Lovely, Stay Lovely

"W-what?" Dani whispered?

I shook my head slowly, unsure of what to say.

"So... you did this out of pity? You did all of this out of pity?"

"No I-"

"And Abi's room?" She whispered, unbelievingly as her eyes glanced down the hallway. "All of that was to win a bet?"

"No, you don't understand, Dani."

"No Jona," She interrupted. "I don't think you understand." Her voice quivered softy. "I told you why I was homeless, living on the streets and taking after a baby alone. I was fucked by some guy that used and abused me. And I thought, maybe, just maybe I'd be able to trust a guy again, but obviously not."

I tried to speak, but my voice failed me. Words wouldn't come to my mouth as my mind frantically searched for what to say. What could I say? She was right. I fucked up.
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Dani shook her head and left the room down the hallway. As she left my sight, my legs collapsed and I fell onto the couch. "I'm so sorreh," I mumbled to myself, resting my face in my hands.

I listened intently to Dani's voice from Abi's room. Just listening to her speak made me feel worse. She didn't deserve this, and neither did Abi.

"Hi baby," I heard her speak to her child. "I know you're tired. It's okay though. Sh, it's okay. Go to sleep, munchkin. We'll figure this all out in the morning, okay?"

I smiled slightly, just for a moment. 'Figure it out in the morning' meant she would be staying at least one more night, which bought me more time to fix this.

One door shut in the hallway, a second opened and shut again signaling Dani going into the bed room. "Good," I mumbled to myself. "At least she can sleep on the bed."

A few hours later, I found myself waking up. I was still on the couch and groaned at the discomfort that I knew my back would be in during the morning. Leaning up I stretched my arms above my head before looking at the clock. It was nearly four in the morning, just the time Abi would usually be hollering for some type of food.

I got up to check on the baby, but before I made two steps towards the room, Dani came running out frantically. "Jona! Jona! Abi's not breathing!"