Shooting Star

When Layton got home that evening, she found her father in the kitchen making dinner for them. She set her purse and keys down on the counter and leaned back against it, sighing heavily. She was worn out with how busy she had been the past week, and it was only the beginning. She was going to be with busy with settling in some more all weekend long, and then she would have to get up early Monday morning and head to work. She just hoped that if she managed her time well enough, she could get everything done by Sunday afternoon that way she had the entire evening to relax.

“Did you get the job, honey?” David, Layton’s father asked her when he turned to look at her.

“I did,” She nodded as she ran a hand through her hair.

“Good,” David grinned at her, glad that she had finally found a job after searching all week.

“Yep,” Layton nodded, “Now all I have to do is save up some money for the next few months, and then I’ll find a place of my own for Marley and I.”

David frowned at the thought. Layton had just come back, and he didn’t like the idea of her leaving so soon even if it was only to an apartment or a house near by. He didn’t mind if she stayed for a year or longer. He was lonely by himself, and he had missed her very much.

“You know you can stay as long as you need to, Layton. There’s no need to rush into finding a place,” He assured her. “Besides, I want some time with you and Marley.”

Layton gave her father a small smile before leaning over and kissing his cheek. “Okay, dad. Don’t worry, I’ll take my time,” She promised him.

It was only a minute later when Layton heard small footsteps running into the kitchen from behind her. Layton turned around and grinned at the sight of her daughter, Marley who was dressed in her purple leotard with a blue poofy tutu around her waist.

“Mommy!” She exclaimed as she ran full force towards her.

Layton knelt down onto the floor and caught the small six-year-old in her arms. “Hi, baby,” She murmured as she gave her a tight hug.

No matter how hard Layton’s day happened to be, her daughter could always put her in a good mood, even though every time she looked at Marley she saw a miniature Matt, and it made her feel guilty for lying to him about getting an abortion. She had made the appointment thinking maybe she could really do it, but when she was sitting in the waiting room waiting for her name to be called, she realized that not only she couldn’t do it, but also she didn’t want to. She wanted to keep her baby, even if that meant never telling Matt that she hadn’t gone through with it.

“I’ve been practicing real hard today, mommy,” Marley said with a bright smile.

Layton laughed as she tucked a few loose strands from Marley’s messy ponytail behind her ear. “I bet you have, toots.”

“No, Layton, you have no idea,” David chimed in as he handed Marley a Capri sun with the straw already poked through the hole. “She’s been dancing all day long, only stopping to eat lunch and run with me to pick up a few things at the store earlier. And even then, she refused to change out of her little outfit.”

Layton just smiled and shook her head as she looked back at Marley who was slurping down her juice. “You’re a very stubborn little ballerina.”

Marley shrugged her small shoulders. “At least I’m still a ballerina,” She sang out as she did a twirl to prove her point.

David chuckled as his granddaughter, “Okay, ballerina, go on and wash up for dinner.”

Layton bit down on her lip to hide her laughter as Marley huffed and rolled her eyes before stomping away as she muttered something about not being done with her dancing yet. Layton shook her head and turned to her dad who had completely ignored Marley and her small attitude issue.

“You really need to enroll that child into some dance classes here before she goes crazy,” David told Layton as he pulled a casserole dish out of the oven and set it on the stove.

“I’m already on it,” Layton assured him as she walked to the fridge to get something to drink. “I found a really nice place today, so tomorrow we’re gonna go check it out and see how much it’ll cost and such.”

“I’m sure she’ll love that, Layton.”

“Most definitely,” She nodded.

Ten minutes later, David, Layton, and Marley were sitting at the kitchen table eating the dinner David had prepared for them. Layton wasn’t all that hungry but she sat there at the table anyways so she could listen to Marley as she went on and on about her day and what had happened. Layton enjoyed hearing her daughter talk about her day, especially when she wasn’t able to be with her and had to miss it.

-x-

“Mommy,” Marley murmured as Layton sat down on the edge of her bed. “Will you tell me that story again?”

Layton laughed softly as she handed Marley her bear. “Aren’t you tired, baby? You’ve been dancing all day. Are you sure you can stay awake long enough for me to tell you?”

“Pleaseeeee,” Marley pouted.

Layton sighed as she turned off the small lamp on the nightstand beside Marley’s bed, which left the lava lamp nightlight that was plugged in across the room as their only source of light.

“Okay, okay,” Layton gave in, “But I’m not telling you the whole story. Mommy’s tired just like you are, and we have a long day tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Marley mumbled.

“Once upon a time there were two children. One was a young boy named Matthew, and the other was a small girl named Layton. The two met when their mother’s introduced them when Layton was your age, while Matthew was twelve. Although he was older, he loved Layton very much and treated her like his little sister. It wasn’t until Layton reached fifteen when Matthew really started to notice how cute she was. Of course, he never said anything considering he was much, much older than her and it didn’t seem right,” Layton recited the same story she had been telling Marley since she was just a small toddler. "After Layton turned eighteen, Matthew couldn't stop himself from feeling the way he did about her, but still, he never told her. It wasn't until Layton was twenty when her and Matthew decided-" She smiled softly and stopped the story once she noticed Marley’s eyes were already closed and she had drifted off to sleep.

She ran a hand through her hair before leaning over and kissing her on the forehead. She then stood up carefully, not wanting to shake the bed and wake Marley. Walking out of Marley’s bedroom, she shut the door quietly behind her before heading downstairs.

She sighed tiredly and plopped down the leather couch beside her dad who was watching a program on TV. Layton was tired and couldn’t wait to head to bed, but first she had a few things to do, which she was definitely dreading.

“What’s wrong?” David asked Layton as he noticed her twirling a piece of her hair between her fingers.

“Nothing,” Layton said as she shook her head, “I’m just stressed.”

David nodded with a small frown. He understood why she was stressed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to really talk about,” She sighed, “Just between moving here and getting settled in, and my new job, and Marley, it’s just all so stressful. Plus, I ran into an old friend today. In fact, she works down at the salon I’m starting out on Monday. So now I have to worry about running into Matt or any other’s.”

“I hope you do run into him,” David said, “He deserves to know, Layton. He deserves to be apart of Marley’s life.”

“Dad,” Layton groaned, “Please don’t start tonight. Matt wasn’t ready for this. He wasn’t ready for this lifestyle, and he sure as hell wasn’t ready to be a father.”

David shook his head, “That wasn’t for you to decide, Layton. That was his decision and his choice, not yours. And you know just as well as I do that when he finds out he has a daughter who has been kept from him for six years, he’s going to be angry at you.”

“You mean if he finds out,” Layton murmured, shaking her head.

David sighed, knowing he was never going to get through to her. Layton was as stubborn as her mother, and there was no changing her point of view or opinion once it was set. Finally, after a minute of silence, he stood up from the couch, ready to head to bed and get some sleep.

“I have work early in the morning, so I probably won’t see you and Marley until tomorrow evening some time,” He told her.

“Okay,” Layton nodded, “Night, dad.”

“Goodnight, honey.”