We got back to Dani's and I got Makayla started on her homework before launching into the job applications. I was filling out at least three a day, basically anything that seemed like they might hire me, whether it was a good fit or not. So far, I'd gotten nothing in response. That weekend, I had plans to scour a few neighborhoods for local shops that were hiring. A lot of them didn't put their jobs online, but just placed signs in their windows. That was how I'd found the flower shop job.
After I exhausted the job search options, I looked over my budget again. I'd already eliminated basically everything but rent, food, and bills, but it still wasn't enough. It was time to start seeing which bills I could let slide for a month or two. It occurred to me that because we were staying with Dani, it wouldn't matter if they turned off the electricity. We were already behind a month, so I might as well let it lapse while we weren't there. I figured they'd charge me a fee to restart it, but hopefully by then I'd have found a new job. And if not, well, there was always the option of staying with Dani longer.
I closed the computer and looked around Dani's small one-bedroom apartment. Makayla and I were squeezed onto a two-person table that was the only thing that could fit in the tiny kitchen. The living room just barely had room for the couch and TV, and Dani's bedroom held her queen-size bed and little else. There was basically room to walk around the bed, and that was it. Makayla and I had been sleeping there while Dani slept on the couch.
I sighed and tried not to cry. I knew Dani didn't mind helping us, but I felt horrible taking advantage of her like that. I wondered if I should go back to the restaurant and beg for my job back. When I'd left that night, I'd told myself I was through. But that was several crises ago. As much as it made me cringe, I knew they could use me, and I wasn't above begging if it meant I could pay rent.
I heard a key turning in the lock and seconds later Dani came through the door, shouting "Pizza!" and balancing two large pizza boxes on her head.
"Pizza!" Makayla shouted, jumping up from the table.
"Hey, hey," I called after her. "Is your homework done?"
"Yes, I'm just coloring now," she shouted over her shoulder, already grabbing at the boxes. I cleared up our stuff off the table so Dani could set them down.
"I thought we were just doing leftovers tonight," I said, mentally trying to calculate how much the pizza had cost. Dani shrugged.
"I decided to splurge."
"How much was..." I started.
"Don't worry about it. My treat."
"Dani, we're already staying in your apartment. You don't need to buy us pizza."
"Excuse me, I bought myself pizza. You're just lucky enough to be here."
"Lucky pizza, lucky pizza," Makayla sang, making up her own little tune. Dani and I couldn't help but laugh. Delighted, she continued to make up more verses.
After dinner I put Makayla to bed and Dani hopped in the shower. She came out to find me sitting on the couch, lost in thought. She plopped down next to me.
"So, not that I don't love having you, and you can stay as long as you want, but... how long do you think you need to hide from this guy?"
I shrugged. "I don't know."
"You don't really think he'd come to your place, right? Like how would he even know?"
"You know everything has a price, Dani. And trust me, whatever the price is, he can pay it. I just want to stay out of his way and hopefully let him forget all about us." I sighed.
"What's with you, Deira?" I looked up to see Dani's troubled eyes fixed on me.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I don't think you've ever backed down from a fight. Why are you running scared from this guy?"
"He's not just some guy, Dani. He's her father. He could sue for custody, and he's rich. I don't mean kind of well-off. I mean incredibly rich. He offered to replace my car with a new one out of pocket and didn't even blink. And, well, you remember what I told you his um... personality? When we were... together..."
Dani rolled her eyes.
"When you had wild, passionate sex all night? Yeah, I remember. You wouldn't shut up about it."
I could feel my cheeks flush. I thought I was done being embarrassed about this one-night stand. After all, choosing to have Makayla meant everyone who was acquainted with me knew it had happened. Even Dani saying that was enough to bring the blood rushing to my face. I suddenly had a flood of memories, of sensations from that night that I thought I'd long forgotten. His hands on my skin, strong, commanding. Him pushing me to the bed, rough in just the way I liked it. His eyes running up the length of my body and meeting my own with pure desire. God, more than my cheeks were getting hot. I shook my head to clear it, but the hold he still had on me just proved my point.
Dani wouldn't talk about it so casually if she'd experienced it, if she'd looked into his eyes and felt how impossible it was to not give him everything he wanted. A man like that, and with money, too? I might not be afraid of a fight, but I knew better than to punch above my weight. If he decided to take Makayla, I was sure that was a fight I'd lose. And unlike that night, he wouldn't make it enjoyable.
"Hey," Dani said, bringing me back from my memories. "Don't worry about it, okay? It's all going to work out."
"You can't possibly know that," I said.
"Of course, I can. Because I'm here, and I'm going to help!"
"Oh, yeah? You're going to get me a new job and a new car and a fighting chance at taking on maybe the richest man I've ever met in person in a court of law?"
Dani winked and snapped her fingers to point at me. "Yes! Exactly!"
I rolled my eyes.
"I appreciate the confidence, but forgive me if I don't hold my breath."
"You don't have to hold your breath," Dani said, sitting down beside me on the couch and wrapping her arms around me. She hugged me tightly, and I involuntarily sighed. I was so tired.
"All you have to do," she continued, "is trust me. First of all, there's no way any jury is going to look at you and Makayla's bond and think she could ever live with anyone else. Okay? So put that thought out of your mind. And second, I am going to find you the perfect job, and then you'll have money to get a car, and your life will be good again, and it's all going to turn out fine." She punctuated those last few words by squeezing me tightly. "Okay?"
I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Your line is, okay, Dani, I trust you. It's all going to turn out fine," she said.
"Okay Dani, I trust you. It's all going to turn out fine," I repeated.
She frowned. "We need to work on your emoting, but I'll take it for now." She squeezed me even tighter, and I leaned into the hug, laying my head on her shoulder.
God, I hoped there was a way that it all would turn out fine.