Infinite

I sighed gratefully as the owner called for me to take my break. I tossed my apron back onto it's hook and headed towards the employee room to check my phone, knowing that there'd be at least a text or two from someone who wouldn't be able to make it through a six hour shift without my presence.

I lifted the phone to my ear as it starting dialing the memorized number. "What do you want?" I questioned when his voice flooded through the phone.

"Atticus," he sighed, "Don't be that way. I was just calling to make sure you're having a good time." He stifled the laughter that was bubbling through his lips.

I rolled my eyes and cradled it between my shoulder and my ear. "I've only got a half an hour, Ronnie," I replied, "What do you want, really?"

Ronnie's small laughter died down. "Nothing really," he said, "Honestly I just wanted to know if you wanted to go out with the guys and me tonight."

I dropped down into a large plastic chair and ran my fingers through my pony tail. "I don't know, Ron," I sided, pushing the wisps of hair off of my forehead, "I'm already tired and in another three hours I think I'll be ready to climb into bed."

Ronnie let out a sound between a sigh and a groan. "Atticus, come on, yesterday was the only day you took off and all we did was lay around and watch movies," he replied, the frustration evident in his voice.

"I'm sorry," I said softly, shrugging my shoulders to the empty room around me. "I don't know what you want me to do," I stated, cringing when I said it, knowing that I was wrong.

"I want you to quit," Ronnie said firmly, saying the same words he'd said quite a few times before.

"Why?" I asked, becoming angry with the man that I'd fallen in love with, "You know I don't want to live off of you. Just because we live together doesn't mean I can't still be independent," I gushed quickly, blinking back frustration in the form of tears.

Ronnie sighed audibly. "I just don't like you living like this," he replied honestly, "I want you to wake up in the morning and be excited for the rest of the day. Like you were before tour."

"Well, things have changed," I informed him, "And now that I'm not working at the daycare anymore, I need to find a job that will tolerate the hours that I need off."

Ronnie grunted. "Why couldn't you just be a gold-digger?"

I chuckled and shook my head. "What are you doing right now?" I questioned. I looked up to the doorway as Stephanie popped her head in and mouthed a question at me. "It's Ronnie," I mouthed back to her, watching her smile widen. She nodded, gave me a thumbs up, and then disappeared from my vision, obviously deciding to give us a few minutes to chat alone.

"I'm at the apartment," Ronnie replied nonchalantly, "Why?"

"I've got about twenty-five minutes left in my lunch break and then ten minutes off. If you can get here soon, we can go grab something to eat down the street," I told him, knowing he'd be here as soon as I finished my sentence.

"Meet me outside in five minutes."

"It's at least a ten minute drive, on a good day," I laughed, "There's no way you'll be here that soon, Baby."

Ronnie scoffed at my logic. "I'll be there in five to seven minutes." He said goodbye and hung up the phone after I replied. I pushed my cell phone in my pocket and closed the rusted, open locker before I headed out of the back door of the building, having already clocked-out for my break.

I figured that if I said goodbye to Stephanie, she'd ask where I was going and realize I was meeting with Ronnie. And since we still hadn't talked about it, I decided that wasn't a real good idea. So I slipped out the back door quietly and leaned against the bricks of the back of the building.

Ronnie's SUV pulled up around ten minutes later, him smiling inside like he'd come here just as fast as he said he would. He pushed open the passenger's door from the inside and I climbed up, finally used to the feeling of being so high off of the ground.

"Hey, Baby," I greeted, leaning across the center counsel to kiss him.

"I missed you," Ronnie said playfully, grabbing my hand after he put the car into gear and headed down the street towards the small coffee shop on the corner.

I chuckled. "I've missed you too, Ronnie," I replied, "These last three hours have been just terrible without you."

Ronnie grinned cockily and pulled into a parking spot on the side of the road. His car was barely able to fit between the bright yellow lines of the space. I opened the door and heard the familiar thud of the lock coming from inside the door panel.

Ronnie walked around the car and wrapped his arm over my shoulder. I reached up and grabbed that same hand, my elbow bent and my hand near my shoulder as I laced my fingers between his slightly rougher ones. This felt slightly like a throw-back to the days when he'd pick me up from the daycare and take me to eat, although I had a longer lunch back then.

We walked into the decent sized building and headed towards the counter. "What do you want," Ronnie questioned me as the employee walked over to us and smiled.

