Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Hadley

I didn’t realize how crappy my body felt over the last year until I spent the past few weeks actually getting sleep. Having days off—let me repeat that having days off—was amazing. Lucy, Eli, and I lazed around in our pj’s on those days until we got bored. Then, I’d take them to the park by the lake if the older kids were outside the apartment, or we’d go to my parents’ house. We’d even Facetimed with Olivia—I appreciated being able to talk to my sister more.

I was nervous about starting at the hospital, but everything turned out okay. I was still getting to know everyone, but so far, everyone seemed great. I could see myself getting close to Rosalee, an RN a few years older than me. We clicked immediately on the first day.

Two weeks passed, and it was my first payday. I felt like a millionaire when I checked my account last night. CNA’s barely made more than minimum wage—in a nursing home you had to work a long time to build up better pay. The pending amount was amazing. I even called Mom, and we cried together. Reality hit me. School was over. I didn’t process it all until the stress from worrying over money finally fell from my shoulders. Well, almost. There was still the credit card to pay off, but other than that, things were looking up for my family.

At that moment, I was making good on the promise I had made Lucy. As soon as I got off work at seven, I picked up Lucy and Eli from my parents and headed to Walmart. We grabbed random stuff we only dreamed of buying because of my previous budget.

Before going to the food aisles, I took Lucy to pick out a toy. It wasn’t a surprise when she picked up a box of Hot Wheels cars. I picked up a new outfit for Eli, and then, headed to the makeup department for a few items and skincare products. It had been a long time since I purchased anything for myself—maybe since sophomore year. A lot of the nurses I worked with dressed nice and looked beautiful. Would it be wrong for me to want to be pretty again? It wouldn’t take away from me being Lucy and Eli’s mom.

After a few minutes of standing around, trying to figure out what to buy, Lucy looked up to me with a smile and asked, “Will you do my makeup too?”

She made my life easier, no matter what anyone said.

I’d been feeling a little lost, but slowly, the stress of nursing school and money lifted. Scott’s betrayal and absence in my life felt simpler and somehow less important. The only things that were significant were right there with me, happy with me.

Finally, we made it to the food section. We were content tossing items into the shopping cart like we’d never done before. I didn’t notice him at first since I didn’t know the man. At all. I was too busy with Eli in my arms and Lucy yelling for everything, but now I couldn’t stop glancing back at him. Was he following us? I couldn’t be sure, and I didn’t want to be one of those women who overreacted, but something seemed off about the older man. I didn’t want to be rude, but he seemed like a major creep.

Lucy brought over a half-gallon of chocolate milk and asked, “This?”

Placing a hand behind Eli’s head, I bent down toward Lucy and grinned. “How about a full gallon?”

Her eyes lit up as she ran to switch it out. Next, we hit the meats. We grabbed everything possible. Lucy was busy making plans for me to cook tacos when we got home even though it was already so late. She wanted BBQ ribs tomorrow and just mac and cheese another night. She was really thorough about what she wanted as she tossed everything in the shopping cart.

“Can I get some candy?” Lucy asked as I grabbed a loaf of bread.

I held up one finger. “Just one.” I searched around for the older man every so often, feeling better when I hadn’t seen him as we headed toward the front of the store. The shopping cart was overflowing, and I was mentally drained thinking about what came next—taking everything out of the cart, checking out, loading up the trunk, and driving home.

Ugh.

Right before we reached the registers, I saw Elijah. Not really him so much as his tattooed arm plucking a bag of Funyuns from the chip aisle. My gaze wandered over his dark jeans and black shirt, appreciating the familiar way they hugged his muscles, before landing on his face. My cheeks did a slow burn, and I quickly averted my eyes even though Elijah didn’t see me. Or did he?

What was that heated sensation in my chest coming from?

“Mommy is that Elijah?” Lucy mumbled and tapped my hip with her fingers. I was grateful she didn’t scream his name like she normally did.

“I think so,” I whispered even though we stood at a distance from him.

Eli grunted and stretched against my chest. I knew my beast boy would eventually squirm, especially when he’d been good for so long.

Slowly, Elijah turned our direction. I felt awkward and flushed, so I glanced down at Eli while running my fingers over his head.

From the corner of my eye, I caught Lucy waving. “Elijah!”

I counted to three and then looked up. Elijah walked toward us, a hint of a smile crossed his face as he stared at my daughter.

“Hey,” I murmured when he stopped in front of Lucy.

“You guys grocery shopping?” He glanced my way.

I nodded, gripping the cart with one hand and holding Eli’s head as he wiggled with my other.

