Please take the time to vote, comment ,follow and add this book to your reading list!
The next few weeks were a mess to say the least.
Moon had taken up the hobby of shooting Leon the world meanest glare anytime the man stepped foot through the daycare doors, given the fact that he would openly flirt as much as he could within our short encounters, I wasn't necessarily surprised when Moon claimed logging duty not leaving room for argument.
He almost seemed a lot more clingy in a way, sharing lingering soft touches whenever he passed by, a chaste but sweet kiss when he was sure no one would see, or simply making more of an effort to keep me within his eye line.
I would often catch his gaze through the day, a soft expression on his face and exchange of smiles that never ceased to leave a warmth in my chest, before I went on proceeding with whatever task I had been distracted with.
But with came the fact that wherever Moon was Lilith wasn't all too far behind. following him like a puppy constantly begging for attention and even if it was a tad bit funny to watch it was much more annoying when she would get it. I mentioned how attached she was in passing a handful of times but sometimes Moon was just as dense as Sun.
"She totally has a thing for you."
"No she doesn't y/n. She's just being friendly and trying to be helpful." Moon attempted to reason. "After all you were the one to say that she wasn't doing her job."
"Rightttt, didn't know her job was to only exclusively follow you around like a lost puppy but whatever you say Moony." I replied with a smug smirk and playful side eye.
His reply was cut by the chaotic screams of children so he settled for a "This isn't over look."
With the upcoming holidays, the kids seemed to be on constant energy highs. not a single day going by that wasn't filled with some form of conflict or chaos.
I will say that over time I had grown accustomed to having to submit reports on behalf of Lilith's strange behavior. The children would often end up in tears after an encounter with her or come complaining of strange behavior like the reason why I was filling a report now.
Apparently Lilith was crouched over one of the vents by the art stations whispering into it, incidentally unsettling the group of children under her care at that moment when a child attempted to get her attention apparently she snapped at them making them cry and run off.
I sighed and hit the send button off to IT who just couldn't figure out what the hell was wrong with the animatronic and Sam.
It had become sorta an inside joke at this point between Mia, Sam and I that at the start of each week we started to place small bets and attempted to guess how many reports will be submitted about Lilith. Let's just say it's a good thing Sam gets paid so well because she was a horrible guesser.
Though none of us really understood how Lilith wasn't removed for duty yet remind us of a mystery.
"Ms. Y/N!"
I smiled down at the group of boys consisting of the three notorious trouble makers and Benji. "What's up boys?"
"We made these for you." They said in a jumbled unison while proudly presenting construction paper hand turkeys from craft time with Sun . I chuckled softly, taking them careful not to mess up the sporadic feathers dripping with undried glue. Though I couldn't save my own hands from it.
I fought back the lump in my throat, holidays were always a bit difficult for me since the passing of dad. Holidays just were now something that only reminded me of bittersweet, rose gold memories long faded through the years. but still they always seemed to cause a pit in my stomach and a dull ache in my chest.
"Thank you so much, they are amazing. Once they dry I think they would look nice hung up right there. whatta think?" I said through a deep breath and soft smile, but the phone began to ring before the boys could respond. I leaned over not recognizing the number from the plex's extensions, it was probably a parent of some sort. "Okay guys, why don't you go make some nice crafts for your parents while I take this call."
Thankfully the group nodded with gleeful expressions excitably chattering amongst themselves as they made their way back to the large group of children and Sun. I quickly answered the phone.
"Afternoon, this is Y/N from daycare. How can I help you?"
"Hello Y/N, this is Emma from the Beacon community center."
Fuck.
I had successfully dodged these calls for the past few years, never thought they would actually attempt to reach me at work.
"Uh, Hi Emma. Been a while um w-what can I do for you?"
"Yeah, a few years now if I counted right, It's been hard trying to get in contact with you." I subconsciously winced at being called out as she left out a chuckle before continuing, " Anyway as you know the center holds Holiday food drives. You and your father were always such wonderful volunteers over the years, and though it hasn't and won't be the same without him, we were hoping to have you back this year."
