Lyla

"Mommy are you cheating?" I look up to find the matching deep green eyes that reflect as my own.

Adrianna stands there with her small fist balled on her hip that is jutted out just a tad bit. Her foot is tapping as her other hand extends with its palm out.

"Why would you think I'm cheatin' honey clam?"

"Because your voice goes like that when you lie, and you always make up those goofy nicknames when you're doing something bad." I roll my eyes at the fact that I just called out by my almost four-year-old.

"Adrianna, mommies aren't allowed to cheat. It's located in our DNA." I smirk when her little lips push out in annoyance.

If I had a nickel for every time my daughter made this face I would be a millionaire. I don't know who taught it to her, but she gets away with mostly everything because of it.

"Then how come you have some of the good cards behind you?" I laugh then reach behind me and grab the small paper cards.

Cheating in a game of a Candyland with my daughter is not something I am proud of, but in my defense, this must be our hundredth round of it and this little spitfire is just getting started. If she had things her way, we would live just to play this game. Sometimes me winning is the only way to break the curse of the brightly colored board.

"Sorry love tell ya what, the buzzer is just about to go off for dinner, why don't you go get washed up, and I'll get the roast?"

Adrianna nods her little head and scurries into the hallway that leads to the washroom. I shake my head as I clean up our game knowing in a few moments I will hear her singing the Moana theme song and most likely making a huge mess. My daughter is sweet and intelligent, but clean she is not.

Walking over to the kitchen I place some oven mitts on my hands, reach down and take the roast out of the oven. I turn up the small portable radio located on the window seal when I hear Cold in Ohio by Jamie Lawson. Once I place the food on the stovetop, I huff out a breath of frustration.

I made too much again.

Since Shane and I got together I have learned to prepare enough food for not only a family of four but nearly six. Shane may be shy but not when it comes to second and third helpings of my food.

My heart breaks thinking of the way Shane must think of me. When we were together he made me feel special. I was loved and protected, he made me feel independent yet, cared for. It was perfect, until everything fell apart and he broke me in two. Shane's hatred towards me is painful. Knowing what he thinks of me, the lies he must believe, only makes everything I am currently dealing with that much worse.

"Mommy are you okay?" I shake my head, annoyed that once again I have started crying over Shane's absence in my life.

I turn around wiping my tears away to face my daughter.

"Of course love bug. Tell ya what, Aunt Lisa will be here soon and I'm sure she'll be hungry. Let's get the table set and I'll bring over the food."

Adrianna nods her head enthusiastically and runs over to retrieve the silverware and plates. I watch as my little girls gets on her step stool located in the kitchen to grab it all, noticing that once again she is grabbing an extra place set. I wasn't the only one that was devastated when Shane left us. Although he still will show up for certain things in Adrianna's life, such as her ballet recitals and school programs, he won't say a word to me. Adrianna loved Shane with all her heart and I can tell a piece of her went missing the moment he walked away from us.

"God, it feels so good to be home." Lisa bellows when she walks in the house.

Lisa and I have always been close growing up. She is my younger sister of three years but looking at us you would never think we are related. Where my hair is big, curly, and brown, her hair is dark and has a pixie cut. Lisa is taller and thinner than I am and always wears darker makeup. We look completely opposite but think very much alike.

Growing up in a family where your father is a pastor and your mother is a doormat, we found it hard to be anything other than Father Monroe's little girls. Lisa was fifteen when she came out and told us she was gay. I was proud of her, mother and daddy wanted nothing to do with her. They shipped her out here to New York where our great Aunt tried to beat the gay out of her. Once Lisa turned eighteen, she stayed in New York getting her own place as soon as she could. She knew coming back home in Texas was not where she was meant to be. She was done with our family, and our parents acted like she was never born.

Daddy and mother never spoke to her after that, never called her to see how she was doing. In their eyes, she betrayed us by not coming back to Texas. It would be years later that I would run to her with a small being growing in my belly and nowhere else to turn.

