And all because I’d asked him not to take off before his mother was due to show up. It wasn’t like she was coming over to see me after all...
I’ve saved every penny I’ve made since finding out about my pregnancy. Hadley and I were fairly well off considering my hard work at my job. If nothing else, I can afford to get us the hell out of this state and into a little house down in the country of a small town I had my girls looking into in Texas. I’d been preparing this from the first moment my husband decided to lay his hands on me. I stayed for my daughter, but eventually I had to come to terms that we were no longer in a safe place—physically, mentally, or emotionally. There’s nothing good for us in our home any longer.
Whether by sheer luck or determination of will, I don’t know, but things have come together fairly well considering the circumstances. We have a couple of houses lined up to look at when we reach our destination. I have a car and all of our memories packed up. We don’t have any furniture, but a couple of the houses I’m looking at come furnished. I still have my job because I can do it from anywhere. And most importantly, I have my daughter and the freedom to do whatever I have to to keep her safe. We are healthy and happy, and most importantly, we’re together and out of harm's way.
We’re currently stopped at a rest area with a picnic style set up from what’s left over in the cooler I filled before we ventured out on our long journey. Sandwiches, fruit, and some water bottles. Nothing extravagant, but enough to fuel us before we go on a little walk around the grounds to stretch our legs and get back on the road.
I was a little nervous bringing a two-year-old on such a long distance drive, but she’s been so great, even if I’ve gone a little crazy singing her every song in nursery rhyme history—even going as far as to make my own baby shark remix to keep things fresh. Hadley seems to prefer my singing over a lot of the albums on my playlist. Though she is a big fan of my little brother's music too.
I’m so proud of that kid. With a little help from me while Benji was overseas, he got emancipated and has successfully set himself up by making music with his friends. Now a low-key internet sensation, he’s doing really well for himself. He wouldn’t come with me when I told him that I’d finally left, but he’s legitimately traveling around the U.S. to go to gigs and make his dreams come true so I don’t blame him. He’ll visit when he can.
Aside from him, Demi, and Tate. No one else knows what happened to me and Hadley. I’m sure it’s a big scandal amongst the other military families in Benji’s infantry. Knowing him he’ll make up some asinine story about how we’ve abandoned him and some other bullshit that only he could be charming enough to pull off saying. I can only hope that some of them realize it’s all a bunch of lies. Not that it really matters what they think now.
I got fairly close with some of the other military spouses and on rare occasions it would’ve made Benji look bad to deny an invitation to one of their homes for a dinner party or something. I know that they took notice of the pain I was living in. Whether they could see through the lies or sense the danger emanating from him, I don’t know, but I do know that I’ve been cornered about it a few too many times and always made excuses for him.
I never have to do that again and I’m so fucking ecstatic. It feels like I’m taking my first real breath of fresh air since I said, “I do”.
Eighteen
New life blessings and a cute as fuck house
Aria
September 2020
“This is it,” I declare, looking around at large windows in the front room of the country house I’m standing in. It’s old and in desperate need of repair, but it’s… I don’t know, it’s justright.
“Are you sure Darlin’?” Janet, the realtor showing me houses, questions incredulously. “It needs quite a bit of love to make it livable. It passed its initial inspection by the skin of its teeth if I’m being honest. It comes with the furniture, because the owners are the family of the old woman who lived here before she passed away. They’re basically washing their hands of it, so they don’t want any of the furniture. Some of it is still fairly new, plus they had everything professionally cleaned and I have the receipts to verify. So, that’s nice.
“The roof is sustainable, the walls, ceilings, and floors show no signs of decay or mold. The electrical and plumbing all checked out as well. The actual faucets on the sinks need replacing, and the toilets as well, but that’s all cosmetic. The wallpaper is peeling in a few rooms because the woman that lived here was in her late eighties and couldn’t maintain the upkeep herself. The front and back yards need a lot of attention, specifically cutting back a lot of overgrowth. The deck in the back will potentially need to be rebuilt after a few years, but it isn’t considered dangerous. The pool out back is in perfect condition because it was never used, so really it would just need a good cleanin’ and to be filled.
