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"Charli keep your hand on this cart and don't move," I said while walking down the aisles of the grocery store.
She looked up at me and smiled, "Okay mommy."
Charli was never the type of child to give me any trouble, so I was never worried about her behavior. That's what makes her such a breath of fresh air because she makes me forget all about the messed up shit in my life.
"Apple Jacks or Fruit Loops?"
"Apple Jacks mommy," she said before grabbing the box off of the shelf and throwing it into the cart for me.
"Thank you sweets," I said before pushing the cart out of the aisle.
I continued to cross things off of my grocery list as I placed things in the basket. I finished gathering everything I needed before making my way to the front of the store to check out.
While putting things on the conveyor belt I looked down to see Charli being nosey and touching stuff on the shelf.
"Charli put that down," I said while turning back around to put some more things on the belt.
"How are you doing today ma'am?" The young cashier asked me.
I smiled at her, "I'm fine, thank you," I said turning around to finish getting the rest of the stuff out of the cart.
As I grabbed whatever was left, I looked down and noticed Charli wasn't standing by the cart anymore. My heart immediately dropped.
I dropped the stuff back in the basket and stepped out of the line to see if I could see her.
"Charli!" I yelled while walking through the store. I was earning stares from people, but I could honestly care less right now. My child is missing.
I continued to look through each aisle while calling her name. She was nowhere to be found, and I started to feel tears gather at the brim of my eyes.
"No, no, no," I said while running my hands down the sides of my face. If it isn't one thing going on in my life, it's another.
As I walked around the corner, I bumped into a hard chest causing me to stumble backward.
I looked up and saw two men and one was holding Charli, I immediately grabbed her out of his arms and started kissing all over her face.
"Don't ever run away like that again Charli, you had mommy worried sick," I said while rubbing my hands through her hair.
"I'm sorry mommy," she said while rubbing her eyes, indicating that she was upset.
"You need to keep a closer eye on her, I see she likes to run around," I heard a deep voice say.
I looked up to see that guy Dave that I met a while ago, who was supposedly my "new friend."