I paused for a long moment, trying to focus on keeping my breathing steady and slow. I couldn't decide which burned more the constricting of my throat as I tried to swallow down my speeding heart or the salty tears welling in my eyes.
"H-how did you get this number?" My voice rasped out as breathless words.
"Oh! right um, your mother actually gave it to me. We still had her number on file, I figure I will give her a try since we could reach you."
Of fucking course it had to be my mother.
"Listen Y/N, I don't need an answer right now but it is this Saturday and Sunday swing by anytime, honestly you don't even need to volunteer. . . It would be nice to see you again after all these years sweetie."
I could hear her soft smile through the phone. A small peg of guilt hit me like an arrow, remembering Emma's sweet personality and hugs that seemed to have the ability to right any of the world's wrongs. I let out a breathy chuckle.
"Yeah, I know. I'll think about it." I replied before giving a quick goodbye and hanging the phone back on the receiver.
I stared out into the daycare numbly replaying the phone conversation over and over in my head. The numbness slowly melting into irritation quickly ripped the phone out of my pocket punching in the numbers I begrudgingly still had committed to memory.
Listening to the phone ring, I couldn't help the jiggle of my leg as the pen in my hand let out a soft crack noise as I tightly clenched and unclenched it in my hands.
Part of me hoped she wouldn't answer but of course the world had other thoughts.
"Hello."
I froze at her voice, my frustration tight like a stretched rubber band. I let out a shaky breath realizing I had no clue why the hell I even called her.
"Hello?" she said again, annoyed.
"Mother."
"Ahh, the periodical daughter," she replied with a condescending chuckle. "What do I owe the pleasure of this rare gift of your time."
"How did you know where I worked?" I spat out through gritted teeth.
"I'm assuming Emma called you about the center huh?"
"Just answer the question." I chewed the inside of my cheek, the taste of metallic filled my mouth.
"Always straight to the point. I've kept tabs Y/N." she replies I could almost hear the sly smirk that was most likely on her face, " I am your mother after all."
I scoffed with an eye roll. "Right. I must've missed the memo when you decided to start trying to act like one. "
"Still as stubborn as your father, I see."
"Leave him out of this." I hissed thinking of the ways to kill Griffin with a scowl he must've been giving her updates the entire time that little shit. " Listen I don't really care if you want to play pretend parental figures with Griffin but leave me the hell out of it. STOP trying to keep tabs on me. Stop giving away my information and stop harassing Griffin about me."
"Y/N how many times do I need to apologize, before you let it go."
"I've accepted your apologies, but I don't owe you forgiveness. frankly, you fucked up and i've come to terms with everything that happened a long time ago. I picked up all the shit you left behind and pieced it back together to move on." I let out a breath through clenched teeth, "I'm not letting you come back into my life just to have you fuck it all up again, I don't owe you anything mother. So leave me and my life the hell alone."
"Y/N-'
"Don't. . . just don't and don't bother trying to save this number. I'll have it changed by tomorrow."
I hung up the phone switching over to text sending Griffin a message, not even sure he would answer given he was probably at work himself but only moments later my phone buzzed in my hand.
LittleDummie
Griffin you little shit.
FavoriteDumbass
. . . I can explain.
LittleDummie
You've been giving her updates about me and I specifically told you not too.
FavoriteDumbass.
Y/N I know but she wouldn't leave me alone about it.
We can't have a conversation without her pestering for info.
so I just tell her simple little things, I swear it's nothing important!
LittleDummie
Nothing important? Griffin you told her where I work for the love of god
If that's not considered important than what is?
What if she shows up huh?
I barely have enough mental stamina to speak with her on the phone.
FavoriteDumbass.
Y/N you know I love you,
but do you really think it would be the worst thing
in the world to actually talk?
Besides, it's about time you two moved on.
