I g
ive the child a hug before storming into the hallway with the phone. Once Tiffany answers, I waste no time. “Look, you can stand me up any day of the week, but when it comes to your child you have no excuses for not coming home.”
“Excuse me?” Tiffany is already angry, and rightfully so. I hope my harsh words knock some sense into her.
“You heard me. I don’t care what happens between us, fighting or not, you need to be here for Anastasia.” My breathing is ragged, and I take a while to calm myself as she answers.
“How dare you tell me what’s best for my daughter. I hired you to care for her, not to lecture me. Besides, I’m busy at work with shopping mall plans.”
Her words cut deep. I notice she doesn’t address our relationship or lack thereof, so I bring it up again. “Do you think the other night was a mistake?”
She chuckles darkly. “Rachel, obviously you were a mistake. I should have just given you the money and left the first time.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing, and I have to move to another section of the house so Anastasia doesn’t see me getting upset. “You’re just as heartless as I’ve always suspected.” Tears begin to roll down my cheeks as I wrap my free arm around my stomach.
I don’t even wait for the cold response I know is coming, and instead I call up Cody and Abbie to vent about what just happened. “Can you believe her?” I rant after giving them the details.
“I’m so sorry.” Abbie sighs.
Cody yells towards the phone in the background, showing her support. “It will all work out, you’re a sexy lady who can get any woman she wants!”
I laugh hard, almost spilling that expensive glass of wine I finally poured for myself. A few minutes into the conversation, Ana pads into the living room with her blanket. She’s probably heard everything I’ve said, and I pull her onto the couch to comfort her.
“Are you and mommy fighting?”
“Guys, I’ll call later.” I wrap her in my arms and soothe her, but before I can hush her, a loud crash from outside causes both of us to stiffen.
After peering out the window and begging Ana to run to her room, I inch closer to inspect the source of the sound. Something tells me I’m about to be in serious danger, but I’m not going to go out without a fight.
Sixteen
Tiffany
How dare Rachel talk to me like that! I slam my phone onto my desk, surprised that the force doesn’t shatter the screen. That woman has no idea what it’s like to be a single mother. She has no idea what it’s like to lose the only person you’ve ever loved and be left to pick up all the pieces when they’re gone.
She’s a debt ridden twenty-five-year-old for fuck’s sake. What does she even know about responsibility to others? I have a child to care for. A child, whose needs I have put above my own for years. She has no idea what that kind of sacrifice means.
Even as I’m thinking all of this, there’s a small part of my mind that keeps trying to remind me that Rachel does know what it’s like to lose the important people in her life. Her father. Her aunt.
She’s struggling to keep the bookstore together so the girls she employs there don’t get left out in the cold with nowhere to go. In her young life, she’s given up a lot to take care of the people she loves.
I don’t want to think about that now, the need to be angry with her is too strong. Letting the anger gnaw and fester, I sit at my desk fuming as I scroll through email after email. The screen blurs in front of me, and I don’t really see the words glowing across the screen.
The door burst open and I jump as three women come barging in. Jordan is hurrying behind them. “You can’t go in there. You don’t have an appointment. You have to wait outside.”
They ignore his orders and charge towards my desk. One woman, her short dark locks sticking haphazardly out from under the beanie that covers her head, flops down in the chair across from me and swings her feet up on the desk. The heavy boots she wears thump across the wood as she crosses one ankle over the other.
“Excuse me! What do you think you’re doing?” I sneer at her.
She sniffs the air and glances around as if my office is far beneath her status of… what… band groupie fresh off the tour bus. The other girls stand in front of the desk looking down at me.
The honey blonde glares at me from behind thin framed glasses, one hand propped on her hip. The red head looks down her straight nose at me with fierce green eyes, ready for a fight. I stand from my chair, putting us closer to the same level.
“What exactly can I do for you ladies?” I ask casually, waving Jordan back. He huffs a little before stepping towards the door.
“We’re Rachel’s friends,” the red head says haughtily.
“I’m Abbie,” says the blonde. She hooks a thumb in the direction of the red head. “This is Jess, and this is Cody.” The one in the beanie sends a wry smirk my way.