I nudged his side with my elbow and when he looked down to meet my gaze, I stuck my tongue out at him quickly. "Do you really have to ask?" I replied, biting my lip.

He ordered me the same thing that he always bought for me, a carmel Frappe and a bagel with strawberry cream cheese. Once the cashier had typed in what I wanted, he ordered a chocolate chip muffin for himself, knowing that we'd share the drink like we always did.

"I'll be at that table," I murmured to him, pointing to the tall round table by the floor to ceiling window.

Ronnie nodded and let go of me, even slightly pushing me in the direction of the table.

I smiled at him broadly before I stepped over to the small table. I climbed up and stepped onto the high chair. I rested my elbow on the table and looked out the window, eyes set on a small group of college students.

"Why didn't you go to college?" Ronnie asked softly as he sat down across from me.

"Made other plans," I answered and turned my attention away from the early-twenty year olds when Ronnie handed my items across the table.

"Look how well that worked out," Ronnie said in his usual tone, making a quip at my father rather than myself. His eyes met mine as he tore his muffin to pieces.

I shrugged my shoulders and lifted my wide straw to my lips. I smiled as the taste hit my tongue. "Try this one," I stated, holding the clear cup out to him.

Ronnie leaned over the table and sipped the drink, nodding as he tasted it. "It's good," he said, taking it from me when he sat back down. I reached over the small round table and pushed his flattened hair out of his eyes. My fingers traced the line of his eyebrow, moving the dark strands to the left and out of his gorgeous eyes.

Ronnie reached up and pressed his hand against mine, holding it against his face. I ran my thumb over the obviously line of his jaw and pushed forward out of my chair so that I could kiss him. Ronnie smiled when I sat back in my chair. "What's going on?" he questioned suspiciously, eyes watching me.

I frowned. "Nothing," I said slowly, "Why?"

Ronnie chuckled. "Because you get quiet when you have something to tell me that you don't want to tell me," he replied, resting his hands on the table, "and you're doing that quiet thoughtful thing right now."

I rolled my eyes at how well he thought he knew me. "I'm not hiding anything from you," I said, matching my posture to his when he crossed his arms.

"Then what haven't you told me, yet?" he asked, licking his lips to keep from smirking at me.

I shook my head at him. "I just have to pick Nico up from daycare," I said, shrugging. It wasn't a big deal to him that I was spending more time away from him to pick up my sister. He and Nico were close, sometimes even closer than the little girl was with me. She adored him for some reason, and he felt the same about her.

Ronnie had a weak spot for family and people he cared about. In his teens, he pushed all family aside and got caught up in things that led him down the wrong path and ultimately to prison. But once he was released, it seemed that the love he had for his father, his brother, and all his nieces and nephews increased tenfold. And when we met, he easily included my sister in that.

"What else?" Ronnie questioned. Nico was no big deal, so there had to be more.

I placed my arms on the table. "I have to pick Frida up from Caleb's and then drop her wherever Max is going to be until my dad can pick her up," I explained, watching as he rolled his eyes before I'd even finished speaking.

"Really, Atticus?" he asked, "You're letting your dad make you run all over the place. You don't even know where Max is at today and you're supposed to just take Frida over there? What about Nico?"

"Ronnie, come on, they're my sisters," I rebutted, "The least I can do is look out for them when they need me to. It's not like he's dropping them on my doorstep and forcing me to raise them both. They're not just his daughters, they're my sisters."

"And you're my girlfriend," Ronnie retorted, "But you're still doing favors for the man who publicly announced that he hates me. I don't understand how you manage to take both sides."

"He doesn't hate you," I denied, "You know how he is, Ronnie. You can't take any of it to heart."

Ronnie nodded sarcastically. "Oh, no," he jabbed, "He likes me so much that he doesn't want me anywhere near you, Atticus. That makes a lot of sense to me."

"That doesn't mean that I can't do things for my sisters," I replied, grabbing his wrist before he could pull his hand away from me. "And I might be doing my dad a favor, but it's for my sisters, Ronnie."

Ronnie gave me a look that told me exactly how he felt about all of this.

I stepped down from my chair and took a couple small steps around the table. Ronnie watched me out of the corner of his eye and his gaze followed me until he was looking directly at me again. I laced my arms around his neck and smiled faintly as his arms secured around my hips. "Listen to me," I demanded, "You're one of the most important people in my life and I help my sisters because I love them. It doesn't mean that I'm taking my dad's side. This has nothing to do with him at all. It's about Nico and Frida."

