Meet Me Halfway(5)

So, I’d applied for a few scholarships and transferred to the university in the next city over. I was currently in my last year of full-time, online courses for Criminal Justice, and I was starting to run on empty.

Research results and court rulings were boring to read during the day, but at night it was giant, face-altering-yawn-level boring. But I was pushing through anyway, determined to finish and determined to maintain my GPA.

The thing was, getting pregnant at sixteen meant the world had stopped expecting anything of me. I probably sat at home with my seven baby daddies, milking the system while I refused to get a real job. I mean, that’s what all single moms did, right?

My neighbor had only further proved that narrow viewpoint by his comment insinuating I wasn’t an “adult with a job.”

I’d been a single mom for years; I was used to it. I was going to graduate summa cum laude if it killed me. Not because I had anything to prove to the world—society’s views on teenage moms were never going to change—but because I was determined to prove it to myself.

Three hours and a few more assignments later, I was dead. I was head bobbing harder than an emo at a concert and had nearly face planted into the screen. I closed the computer and glanced at my alarm clock, internally crying.

Five hours. If I fell asleep right now and skipped a morning shower, I could get five hours of sleep. I lifted my arm, sniffing. The waft of vanilla and strawberries hit my nose. I could definitely pull off one skipped shower. Sweet.

Making sure my alarm was set, I scrunched down into my bed, chuckling when Rugsy shuffled up to curl behind my knees. It’d make turning difficult, but I didn’t move her. Jamie had stopped cuddling with me years ago, so knee-pit, dog snuggles were all I got these days.

Thank God I only had one six-hour shift tomorrow. It was one of my easy days, and I was beyond grateful. Most people hated Mondays, counting down the days until the next weekend, but for me, weekdays were my break.

Just this year. I just needed to finish up this last year of school and then I’d be free to get a better job. One job.

I laid there, crossing my fingers and toes as I fell asleep. If you wished hard enough and worked hard enough, it was bound to come true eventually. I had to believe that.





Chapter Two





Tipping my head back, I squinted at the popcorn ceiling and tried to make out shapes like I was an astrologer. Ceilingologer. Ceilologer?

“Madison, are you listening to me?”

I groaned, closing my eyes. “Yes, Dad, I’m listening.”

“You’ve been here several weeks now, there’s no reason for the dishwasher to still be broken. When was the last time you called him?”

I rolled my head forward, letting it drop, and imagined submerging myself in the sink full of soapy water. “I called last week. It’s not a big deal, I don’t mind hand washing. We don’t exactly have many dishes anyway.”

“It is a big deal, it’s his property. It’s his job to keep it in working order. You pay more than enough rent for it,” he argued, leaning against the counter next to me. Realizing he wasn’t going to drop it, I set the rag down and glanced up.

John Hartland was a large man, coming in at six-foot, two and well over two-hundred pounds. He could look menacing as hell when he wanted to as long as you didn’t know him. To me, he was just one big ass, balding teddy bear.

I twisted my body, wrapping my arms around his waist and giving him a hug, nonchalantly drying my hands on the back of his shirt. His narrow gaze told me I wasn’t as sneaky as I’d thought.

“It’s fine, Dad, I promise. I’ll call again tomorrow if you sit your butt down and relax.”

“I just care about you.”

“I know.” I smiled, stepping back and turning to finish the few dishes we’d used for dinner. We had dinner with my parents a couple times a month, taking turns hosting. On our own, Jamie and I were happy eating meatless spaghetti or sloppy joes, but I used our hosting nights as an excuse to try new meals. I actually enjoyed cooking when I had the opportunity.

A loud cheer burst from my son’s room, making both of us chuckle. My mother was currently in there playing cards, and she was similar to me in the sense that she wasn’t going to go easy on him. She was vicious. I don’t think I ever played a game where she didn’t throw down a stack of wilds and force me to draw more cards than I could hold.

My parents raised me in the Midwest up until I graduated high school, including helping me with Jamie my final years. But then my dad accepted a higher management position within his company, and they moved out here to North Carolina.

I should have moved when they did. It’s hard to imagine how my life might have ended up if I’d moved with them instead of moving in with him. But we all make dumb choices I supposed. Nothing I could do about it now.

Jamie and I had been here for a few years now, and although we’d moved a couple times, we’d always stuck to the same town my parents lived in.

I didn’t grow up around much family, and Jamie already only had my side of the family that he knew, so I wanted to make sure he stayed as close to his grandparents as possible.

“Those are some deep thoughts you got swirling around.”

I blinked, realizing I’d been standing at the sink, holding the same dish for several minutes. “Sorry, just sort of spaced out.”