I needed to pick up Haven. As I struggled to find my coat, there was a knock at the door. I was confused but answered, just in case it was important. Standing there was Oliver and our three girls. Haven was happily chatting to Lydia and Alice, while he stood there and featured dramatically.
"We have arrived!" he exclaimed as I processed what I was seeing. The closest thing I had to a friend at that school was not only there, but with my daughter. It made my heart melt and I hugged him tightly as a few tears escaped from my eyes. Haven ran up to me and hugged me tightly, her eyes wide with me excitement. I looked up at Oliver and I smiled, relieved that I had a friend. As the girls went off to play, Oliver and I spoke by the stove as I made us some coffee.
"So, how is your husband?" I asked as I poured the coffee granules into the mugs. He sighed gently and dramatically shrugged, his long arms flopping.
"He's been working all week, but we have him for the weekend so I'm really excited for that. The girls have been missing him, so they're even more excited than I am," he replied, his eyes bright with excitement. I chuckled and I smiled, truly glad that he was so happy.
"Well, that's honestly exciting for you guys. Honestly, I'm really glad that Haven has some friends. She's always struggled with making friends, especially when she's seen with me. Parents don't want their kids involved with the child of a young, single mother with tattoos and piercings. They think I'm a 'bad influence' and that I'll poison the minds of their kids or something," I explained, the memories of past encounters flooding back to me. The dirty stares. The hushed whispers. The quick excuses when I would walk over to them. It was awful and it always hurt Haven more than it hurt me. It was nice for us both to have friends. As I poured the boiled water into the mugs, there was another knock on the door. I groaned as I opened the door, wondering who the hell it could possibly be. As I opened the door, my heart felt like it stopped. Standing there was a short woman, with dyed, curly brown hair that was cut short. Her glasses were thick-framed and black in colour, but they were only sunglasses. She wore simple colours such as brown and beige and she was ever so plain and simple. There was no colour and no life to her. But, beneath her sunglasses, she hid piercing green eyes that could make even a demon shudder. Her stare was deadly and it was so strange for me. She smiled a fake smile and my eyes widened as she opened her arms as if to hug me.
"Hello, Laura! Oh, my precious girl!" she exclaimed, her tone slightly higher-pitch than usual.
"Mother?!" I asked as she took a step forwards.

*authors note
Sorry if this chapter was a little bit shorter, stuff in my personal life and blah blah blah
But, thank u guys sooooo much for reading and there will be another chapter tomorrow and one on Sunday so, I hope u stick around till then