"Thirty. Forty. Fifty. Sixty-five."

The wad of cash was set in the palm of my hand as AJ scanned the vacant bathroom anxiously, bouncing on the balls of his feet, ready to take off out the door like we'd be caught any given second.

"Thanks." I stuffed the money into the small gap between my wallet and the side of my purse, glancing back toward the anxious Frat boy to find he'd vanished out the door within the minute it'd taken me to put the money away. Muttering incoherently under my breath, in a couple strides I was in front of the mirror.

Years ago I may have been just as afraid of repercussions as AJ, but I'd gotten so good at it, so discreet, that the idea of being caught never crossed my mind.

Setting my white crossbody on the counter, I neatly tucked the money away in my wallet. I'd lost the cash once a year and a half ago and had always ensured to make sure it was put away safely before going about my day since. I still had twelve hours before I'd even seen the front door of my apartment and two of those hours were in the lecture hall.

I had just opened the door out of the bathroom when my phone started vibrating in the front pocket of my purse. Prying it out, I answered without checking to see who it was; there were very few people with this number, and one person specifically that knew my schedule.

"Hey, Mom." I said into the receiver. "Is everything okay? Is Danni okay?"

"Hi, Mommy!" I heard the quiet chirp somewhere in the background and within moments I was smiling.

My mom didn't give me a chance to respond and cut me off as I opened my mouth to answer my daughter. "You were supposed to come by last night to pick her up. What happened? I have a lot I need to get done before my meeting with the execs tomorrow."

"I know, Mom. I'm sorry." I started down the hall for my last class of the day. "I got caught up at work and by the time I clocked out it was past midnight."

"I need you to come get her tonight, Harley." She was quiet, but I felt the knot in my stomach tighten as I braced myself for her next words. "These are the type of things that they pay attention too, honey. They need to make sure that there's stability, and leaving her hanging is the very opposite of that. You're so close to getting her back."

I buried my free hand in my dark hair and shook my head, more to myself then to her. "It's not like I was out partying, Mom. I was working. I had to cover someone's shift. I'm trying, okay. I'm doing the best I can."

"Harley, you need to start trying to fit your schedule around Danni, not the other way around." She retorted as if she hadn't heard me. "I know you're trying your hardest to keep a roof over your heads, but she needs her mother. More than a couple days a week, and that's on a good week."

I knocked gently on the door to my left, not minding what classroom it was, as my vision had already blurred with tears. "I know, Mom."

"The custody hearing is in a month. Have you spoken with Cherry?"

I pushed the door open and stepped into the room, only to blink in surprise.

How far had I walked to end up in the men's locker room?

"Harley." Mom repeated, "This isn't a matter to mess around with. If you truly want her with you again, you need to schedule a meeting with Cherry."

Keeping my free ear open for any sound, I stepped away from the door and sat on the bench in between two rows of black and white lockers. "Okay, Mom."

"Promise me you'll be here to pick her up tonight." She insisted. "And that you'll call Cherry as soon as you get off the phone with me."

"I'll be there to pick her up at ten tonight, Mom. I promise. I promise I'll call Cherry after this last class too."

There was silence; both on her end and in the eerily silent locker room encasing me. Finally, she sighed and said, "You know I'm only being so hard on you because I want what's best for you girls, right?"

"Yeah, Mom. I know."

"That piece of sh. . . crap has no rights to Danni. Not after what he did to the both of you." she snapped bitterly, then calmed herself and added, "You're going to get her back, okay? I see how hard you're working, sweetheart. Your father and I both do. We love you."

I ran my sleeve under my eyes and sniffled. "I love you too, Mom. Thank you. Please give Danni a hug for me and let her know Mommy's coming, will you?"

"Of course."

As soon as she hung up, a loud clanging sent me off the bench and halfway to the door.

I definitely wasn't alone, which meant that whoever was in here had been eavesdropping on my entire conversation with my mom.

I just about reached the door when a tall shadow was cast over me and a hand shot over my head to keep me from opening the door.