LittleDummie
Griffin I have moved on, I specifically chose to move on without her.
I didn't need her then and I don't need her now.
So STOP giving her updates or whatever arrangement you two have.
I'm not going to ask again.
I threw my phone onto the desk with a frustrated sigh, dragging my hands over my face attempting to take in a few deep breaths to calm my shaking nerves.
"How shameful taking personal calls and texting while working, would expect better from the star employee."
"Lilith I'm really not in the mood, so just fuck off." I spat, venom leaking into my words.
"You're so full of yourself Y/N, you walk around here on your high horse reporting me over every little thing while you break the rules." She sneered folding her arms. " Don't think I don't know what you're doing."
"Oh really and whatever could that be Lilith." I groaned tired of this conversation already.
"Your trying to get rid of me, you hate how close me and Moon are so your constantly filing stupid little reports."
Today really just seemed like the entire world aligned to , mess with me it has to be national annoyance hell outta Y/N day.
"You're joking right?" I let out an unamused chuckle, standing from the desk glaring at her, " Lilith I file those reports because you can seem to get off Moon's dick long enough to do your fucking job and even when you seem to detach yourself from him your still not even competent enough to do your job correctly."
"You know what Y/N." She started, " You just can't stand having his attention off of you."
My god someone just ended me now, I thought to myself shaking my head, " You know what Lilith, I'm not even bothering to entertain this conversation anymore."
I turned to walk away only to have my arm snatched and pulled towards her. I struggled against her attempting to pull out of her grip.
" Lilith let me go." I spat through clenched teeth trying to yank my arm away only to be met with her tightening her grip further making me wince at the pressure.
"Enjoy Moon fawning over you for now Y/N. But remember it's useless," She whispered, leaning over me casting a shadow, her eyes wide and dangerous, " he's going to choose one of his own. You aren't like us and never will understand him like I do. He will pick me and I'll make sure of it."
"Let me the FUCK go." I shouted, finally yanking my arm free with such force I stumbled back tripping over my chair.
"What's going on?" Moon questioned, running over concern filling his eyes as he helped me off the floor.
"Oh it's my fault," Lilith's entire demeanor shifted like something out of Jekyll and Hyde. "I saw Y/N on her personal phone, when I went to get her attention I must've grabbed her arm a bit too hard and startled her out of the chair."
My stared at her completely dumb founded and slack jaw at her effortless cover up as she continued with that sickly sweet tone.
"That's not what happ-"
"Come on little star, let her finish." Moon requested softly gently rubbing what is usually comforting circles on my back but now just annoyed me. biting my tongue I narrowed my eyes at her and she smiled at Moon with hearts in her eyes.
"I thought y/n was going to fall so I tugged on her arm, you know how easy it is to forget how fragile humans can be, well it ended with her cursing at me and yanking away so hard that she fell, i do hope you okay y/n. '' She said, shining me an unsettling smile, her eyes full of humor and mischief.
I stood there my clench fist shaking as I glared down at the floor, my heart throbbing against my ribs I could feel the heat of anger paining my ears red and my eyes stung for the second time today with heated tear as gnawed on my tongue willing myself not to cry. not to give her that satisfaction.
"That isn't what happened Lilith and you know it." I said through gritted teeth. She just sighed.
"So you weren't taking a personal call and texting when I came up to you?" She questioned with false innocence.
"Well. . . yes but - "
"And did you not curse at me?" She interrupted, cocking her head to the side with a tired expression, her arms folded, I clenched my jaw with narrowed eyes. I glanced up at Moon whose expression was a mix of awkward pity.
"Listen, It really is my fault she already looked annoyed at her phone." She said mostly to Moon before turning back to me.
"So I'm sorry Y/N, I should've just left it till you were in a calmer state. I shouldn't have expected you to react in a positive manner when you were already in a foul mood." She paused her gaze meeting Moons before she continued, " And I'm sorry you had to get dragged into this."
