When I woke in the morning, I squeezed my eyes shut again, wanting more sleep. The trouble was, the little thing that was jumping on the foot of the bed, singing Hotdog Hotdog Hot-diggedy-dog, had no intention of letting me sleep more. I groaned a little and turned my head, looking for Jace’s handsome face. Immediately, disappointment settled in the pit of my stomach because his side of the bed was empty. I sighed when I remembered that he’d gone out with his friends and sister last night. He was working today too, so I wouldn’t even get to see him until tomorrow. I pushed myself up to sitting, smiling at DJ. “Morning, Baby,” I mumbled, yawning. I was tired because Jace had called me during the night, drunk off his face, singing down the phone that I was the best girlfriend ever, and that he couldn’t wait to see me. He’d then proceeded to list all the dirty things that he would do to my body next time he saw me, which, of course, made it hard for me to fall back to sleep b
I didn’t know how to answer that, so I said nothing, deciding to change the subject quickly. “Come on then, Baby. Let’s get to the park before it gets too busy and you can’t scoot,” I suggested, grabbing my purse and keys and opening the door to leave. That afternoon Anna came over with Cameron for a visit and girlie catch up. While we had coffee, DJ was busy sorting through his car collection, trying to find one that didn’t have any loose pieces so that Cam could play with him. I was sitting on the sofa, just fussing over the cutest little baby I had seen since DJ was born. Cameron was beautiful; his big hazel eyes just seemed to take everything in as he looked at me and smiled at the funny faces I was pulling. “So, Bryson’s still grumbling about that boys’ golf day from weeks ago,” Anna said, shaking her head, laughing. “I’ll warn you now that he’s planning a rematch in the very near future, so tell your dad and Jace to expect a call.” I laughed at that statement
This had to be a mistake. Jace wouldn’t do that to me. All the times that I’d thought about us breaking up, it was never because he’d cheated; it was always because he just had enough of me and wanted someone better. I always thought he would have the decency to break it off with me first. Josh was lying, trying to split us up. He’d never liked Jace, that much was obvious from his attitude towards him, so maybe he was just trying to make me doubt my boyfriend. But if he was lying, then why was he still holding out his phone to me with a smug smile? “I don’t need to look at whatever you have on there. Jace wouldn’t cheat on me. He’s nothing like you,” I rebutted, shaking my head, praying that my words were right. I didn’t want to doubt Jace, but there was always that memory of Josh in the back of my mind, forcing that little bit of doubt there even though I was trying to be confident. “Bunny, I saw it! He was all over this girl, then he took another to the bathroom. The
“I work!” he shouted, slamming his hand down on the side table, making aloud bang. I laughed bitterly because he always blamed work. “Why didn’t you come and pick up DJ last night?” I asked, raising one eyebrow at him, letting him know that he’d been caught out. He swallowed. “I was sick.” I pointed to his phone in his hand. “Those photos took themselves then, huh? Or did you just feel like going out instead of being home with your son for the weekend? Boys night again was it?” I smirked at him as his jaw tightened, I could see him desperately scrambling to come up with some excuse as to why he was at the same bar as Jace last night when he told me he was sick with the flu. “Don’t be such a bitch.” I smiled at that. He was just going to change the subject so we’d argue about something else. That always used to be his tactic – diversion. “You have no money so you can’t pay my child support, yet you can afford to go out drinking with friends when you’re suppo
The following Monday I asked at the school for a cleaning job, but the Principal was a little reluctant to let me clean because apparently it ‘wasn’t a teacher’s place to be seen doing that’. However, he did offer to give me an extra hour and a half work each day. Instead of cleaning, I was helping in one of the after school clubs. It worked out perfectly because I was allowed to have DJ there for free, so I didn’t need to arrange additional childcare. Everything was great again. Josh hadn’t called me for the last two weeks, so I was a little unsure where we stood but, from what he’d said, he still wanted to see DJ. Today was Friday, and this was his custody weekend, so I’d just have to wait and see if he turned up to collect his son or not. Jace was less than happy with him; well, ‘less than happy’ seemed to the understatement of the century. He’d insisted on being there tonight in case Josh came. I had visions of their being a stand-off and threats of decapitation if Jos
Jace’s hand trailed under my shirt, caressing my stomach as he pressed his chest against my back, trapping me against the counter. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed the attention and the feel of his body pressed against mine. I was seriously going to miss him in the bed tonight. When Jace wrapped his body around mine, I slept like a baby every time. We watched TV for a little while, flicking through channels, not really settling on anything. I didn’t care what we did, to be honest, I was just happy to sit on the sofa in silence and hold his hand. At nine o’clock, he sighed dramatically. “I’d better go,” he grumbled. One of his hands moved to cup my face, guiding my mouth to his gently. He kissed me softly then groaned as he pulled away. “I hate the night shift.” Me too. “I’ll tell you what, tomorrow night I’ll make up for two nights in one,” I promised, looking at him suggestively as I licked my lips slowly. His body stiffened as he sucked in a breath through his t
My lip trembled, shaking my head in horror as the guy ignored his teammate, trying again to get through the flames to my trapped son. When he stumbled and fell against the burning wall, he jumped back, and I saw his shoulders slump as he turned to look at me. Even through the thick mask he was wearing, I could see the sadness and sorrow his eyes. My heart shattered into a thousand pieces as I understood his apologetic expression. He was silently telling me he couldn’t rescue my baby. “NO! DJ!” I screamed, trying to wrench my arm out of the other guy’s grasp. There was no way I was leaving my child in there, fire or not, I was getting to him. “Momma!” DJ wailed. Through the haze and the smoke, his red rimmed eyes met mine, and I knew I would never get that look of sheer and utter horror out of my brain. I moved to run towards him, not caring that the flames were everywhere in the room, that even the walls were on fire. I just needed my baby safe. I made it only three st
As soon as I stepped into the door, I immediately recoiled from the heat. I flinched back against the wall, squinting, trying to see the little red box that I knew was down at the bottom of the stairs. I fumbled my way along the wall until my fingers grazed the protruding box, silently praying someone else hadn’t already taken it. “Come on, please, come on,” I mumbled, coughing from the smoke that filled my lungs. I ran my fingers over the front and let out the breath I was holding when I realised that the glass was intact. Pulling my arm back, I thrust my elbow into it, smashing the glass. Shoving my hand inside quickly, I grabbed the small fire extinguisher and fire blanket from inside. I silently thanked my training because things like scoping out the nearest exit or points of interests –like fireboxes – stuck in my mind. Keeping my back against the wall, I slowly made my way up the stairs, counting them as I went so I could keep track. The flames were everywhere. I tri