"I know," he said, annoyed at himself for not being able to remain angry, "I just wish we could completely ignore him for the rest of our lives."

I chuckled, straw between my teeth. "I'm sorry, babe," I said, offering him our drink, "But Gina said that Nico is really excited to see you." I sat back down as Ronnie shook his head at me.

"How's Nico doing?" he asked, referring to her recent change in daycares. She moved from one in Pasadena to one in LA, which was closer to our father's record label and me.

"She's alright," I answered, "This one is a big bigger than the other one so she was a little overwhelmed at first, but she's adjusting well enough. She's likes the longer car rides with Gina, I heard."

"What time do you have to pick her up?"

"Five-thirty. Cody isn't working my shift tonight so there shouldn't be a problem with me getting off early," I explained.

"Good." Ronnie nodded. "That guy's an asshole." He stopped chuckling when he saw the glare I was giving him. "Sorry," he added, although there was still a faint smile on his face.

"Thank you," I replied, "He's my boss and I just have to put up with him. Not everyone likes their bosses." I shrugged my shoulders as I crumpled up the small box that my bagel came in.

"I like my boss," Ronnie replied, grinning.

I rolled my eyes. "You don't have a boss."

"Well, Cody Rantum is your manager technically and I like my manager," he retorted cheekily. An annoying habit of his.

"Shut up and take me back to work," I demanded playfully, grabbing the half-gone coffee from the table as I stood up and motioned for Ronnie to do the same. My phone was telling me that it was definitely time to leave and I was desperate for Ronnie to get a move on.

"Fine," he drew out, sliding down from the chair. We walked out to the car together with his fingers clasped in mine. It was only a two minute drive back down the street, and when he pulled up in front of the busy pizza restaurant, I checked the time before I leaned over and kissed him deeply, holding onto his chin.

"I'll see you after I pick up Frida and Nico," I confirmed when we pulled away.

Ronnie nodded and placed a quick peck against my cheek. "Call me when you get off," he requested, pushing my hair back behind my pierced ears.

"I will." I unbuckled my seatbelt and pushed the large, heavy door open. "I love you," I called back into the vehicle before I pushed the door closed behind me. I heard the words repeated by him before the door slammed shut on him, leaving him sitting in the driver's seat as I entered the front door of Uno's and greeted the costumers who were waiting to be seated in the busy pre-dinner rush.

"Just give me one second and I will show you and your lovely family to your table," I addressed the first couple in line with their kids. "Just let me clock back in."

"No problem," the woman replied, resting her hands on her young son's shoulders.

I smiled gratefully and booked it back to the employee room so that I could drop my phone back in the locker along with Ronnie's sunglasses. I clocked back in, noting that I was even a minute early. I grabbed an apron on my way back out and tied it quickly behind my back.

"Alright, Cutie-pie," I greeted their youngest child since he was standing in front of them. "Follow me and I'll show you to your section so we can get you guys settled with some delicious food."

Stephanie waved at me as I led the family of five to my section in the back. I waved back and watched her smile knowingly before she turned her attention back to the older couple that she was serving. As the family sat down at their booth, I secured my name-tag on my apron. "My name is Atticus," I introduced with a wide smile, "I'll be your server tonight. I can get you all started with something to drink?"

I took their orders while smiling and nodding, all the while thinking about the fact that I'd have to take off early again tonight, leaving me with less hours than was usually considered even part-time.

When tour ended, I didn't imagine that life would be this way. It seemed that touring and being in a different city every night was more stable than the way we were living now. My work hours were flexible, but that didn't mean that my employers were entirely happy with my early disappearing act, even if it was for family.

The owner of this restaurant was a man in his mid-fifties. Mr. Corbett, had owned this place since it first opened here in Los Angeles. He was a pleasant man with a balding head and greying beard. There wasn't really anything I didn't like about him, except for his tendency to take people at face value. He hired Cody Rantum around the same time he hired me to be a server. But since he and Cody worked opposite shifts, he'd never realized how much a weasel Cody had become since landing this job.

"Hey, Steph," I greeted as I walked into the employee room around quarter after five.

"Atticus."

I looked at and groaned internally when the Devil himself was sitting in a chair, switching into a pair of work appropriate shoes. "Cody," I greeted with a forced smile, widening my eyes at Stephanie as she shook her head behind him, "What are you doing here?"

"Got called in early," he stated, obviously pleased by my discomfort about him, "Needed to be here before third shift."

