Chapter Seven: Life Less Frightening

Suffering from something we're not sure of
In a world there is no cure for
These lives we live test negative for happiness
Flat line, no pulse, but eyes open
Single file like soldiers on a mission
If there's no war outside our heads
Why are we losing?

Jay, Danica, and I safely made it through the rest of the week. I was exhausted, just barely finished all my homework, and still had to go to work on Saturday night. My parents watched the baby while I went to Tric.

"We've missed you," Mark said when I walked in.

"I have school, you know that," I told him. "I only work on the weekends now."

"Yeah, I know. But you need to make up for it," he said, smirking. I followed him up to his apartment, spent an hour of my time with some meaningless sex, and then went back down to the club to dance for three more hours.

"I'm leaving," I announced. "Can I have my check?" I asked Mark as I walked by the bar.

"What check?" he asked.

"My paycheck. I always get paid on Saturdays."

"Not anymore you don't. Listen Sky, when you only work on the weekends here, there's no paycheck. I can't pay you the usual if you're only here eight hours a week. All you get is your tips now; everyone knows that. It's the price you have to pay," he said, shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm already paying a price," I said through gritted teeth.

"Now that's a completely different situation," he told me. "Sorry, there's nothing you can do about it."

"And what if I told you that I quit?" I asked. That was bold. I need this job. "You'd lose more than half of your precious customers. I made this club popular. I can take that all away," I told him.

"Now, there's no need for that. I'd just have to tell the police that you were too young to be working here. That you showed me a fake ID and I had no idea you weren't eighteen," he said.

With tears in my eyes, I stormed off, shoving my tips in my pocket. Three hundred dollars. And I had to give Jay one hundred for the week. It was the amount we worked out for watching Danica. At least I had tomorrow night to make more money.

I don't ask for much
Truth be told I'd settle for a life less frightening
A life less frightening

On Sunday morning, I paid Jay, and then drove over to Brooklyn's house. We were going to spend the day together. In just a week she had become more of a best friend than Manny could be. It wasn't Manny's fault; I couldn't tell her about my daughter.

When I got to Brooke's, I looked around to make sure Craig wasn't anywhere to be seen. I noticed that his car wasn't in the driveway, and neither was Joey's. Good, no one will see me. I ran from the car with Danica in my arms, knocking on the door, and jumping inside when Brooklyn opened it.

"Geez, what's the rush?" she asked me.

"I don't want anyone to see me!" I said in a whisper.

"Chill, no one's gonna hear you. You can talk in a normal voice in my house you know," she said, laughing.

"Sorry. I'm a little on edge," I confessed. "I'm afraid that Jay's gonna tell someone."

"I'm sure he won't. He said he cares about you and he'd never tell a secret like that."

"You talked to him?" I asked.

"Yeah. Remember, I dropped off some of Mad's stuffed animals. His dad spoils him too much. Anyway, Jay was watching her when I went over. We talked for a few minutes. He's a good guy," she said.

"Yeah I guess he is now. He's changed a lot. Anyway, this guy isn't really Maddox's dad. You gonna tell him?" I asked.

"I don't want to talk about it okay?"

"Fine, sorry. Who is your mystery boyfriend anyway? He's never around when we hang out," I said.

"Yeah, he's getting his apartment ready. I'm moving in with him. His parents bought all new furniture and he's moving things around. Maddox is actually over there right now," Brooklyn said.

"Isn't that a big step? Moving in with him, I mean?" I asked. It sounded like she was getting in over her head. This guy's bound to find out sooner or later.

"He insisted on it. He wants to be closer to his son," she said.

"But he's not really his son," I added.

"Emma, listen. Whether or not he's biologically the father of my son, it doesn't matter. He's the one that's been there for him since the day he was born. Can we just agree to disagree and drop the subject?" she asked.

"I guess," I sighed. What she was doing was wrong, but it is her life and I guess I just had to leave it be. I still felt really bad for the guy, even though I didn't even know him.

"Hello precious. Come see Aunty Brooke," she said, lifting Danica from my arms. Yeah, she was already referring to herself as Dani's aunt. I didn't mind though. It's not like she has any real Aunts or Uncles.

Hang me out to dry, I'm soaking
With the sins of knowing what went wrong
But doing nothing, I still run
Time again I have found myself stuttering
Foundations pulled out from under me
This breath is wasted on them all
Will someone answer me?

Danica and I stayed for a few hours, but then I had to get her back home. I still had to get ready for work. When I got home, my parents were sitting in the living room watching television.

"Emma, Dani needs more diapers. She only has a few left," my mom informed me.

"But I just bought some last week!" I said.

"Babies go through a lot of diapers. She also needs more formula. And food," my dad added.

"I guess I'm gonna have to start working during the week then," I said. "I'm gonna get Danica changed and then I'll just take her to the store with me." Normally, I'd leave Dani at home when I went to the store but I figured I'd just chance it. I can't keep her hidden forever. Besides, I can still tell people she's my cousin. I need time to figure this out.

I'm also definitely not working during the week at Tric. I'll have to find a normal job for that, or I'm sure I can think of something. It won't be too hard. I brought my baby down to my room, well, our room, and undressed her. She drooled all over herself and her clothes were soaked. I changed her diaper and put her in a light blue dress. Then I said goodbye to my parents and we made our way to Target.

At the store, I picked up two packages of diapers, more wipes, three cans of formula, and millions of jars of baby food. Okay, so I exaggerated a little with the millions, but it was close. Right when I was turning the corner at the end of the baby aisle, who do I see but Manny and Craig, holding hands, looking at kitchen appliances. They can not see me here!

I quickly sped back down the aisle and headed for the registers. The total for everything came up to one hundred dollars and thirty-four cents. Great. After paying Jay and buying this stuff, I have a hundred dollars plus what I make tonight for food and stuff.

Not to mention the fact that I'm still paying off all the medical bills. Those alone are four hundred dollars a month for a long time. My parents' health insurance paid for the birth and everything, but she was sick when she was born. So I have a bunch of money to pay for the month she was in the hospital. I definitely need to make more money. And fast.

I rushed home, left Danica with my parents, and then got dressed for work. I got there as fast as I could, hoping that maybe I would make a bunch of tips.

I don't ask for much
Truth be told I'd settle for a life less frightening
A life less frightening

A/N: Sorry for the super short chapter. It's just a filler showing how Emma needs more money…you'll see next chapter how she goes about getting that money. The song is "Life Less Frightening" by Rise Against, they own it.