Chapter Eighteen
Everly
My phone wouldn’t stop ringing, but despite running my arms around my bed, I had no idea where it was. I opened my eyes and glanced at the floor, where my phone was lit with an incoming call from Lacey.
“Hello?” I groaned into it and realized I hadn’t pressed Accept. “Hello.” I tried again.
“I lost my key,” Lacey said. “Open the door.”
I rubbed my eyes and slipped on a pair of pajama shorts along with a T-shirt and opened my door, where Lacey and Belle waited.
I moved aside to let them in. “Maybe losing the key was a sign,” I said and got myself a glass of orange juice.
“A sign that Belle needs to stop going through my purse looking for lost Shopkins?” Lacey offered. Belle smiled sheepishly and apologized.
“They’re just so tiny,” she said.
“That’s why I keep buying you carriers for them,” I said. “I’m guessing you're here for breakfast?”
“Can I put an order in now?” Lacey joked. I rolled my eyes and started getting out my pans. Without thinking, I started making my version of an egg and mushroom muffin, and realized that I had all the ingredients for French toast as well. A few minutes later and I was frying two diced potatoes in a skillet. It seemed Maddox was the one giving me inspiration for menus.
“I’m giving up on men,” Lacey said as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “I’ve had three awful dates in the past month. Three, Everly. Who has this kind of bad luck?”
“Someone who goes on three dates in a month? I don’t know,” I said. “You’re the one who always told me I needed to put myself out there.”
“I might have been wrong about that,” she said. “I might try again next month.”
“How’s kindergarten?” I asked Belle, desperate to change the subject.
“It’s fine. We’re making these weird macaroni drawings.”
“I remember doing that,” I said. “Your mom tore mine up and ate the raw noodles just to be a butt.”
“I wouldn’t trust the memory of a 5-year-old,” Lacey added as she scrolled through her phone at the breakfast bar.
“And yet you happen to remember the exact age I was when it happened.” Belle and I laughed. Lacey rolled her eyes and reminded me that she was the older sister, and therefore always right.
“You’re lucky you’re an only child,” I said to Belle. “Or else you’d have to deal with someone like her.”
“She says I’m too much like you,” Belle said.
“She’s right.” The more Belle had grown, the more she resembled me. I finished up the French toast and pulled the muffin tin out of the oven.
“So, have you started looking for another job?” Lacey asked as we ate breakfast. I hesitated. I didn’t want to have this conversation with her again, and I didn’t think it would end any better this time.
“Since 18 hours ago when you first suggested it? No,” I said. “And like I said last night, I’m not sure if I want to find another job.”
“Everly, don’t be like that. The guy purposefully lied to you about having a kid. That’s reason enough to quit. If he’ll lie about that, what other kinds of things will he lie about?”
“She really isn’t that bad,” I said. “I met her yesterday. She’s a good kid.”
“It doesn’t matter if she’s royalty,” Lacey argued. “It’s the fact that he hid her from you, and probably wasn’t going to tell you about her until way later, if he was going to come clean at all.”
“I really don’t think he was planning on hiding her forever,” I said. “He’s not a bad guy. He’s just a little nervous to be dating again. He hasn’t since he had her, and I can see why it might intimidate someone. I remember you weren’t so keen on getting back out there.”
“He’s a bad father,” Lacey said, and I felt the sudden urge to defend him. “Has he told you anything about the baby mama?”
I realized he hadn’t. “Well, no. But I figured that might be a hard topic to bring up. What if she died?”
“Then she would be the least of your worries,” Lacey said, and I flinched at the dark humor. “But if she isn’t? You have no idea, and that’s not something you want to get involved in. Plus, aren’t you against divorcees? The odds that they’re divorced are overwhelming at his age.”
“He’s not that old,” I said.
“For me, no, he’s not that old. But for you?” Lacey spoke as I washed the dishes. “I’m just saying this is too complicated, especially since you don’t even know the full story yet. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.”
I couldn’t argue with that. Lacey wasn’t entirely wrong, but I didn’t want to give in so easily.
“I’ll see how this next week goes, okay?” I offered. “If it’s awkward, or if I find out he’s lied about anything else, then I’ll quit. No questions.”
“Promise?” Lacey asked, and I nodded.
“Good. Now that we have that over with, I just have to complain for a moment about Kim.” She sat at the table and explained in great detail how her coworker was slowly ruining the company. Belle sat quietly at the dinner table and played on a tablet. I tried paying attention to Lacey, but my thoughts continued to run back to Maddox and Abby, and if Belle and Abby would get along.
“Time for kindergarten,” Lacey said and got their things ready. We said goodbye, and I shut the door behind them.
I had made the decision to crawl back into bed when my phone rang. I picked it up, assuming Lacey forgot something, and flinched as Mom’s voice screeched on the other line.
“I have been calling you for over a week, Everly Winters.” The strict tone in her voice would have a drill sergeant shaking in his boots, and I was surprised she hadn’t inserted my middle name as well. “Were you ever planning on calling me back?” I knew better than to answer that question with a big hell no.
“I texted you,” I offered. “It’s the same thing.” To any normal person.
“It is not, and you know that. Now, what’s this Lacey mentioned about you quitting your job?” she asked, and I groaned. Of course, Lacey couldn’t keep her big mouth shut. “You need that job to pay off your loans.” Here we go again.
“I have a new job, Mom,” I said. “This one is going to help me pay it off faster.”
“Is this job one of those at-will employers? Because you know what I’ve always said about those. They’re not trustworthy, and you’re as replaceable as the next person. Everly, you need to find a nice job at a bank. One with regular work hours, and paid time off. You’re putting the wrong degree to work, darling.”
“I have all of those benefits.” I lied. I wasn’t sure if I had paid time off. Or sick leave. Maybe I should have asked Maddox these questions.
“Can you double your monthly payments?” she asked.
“Yes,” I said, and realized that I could. “I can triple them at this point.”
“Oh, thank God,” Mom said. “Maybe you’ll finally put a small dent in them.” She was wearing me out, and I’d had enough of her dramatics for one day already.
“Thanks, Mom.” I sighed, wishing I could disappear. It might be the only way to avoid her from future calls. “Listen, I have a lot of stuff to do.” Plus, I already knew how important it was to pay the loans. I didn’t need to hear it from her every time she called.
“Just promise you’ll actually call me back from now on.” There was a sincere plea and genuine concern in her tone, so I agreed.
“I love you,” I said, and hung up. Saints help me, I did love the woman, no matter how much she drove me insane.
I promptly returned to bed, where thoughts of my student loans and bills and debts filled my head. In a way, both my mom and Lacey were right. I really needed to focus on money, and saving up enough to one day start on my dream. But at the same time, I was right about this job helping with exactly that. I did need the money, and I needed it bad.
I couldn’t afford to start over from scratch, which meant I couldn’t afford to mess up what I currently had. Which, at the end of the day, meant I couldn’t afford to have feelings for Maddox. Everything was a huge mess, and I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t follow my heart or my head without losing out in one way or another.
I groaned and pressed my face into my pillow. Lacey was right; I really had no idea what I was getting myself into.