Sing Me To Sleep » styles

six

The doorbell rang, the usual routine still brightening my day because of the thought of seeing Maria.

I walked over to open the door.

It was Mrs. Williams.

"Hi there, Harry. Did you miss me?" She let out a small laugh.

All I hoped was for the sadness in my eyes not noticeable. I completely forgot that Maria was only here for a little while. Now that Mrs. Williams came back from her vacation, she was gone. Everything was back to normal.

"Mrs. Williams," I greeted her with a kiss on the cheek. "Back so soon?"

"Yes of course! I missed Cherry way too much during my trip." She walked near to Cherry, who was busy in building a tiny tower of blocks. I could see Cherry frowning at the sight of Mrs. Williams but tried not to show it.

With the fact of Maria being gone from our lives now, I wondered when I'll ever see her. "Would you happen to know where Maria is?"

"She's probably in her apartment still, but she wants to get away. I don't know where she has been to lately." Mrs. Williams replied.

My eyebrows furrowed in confusion, since Maria never mentioned that with me. "Getaway? What do you mean?"

"She.. She's dealing with something right now and she wishes to have a brand new start." Mrs. Williams spoke with pity in her voice. "But it's her life, so we'll see."

"Y-yeah." I nodded to end the talk about Maria. She held onto Cherry when she spoke. Cherry reluctantly hugged Mrs. Williams, a smile soon growing when she was tickled by Mrs. William's soft hands.

I laughed a little in amusement. It was always fun to see my daughter growing a fond with everyone around her. She had this likable trait, something I remembered Lucille having. "No no no! Daddy!" Cherry squealed and waddled over to my side, throwing her arms around my neck. She didn't want to get tickled.

I grunted at the sudden force she held on to me, laughing. "I need to go to work now, Cherry." I squeezed her even tighter as I gave her a big kiss on the cheek, receiving a giggle from her.

"I love you," She gushed, her smile automatically brightening my mood.

"I love you more than life itself." I whispered in her ear before standing up. "Thank you, Mrs. Williams. I'll be back soon."

"I'll see you later, Harry."

"Bye daddy!" My daughter waved at me, smiling from ear to ear.

I blew her a kiss. "Goodbye, princess." I then shut the door and walked to my car. I let my hands get shoved into my jean pockets, wanting them to warm up. Winter time may have its benefits, but the coldness always gave me chills. I shivered as I got in my car. I drove out to the club I worked in, which wasn't that far from where I lived.

I thought about the times Maria spent with us. She was someone Cherry wanted to see everyday when I left. She was someone that could calm Cherry down as she cried in her sleep, whenever she had nightmares about Lucille. Where did Maria go? She never told me that she was leaving. The most frustrating thing in the world was that I didn't know where she lived. I had no clue.

The chilling breeze immediately blew past my face once I closed my car door. "Jesus," A puff of air slipped from my mouth while walking in. The hot and humid air the club gave off, for once, refreshed me. I didn't want to be in the cold for so long.

I stood behind the bar and prepped the drinks upright. There were alot of people tonight.

➵

"How can I help you today, ma'am?" I wiped the shot glass before picking my head up and asking the lady.

"Just give me your best vodka, please. Whatever's available."

And in that moment I quickly lifted my head up to see her in front of me. She wasn't wearing anything club-like apparel, that and the sad line forming on her lips being the only difference against her beauty.

"Maria?" I half-whispered to catch her attention. She was out of it, hella drunk. I've never seen her like this before.

Her head didn't lift up when I mentioned her name. She was so intoxicated that she couldn't think properly. And in that moment I went along with it and prepared her drink, pouring the vodka in the glass. "Here you go," I carefully handed it to her.

"Thankss.." She pressed her wine-stained lips against the glass and drank it within a few seconds.

I felt worried about her, since this was a side I've never seen. She doesn't drink, she told me that. All of this didn't make any sense to me. "Are you doing alright?" My eyes laid on hers pitifully.

"Uh uh," She shook her head before clasping her hand on her forehead. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Bathroom is-is behind the bar, to your right." I stuttered, because I wanted to help her out. But I was working. Maria zoomed past me and made a bee line to the women's bathroom. Should I go with her?

To hell with it. I made myself walk over to Felix, finished for the day. "I'll be out helping someone, yeah? I'm done for today."

"You barely worked, only did a 3-hour shift." Felix mentioned to me and even gave my apron back. "Matt's going to be pissed."

Matt was our boss. "I'll deal with Matt later," I shrugged. "But right now I have something more important to do."

Author's Note:

Uggggh. I just had the worst writer's block with this. School is another thing, but I gotta quit saying that school is my excuse. College applications are coming up and I'm worried. Words can't describe how stressed I'm starting to get lol.

But hopefully I'll get my mojo back and I'll write another chapter soon enough. I love y'all so much.

-Camille