Dangerous Hearts

Mom Life

Charlie's POV

After a very long and stressful shift that started out with a trip to my boss's office for a fifteen minute berating session, I finally managed to get everything done so that I could head home at the end of my shift and have enough time to change before going to take Oliver to school and then get some much needed rest before he gets home for the weekend.

The walk back wasn't nearly as rushed as it was last night, so it gave me the opportunity to finally think about the injured man I'd encountered last night.

Even with him covered in the shadows and with him pointing his gun in my face, I didn't even get the feeling that he would do me any harm. He was dangerous looking, yes, but he hadn't come off as a threat when I was with him. He was like a cornered animal, ready to pounce at a moment's notice but not willing to attack as long as he saw no need for it. And he hadn't. He'd just watched me carefully while I fixed him up and had let me go to work without trying to hurt me.

There was something about him that told me that he really wasn't a bad guy without a reason to be. I'd seen something in his eyes that made it clear to me that he was more of a protector than a criminal. I'd put my faith in him just like he'd put his faith in me to fix him up.

Now, I just had to deal with the normality of my life, and that meant making my boy some breakfast and taking him to school and, unfortunately, dealing with my impossible ex when he comes to pick Oliver up for his weekend later today.

My best friend, Stella, was already up and about when I walked in the door. She stays with Oliver when I have to do my overnight shifts and does a great job of keeping me sane between work and being a single mom. She's been my friend since college, and we've become even closer ever since she moved in to help me out with Oliver. She really was a saint!

I gave her a tired smile as she brought me over a cup of coffee, "Hey girl, how was work?"

I sighed and I flounced down into one of the chairs at our table and thanked her, "I was half an hour late and got a stern talking to by my boss, but it went by pretty fast once I got into everything." She nodded and turned to finish packing her lunch for her work day as I took a sip of the coffee she'd given me. She was a kindergarten teacher and was a gentle person by nature; all of her students absolutely loved her, and Oliver was no different. He adored her and their time together, and although I desperately needed this job to help keep us afloat, I wished I had more time in the day to spend quality time with my favorite people.

"You look exhausted," She said as she turned back to me again, "Do you have the weekend off still?"

I nodded, "Yeah. It's enough time for me to catch up on some sleep and some of the chores around here. Is there anything specific you need me to get to this weekend?"

She pursed her lips as she thought about it, and I took the time to look over her face. My best friend had always been beautiful naturally, but when she dressed up for school, she wore a full face of makeup, and it just enhanced her natural beauty. Her cheeks were rosy, blue eyes perfectly shadowed with bright autumn colors with winged eyeliner and mascara, and every once in a while, she'd put on some glossy red lipstick to highlight her full lips. I've always been a little envious of her good looks, but I knew that she saw me in the same light, and I had nothing to worry about. I just rarely wore any make-up and sported some impressive bags under my eyes. The most I'm able to do is my skincare routine to keep my skin clear and somewhat moisturized, and even that's tough to keep up with, with my schedule.

"Not that I can think of off the top of my head, but I'll let you know if I come up with anything. I've got to run, though. I'm helping one of my co-workers' kiddos with her math before school. See you later!"

"Bye, Stel!"

Once she'd left, quiet settled again, and I sighed again before finishing the last of my coffee. I had about fifteen minutes before I had to wake Oliver for school, and I wanted to change out of my work clothes and into something comfy before coming back and taking a nap.

I drained my coffee and put the cup in the dishwasher. I'll run it when I get back so that we have clean dishes for later. I made my way into my room to change and breathed a sigh of relief when I finally shed my gross work clothes. I was puked and pooped on today, and I couldn't stand the smell any longer. My pajamas always felt more comfortable, and I wished I could live in them all day, every day.

Yawning, I opened the adjoining door from my room to Oliver's and quietly went up to him. He was ten years old, but whenever he was asleep, he always looked so much younger, and I couldn't help but remember when he was a baby with that innocence on his face.

I leaned down to kiss his cheek and then whispered, "Good morning baby, it's time to get up." His eyelids fluttered open, and he smiled when he saw me. I loved his smiles, and I returned it before leaning in to kiss his nose. "Come on, let's get you dressed and get some food in you before school." I went to grab his clothes as he stumbled towards the bathroom to do his business. When he came back out, he was more awake and started getting dressed while I went to get his breakfast for him and make sure his backpack was ready.

I wasn't the best cook, but I was able to scrounge up some eggs and toast for him. If I had more time, I would've tried some bacon, but I'm more than likely to burn it than to get it right, and that calls for more time to make more if needed. I made enough for both of us since I knew that he liked it when we ate together in the mornings, and I was starting to feel hungry now. By the time I'd put the plates on the table, he was coming into the kitchen all ready to go.

"Here you go, baby, eat up, and then we'll go."

He waited to dig into his food until I sat down with him. My little gentleman, I thought as I smiled softly at him. We ate in comfortable silence, both of us too tired and too hungry to even think of coming up with subjects for conversation at the moment. When we were finished and our plates were in the dishwasher, we headed out to my car for the drive to school. He was more awake now, and I was more than happy to listen to him tell me all about his friends and what was going on at school as I drove. I loved hearing about his day and loved hearing him getting excited over everything, too.

Once we were in the drop-off line, he got serious, though. "When's dad picking me up?" I turned to look over at him and saw that he was no longer smiling but staring pensively at his hands.

His dad and I had a very tumultuous relationship, and even though I tried to keep Oliver out of it all as much as I could, I knew his dad didn't share the same thoughts. Stephan loved to pick on me and never let a chance go to tell Oliver about my many wrongdoings. He was a police officer, but he was far from protective and courageous. He tended to be physically and emotionally violent, and it was pure luck that I was able to divorce him and settle on split custody over Oliver. He'd lied and manipulated a lot of people to make it seem like I was the one at fault and the reason behind our divorce. He never let me live it down about how he had the judge and the majority of the police force eating out of the palm of his hand and could take Oliver from me at any moment.

I tried not to do or say anything to give him an incentive to do that, but I also tried not to let him bully me anymore, either.

I wasn't looking forward to when he came to pick Oliver up for his weekend after school today because I knew he was going to be rude and obnoxious to me like he always was.

"He'll be by around six after he gets off work," I said softly. "He said you guys were going to go watch basketball tomorrow. Are you excited about that?" Distraction by redirection is what my therapist had told me to do when it came to keeping Oliver happy with the setup. He shrugged, but I knew he loved basketball. As long as his dad kept his word and took him to the game, he'd have fun. I ruffled his blonde hair and gave him a smile, "You'll have fun, baby, and I know your dad likes spending time with you." At least I think I know, I was never sure of sending him over there, but he always came back smiling and happy, so that's what I assumed. He nodded and leaned in to hug me when one of the teachers knocked lightly on his window and smiled at us. I kissed his forehead, "You have a good day today, and I'll see you at pick up. I love you."

"Love you too, mom," he said quietly before getting out and tugging his backpack onto his back. I waved at the teacher and then pulled away to go home.

I often wondered if I was doing a good job at hiding Stephen's actions towards me from Oliver, but he was such a smart kid that I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep it from him for much longer. He was wise for being a ten-year-old.

I made it home and got the dishwasher running before literally falling into bed. I was dog-tired, but I managed to set my alarm so that I could wake up on time to go pick Oli up from school and go into work for a few hours. I snuggled up under the covers and let myself drift off.