"Is there a reason you're in here?" the low, breathy growl was enough for me to turn slowly and get a look at who it was.

I recognized him as one of the football players-I just wasn't sure which. I'd made it essential to my daily life on campus to avoid them like the Bubonic plague. This one, like the hoard of teammates that were constantly knocked out on the lawn of local Frat houses every weekend, radiated arrogance, and conceit as if they were extra articles of clothing.

Something he was very much lacking now.

He stood brooding over me in nothing more than a white towel wrapped around his dripping wet torso, and with every fraction of an inch he advanced, the towel threatened to drop. I shouldn't have been surprised he had the typical physique of a player too; chiseled abs for days, arms the size of my head, and even the ego to be the cherry on top. To my relief, the man didn't take my current state as a sign that I was gawking over the God given gift his body was.

"Are you okay?" he lowered his hand, so his arm was nearly touching the top of my head.

I blinked, processing his words, but still couldn't get more than a "huh" out.

"You're crying." he tilted his head to the side, a lock of his damp dark hair fanning across his forehead. "Why are you in here? Is someone trying to start shit with you? You hiding?"

I shook my head to try and free myself from my state of shock and finally croaked. "No, sorry. I was on the phone. Didn't realize that I'd walked this far until I stepped in so I could hear my mom."

I hoped that my response would be enough for him to free me from the trap he'd ensnared me in, locked under his intense blue eyes, but he only studied me further. Examined me like he wasn't familiar with the opposite sex.

"You need to be more careful." He eventually said, then threw a thumb over his shoulder in a gesture. "Some of the guys, they aren't so nice."

The words sent a cold chill down my spine, and I nodded, suddenly eager to get out. "I need to get to my last lecture before I'm late."

"You sure you're okay?"

Okay wasn't the adjective I'd used to describe my life, but he didn't need to know anything. I was never going speak to him again.

"Yes. Can I go?"

He finally retracted his arm and fell back a few steps, still eyeing me with concern. "Hope whatever is bothering you passes."

The words caught me off guard, but I threw a glance over my shoulder as I pushed the door open. "Yeah, me too."

*

"You're in a hurry." Ashley said from behind the bar, eyebrows shooting toward her bleached hairline. "Is it your day with Danni?"

"It is." I answered, grabbing my hair in my hand and throwing it into a loose bun. "Thank you for covering me. I appreciate you."

She grinned. "Of course, babe. That's what friends are for."

I was rummaging through my purse for my car keys when Ash let out a high-pitched whistle. One I was all too familiar with.

A hot guy must have walked into the bar. My best friend was anything but subtle when it came to flirting. I suppose that was part of her charm-and why Harry had hired her in the first place. Aside from being a kickass bartender, she was a gorgeous, charming flirt that many of our regulars swarmed to like moths to a flame.

"Mmm, got an athletic build. You think he's a Gym rat or actually into sports?" she had lowered her voice a fraction and leaned across the bar to whisper it. Not in the mood to try and play wing-woman tonight to have to hear her and her new toy in the bedroom across the hall until early morning, I hesitantly turned on my heel to lay eyes on her unknowing prey.

"You've gotta be kidding me." I groaned, relieved I was clocking out in the less than five minutes,

Curious, she winked as locker room guy approached, but eyed me weirdly, expectant of a reasoning for my reaction.

"Hey, aren't you the chick that wandered into the lockeroom this afternoon?"

Ash's head whipped toward me so fast I was sure she'd be feeling whiplash any second. Her eyes had widened, and she was making gestures with her hand for an explanation.

"Yeah, that's me." I lifted my hand in a half wave, checking my phone and smiling in relief. "I'm out, Ash."

She shot me a look that spoke a thousand words before turning her attention to a customer waving her down at the end of the bar. I started to turn, but locker room guy caught my arm and spun me so I was forced to stare up at him. The action wasn't rough by any means, but the flashbacks and nausea that came with it had me tearing my arm from his grip and shoving him away.

