Riding Dirty: Luciotti Crime Family (A Bad Boy Mafia Romance) - Kara Hart Page 0,23
and started scrambling eggs with enough speed to impress the famous Gordon Ramsey himself. I threw bacon down into the hot skillet and breathed in deep as the delicious smell filled the kitchen.
Soon, I found myself dicing fruit and making a “healthy” peanut butter lunch for Jen. I realized long ago that I had no idea what I was doing. Being a young single mother, everything was a guessing game.
When I was nearly done making breakfast, I heard Jen scream from the bathroom. “Mom!” I quickly turned off the pans and ran into the bathroom.
“What's wrong? What happened?” I asked, wide-eyed and frazzled.
I walked into what looked like a crime scene or an episode of Intervention. My makeup was scattered all over the floor, some cases broken open. Half of my favorite lipstick had been dragged across the counter. The straightener had been turned on and it was burning a hole in the carpet. And there was my daughter, with a worried look on her face. “I made a mess, Mom.” Every item of makeup I owned was on her face and she looked like a total wreck. Ten minutes to get her to class. Just ten minutes.
“Oh, honey!” I turned the straightener off and grabbed a cloth with makeup remover. “How many times have I told you, if you want to dress up, you need my help. And never before school. You're not old enough yet.” I sighed and rubbed the mascara from her eyebrows, shaking my head.
“But Stephanie wears makeup to school!” She protested.
“Good for her,” I said, wiping off the last remainder of lipstick. “We do things different in this house.”
I picked her up and put clothes out to get dressed. “Hurry and get dressed. We’re late,” I said, running to grab her breakfast. 5 minutes to spare. I threw her eggs and bacon on a plate and handed her a fork. “Eat fast.” She took a few bites and handed it back to me. “More. You need brain food today.”
“Ugh!” She grimaced, taking a few more small bites. It would have to do. We were definitely on the verge of being late.
I grabbed her lunchbox and threw a jacket over her. We ran to the car and got in. I threw the keys in the ignition and turned. The engine turned a few times and then nothing. “No. Don't do this to me. Not now,” I said aloud.
I turned the keys again. Still, it wouldn't start. “Mommy, it sounds broken.” Jen so gracefully let me know. It only took ten more tries to realize it wasn't starting any time soon.
I closed my eyes tight and nearly screamed. Okay, so today wasn't going to be my day after all. “We’re going to have to walk fast,” I said.
“Is it a race?” she asked me.
“Yes!” I exclaimed, thankful she was making a game out of this madness. Two minutes to spare. “It's a race to the front door of the school. Last one there is a rotten egg!”
I jumped out of the car and started jogging. Jen loved a good challenge. She ran behind me yelling “You cheated! You can't start before me, Mommy!”
“Better catch up!” I laughed. It was only five blocks up. There was no way we'd get there on time, but we’d at least get there.
In front of us was the intersection. “Slow down, mommy!” Jen cried out. The exhaustion came out of nowhere. All the running caused a cramp in my side, making me stop right then and there. Jen, of course just kept running.
“Come on, Jen. Slow down. Wait for me,” I said, coughing from being so out of breath. It wasn't long before the cough turned into a full blown asthma attack. Oh Jesus, I thought to myself. It wasn’t often I had them, but when I did, it wasn't a good.
I fell to down on the sidewalk, trying my damnedest to catch my breath. I fumbled around in my purse, looking for my inhaler. Where is it? I left it at home. My throat was closing fast and tears spilled from my eyes, my face burned hot with the effort. Even Jen could sense something was wrong. She stopped running to try and help me.
Just one minute to spare…
Jen knew what to do. She dug through my purse, first trying to find my inhaler. When should couldn't find it, she flailed her body around to try and get someone’s attention. Lucky for me, a car stopped.