2. Courtney

COURTNEY

Beep, beep, beep. The blaring noise from my alarm wakes me from a dead sleep. It"s way too early for the day to start, but that"s my reality these days. I climb out of bed and walk over to my dresser, pressing the button to turn my alarm off. If I don"t have it set across the room from me, I"ll just reach over, shut it off, and go back to sleep.

With my alarm off, I raise my arms up over my head, stretching my tired body. Working the weekends at the Burger Shack puts me on my feet for hours at a time, and I"m just not used to that. Add in the forty hours a week I work at a day care, taking care of toddlers, and I"m one tired girl.

I slip on some workout clothes and head out to the small living room. I remain as quiet as possible so that Jax stays asleep while I get in my morning workout. I pull up the streaming app and flip through the classes, find a thirty-minute stretching one, and get settled.

Once finished, I head for the shower, and then it"s on to getting dressed, waking Jax up, and feeding him breakfast before it"s time for us to leave in the morning. Thankfully, he can come to work with me and catch his school bus from there.

"Hey, little man." I rub his back as he sleeps soundly in his bed. He"s not much of a morning person, not that I blame him. He rolls over, rubbing at his face as he wakes up.

"Mornin", Momma," he groggily greets.

"Did you sleep well?" I ask as he sits up.

"Yeah." He yawns as he stretches.

"Ready for some breakfast?" Occasionally, he"ll wait to eat breakfast until after we"re at the day care.

"Can I have French toast sticks?" he asks.

"I think we still have some. Let me go check. You get dressed and go to the bathroom," I instruct him before leaving his room to check the freezer. I"m in luck because the box has five sticks left. I pop them into the toaster oven and immediately add them to the grocery list hanging on my fridge.

By the time the toaster oven timer dings, Jax has made his way to the table, where he"s sitting nicely and waiting for his breakfast. I pour him a small cup of milk and add a small amount of syrup to his plate before setting everything down in front of him. I kiss the top of his head before I go back for my cup of coffee and bowl of yogurt and granola.

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" I ask as I sit down across from him to eat my breakfast.

I can see his mind at work as he thinks hard about the question.

"Spaghetti with meatballs and that really yummy bread," he says.

"The kind with the cheese?" I ask.

"Yep!"

"That"s cheesy garlic bread," I tell him. "But spaghetti it is." I make a mental note to check that we have everything I"ll need to make dinner. Otherwise, I"ll have to stop at the store after work.

"Do I have to stay at school late again?" Jax asks after he finishes his food.

"Yes, that will be every day, now that I got you into the after-school program," I remind him.

"Why can"t I just come with you?" he asks.

"I wish you could, but they don"t have an opening for you in the afternoons." I do my best to explain to him, but kid ratios don"t mean much to most kindergartners.

"Oh." He sighs loudly.

"It looked like you were having fun on Friday when I picked you up."

"Yeah, but I was tired of being at school for so long."

"I know, buddy. It does make for a long day, but I need a safe place for you to be while I"m at work. They had an opening, so we"ll have to stick it out for now and make the best of it."

"Okay," he easily agrees. If I"m thankful for one thing, it"s how easygoing he is.

"If you"ve finished eating, go brush your teeth, and then you can pick out your snack for the day. Hot lunch is grilled cheese with apple slices. Do you want that or for me to pack you something?" I ask.

"Hot lunch," he answers as he races to the bathroom. I quickly clean up our breakfast dishes and place them in the dishwasher before I pack my lunch for the day. Twenty minutes later, we"re in the car and on our way to work.

I collapseonto Jax"s bed while he picks out the book he wants me to read before it's time to sleep; the day was long and tiring. A room full of two-year-olds is exhausting, to say the least.

"This one!" he finally says, holding it out to me as he climbs into bed. I take the book and flip it over, reading the title, Froggy Goes to Camp. Ah yes, a favorite of his, and one that I could probably recite from memory, thanks to all the times I"ve read it.

