Marissa's Mate

Too many tables and no help. I really should have quit this job so many times. I need the money, though. Correction, we need the money.  "Marissa! Tables aren't going to serve themselves!"  "Yes, Blake. I'm coming." This late in such a busy shift, my body was on auto pilot. Taking orders and serving tables in this little run down diner off the highway. The town was small but we saw lots of business from travelers passing through and truckers. I'm used to being the main or only waitress though. That's how bad this job was. Blake isn't the greatest boss. He's not even a good one. This job pays the bills, though, even if I have to work my ass off. So I really didn't have the luxury of quitting. Granted, that's been my entire life. I've had to support myself since I was 12, getting jobs wherever I could. My parents raised me, if you consider beating me from the time I could walk and barely giving me table scraps raising me. If I needed anything, I had to figure it out myself. So as soon as I could find ways to make money, I did.   A little over three years ago, my sister was born. I was not going to let her go through what I had to growing up. So I took her, ran and didn't look back. Born as rogues in Colorado, Oregon was as far as we made it. Thankfully, no one came looking for us. It was hard at first, raising a baby at only 19, trying to find a home and a job, but I did it. I was determined that Hailey would have better than I did, she deserved better. So here I was, three years later, trying to give Hailey everything I could. I was able to get us a little one bedroom apartment right next to the forest. The lady next door was also a werewolf and a widow so she took Hailey when I worked.  "Justice, hey, glad you're here," I say to the girl that just came in for the night shift. "Table 11 needs ketchup for their burger. Let me close out a few tickets and I'm heading out." "Thanks, Riss. Tell Hailey I said hi." "Will do." I give her a smile and make my way to the cash register. Justice hasn't been here long, but night shift during the week is the slowest, not that it's slow. Blake prefers I work the busiest shifts during the day because I'm the only one that handle it and we don't have that many girls right now. That's ok, though. It means I get to be with Hailey at night. I get into my car and drive home, playing the radio while I decompress from the long day. I made a decent amount of tips so maybe I can get Hailey something nice soon. As I park in front of our building, I'm reminded that it's just her and me. The one thing I haven't been able to provide for her is a pack and it always eats at me. Growing up, I always had to stay away from wolves that belonged to surrounding packs. They are never nice to rogues, even though I was born one and couldn't change that. It wasn't my fault and it wasn't Hailey's either. The thought of how she'll be treated when she goes to school brings me to tears. There's one pack nearby that I've tried to join but when you're a rogue, packs rarely accept you. I couldn't even get a meeting with the Alpha. Walking up the stairs to Mrs. Rosen's, I knew I had to do something. I had to do better, be better, but that meant something had to change. I had to keep looking for a pack to take us in, even if that meant moving and starting over. I knocked on the door and Mrs. Rosen opened the door. Werewolves don't age hardly at all, once you were grown but having lost her mate, Mrs. Rosen had more wrinkles than most wolves did at her age and her long brown hair was turning grey rapidly. Most wolves don't survive the loss of a mate, though, and it was surprising that she had. "Marissa, hi honey," she greeted and looked me over. "You look too tired, you need rest."  "Yes, I know. Just a couple more days and then I'm off." She raised an eyebrow at me but didn't address my statement. She knew my situation and I couldn't take an extra day off. "Hailey's in the kitchen, eating strawberry ice cream." I smiled. That girl loved her ice cream, especially strawberry. I follow her to the kitchen and see Hailey with ice cream around her mouth. She's an adorable little girl with her blonde hair curled in ringlets, tied in pig tails. She looks too much like me, we share the same hazel eyes and the same long blonde hair.  "Time to go, princess," I say as I wet a paper towel to clean her face. "Rissa!" She giggles and gives me one of her signature tight hugs. Then, she gives a hug to Mrs. Rosen and says thank you and good bye before running out the door to our apartment.  "Thank you, Mrs. Rosen. I'll bring her by at 6:30 in the morning, again." "You're welcome, Marissa. Try to get some sleep tonight. Maybe a bath for your muscles." I say goodnight and follow Hailey. A bath sounds nice. It's been awhile since I've relaxed in one. Once inside our apartment, I give Hailey a bath and get her changed into her favorite pink pajamas. I read her a story after she's tucked into our bed like always and she drifts off to sleep before the story is over. Then, I decide to take a bath myself. I pin my hair up and sink into the warm water, letting it wash away my aches from today. I close my eyes and think about where we're going to move to. Maybe closer to the coast. There's a couple packs there I could talk to. I send a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess that I can give Hailey a real home with a pack that will love her the way I do. I just have to be strong and we'll make this work.