The Mad Tatter by Darhower J. M

Author:Darhower, J. M. [Darhower, J. M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, Adult, Childrens
ISBN: 9781942206156
Amazon: B00W2FR0RC
Goodreads: 25354448
Published: 2015-04-12T07:00:00+00:00

Sunday—the one day out of the week where I can just relax, but there's no sleeping in with Lexie around.

I'm dragged out of bed at dawn to make peanut butter, banana, and chocolate chip pancakes, and spend the afternoon lounging in front of the TV. Avery hangs around all day, seemingly having nowhere else to be.

It's early evening, nearing dusk, when I sit on the couch, Lexie beside me, wedged between Avery and me. The girls watch whatever is on the television while I zero in on what I'm working on: the head of a wooly mammoth.

It looks more like a distorted elephant, but there isn't much I can do. The more I work on it, the more fucked up it seems.

"There," I say, giving up. It's as good as it will ever be. "One woody mammoth tattoo."

"It's woody," Lexie says, trying to correct me and still getting the word wrong. "Woody mammoth."

"My mistake." I toss the marker down and stand up, stretching as my gaze shifts toward the clock. That feeling is starting to brew in my stomach, the building anxiety as the roller coaster slowly trudges up the hill, the plunge not far off. "We should get going, or we're gonna be late getting you home."

"Do we have to?" Lexie whines, grasping at her arm and straining her neck to survey the drawing. "I wanna stay!"

"Sorry," I say, grabbing her little pink backpack from the corner, the bag untouched, as usual. "Your mother's expecting you. Besides, you have school tomorrow."

"You can take me to school."

I wish I could, and hell, I could, technically, but still… I can't. I'm not allowed. The custody order expressly says our visitation ends seven o'clock on Sunday, and if I'm even ten minutes late taking her home, Rebecca rails on me about responsibility and respect, two words I'm damn tired of hearing her say.

Lexie slips on her shoes, pouting, and grabs her backpack from me, dragging it along the floor for the door. Avery casts me a sympathetic smile before jogging over to the girl, offering to take the backpack from her. Lexie declines, but her expression brightens a bit. "Are you coming, too?"

"Sure." The moment she says it, she tenses and glances back at me. "I mean, if it's okay."

I shrug. If she wants to make the trek, I won't stop her.

We take the subway from my place to the Upper Westside, a journey that always makes me feel like I'm exiting into an entirely different city. So used to the day-to-day bustle of my chaotic neighborhood, the upscale streets leading to Rebecca's brownstone seem completely foreign. Rarely in the city do people give me a second look, my tattoos and piercings everyday sights around New York, but in this neighborhood I feel out of place. Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe I'm just projecting, but I feel like everyone is fucking staring at me.

I slow when I reach the brownstone, grasping ahold of Lexie before she can run up the steps. Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head.

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