“Can I have some Funyuns too?” Lucy blinked up at me.

“Yeah, let’s grab them and go,” I told her.

“Been a while.” Elijah’s voice was deep and gravelly as he spoke.

I pressed my lips together and gave him another nod. “It has.” He didn’t have to know that on my days off I watched him come home.

“I have those cars with the paint kits.” Elijah ran his fingers through his hair as he moved closer and turned in the direction we were heading—back to the chips aisle.

He was talking to me, but Lucy answered, “I knew you didn’t forget!” She bounced on her heels. “Can we do them when we get home?”

“It’s late, Lucy,” I mumbled quickly.

“I don’t mind,” Elijah said. He shrugged before rubbing the back of his neck. “Unless it’s close to her bedtime…”

I normally tried to get her in bed before ten most nights, but sometimes I’d let her stay up later.

“Please, Mommy?” More jumping from Lucy. “I want tacos, anyway.”

I sighed before finally giving in. “For a little while, okay? Let’s go check out.”

“Let me grab my chips.” Lucy took off like a bolt of lightning, and I always feared when she did. More than once, she thought it was okay to slip into another aisle, and I’d have to chase her down.

Remembering the creepy old man from earlier, I hurried after Lucy even though the chips were several feet away from us. Sure enough, standing by the bread was the same man. He was staring at me and Elijah who was walking next to me.

“What’s wrong?” Elijah asked, startling me.

How could he have sensed the change in me so quickly? Until Elijah spoke up, I hadn’t even noticed how my heart raced. My eyes drifted over toward the man before I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”

Elijah’s jaws tightened, and he strode over to Lucy. “You guys ready?” he asked. “Want to help me push the shopping cart, Lucy?”

I was too stunned to do anything, but let the two of them take it away from me. Lucy was so small tucked between the cart and Elijah as he helped her steer it. I glanced back toward the stranger. He was slightly annoyed, gripping his cart tightly as he glared at Elijah. With a stormy huff, he finally wandered off.

It wasn’t my imagination. The man had been following us. My heart sank to the floor. I stared at Elijah’s wide, menacing back. Lucy was hiding in front of him. I’d never realized how intimidating big, scary guys like Elijah were even to other men. Knowing he was there didn’t erase the disgust I felt, but it sure was comforting.

I was quiet as we unloaded our things and didn’t even protest as Elijah helped—I was still freaked out. No embarrassment or awkwardness was evident. After paying for our purchase, Lucy insisted we wait for Elijah to pay for his chips, deodorant, and body wash. After he was done, Elijah took the cart and walked us to my car. As soon as we got there, I removed Eli from the wrap since he was getting fussy. Someone was hungry.

It was dark by the time we walked out of Walmart. Elijah put our things into my trunk. I buckled Lucy in, walked to the driver’s seat, and sat down with Eli. He latched onto my nipple the moment I unhooked the strap on my nursing bra.

It was strange how Elijah and I hadn’t spoken to each other the entire time in the store yet I hadn’t stopped him from helping me. I blamed the easiness on my being creeped out.

“Let me see your phone,” I heard him say before he appeared at my opened door. A baby and a breast weren’t what he was expecting. He leaned back and turned around quickly. “I’m sorry—” Then very slowly, I could see him peeking around like he couldn’t help himself. He was so blatant with his eyes and blunt with his mouth, I wondered if he was aware of it?

“What do you need my phone for?” I fished it out of my scrub bottoms, unlocked it, and handed it to him

“So you can call me the next time you have to shop so late,” he murmured as he turned and took my phone. A few seconds later, I heard his phone ding, and then he returned mine. He must have given up not ogling. He propped his elbow on the roof of the car as he looked down at me. He wasn’t watching Eli nurse. No, his gaze was fixed on mine. “Do you realize you’ve been quiet since you spotted the pervy bastard following you guys around?”

“Language please!” I hissed, and Lucy giggled in the back. “And, no, I hadn’t noticed.”

“Do you realize how long you were in there?”

“No.” I scoffed. “But how do you know?”

“I can’t even remember why the fuck I went in there,” he continued, growing more frustrated.

I sighed. “I don’t, but you’re telling me all about it.” I was trying to figure out what he was complaining about.

Elijah tipped his head back. I could hear him swearing before he finally looked at me. “You guys make me worry. I’m not trying to be mean…”

“Because we’re your friends?” asked Lucy.

He slowly nodded. “Yeah, Lucy, we’re friends.” He tapped his knuckles on the car. “I’ll follow you guys home.”