I frowned. "That's not for another hour and a half." I crossed my arms over my chest and waited for the part of his story that would bite me in the ass. Stephanie offered me a sympathetic look before she walked out of the room, wanting to get as far away from him as I did in that moment.

He smiled in a way that caused me to bite my lip from speaking out. "Well, Rick had to leave early for a personal matter and he wanted me to cover for him for the night."

I knew that Rick was leaving early tonight, but he'd always trusted second shift to work unsupervised by someone in a higher title. "It's his anniversary," I told Cody firmly, "He told us that he'd be taking off so that he could take his wife to dinner. He didn't say anything about you coming in."

Cody's smile widened. "Well, I heard you were working and thought I'd drop in early to make sure that everything was going well."

I rolled my eyes. "Sorry, Cody," I replied, disinterested, "I'm actually leaving. I've got some of my own 'family matters' to attend to tonight." I moved towards my locker and started to turn the lock when he replied.

"No can do, Atticus. We're low on servers tonight and we need you here to keep up with the costumers."

I froze mid-spin and turned to face him. I glared at his seemingly innocent blue eyes. "I have to leave, Cody," I demanded, "I have to be at the daycare by five-thirty."

Cody leaned his elbows on the table next to him and looked up to me with interest. "I didn't know you had a child," he stated, "It must be hard to be a single-mom. Boy or girl?"

I rolled my eyes. "Sister," I retorted snidely, "And I'm not single."

Cody's eyes hardened. He leaned back in his chair and shook his head. "Well, I'm sorry. But you can't leave early tonight."

I took a deep breath and tried to calm myself down. I nodded once and then finished unlocking the locker so that I could get to my cell phone. "Then I'm taking my ten minute break now."

Cody motioned for me to go ahead. I picked up my phone and dialed Ronnie's number, hoping that since he was expecting my call that he'd pick up on the first try. He didn't. I called two more times, ignoring Cody's smirk as I waited for the tattooed man to find his cell phone and actually answer it.

He answered on the last ring. "Atti, what's wrong?" he asked quickly, obviously nervous that I was calling so frequently, since I usually waited for him to call me back.

"I can't get off early to pick up Nico," I replied, listening to his sigh of relief when he realized that nothing was disastrously or dangerously wrong. I leaned sideways against my locker as Cody tied his shoes as slowly as humanly possible.

"Why not?" Ronnie asked, "I thought you said that Rick was working your shift tonight."

"He was," I stated, "But he left early and Rantum thought it would be necessary to supervise second shift as well as third," I explained, hoping that my manager would here the pointedness in my voice.

Ronnie let a few crude words fly. "What do you need me to do?" he asked, repeating the words I was hoping he'd say.

I smiled out of relief and adoration. "I love you so much," I said, "Can you pick Nico Moon up from daycare and Frida from Caleb's?"

"Is he the boy that lives near Roosevelt?"

I nodded. "Yeah, in that big apartment complex on Jacent," I confirmed, picturing the large building in my head. "Don't worry about taking Frida to Max's, I can do that when I get off. Just take her back to our place and ignore her if she complains."

"What about food?" Ronnie questioned, knowing that Frida would have a problem with whatever he wanted to cook for them. He had a tendency to burn everything and then try to pass it off as 'Cajun'.

I faltered for a minute. Frida was a nice sister and a fun kid, but tended to mess with Ronnie just as much as he messed with her. An obvious solution came to mind and I switched the phone to my other ear as I spoke, "How about you bring them both here and I can deal with Frida's picky appetite?"

"Sound good to me," Ronnie replied easily. I gave him the address to Nico's new daycare and made him promise to call me if he couldn't get ahold of Frida. "I'll see you in a little while," he said, "Don't worry. It'll be fine."

"Thanks, babe. I'll call the daycare and let them know that you're coming instead. They shouldn't have a problem if I tell them," I said, hoping that it would be true.

"Alright. See you later. I love you."

"I love you, too." I ended the call and then dialed the number to the daycare as Cody left the room, managing to miraculously finish tying his shoes the moment I was done speaking with Ronnie. The woman at the daycare took Ronnie's name and description and assured me that they would let him pick Nico up. I didn't bother calling Frida because she already knew someone was going to pick her up, and I didn't think it mattered who it would be waiting for her in Caleb's parking lot.

I pulled my apron back over my head and made sure my name-tag was noticeable before I headed back out onto the floor to make sure that nobody needed anything else for their meals.