TIT 4 TAT

•Halle’s POV• My alarm clock kept blaring at me to wake up. I turned around and hit snooze, falling back on the bed. I heaved a big sigh before counting from one to three and forcing myself up, my feets dropped on the thrifted mat laying on the floor feeling a sense of claustrophobia from the size of the room, I brushed it off and headed to the kitchen to grab a cup of water, the wooden floor creaking under my weight. I had to prepare for work and drop Amanda off at daycare. I made my way into my baby’s room and found her all snuggled up in her bed, she looked like an Angel, watching her brought a sense of nostalgia. I settled on her bed and caressed her cheeks, making her shift in her sleep, waking her up made me heartbroken but I had to go to work. “Hey bébé,” I said as her eyes fluttered open. “Hi maman.” She rasped the sleep off her eyes “Did you sleep well?” I asked as I cradled her out of bed, she gave a slight nod making her look angelic. “Mommy my tooth came off.” She said handing me a loose tooth. “Then we’ll have to prepare for the tooth fairy’s visit.” I chuckled as I patted her cheeks. We both had our shower and prepped for the day. The feeling of freshly washed sweatpants and a white crop top told me today would be good. I hastily made waffles and eggs for breakfast. I dropped Mandy off at daycare and drove off to the studio. “Have a nice day.” I chirped as the customer left pleased with her new tattoo. “Finally some peace and quiet.” Bonny walked in holding two cups of coffee in her hands, she offered me mine and sat in the chair across from me. “I want to go home already.” She whined, making me chuckle. “You’re a grown *ss lady and yet my toddler acts more mature than you.” I tossed a newspaper to her. “I miss my baby, that’s why.” She slightly pouted. “You’re missing your Clyde already.” I teased in a childish tone. “Haha, very funny.” She scowled at me. The sound of the front door opening interrupted our chatter. “Well, I guess teatime is over.” I started as I stood up and headed to the front. “Hi, how may I help you.” I greeted the two men discussing with each other, their backs facing me, one shifted his focus to me while the other impatiently scurried outside without sparing me a glance. Rude!. “Hi, I need a tattoo artist.” He spoke as he was engrossed in his phone. “That’ll be me,” I noted making him pause and gape at me. “Well I want to employ you to be a personal tattoo artist for a client.” He peeped at the watch on his wrist while talking. “Sir I don’t-.” “The pay is fifteen thousand dollars.” He interrupted. Fifteen thousand dollars converted to pesos is close to three hundred thousand. “What are the procedures?” I queried to know if it was secure for me. “No tardiness, we’ll pick you up when you’re needed, during the journey you’ll be blindfolded to keep the residence confidential, you’ll be paid monthly, you’ll receive tips after your first work.” The man stated casually, I was hesitant, that's a lot of money for an appointment. I scanned the man from up to down, he wore a tuxedo, his golden wrist watch which he kept looking at absurdly looked like a Rolex, he was well dressed but I didn’t just want to trust a random stranger although that money would be of great assistance to me. “I’ll leave my card with you, get back to me tomorrow.” He slid a card on the counter and scuttled out the door. “Then what are you waiting for?” Bonny squealed exhilarated as I briefed her about the ordeal. “I just feel it’s too good to be true,” I said as I pulled up in front of Mandy’s daycare. “That's a lot of money and it’ll help you have a chance to win this case,” Bonny said trailing me out of the car. “I know Bon, I want to get custody of my baby but I have to decide wisely, these people could be frauds for all I know.” We waited for Mandy’s tutor to call her. “I know Halle, you’re really strong and I admire you for that, you’ve got this.” Bonny patted my cheek, I was a bit overwhelmed with frustration but it wore out when I saw my little Angel striding out of her classroom. “Mommy!” She ran to hug me, I lifted her in my arms and gave her a bear hug. “How was daycare today baby,” I asked as we headed back to the car. “It was fun.” She said with her chirpy voice. “Tell mommy all about it,” I said as I strapped her in her car seat and settled in with Bonny following suit. My phone pinged with a notification, I picked it up while starting the car, the message sent me to a state of rage, I repeatedly pounded on my steering wheel. “Woah, calm down Halle, you’re scaring Mandy.” Bonny cried out, making me look at the rear view mirror to see Mandy with a frightened expression. “Oh mon bébé, I didn't mean to scare you, I’m sorry, mama's sorry.” I stretched to hug her while tears kept falling from my eyes, Bonny picked up my phone to see what made me act up like that. “He’s still doing this??.” Bonny read the message that said, ‘be careful with this case remember I still have those explicits of yours, and the judges won’t like my child to have that kind of mother.’ “How did I get myself into this?” I muttered as I rested my head on the steering wheel. “He can’t keep doing this, this is illegal, it’s blackmail,” Bonny said. “I don’t know bon, I’m tired of this fighting and threats and-.” I sighed. “You need to accept that offer, it’ll be a life changer,” Bonny replied. I restarted the engine and drove home but dropped Bonny off at her house. I prepared Mandy for bedtime and I beelined to my room after tucking her in. I slumped on my bed in deep thought, observing the card in my hand. “I have to do whatever it takes”. I sighed before tucking in for the night. My alarm clock rang endlessly, I lazily stood up after shutting it down. Our morning routine went by swiftly and I was ready to go to work and take Mandy to daycare.