Lisa took me in with open arms and has always been there for Adrianna and me. She helped watch Adrianna when I was in nursing school and after I got my job at the hospital, she stepped up and told me she would watch her when she didn't have to work. I hated giving her all this responsibility when she could have had her own life, but she always reassured me that this was what she wanted.

Mother and daddy never came around after me leaving. I tried reaching out to them after Adrianna was born, but they refused.

"Long day?" I ask as Adrianna comes back out from the bathroom, smelling like she used a pound of my perfume on her. She has just recently started getting into my makeup and perfume. I will also catch her trying my shoes and bras on.

"Hi Aunt Lisa." Adrianna says enthusiastically as she sits down at the table.

Walking over, I grab the salad out of the fridge. My eyes follow Lisa as she heads straight for the wine cooler and grabs a bottle. Before she can say one word to me or Adrianna, she buries her head in our drawer where we keep the bottle opener and crackles when she finds it.

"Uh, Lisa?"

Lisa pops the bottle open and begins chugging, creating a giggle fest from Adrianna. I roll my eyes at my sister's dramatics and walk over with the salad, placing it on the table.

"Mommy is Aunt Lisa having a pill of a day again?"

"Who taught you"

"Sorry, that was my fault. She was going through her faze of questions one day and asked why I was angry when I came home one day. I told her someone at work was being a pill." Lisa says smiling over at her niece.

I can't express the gratitude I have for my little sister for all she has done for us, but there are times when her vulgar and crass mouth get Adrianna in trouble. Shane was the same problem but of course my punishment for him was much more fun than a stern speech about being a good role model.

"Alright you two, let's get some food in our bellies. Lisa, you want to change into some more comfortable before you eat?"

"Good idea." Lisa disappears into the room and I begin cutting up the roast to serve Adrianna's plate. A picky eater she is not, and I thank God every day for that when I can make whatever is left in the fridge and she won't give me any crap for it.

By the time Lisa comes back out, Adrianna is finishing up her dinner and asks if she can go play with her stuffed animals. Once I give her the head nod she was so frantically bouncing on her tip toes for, she scampers off and Lisa and I sit down for a peaceful meal.

"Want to tell me why the horrible day at work?"

"The prick McGonagall was up my ass about deadlines again. It's like, don't people understand being an asshole won't make things go much faster?"

"I'm sorry Lisa, people can be real jackasses sometimes."

When Lisa decided to stay out here in New York, she became an artist. She always had a way with painting and for a while, used that as her means to live. When Adrianna and I came into her life, she obviously needed to get a steadier job. She works with the city for permits of new buildings and for the most part, can work from home. These last few weeks, she has been needed to come to the cite more and more, and since the company branched out a few months ago, we decided to place Adrianna in preschool.

It worked out perfectly, Lisa gets her time to herself when she is home and I was able to get mornings when I switched with one of the nurses that started dating a guy that works nights. It also worked out well for Adrianna. She loves school and can let out all her energy with other children her age. She's never been a shy kid, so I never had to worry about her first day jitters. She was so excited, she had forgotten I was there.

After dinner, Lisa goes to her room to catch up on some emails and I put Adrianna to bed. We are currently in her room reading her favorite book, 'If You Give A Mouse a Cookie', when she closes the book and takes it from my hands. Whenever she does this I know I'm going to be answering some questions.

"Mommy, can I ask a question?" Leaning up, I settle her on my lap and look down at her. I had brushed her hair right before we got into bed and I smile when I see her curls are already starting. Her hair isn't as curly as mine, but the ends tend to twist.

"Course' honey. What did you want to know?"

"Is Shane ever going to come back?"

I had a feeling this question was going to eventually appear. I wasn't sure what I should have told her when Shane and I broke up, but obviously she got the kids abbreviated version. All she knows is, me and Shane decided we just wanted to be friends.

"Well, Shane loves you very much." I blink back the few tears aligning along my eyes. "Just because he and mommy aren't together anymore, doesn't mean he doesn't want to see you. He goes to your ballet recitals and that field trip you had a few months back."