I read the final page, yawning through the last few pages. As I close the book, I"m usually met with pleas to read a second one or the same one again, but not tonight. I look down at Jax and find him sound asleep. He looks so dang peaceful. I know packing him up and moving back to my hometown was the best thing for us both, but I still have those small shreds of doubt that make me wonder if it really was the best thing for him. To move him away from his dad and what he knew as home.

"I love you, baby boy," I whisper before pressing a kiss to his cheek. He doesn"t flinch a muscle at the contact, so I know he"s already in a deep sleep for the night. I stay for a few more seconds, soaking in the moment with him before heading into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I"m just as exhausted as he is and ready to crawl into my own bed.

I wash my face and apply some night face cream before I head back into the kitchen and finish up the last few dishes that need to be hand washed from dinner. I packed up the leftovers to take for lunch tomorrow, so that"s one less thing I"ll have to do in the morning, which is always a win. Once my kitchen is clean, I snag the grocery list off the fridge and look it over, then check the fridge and pantry to make sure I didn"t miss writing down anything we need. Once I"m confident my list is complete for the next week or so, I take it with me to bed. I pull out my tablet and sign in to the grocery store"s website to submit my online order. I swear, online grocery shopping was the best invention, especially for busy moms who don"t have time to shop. I check my online cart one last time before hitting the submit button and choosing my pickup window for after work tomorrow.

With that chore done, I pull up my book and read a few pages before sleep claims me.

Oh,Zack, yes, harder. Fuck me harder. I pant as he thrusts his cock into me. I have never been fucked this hard, nor have I ever had multiple orgasms during one session of sex. I"m just about to come when someone shakes me and calls Mom.

I bolt up, waking from the most vivid dream I"ve ever had. I can"t believe I was dreaming about Zack and I having sex. My breathing is labored after that dream and being woken up suddenly.

"What"s wrong?" I ask Jax. He"s standing next to my bed, looking at me as I take him in.

"I puked," he says, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"Oh, buddy, where did you puke?" I ask, hoping and praying that it isn"t in his bed.

"The bathroom floor. I couldn"t make it to the toilet." He cries a little harder.

"Don"t worry about it. I"ll get it cleaned up. How"s your tummy now?" I ask as I get out of bed.

"It hurts," he says.

"I"m sorry. Let"s get you cleaned up and back to bed. Hopefully, one puke is all you needed."

"Okay, Momma."

I take him into my bathroom, stripping him down out of his pj"s that have puke on them. "Do you want to take a shower or bath?" I ask.

"No, but can I sleep with you?" he asks.

"Of course." I pull him into a hug. "You go sit on my bed, and I"ll grab you some clean clothes."

I get him dressed and tucked into the other side of my bed, then go into the main bathroom and clean up the floor. By the time I make it back to bed, he"s sound asleep again. I check his forehead to make sure he isn"t running a fever, and thankfully, he isn"t. Hopefully, it was just something not sitting right in his stomach, as I can"t afford to miss multiple days of work staying home with him. I check the time, and it"s only two o"clock. I still have a few hours to sleep before my alarm goes off.

Courtney

Hey, any chance you"re off today?

Ryan

I have some errands to run, but otherwise, I"m not busy today. What"s up?

Courtney

Jax was up puking last night, so I can"t send him to school. I really don"t want to call in to work if I can avoid it. Any chance he can hang out with you today?

Ryan

Not a problem at all, Sis. Do you want me to come over there, or did you want to drop him by?

Courtney

I can bring him by. He says he feels better, so I think it was just dinner not settling right for some reason. We ate the same thing, and I"ve been fine.

Ryan

Not worried about some kid puke.

Courtney

You"re the best big brother ever. I"ll bring him over in about twenty minutes.

"Uncle Ryan saidyou can come hang out with him today."

"Yay!" he cheers, and I can absolutely tell he"s back to his normal self. He just has to stay home from school due to the twenty-four-hour rule.

I run around, packing a bag for him for the day, grab my own, and we"re out the door and on our way to my brother"s house so I can drop Jax off before I head to work.