"Well that was nice Lilith." Moon praised and I swear her fucking eyes glowed.
"It's nothing, Moony."
I fucking choked on my breath, my vision waving between red as I attempted to control my temper.
"I'm going on break." I grumbled, stalking away from the two slamming the daycare doors behind me seething in so much anger my stomach churned with nausea. I barley caught the sight of Sun watching me stomp off.
Not really paying attention to where I was heading i found that I somehow my way to the staff hall just hoping for somewhere quiet to go.
"Y/N, what 'cha doin down here?" Monty asked as I jerked from his voice i slowly turned my eyes meeting his, being greeted by his signature grin that quickly fell into a look of concern taking in my teary face.
He quickly rushed forward wrapping an arm around my shoulder pulling me into an embrace that broke open the flood gates as I let out a frustrated sob.
"Come on." he instructed ushering me along the winding halls till we got to his room. Sitting me me down and shutting the door the room was quiet other than my hiccups and sniffles.
"Y/N what happened?" He asked softly, pulling out some tissues from a box.
He sat down next to me gently pushed my hair from my face and patted away the tears from my cheeks with one hand as the other rubbed my back.
It reminded me of when Griffin would comfort me when we were kids.
"Bad day." I mumbled through a shaky breath making Monty chuckle.
"I can see that, you dope. What made it a bad day?"
I stared down at the patterned carpet twiddling my hands together not wanting to even talk about it in fear it would start the session water works.
"I've known you for a while now Y/N. I've seen you have some pretty rough days," Monty said leaning forward resting his arms on his knees as his eye met mine, " but I've never seen you cry, not like that."
I let a heavy sigh throwing my back against the couch shifting my eyes to the ceiling debating on whether or not I had enough emotional energy left to bother with this right now. Monty seemed to sense my apprehension and decided to speak up.
"I promise you'll feel better if you vent that crap out Y/N. Plus it's just me you know I wouldn't judge or tell a soul."
I looked over to meet his eyes once more, they held nothing but sincerity and honesty.
Every once in a while he would ask a question but like he said he didn't judge. He just sat patiently letting me vent my heart out about everything.
I talked about the call from Emma, my conversation with my mother and Griffin before, how Lilith is always all over Moon, what she said to me and showed him the giant bruise left on my arm, how she twisted the story and even called him Moony.
I ended in a huff sucking in a deep breath trying to ease the burn of my lungs for talking too much in a single breath. Silence fell around us as I watched Monty rise from the couch over to the tiny kitchenette in the corner of the room only to return moments later.
"Here." He said, presenting me with a mug of warm tea before taking a sip of his own. "So do you feel a bit better?"
I nodded, taking a sip of the drink notes of lavender and honey wafted up from the mug. Though a bit too sweet for my taste it was surprisingly good.
"So do you want my perspective or are you okay now?"
"Depends on if you're gonna tell me what I want to hear or not."
" You know I am always honest with you whether you like it or not." He said rolling his eyes, "What 'cha think the tea was for."
"I don't know, comfort." I replied sarcastically.
"Ha, no, it's to help you swallow your wounded pride." He smirked, taking an exaggerated sip with his pinky dramatically extending out.
"You're so annoying Monty." A smile breaking through as I shoved him gently and a begrudging laugh bubbled from my chest."
"I Know," he said through a chuckle before getting a bit more serious, "but really do you want it or not?"
"Fine, come on, tell me what you think."
"Okay to start You're right, Moon is about as dense as a rock and there isn't anything you can do about Lilith as it stands, " Monty gave me an apologetic look as I sigh. " They way she twisted the story, there is no way you can try to change it without it coming off bitter, petty or sounding like you trying to shift blame especially when you were technically breaking policy so I would just take that L and move on. Since you left if you tried to go back and explain your way out you'd on give her more satisfaction of knowing she got to you while making yourself look really dumb."
I nodded in agreement, Monty reached over giving me an understanding pat on my hunched shoulder.
