CHAPTER SIX

AMY'S POV

Everyone always said that it got better in the morning, but that saying had never applied to me so far. In fact, things seemed to worsen for me in the day.

I jerked up from my crying-induced sleep sometime around 4 a.m. with a massive headache and a cranky neck.

The very next morning, I had an early morning shift. If there was one thing I was grateful for, it was that I hadn't handed in my resignation letters to my workplaces, or I'd be in trouble right now.

My mother didn't come out of her room till I got out of the house. There was nothing else she could hurt me with at the moment. I held back a sob when I remembered my lost money and my admission letter.

If there was anything I could do to salvage my admission, I would, except there was no money to pay for anything. Not if they gave me a million extensions.

It was the sound of a car horn that jolted me back into reality, alerting me that I had reached my destination. The restaurant was just two blocks down.

"What the hell, Amy?" Tom scowled when he saw me.

I frowned in confusion. "What did I do?" I looked at the grand clock above the mantel. I was two minutes early.

"Your face is messed up. I can't have you serve our customers like that, can I?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Go look at yourself in the mirror." He hissed and left. I held back a scream when I saw the state my face was in. There was a fresh purple bruise from where my mother slapped me. It was also bloated. Coupled with the numerous love bites that ran down my neck, I looked like something the cat dragged in.

I was not a sight for sore eyes.

I sighed and decided not to argue with Tom. I wouldn’t give myself work either.

"Come back whenever you feel better." He said softly. It must be the tears that welled up in my eyes because he squeezed a 20 in my hand when I passed him.

I nodded gratefully at him and left the restaurant. I know I would be inconsolable if I should start crying right now, so I held it in and waited until I got to Maddie's apartment. She was not in, but it doesn't matter, I knew where her key was.

I broke down on her sofa until I slept off. I don't know how long I slept, but I woke up to the sound of her door opening.

Maddie took one look at my face and held me. I leaned in to the scent of her familiar smell mixed with sweat. I no longer had it in me to cry, so I just let her hold me.

"You're going to be okay." She said softly, and I wondered if she would at some point get tired of reassuring me. Goddess knows I wouldn't blame her if that ever happened.

"I don't think I will ever be, and I won't even be surprised if you get tired of my bullshit." She sucked in a sharp breath and eyed me.

"This should be the last time you ever say that rubbish near me. I won't let you project on me."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Let's take care of that face." Not minding that she just got off work herself, she proceeded to run me a bath, letting me use all her hot water. I got out to the scent of hot Chinese food.

"How can I ever repay you?"

"By believing that you're going to be okay, Amy. I believe there's something out there in your future and it's going to be worth everything you're going through right now."

"You really think so?"

"I know so." She nodded wisely as if she had indeed seen the future. I chose to cling to her belief. What other choice did I have anyway? It was either blind faith or give up. "The moon goddess wouldn't be so cruel to anyone. You have to catch a break at some point."

I wanted to believed her but it was hard to. Two days after Maddie started taking care of me, my swollen face had gotten better and the love bites had faded. It was obvious that Maddie was curious to find out where I had gotten the marks from, but she was being careful not to be too pushy.

"They're all gone now," I said, and she jumped up with a guilty expression on her face. I had caught her.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure, you don't." I said cheekily. "So you don't want to know who I went home with that night."

"Please tell me." She jumped up eagerly, and I told her all about that night. I was careful to make it look like I was deliberately being cagey about the man's identity when the truth was that I didn't know who he was either.

"I love that night for you. What happened after? Not so much. That bitch is going to get all she deserves one day, and we will be here to mock her for it." Maddy had never hidden her hatred for my mother to herself. In fact, I was positive she would kill her for me. All I had to do was say the word.

The next day, I went back to work and back to the house despite Maddy begging me to stay with her. I couldn't inconvenience her like that, and despite everything my mother had done to me, I know I couldn't leave her to starve, which was what was going to happen to her without my small income from waiting tables to feed us and keep our lights on.

I managed to stay out of her way for the rest of the week. I bought groceries and left a 20-dollar note whenever I could. I know she was not deserving, but I was her only family left, and she did put a roof over my head even though I was the one maintaining it.

I gave up hope of medical school and tried not to think about the future I had promised myself, I focused on surviving each day. I tried to be happy, I really did, but there was something inside of me that I knew would be permanently unhappy.

I was growing a little bit more tired everyday. Maddy tried her best to cheer me up, but it only lasted for as long as she was around. I would go home and wallow in my misery all by myself.

Two weeks after my mother swept my future out from under my feet and the handsome stranger left me without even leaving a note, I went to work as usual when I saw spots in my vision. I quickly sat down and attributed it to hunger.

I devoured a burger on the go and then got back to work, only for me to experience another dizzy spell. This time, I fell to the floor in a faint.

When I came to, it was Maddy. Tom must have called her to come get me since she was my emergency contact.

"What happened?"

"I think you need to take a pregnancy test." She said solemnly.