CJ’s P.O.V.

I rolled over, shutting my alarm off without even opening my eyes. I turned away from my window, shielding my eyes from the light and I curled up again, sighing as I was submerged in sleep.

Until, that is, Faith jumped on me.

“Mommy!” she squealed, bouncing on the bed, pushing me with her hands. “Mommy, wake up!” she tugged at my arm with surprising strength, trying to pull me up. “Mommy, your little box went off! That means it’s time to get up!”

I opened one eye to see her smiling at me, her teeth very clearly displayed, and her hair a tangled mess. I sighed, sitting up slowly, stretching and yawning as I did so.

“Mommy!” Faith yelled. “I’m hungry!”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed, facing her. “Faith, sweetie, you need to be quiet. You don’t want to wake up our neighbors.”

Faith stuck her lip out, pouting. She had already mastered the puppy dog look, making me break in whenever she wanted something. “But I’m hungry,” she said.

“I know babygirl, I’ll make you something,” I said, standing up and padding out of the room. I heard Faith scramble to follow me.

In the kitchen, I grabbed a bowl and make Faith some cereal. I slid the bowl in front of her, as she was already sitting at the table.

“Mommy, this is cereal,” she pouted.

“I know babygirl, but we have to go somewhere today,” I said, already heading back to my room.

“Where are we going?” Faith called after me.

“On an adventure!” I answered, finding my work uniform and pulling it on.

Fixing my hair in a bun, I walked back into the kitchen to find Faith almost done with her food. For such a small girl, she ate quickly, and a lot. I noticed that she was still in her pajamas.

“Faith, come on, let’s get you dressed,” I said.

Faith happily hopped off her stool and followed me into my bedroom, where I dressed her in some jeans and a purple tank top. She was fiercely against the color pink. She pulled on her little purple sneakers as I slipped on some Toms, ready to go to work.

I led Faith to the bus, where we were just in time to catch the 7:30 bus. I had to be at work by 8, which is when the store opened. After the short bus ride, Faith followed me to the CD shop, where I unlocked the door.

“Mommy, where are we?” Faith asked with wide eyes, taking in the shelves.

“This is where mommy works,” I explained, tossing my coat on my stool.

“What are those things?” Faith asked, pointing to a CD.

“Those are CDs,” I answered. “They play music by one specific person.”

Faith clapped in excitement and ran up to my stool, where she spun around in circles. I smiled and shook my head before heading to the back to play some music. Not in the mood to keep switching out CDs, I put on a music station and let it play.

When I came back out, Faith was chatting with someone. A certain, curly haired someone.

“Harry, what are you doing here?” I asked, feeling the smile slide off my face.

Harry shot up, looking around, and his hand went to the back of his neck, which he rubbed nervously. “Um, I was just coming to see you,” he stuttered.

“Well, you saw me, you can leave now,” I said flatly.

“Mommy, why are you being so mean?” Faith asked.

Harry’s eyes bugged out of his head as he looked from me to Faith. “Mommy?” he croaked, but I ignored him.

“Faith, sometimes people can be mean. And sometimes you need to be mean back to them to be fair,” I said.

Probably not a good lesson to teach a five year old girl, but nevertheless, she was bound to find out about it soon anyway.

“Mommy?” Harry croaked again. “CJ, you’re a mom?”

“Mommy, who’s CJ?” Faith asked innocently.

“That’s my name besides Mommy,” I explained. “Like how I call you babygirl.”

Faith went back to spinning. I smiled at her before glaring at Harry.

“CJ, you’re a mom,” he said blankly.

I sighed before grabbing his arm and dragging him to the back. “Faith, stay there!” I called over my shoulder. Pushing Harry into the room, I closed the door quickly.

As soon as the door closed, Harry turned to me. “You’re a mom,” he said incredulously.

“I sighed, getting ready to explain. “Harry-”

“How old is she?” he interjected.

I dropped my gaze. “Five.”

“Five?!” Harry spluttered. “How old were you when you had her?”

“Harry-” I tried to explain myself, but he cut me off again.

“Sixteen? Seventeen?” he speculated, sizing me up.

I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling uncomfortable with his penetrating gaze. “Harry, I didn’t have Faith.”

He stopped, looking at me in confusion. “W-What?” he asked.

“I found Faith,” I explained. “After I yelled at you. I ran and found her in an alley. I took her home because she told me her real mommy had left her there a long time ago. I didn’t think it was right to leave her there, so I took her home with me. I called foster care and they told me to take care of her while they figured something out. She started calling me mommy and I didn’t correct her.”

Harry blinked a couple times. “Well then,” he said slowly, but I was mad now.

“’Well then?’” I mocked. “That’s all you have to say? When you assumed that I was some kind of slut or something?”

“I-I,” Harry stammered.

“Well say something!” I demanded.

“Please don’t punch me,” Harry pleaded.

I looked down to see that my fists were clenched and one was raised slightly. I lowered them instantly. “Sorry,” the apology came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

“It’s okay,” Harry said cautiously. “And I wasn’t trying to imply that you were a slut.”

“You kind of called me old,” I said, considering that he thought I was seventeen when I had Faith. That would make me twenty-two. Ugh. The horror.

Harry’s eyes widened. “How old are you?”

“I’m twenty,” I said.

“You’re a little young to be having a daughter,” Harry said, a ghost of a smile on his face. “You know, I could help you out.”

“Are you offering to be my babysitter?” I asked, trying to make sense of the situation.

“No, I’m just saying, I take care of a little girl all the time,” Harry said carefully. “I know how to take care of kids.”

I considered this. “Faith does like you,” I concluded. “I guess you could watch her during my shift today, to see if she likes you.”

Harry smiled big, and before I knew it, he wrapped me in a giant hug, even lifting me off my feet. Harry set me down and noticed my face, which was expressionless. His hand went to the back of his neck. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I said. “Now, I have to go work.”

I left Harry in the room, trusting him to let himself out. I slid behind the counter, where people were already waiting. After busying myself for a couple minutes, I saw Harry take Faith out the door. I ignored the sinking feeling in my stomach, the feeling of distrust. I didn’t know Harry that well and I just let my little girl walk out with him. Trying to focus on music, I started looking at all the albums closely, taking note of the artists’ covers and their faces. I got to the K’s when I saw Harry walk back in.

I hurried to the front of the room to see Faith smiling. She spotted me and ran to me.

“Mommy, Mommy! Look what me and Daddy can do!” she squealed.

Me and Daddy.

Daddy.

Daddy.

Oh God.

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Hey guys! Long time no see, right? I know, I haven't updated this story in forever. Well, a month feels like forever, considering the last time I updated this story I was on spring break. I wasn't going to update these shorter stories until after I finish Love... but it was bugging me so I had to update. I hope you guys like this chapter, give you a little insight into the life of CJ as a mom, a young one at that :) But yeah, it's late on a school night, I gotta go. My last day is in 4 days by the way. Leave a comment when you get out, or if you're already on summer vacation! If you are already, I'm jealous, you lucky duck. But yeah, hope you like this chapter, new one on Love... tomorrow, I'm excited for that :) look for it! Please leave a comment or vote, I encourage you to stop being a silent reader, if I have any, I don't know. I know I'm guilty of this all the time, but please, try to participate! I love your comments :) Bye!

Love ya!

-11tay99