"As for the whole family thing, I think you did the most you could and if your brother continues to undermine you at the end of the day you did you job in communicating your wishes, if he continually chooses to disrespect your decisions than maybe it's time to reanalyze that relationship and decide if he's a person you want to keep beside you."
" I know." I whispered letting his words resonant in my head before finishing off the last of my tea. " Thanks for letting me vent Monty and the tea."
Monty grabbed the mugs from my hand, depositing them before pulling me off the couch and into a tight hug the warmth and his watery cologne brought a sense of comfort, safety and peace.
"It's gonna be okay y/n. I know it sucks but don't drive yourself insane, it won't always be this way. They can't get under your skin if you don't let them and on the slight chance they still do, I'll always be here when you need a shoulder to lean on; I promise."
"Monty, you're the best." I couldn't help but squeeze tighter burying myself in comfort as he rocked us both side to side.
"No problem. Also I think you should go, by the way."
Raising a brow in confusion as Monty chuckled, silently opening the door after watching me glancing at the small clock above us before ruffling my hair, I swatted at his hand and complained trying to fix it the misplaced hairs. Monty leaned against the door frame watching for a moment with a smirk.
"You should go to the food drive thingy this weekend, I think it would be good for you. Make you feel close to your old man again plus it's for a good cause." he said shrugging, " But it's up to you if you think you can handle that."
" Right, I'll consider that. Thanks again for everything."
"For the love of everything good Y/N stop thanking me. it's what I'm here for, just like if I ever need it I know you're there for me, it an even exchange you dope" he replied gently shoving my shoulder.
"I know, I know. I still appreciate it, Monty." I say, giving him a stern look before turning and heading down the hall, " I'll see you later alligator."
"In a while crocodile." He laughed, closing the door behind me.
Though the day's events weighed heavy on my shoulders as I slowly made my way back to the daycare I could admit it was considerably lighter than before and a small smile on my face.
When I reached the day care once again the sight of my casual smile visibly offset Lilith because I could feel her stare from across the room and sat back down at my desk, diving straight into paperwork. it wasn't long before Sun came bouncing up
"Hi'ya y/n."
"Hey there Sunny, whatcha need?"
he smiled leaning over the desk, "Nothing, You were upset before so I just wanted to check on you."
"Well thank you, I'm feeling much better."
"Well that's good to hear Little star." Moon added, strolling up to the desk. My breath hitched a bit at the sight of him, my chest stinging a tad from this morning.
"So what put you into such a good mood?" Sunny asked, while rifling through the stack of kids art that laid on the desk.
" Not much really, I ran into Monty while on my lunch and he made me a wonderful cup of tea as we talked, it was really nice and made me feel a lot better." I shrugged but couldn't help the fond look that had come over my face.
"Aw that was really nice! Monty always makes the best cups of tea." Sun exclaimed, out of the corner of my eye I noticed Moon visibly stiffen before staring off, deciding to ignore it I turned my attention back to Sun who began to ramble on about random things.
Thankfully the rest of the week went by smoothly, the awkwardness between Moon and I faded back to normal. Monty started visiting me more trying to lend me a bit of extra support which I was more than grateful for because it seemed like Lilith had made it her new personal mission to actively piss me off.
But following Monty's advice I stopped letting her bug me so badly only interacting with her when absolutely necessary and only with another person presence.
With the weekend approaching faster than expected, I stopped worrying about Lilith and focused on trying to prepare myself for a different set of challenges to face.
Word count: 4186
______________________________________________________________________________
First Question: Is everyone loving supportive platonic bestfriend Monty as much as I love writing him? Idk about yall but I need him in my life.
Second Question: I feel like this chapter is slang heavy, I think it's because I'm writing a few different characters right now a I'm accidently merging them, but what do you think? Hate it, like it or do you not care?
Last Question: How do you guys feel about the little peek into the family back round? It's not super important to the story plot but it dose influence some things later on.