PAIGEI can't believe we have this now. Ashton has created the perfect house for the three of us, and it's three times bigger than I ever thought we could have. Ashton has earned a reputation in his field; he does good things and strives because money is something that now seems to fall from the sky for us. I don't earn nearly as much as he does, but we never argue about money. Ashton is fulfilling all my dreams."That's amazing," Jo murmurs when I give her a tour and explore a bit more. "I love it! You have an incredible fireplace in the reading nook. I wish I could live here; you're so lucky."She makes me laugh. The whole house is very modern in white, black, and gray tones; it has those large windows of wealthy homes, and I think what I like most is our private bathroom because we have a perfect round bathtub for both of us, and a shower where we also both fit, and an incredible mirror over the sink... I think everything in that bathroom is designed in a sexual way."And they just
PAIGE I'm really lucky to have Jo in my life, I mean, what were the odds of finding a roommate who runs a daycare? In just over a year, she's become my best friend, my family, the best aunt for Owen. After Owen was born, I found her. I was looking for someone to share a place with, and I needed to get away from my parents' toxic beliefs and supervision. Yes, I got pregnant at eighteen, and yes, I was about to abort if it weren't for them, because even Owen's father wanted me to. He's two years older than me, I met him by chance at a party and... it happened. My parents never yelled at me so much, especially when I mentioned abortion, and they dragged me to church to give me a way too explicit talk that traumatized me. I didn't abort, I had Owen, and I had to finish high school studying from home because it was a shame for my family. Shame on me for having them as parents, for them wanting to take him away when I had him after they made me have him and isolated me from everything. "C
ASHTON "Fuck." It's the first word that comes to mind when I see her. That, and wondering what the hell she's doing here talking to that asshole. She looks different, not like the eighteen-year-old girl who spread her legs for me and gave me her virginity at a party. One time, and I got her pregnant. What a dumbass. But I'm not complaining now. She didn't get the damn abortion because her parents basically locked her up, and it's not something that bothers me now because I have a son, and he's the only one I say I love. Owen redeems me from my shit. Owen makes me feel good for something. I know she's been avoiding me all week. What the hell is she doing at my university? Didn't her rich parents give her a better opportunity? I keep asking myself, and I don't care beyond the fact that she's the mother of my son, the closest influence he has because she lives with her longer than with me. "Who's that?" grumbles Faye, grabbing my face to make me look at her. Who the hell does she thi
PAIGE I take advantage of the weekend without Owen to pick up extra shifts and increase my pay at the end of the month. I'm saving up because I know I can't live with Jo forever. Owen and I need to become independent. On Monday, during my second class, Jo sends me a message letting me know that Ashton has just dropped Owen off at daycare. I have another twenty free minutes, so I use them to try and locate (this time without a map) the cafeteria. I think I remember the way and turn onto the streets of the campus that I recall. There's a coffee machine in the faculty lounge, but sometimes during these downtime moments, a proper coffee would be nice, one that doesn't taste like stale water. I push the door to the cafeteria, the warmth envelops me, and finally, I can stop walking hunched over in my sweatshirt and jacket. I get in line; I've seen several classmates with coffees in class, and I can down one in the ten minutes I have left. I wait for about two minutes when I feel someone s
PAIGE Being at the same university as Ashton hasn't changed my life much. We avoid each other, so everything's fine, everything's normal. The one I've seen more often is his little girlfriend, I catch her looking at me and laughing with her friends, and I want to throw something at them and wipe that smirk off their faces. On Thursday morning, Owen does something he hadn't done before, and that's asking about his father. He does it directly while the three of us have breakfast, and I'm left with a spoonful of cereal halfway to my mouth. "'Dad'," he calls out. I look at Jo, who also doesn't know what to do. He does draw him, all three of us, and he laughs, but he's never called him that before, and he starts crying for him. I have to set aside my breakfast and take him out of his kitchen chair to try to calm him down. I put my hand on the back of his neck and make circles with my finger. It's hard to get him to calm down, and I feel really bad leaving Jo with Owen whimpering in a wa
PAIGE Today has been a warning, but nothing prepares me for what happens the next day. Friday. I wake up and everything is normal, calm. We have breakfast together again, the three of us, and this time Owen plays with his food, making a mess with his cereal. He's happy, laughing, and his laughter fills the apartment. "Say I'm your favorite aunt," Jo sings to him while I clean up and she changes his clothes for clean ones. I listen to her from the kitchen, and it makes me smile. Owen laughs, and his laughter makes me immensely happy. "Auntie!" he shouts amidst laughter, barely understandable. "That's it! Who loves you? Me! Who's your best aunt? Me!" I shake my head playfully and dry my hands with one of the clean cloths we have folded on a small dresser. I say goodbye to the two who are still laughing and fooling around, making sure to take everything with me before heading down to my car. Fridays are good days because last week I discovered that I have my most interesting classes
ASHTON I pull up my sweatpants and put on my hoodie as I close the zipper of my backpack, not bothering to pick up my boxing pants from the floor. I leave the room with my phone glued to my ear and walk in the opposite direction towards the back exit door where I parked the car. It's all crowded, and as I pass between two jerks who don't know how to park their damn cars, I scratch their sides and step on the gas pedal until I hit the road. It's luck, it's fucking destiny, it was a hell of a coincidence that I found her last week, that I went to her house, and it's lucky that she remembers it. I arrive at the mall first, from there the road to her building feels endless. The phone hasn't stopped vibrating against my ear with a ton of messages, I haven't looked at them but I know who they're from because I never miss the after-party, and I don't usually kick girls out of my dressing room so soon. I didn't know I had such a good memory for quick things like I do now. I recognize the bui
PAIGE "If I'm honest, I thought you two would end up in bed," Jo confesses during lunch. "What are you talking about?!" I exclaim. Me? Getting back with Ashton? Without lying, I'd say yes, I could sleep with him if we didn't have a child together, and even with Owen, I think I'd sleep with Ashton if he didn't have a girlfriend. The fact that he's a complete jerk doesn't take away from how attractive he is and the undeniable sexual desire he exudes. It's just that I'd be very careful, too careful, much more than usual. "What? He's incredibly sexy, and it's been ages since you had any action between your legs." She's lucky Owen doesn't understand everything yet. He keeps eating from his high chair as if nothing's happening. "Yeah, well, but not with him. What about that other guy? The one from campus." "Yeah... the one who wants to sleep with you." "That one. There's a party tonight at his fraternity, he invited us in case your plan with that thug goes south." The plan is to go