Exhausted&Lost

Chapter Three

The rest of the week passes uneventfully, Ava's days being filled with entertaining her demanding toddler and keeping on top of her seemingly endless laundry pile. She was in the process of trying to get Elliott to sleep in his own room, having co-slept with him for the past 2 years.

They had taken a trip to the mall to pick out new bed sheets with grey and blue dinosaurs, so that Elliott would be excited about staying in his own bed. Everything would go well until it was actually time for him to sleep. He would allow Ava to brush his teeth, change him in to his pajamas, tuck him in and read a story before he would start to protest.

The last 4 nights, Ava had lay down on the hard floor beside his bed as she tried to get him to sleep. Eventually, he would drop off and she could peel herself up off of the floor and fall in to her own bed. This resulted in every inch of her aching, and her feeling absolutely exhausted.

On Friday morning she woke up to the sun streaming through her window, and a little hand rhythmically tapping her forehead. She opened her eyes to El's big blue ones staring at her. "Mama..." he cooed.

"Good Morning, baby!" Ava smiled as she stretched herself out.

"Uh oh Mama... Uh oh..." El cried as he continued to tap Ava on the head.

Nothing wakes a mother up quite like a toddler whispering "uh oh" 1 inch from your face at 07.30 on a Friday Morning so Ava sat bolt upright in bed and looked at Elliott's mischievous grin.

"Uh oh? Why uh oh, Elliott?" She asked, dreading the answer. He simply pointed a chubby finger towards the bedroom door and Ava launched herself out of bed. The first thing she noticed was the squelch her foot made as she stepped in to the carpeted hallway, and the sound of running water as she neared the bathroom.

She pushed the door open, seeing that Elliot had plugged the sink and ran the water until it overflowed. "SPLASH MAMA," Elliott squealed with glee as Ava took in the sight in front of her. She quickly got to work turning off the tap and unplugging the sink, and drying her floors as best as she could while Elliott ate pancakes for breakfast.

Sucking in a deep, calming breath to stave off the overwhelming craving she had for a cigarette, Ava pulled out her phone and sent Izzy a message, "The monster flooded my house, I am coming to open mic tonight, BRING WINE!!!"

Ava organised with her dad that El would be staying the night and spent the rest of her day figuring out how the hell to baby proof a bathroom. Several hours later, Ava found herself walking in through the door of the Hideout in to room full of her friends. They whooped as she walked in and she gave a wave.

A chorus of hellos rang out as Izzy fiddled with the mic, "Hey boss," she called as her eyes found Ava, "wine's on the table!"

Open mic nights at the Hideout didn't count as business hours in Ava's head, they were much more casual and staff just came along to hang out. The room was buzzing with chatter from each table, glasses clicking, the espresso machine hissing and a guitar strumming in the background.

Ava headed to the table, unloading the bottles of beer she had brought for people to help themselves to, and poured herself a glass of red. She smiled as she took in her surroundings. "You getting up there tonight?" A voice broke through her quiet musing. She turned to see Izzy pouring herself a glass of wine from the same bottle.

"There better be more of that stashed somewhere," she laughed as she clinked her glass against Izzy's in a toast, "Sláinte". "Cheers!" Izzy replied with a smile.

"Duh... Well...?" Izzy pressed further. Ava shook her head, "Nah, it's been so long since I've written anything and I..."

Izzy cut her off by shaking her head, "So!? Do an old song... or a cover! I miss your voice!" She whined. Ava just offered a shrug in response. She wasn't much of a musician, she could play a little bit of guitar and could play some basic keys, but she did love to sing.