“All in all, I guess it could be a cute place if you’re really serious about living here. Not to mention, I’m almost positive you can get it for less than market value since her family didn’t want to put in any additional effort to fix the place up. They just want to be rid of it. Personally, I understand why a lot of people wouldn’t want to move in. It’s not considered move-in ready. If you love it and are willing to put a little elbow grease into it, we can start the paperwork.” The realtor plasters a fake grin on her face, after her long spiel. How does she talk so fast without getting winded?
It’s clear that she really hates this house. I imagine she’d rather earn more money selling one of the other houses, but it’ll still earn her a commission to sell me this one, so can she really complain? It’s her loss if she can’t see the beauty beneath the faded paint and lifting floorboards. I think I can make this old house a home and I’m pretty sure I can offer below the asking price and still get it, which means I’ll have plenty of savings left to use for cleaning and redesigning this house.
“Hey, if the bones are good, I’ll take it. How soon can I get the keys?” I smirk, looking at the vaulted ceilings and openness of the house.
“We pre-qualified you before you made it out here, so really it’s just a matter of drawing up the papers and seeing if the owners will approve your offer. This house has been on the market for a long time with no interest whatsoever, so I’d say your chances are good. Once they approve, you’ll need an updated inspection of the home to make sure your offer doesn’t need to be adjusted to account for anything. After that, with how long this house has been listed, I’d say a week at most. All in all, I give it less than two weeks before you’re in this house.”
“Perfect! Do you mind if my daughter and I walk around the house one more time?”
“Go right on ahead, Honey. I’ll get this stuff goin’ and have things ready for you when you get back.” She waves me off while opening up her laptop on the living room table to start the process of making an offer on the house.
“C’mon Hadley, let’s go find you a bedroom!”
“Otay mama! My bedwoom. It’s mine!” She points her chubby little toddler hands to her chest, bouncing up and down, which make her pretty black curls follow suit.
God, I love this little girl. Her big blue eyes look up at me expectantly so I say, “Of course princess, it’s all yours!” and move her from one hip to the other. She’s a solid little girl. At her two year checkup, she was hopping off the charts for height and weight—perfectly proportional and totally healthy.
We make our way through the living area, then the dining room and kitchen. Everything is so open and welcoming, I love it. It’s all very spacious and not really what you’d expect from the old country home vibe it gives off from the outside. There’s even a wrap-around porch, with an actual porch swing, that turns into a large deck out the back, which leads to a big empty pool and the yard. I probably won’t put that high on my list of priorities just yet, but it’ll be nice to teach Hadley how to swim now that we’re in a hot state, coming up on summer. The front and back lawns are fairly expansive and trees line the property so there’ll be a sense of privacy and some shade for when Hadley wants to play outside.
We reach the stairs and I notice that it’s all original wood making up the banister. It matches the dark oak hardwood floors throughout the house. Some of the flooring needs fixed up, but I love that there’s no carpet. Everything about this house makes my heart happy, even the old parts that need me the most. I can see a future here, just me and my beautiful daughter. As I climb the stairs, I can envision Hadley stomping up them when she throws a fit as a young girl not getting her way. I can see her making her way down them in her prom dress when she’s in high school. I can see them lined with pictures of us as we grow up together and make this place our own.
“You ready princess?” I ask as I push open the door to the room across from the master bedroom.
“Mama!” she yells excitedly, pointing at the room. “It’s mine!” She repeats her earlier sentiment from downstairs and I laugh because she’s been saying that about everything lately.
“Yeah, love bug. It’s yours! What color should we paint it? Pink?” I guess and she shakes her head. “Purple?” I guess, but she shakes her head again. “Hm, maybe… yellow?” I ask, and her eyes light up with so much joy.
