I shook my head, clearing the memory away. I pressed my hand to my forehead. Because as magically as that had been, it wasn’t a happy ending. I remember how he climbed off of me, and like a Band-Aid being ripped off, rejected me.
“That was fun. We got it out of our system.”
We had been walking around each other for months, knowing, but never uttering the words. Brandon was my mate, but he could reject me. I wasn’t a full shifter; my blood mixed with my mother’s, a witch. Everyone would understand if he wanted someone else.
But he’d kissed me. He’d pulled me into my room. He’d sweet-talked me. So, I thought he was accepting me. I thought he was okay with it. For God’s sake, he was my brother’s best friend.
I had been wrong and tried hard to put it behind me. I could just focus on school and establish a life for myself. But then my period never came, and my world tipped upside down.
I remember staring at the test for hours. I sat on my bathroom floor, no tears forming. I just stared, my hand numb on my stomach as I pictured what my life was going to be. No school. No future. A child for whom I would be responsible.
I’d thought of aborting. It was only a moment, but I had thought about it. Brandon had rejected me, so a child wasn’t going to change that. I was just a graduate student from high school. I had no job, no money, no home. I had nothing.
But I remembered just how badly I couldn’t do that. Even if Brandon wasn’t around, even if I didn’t deserve this baby, I couldn’t just give it up.
I felt tears break and I quickly wiped at them. I had worked hard. I studied hard while pregnant, taking courses to improve my technology abilities. I learned everything and anything I could that I knew would be useful for a position.
I worked on Excel and studied how to make spreadsheets. I worked hard on typing and ensuring I could type quickly without mistakes. I spent hours searching for jobs that offered good health insurance, as well as ones where I could stay and thrive.
I interviewed and got rejected left and right. Each month, my stomach grew bigger, and with it, a weight seemed to press down on me. And then something finally gave.
There was an opening as a bookkeeper in the County office. It was in the back, away from people. They were desperate for someone, anyone, to come in. However, they required at least three years of experience.
It was the first time I put everything into myself. I showed off just how quick I was to learn, how hard I had worked on my skills. I had got it.
A month later, I had found my crappy little apartment. It was only supposed to be for a year, but at least it was a start.
Ilsa was my everything, and when I gave birth to her alone at the hospital, I knew that I had made the best choice of my life. She was my air and my soul. She was my everything.
I shook my head and squared my shoulders. I walked over, grabbing my briefcase. I pulled it open and plopped all the paper down onto the table. I sat down, staring at it all. I wasexhausted, deep to my bones, but I promised her a day of fun tomorrow, and I was giving her just that.
I woke the next morning to my phone going off. I groaned, rolling over and glancing at it. My stomach dipped as I realized it was my father. I sat up, rubbing a hand over my face, and answered it.
“Hello?”
“Morning, Jade. I need you to come down to the house.”
I blinked, trying to shake my sleep off. I sat up a little more, swinging my legs out from under my sheets. “I…what?”
“I need you to come to the house. You and Ilsa are expected within the next hour.”
I shook my head. “Dad, that’s not…”
“Excuse me?”
I stopped and swallowed. “I promised Ilsa a day out.”
“This won’t take long.”
The line ended before I could say anything, and I sighed, tossing my phone to the other end of the bed. I groaned, rubbing at my eyes. I did not want to go to my father’s. Honestly, it was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Mamma.”
I jumped and looked toward my door, finding Ilsa was already dressed. Her skirt was on backward, and her socks were inside out, but she’d tried. She had a big smile on her face as she bounced on her toes.
“You have to get up.”
I nodded at her. “We will. But first, come here. Let’s fix your outfit.”
