Gritting my teeth, I fought every natural urge I had to fight back, knowing it wouldn’t be any use.
All it would get me was punishment.
Locked away.
Possibly beaten.
And while telling Lisa to go fuck herself could have been worth a few days of not being able to get out of bed, it wasn’t worth it.
Because a few days ago, things changed.
So I shut my mouth.
“I said… Are. We. Clear?”
I cleared my throat, swallowing back the tears, and answered, “Crystal.”
1
Zoey
“Blair, move it,” I called from the front door of our little two-bedroom apartment.
My foot tapped impatiently on the tiled floor as I once again took another look at the time on my phone. I was going to be late—nothing new there.
“Keep your pants on,” my teenage daughter screamed back at me, forcing me to take two deep, hopefully calming breaths.
The kid was the brightest light in my life, but Blair was also the sharpest pain in my ass. She was like a walking, talking lesson in karma.
A few seconds later, Blair came flying out of her room, her backpack hanging from one shoulder as she hopped around fighting to pull on one of her shoes. “I’m just letting it be known again…” she protested, slightly out of breath, “… I’m not happy about this.” Blair finally got the defiant shoe on and huffed out an exhausted breath.
“Noted, for the eighty-fourth time.”
She stuck her tongue out at me as she headed for the front door, and I returned the gesture—because I was fucking mature like that—before pulling it closed behind us.
“Why couldn’t I just go to the local public school?” Blair continued to groan as we pulled out of the apartment complex parking lot in my trusty Toyota. This car had gotten us across the country and back again on several occasions. I’d been waiting for years for her to break down, but she was hanging in there.
Blair yanked uncomfortably at the collar of her polo shirt, then her nose screwed up in disgust. “You know… public school,” she continued in annoyance when I didn’t reply. “Where they don’t wear plaid skirts and collared shirts that make me feel like I’m being slowly decapitated.”
“Wow! Where’s your crown at, drama queen?” I snorted.
Blair patted her hand around on the top of her head. “Oh, dammit, I must have left it back at the apartment with my get-me-the-hell-out-of-here wand.” I tried hard not to smile. “I have a feeling I’m gonna need that today, so can we go back and get it?”
“Sorry, your majesty. The carriage is almost at the kingdom,” I informed her in a snooty-tooty voice, pointing to the large building up ahead.
“Fantastic.”
She felt like I was punishing her. And while I’d always fought tooth and nail to make sure Blair was happy, this was one of those times where I had to put my foot down and remind myself, she would thank me later.
After six different public schools in three years, five of which were in neighborhoods where I was afraid she was going to get gunned down by gang bangers, I was finally at a point in my life where my business was thriving, and I was able to afford to give her the education I didn’t get. Yes, we were still living in a tiny apartment, but the complex we were in had security, a pool, and it was nice. Right now, all my money was going into Blair’s schooling and advertising myself around the city.
We’d been here for just under three weeks. I’d secured myself a high-profile job doing the interior design for around twenty new apartments, which were being built a few blocks from our new home.
It was the biggest job I’d had to date—hence the move down here from Montana.
It was an opportunity I couldn’t say no to. It would keep us going for the next couple of months, then I just had to cross my fingers and hope they liked me enough to keep me on to do other projects with them, or they would recommend me to others. Basically, it was a leap of faith, one that Blair had taken with me more times than I could count on both hands.
It’d been her and I against the world since she was born. In a few months, she’d be the same age I was when I’d gotten pregnant—sweet sixteen— but in reality, she was an old soul already.
She’d had to grow up fast.
We both had.
And I was determined to make this stop the last one—the place where we could finally settle down and stop running.
I had to make this work.
I was going to make it work.
Come hell or high water.
When I pulled up to the curb outside the school, we sat there for a few minutes, staring at the perfectly constructed and intricately designed building.
“We both know I’m not fancy enough for this place, Mom,” Blair murmured, continuing to stare at the imposing structure in front of us.
It was hard for me to see her so nervous and unsure of herself. Blair was a fighter, but there were still moments where she struggled to find her feet in unfamiliar situations. Her fingers twirled unconsciously in her curly blonde hair. She hadn’t bothered to straighten it this morning, and even though it was pulled back from her face with a headband, it was wild and thick and often reminded me of a lion’s mane. And the girl was just as damn fierce as one too.
A sharp bell rang, and the few students who were scattered around the front of the building rushed away. A handful of girls scurried past the car, chatting and giggling to themselves.
Apart from the uniform, these kids looked like normal kids, the same as the ones you would find at any public school. Except they were going to get a better education, and they were going to have teachers who were paid to put in the extra time and effort with each student. These kids were going to be given opportunities to succeed with support, resources, and money. And as far as I was concerned, my daughter was going to be right alongside them, getting the education that I was denied. And it was going to be a damn good one, so I didn’t have to watch her struggle or fight to make a life for herself like she’d had to watch me do.
I took her hand in mine and squeezed. “Just do you, baby girl,” I encouraged her, drawing her eyes to me. I could see she was a little scared. I got it. I did. This shit was frightening as hell. “Fancy or not… who cares. Because you’re smart, and here, you’re gonna be challenged, and you’re going to excel.”
She sighed, nodding slowly.
Blair was smart—that was no understatement. Sometimes I wondered if she was too smart for her own good. Trust me, I wasn’t one of those parents who thought their kids were perfect angels and could do no wrong. Nope, that dream went out the window when I was called to the principal’s office on her second day of Pre-K.
She wasn’t a bad kid, honestly.
“Do you think they’ll give me detention on my first day?” Blair asked as she reached for the door handle. I threw my head back and closed my eyes, praying to fucking anyone who would listen that she would at least last the first day. Unfortunately, along with her big heart and sparkling blue eyes, the other trait that rivaled her huge brain was her smart mouth and her inability to keep it shut when she felt like she had something to say.
“Blair… pleas—”