"Don't touch me."

He dropped his gaze to his own hand before looking back at me. "Sorry. I just wanted to ask your name."

"You don't need to know." I answered with a shrug, throwing my purse over my shoulder.

"Her name is Harley." Ash replied as she slid back into her perch, winking at me. I thought about flipping her off but knew that Harry would definitely be checking the cameras and I'd get a write up for it. "And what's your name, handsome?"

Locker room guy smirked a little upon hearing my name. I'd gotten the same reactions to it since I was in grade school. "Like the motorcycle?"

"I have to go."

I was nearly to the door when he called out after me. "James. My name is James Pierce."

Without as much as a nod in acknowledgement over his words, I hurried out the door and let it shut hard behind me before I could catch a glimpse of my best friend reeling in her new prey.

*

By the time I unlocked the door to my parents' small townhouse, Danni was curled up on the sofa hugging her stuffed panda to her chest, a small, toddler sized pink throw over her. Dad was in the recliner watching an old rerun of Seinfeld and Mom was on her laptop beside my daughter, typing away, her forehead creased in concentration and nose scrunched just the slightest as if she were disgusted with something.

"Hey, honey." Dad greeted. I leaned down and hugged him from the side, kissing his cheek. "How was work?"

"Busy." I said with a small smile. "Think it's because of the hockey game. You know how the men in this town get with their sports."

He chuckled. "That I do."

"She's been asleep for about an hour." Mom said without looking up from her laptop before I could ask. "Been asking for you all night."

I grabbed the diaper bag and duffel from the ground at my mom's feet. She barely glanced in my direction as I leaned down and picked Danni up, careful not to stir her awake.

"Have her back Monday morning before seven please." Mom ordered, setting her laptop on the arm of the couch so she could see us off. Her blonde hair was in a similar updo to mine, but as usual, she seemed to make it look professional rather than lazy and messy. As soon as we were on the porch she leaned forward and kissed my temple. "I love you girls. Please let us know when you're back at the apartment, okay?"

I nodded. "Of course, Mom. Goodnight, I love you guys."

"Love you too, honey!" Dad called from the recliner. Mom smiled and touched her hand to my elbow.

"I love you, Har. Don't mess this up."

"I won't."

With that, she stood by the door and watched as I maneuvered my way back to my old Hyundai. I opened the back door with one hand and strapped Danni in, setting her bags on the seat beside her, before gently pressing the door shut.

I waved at my mother in the doorway one more time before climbing into the driver's seat and starting the car.

As I waited for it to heat up, I caught Danni stirring slightly in the back, but she didn't fully wake up. As soon as I pulled out of the parking lot and away from my mother, the tears fell silently.

This was never the life I intended for my daughter to have. Almost four years ago, Dalton and I were staring lovingly down at an ultrasound picture, giddy for our precious miracle's arrival. Four years ago he laid his hands on me for the first time. Four years ago he sent me into a premature labor that left our daughter in the NICU for months and would have her spending the next three years medically sensitive to anything and everything.

It had been three years since he'd impregnated me at two months post-partum and kicked my stomach repeatedly until I suffered a miscarriage.

Two years since Danni had learned to walk and she'd become his new punching bag.

A year since I'd managed to get away and protect my daughter-even if it meant her not being with me. If she was safe and away from his cruel hands, that was what mattered.

I'd had my life mapped out down to the finest of details since I was thirteen. Dalton had come in like a hurricane and destroyed it all. Ravaged through my psyche, destroyed every part of me so there was nothing left in the aftermath. I had promised Danni the night we took off that I'd stop at nothing until I had full custody granted back to me. Two jobs, a degree in the making, and tending to her every need, I never had a chance to breathe.

Ash would ask me some nights how I did it all; managed to carry the weight of the world on my shoulders. All it took was one look at Danni and everything made sense, I had to keep pushing, I had to keep moving, I had to stay strong and healthy for her.

She was all the best parts of me, and I would die before I'd let that beautiful baby down.