I try to stay positive as I explain to my three-year-old that Shane still cares for her very much. He may hate me, but he was man enough to stay in Adrianna's life, and I couldn't expect more. I adore how he is with my daughter and as much as I would love to tell him the truth, tell everyone the truth, it's not something I want to dig out of my past. Going through what I am right now with Rory, is enough of a battle.

After putting Adrianna to bed, I head back out to the living room and see Lisa already starting our movie for the night. Each night we lay on the couch, cuddle up with wine and ice cream, and watch a movie with lots of action or comedy. Tonight, we are watching Edge of Tomorrow, one of my new favorite movies.

"Thought you hated this movie?" I ask sitting down on our soft brown sofa.

Lisa and I have been sharing this house since I moved out here. The rent is cheap, and the owners love us and Adrianna. They are like the grandparents she never had. Since we have extra money, we have been able to fix it up and make it our own. It has three bedrooms and a large kitchen and dining area. I couldn't ask for a more perfect home for my daughter to grow up in.

"I do, this movie makes no kind of sense, but since I will most likely be on my phone the entire night with Sicily, I figured you could watch your movie tonight." I laugh thinking of how whipped my sister is for this new girl.

Lisa has always been a bit of a player and although she never stays with a certain person for longer than a day, this newest conquest is different. Sicily lives in New Hampshire and since she isn't too far from us, she comes down and visits twice a month. They haven't put a title on it, but I can tell my sister is gaga over this girl.

My phone dings from the kitchen island and I get up to retrieve it, hating how quickly I find my feet moving. Every time my phone goes off nowadays, two things enter my mind. It's Adrianna's school telling me she hurt herself somehow, I know I'm such a mom, and two, it's Shane, telling me he forgives me.

It's neither.

A deep feeling of dread fills me as I glance down at the text that I received from Rory.

Rory: I will be going to court on Monday to file for joint custody.

I blow out a breath and lean down, placing my hands on top of the table. I suddenly feel trapped in my own body. I have been doing everything in my power to avoid Rory. I have tried ignoring him and his messages and emails, even when he shows up at my house. Unfortunately, the restraining order I filled against him will mean nothing when he files for custody of Adrianna. I hate this pain and worry I feel for what will eventually happen. If Rory gets joint custody, I honestly don't know how I will react.

"Lyla?" I lift my head up and turn to see Lisa standing right behind me with the same look of panic that is matching my face.

"He messaged me again. Monday is the day he will file." I explain, showing her the phone with the message still displayed.

Lisa nods her head in understanding, then retrieves the phone from me and places it face down on the counter top. With a much-needed hug, Lisa pulls me over to the couch and sits me down. I feel numb, detesting how weak I feel. If this gets granted by him, I won't be able to rest, knowing what he is capable of. A buried thought crosses my mind about getting the MC into this, but knowing all the shit they have going on, I know I couldn't drag them into anymore. It would also mean telling them the truth of my past, and I am not ready for that.

"Don't you worry Ly. I won't let that idiot come within three feet of our girl. We have plenty of space in our backyard for a few body piece burials." I giggle while the tears finally make their way down my cheeks. Lisa leans in to hold me and I let her. My body already feeling drained from the last few months of terror since Rory has moved out here.

After the movie, something I paid little to no attention to, I head to Adrianna's room to check on her. Hearing her light snore, I kiss her forehead goodnight once more and head over to my room. Stopping to turn on her little mermaid nightlight, I glance back at the sleeping form of the most precious thing in the world to me.

Once in my room, I plug my phone into its charger and glance at it once more just before setting my alarm. I notice a message from Shawna, asking me about Adrianna's birthday and whether or not I will have a party for her. She offers to help me if needed, and I smile at how wonderful the people in my life are. They may be tied to Shane, but they still reach out to me often enough.

As much as I want to, all my extra money will be going towards fighting Rory, and since the man comes from more money than one would ever need in their life, I know I will need every dime I have to fight him.

I don't reply, merely turn away from my phone and fall into a restless sleep.