Desire (Desire, Book 1) - By Missy Johnson Page 0,4

Sam had been too young to understand what had happened, and I was sure Neri still blamed me. That was the big reason as to why I had left in the first place. Mom hadn’t exactly been the supportive mother of the year afterwards either; in fact, if I remembered correctly, she’d called me a ‘lying little bitch’. I’m pretty sure ‘whore’ was mentioned on more than one occasion too.

At seventeen, after dealing with what I had for two years, I’d needed my mother’s support, not abuse, and certainly not her judgment. With him out of the picture, I didn’t have to worry about Neri and Sam’s safety. When I’d realized Neri blamed me that had been it.

Decision made.

I’d applied for colleges away from home, and I had never looked back. Until now.

I grabbed the paper. Flicking straight to the classifieds, I ran through the offerings, which were not surprisingly, pretty limited for someone with very little experience. My two years at the café would help, as would my willingness to work hard, but most check-out jobs these days required a degree.

Receptionist. Research assistant. Cleaner. There were a few jobs available, but nothing really that would have me home before and after school. I had just about given up when an ad caught my eye.

Receptionist required for a high class hotel establishment. Nights only, 10pm-2am.

I skimmed over the rest of the details, before circling the ad. Ara waltzed back into the kitchen, glancing down at me as she reached for the coffee pot.

“Anything?” She asked, filling her cup.

“Only this one, but it’s nightshift, so that’s pretty much a no.” I shrugged, showing her the ad. Her face screwed up in concentration as she read the ad.

“I’m home.” She finally said, shrugging, “Call up about it. The kids would be fine here with me.”

I stared at Ara in surprise. She would really do that for me?

She was right. She was always home. Luke being away meant she didn’t have the need to go out much, and her parents covered all her expenses so she didn’t have to work, but this was a big commitment. One I hadn’t expected her to make.

“No, Ara. I couldn’t do that. They’re my responsibility. Not yours.”

“So the responsible thing for you to do would be to accept help when it’s offered, right?” She took a sip of her coffee, “Look Kait, you need a job, and frankly, your options are pretty bleak. You have one semester left of college. I will not let you drop out to get some half assed job when I can help out.” She shrugged her shoulders as if it were non-negotiable.

I reached out and hugged her, “You are an amazing friend, Ara.” I grabbed the phone and punched in the numbers, trying to get my pitch straight in my mind while I waited for someone to answer.

“Hello?”

“Hi. I’m calling about the job advertised in the paper. My name is Kaitlin.”

“Right, sure. Can you call back Monday morning, any time after nine? Ask for Mauve.”

“Sure, thanks.” I hung up the phone, and smiled at Ara, who gave me a thumbs up.

At two o’clock, I sat nervously on the edge of the couch, waiting.

Inside, I felt sick with nerves. Or it was possibly the gyros I’d had for lunch from the random food truck downtown. Either way, my intestines felt like they were going to explode any second, and not in a good way.

Damn you, random gyros.

I had spent the afternoon blowing part of my savings on things for the kids, as well as looking up schools. For the past two years I’d worked hard and saved, and determined to make them feel as at home as possible, I’d gone a bit overboard on my spending spree.

Ara’s house was on the south side of West Park, where the schools actually had a pretty decent reputation. Monday, I’d need to enroll Sam in kindergarten, and Neri in high school. Sam I wasn’t worried about. When you’re five, everyone’s your friend. It was a whole different story at fifteen. Groups and cliques had already been formed, and not everyone is welcoming towards a newcomer. I really hoped Neri would fit in. My own high school experience had been less than wonderful. Teenagers, especially girls could be horrible if you didn’t fit the mold.

The sound of a car pulling up grabbed my attention.

Through the open blinds, I spied a silver sedan pulling up outside the house. I saw Devon first, his dark hair blowing in the