Everything In Between (COMPLETED)

BEFORE|| Before You Go

The smallest hint of a smile touched at the outer corners of my mouth as I watched Ashley crawl across the rug to my daughter. Danni sat up once she'd reached her teether across the small space and held it between her godmother and herself, her little belly laugh contagious. Ash playfully tackled her back onto the rug, burying a hand in her little blonde curls, then started tickling her once she was on the ground again.

"You my favorite person in the world." Ash said with a grin. "Don't tell your mama that though."

I smiled as I bowed my head. My eyes immediately caught the bruise on my wrist, and I quickly pulled the sleeve of my red sweater down to cover up before Ashley spotted it.

"One of these days I'm just going to steal her." Ash threatened jokingly. But I didn't smile this time.

There was a part of me as I sat in the middle of my best friend's apartment, under a roof, with a refrigerator full of food, and a great paying job that wanted her to do just that. Provide Danielle with the life I couldn't. As hard as I tried to convince Dalton to let me work again, he refused, finding an excuse for every reason I pulled, as if he'd already planned to deflect every scenario I tried to bring to light. His latest and favorite excuse was that Danielle was still young and she needed her mother. Last week it was that we couldn't afford childcare. I was sure he'd have a new one pulled straight from his ass tonight.

"Har, your phone's been ringing for like five minutes." Ash's quiet breath of concern brought me back to the present. "You should answer, babe, could be important."

I extended my arm to grab my phone from where it was vibrating on the coffee table and rose shakily, forcing a weak smile when Danni lifted her head to watch me retreat down the hall and to the security of Ash's bathroom. I set the phone on the counter and watched Dalton's call go to voicemail before I examined the dozen of missed calls and condescending text messages. Swallowing my anxiety, I brought the phone to my ear to listen to the voicemail he'd left.

"You want to sit and ignore me? I'll bring my happy ass right down to Ashley's house and cause a whole fucking scene. Get your ass back home."

I clutched the phone tightly in my grasp to keep my hand from trembling as I brought it back to my side. When I forced myself to stare down my reflection, I immediately got nauseous at the sight of me. A once pretty face was sunken in and lacking color. Dark circles rimmed my bloodshot eyes, lips chapped, bloody, and bitten raw form anxiety.

Knowing better than to test the extent in which Dalton was willing to go to prove a point, I slipped out of the bathroom and headed for my daughter's diaper bag on the couch. I started packing our stuff without as much as a glance in my best friend's direction.

"Harley?" Ash shot to her feet, Danni on her right hip. "Har, what are you doing? Is everything okay?"

I didn't look at her, but folded Danni's blanket and stuffed it at the bottom of the diaper bag, tears threatening to escape as I tried to keep myself composed.

"Harley Jane Mason." Ash said through her teeth, setting Danni back in front of the toy box she'd bought specifically for these occasions. "Is it Dickhead? Because if he for even a second believes that I'm scared—"

"It's getting late." I whispered, hardly audible with Danni clapping and babbling across the room. "We should get home. It's almost bedtime for Danielle."

Ash didn't buy the lie and grasped my shoulders hard and shook me twice before forcing my chin up to stare at her. "You don't have to go back. Stay here. We can figure everything out."