Hope

Kristel spent close to twenty minutes organizing the things she had bought. She didn't want to go out into the living room with everyone else right away. Once she was satisfied with everything, she turned to see Amber crawling towards the door. “Oh, no you don’t,” Kristel laughed, grabbing Amber off the floor. “It’s time for you to get ready for bed.” Kristel booped Ambers’ nose.

She put Amber on the bed so she could change her, then stopped, noticing the comforter was filled with dog hair. Pausing for a moment, she grabbed the top blanket then flicked it off the bed. Revealing the sheet underneath it, which was cleaner to say the least. Kristel sat Amber down on the bed as she grabbed one of the new pajamas that was bought that day, then put Amber into them.

Kristel felt a huge weight lifted off her shoulders as she was able to put Amber into clothes that fit properly. “There that feels better doesn’t it,” Kristel kissed Ambers head, holding her close to her as she swayed side to side, humming a soft song. “Night night, Amber,” she sang after a couple minutes of humming. “Night night, Amber. Night night Amber, it’s time to go night night.” She repeated this song a couple more times before laying Amber down in the bed to sleep. She quietly slipped out into the hallway, leaving the door cracked.

“I was wondering if you were coming out,” Zack laughed, walking out of the bathroom, startling Kristel.

“I was just making sure Amber went to sleep,” Kristel explained, walking with Zack to the living room where everyone else had congregated.

“Kristel, come sit by me,” Val flagged Kristel down. Kristel gave a small smile, and sat between Val and Michelle, as Zack sat down in a chair.

Matt and Brian came in from the kitchen to see the girls had taken over the couch. “Where are we supposed to sit now?” Brian teased. Michelle patted the arm rest of the couch, as Brian shook his head. “Get your sweet ass over here,” Michelle patted the arm rest more forcefully. Brian sat down, as Matt sat on the floor near Val.

“Would you like something to drink?” Zack asked Kristel.

“Do you have any ice tea?” Kristel asked.

“Psh, all Zack has is beer and water,” Val laughed, cutting off Zacks answer.

“Oh,” Kristel started, surprised. “Well, water would be fine.”

“So, how was your shopping trip with the girls, Kristel?” Matt asked, as Zack went to get some water.

“Exhausting,” Kristel replied, leaning back into the couch. “I’ve never understood how people can just shop all day.”

“You hung in there pretty well,” Michelle laughed.

“Especially, when Gena found us,” Val added, as Zack walked back into the living room.

“Gena was there?” Zack asked, handing Kristel a glass of water.

Val nodded, laughing, “Remind me to never get on Kristel’s bad side.”

“Why?” Jimmy asked, an eyebrow raised.

“She can get mean,” Micelle nudged Kristel playfully.

“I don’t mean to,” Kristel mumbled, all of a sudden finding her water extremely interesting.

“But, I wouldn’t worry about Gena anytime soon. I think Kristel scared her off,” Val finished.

“That’s good,” Zack muttered, looking towards Kristel, who caught his eye briefly before looking away.

“How does Amber like her new outfits?” Michelle asked, turning her attention back to Kristel after a couple moments silence.

“I think she’s glad that they actually fit her. Her other clothes were becoming too small,” Kristel replied, happily. “I was always going to buy her some clothes…well at least a sleeper, once I got enough money. But I always needed formula or diapers, once I finally had enough money for outfits.”

“Speaking of Amber,” Brian started, interrupting the girls’ conversation. “Where’s her father?”

Kristel’s face fell into a frown, as she looked towards Brian, “As far as I’m concerned, she doesn’t have one.”

“What happened to him?” Matt asked, making Kristel look at her water more intensly, starting to feel uneasy.

Kristel shrugged, “Stuck around the whole pregnancy, only to kick me out after Amber was two months old, because I was ‘cheating’.”

“Were you?” Johnny interrupted Kristel, making her give him a sour look.

“No, God, no. I’d never do that to someone. I could never understand why people would do that in the first place. All I did was text one of my friends while he was at work,” Kristel explained.

“Sexual messages?” Brian suggested.

“No,” Kristel emphasized. “Conversation messages, like ‘Hey, long time no talk,’ or ‘Hey, what’s new with you?’.’

“I don’t get it,” Zack spoke up. “Why break up over something like that?”

Kristel shrugged again, “Beats me…he insists she’s not his daughter. Must be why he took me to court to demand a DNA test after he signed the birth certificate.” Kristel looked down as tears started to form in her eyes.

There was a pause, before Zack broke the silence. “Is she his?”

“She has to be,” Kristel’s voice broke, as she felt the stress of her old relationship wash over her. “I only slept with him, he was my first, and I’ve never slept with anyone else…ever.”

“Was a DNA test ever done?” Johnny asked.

Kristel shook her head no, “The judge told him that because he had signed the birth certificate that he waived the rights to a DNA test. But, even though he insisted she wasn’t his he fought for rights to see her.”

“So where is he now?” Zack asked, curious as ever at this new information.

Kristel shrugged, “After fighting so hard for rights to see his daughter, he then decided to give me all legal control over Amber. He told me that he wouldn’t see her as long as he didn’t have to pay child support.”

“So he doesn’t pay child support?” Zack asked, astonished.

Kristel nodded, not meeting anyone’s gaze. “I-I’m going to bed. It was nice talking to all of you,” Kristel stood up abruptly, after a couple moments of silence. Then, before anyone could object, she was out of the room.

Val did a quick count on her fingers, then gasped, “She’s been on her own since last year.”

“What makes you say that?” Matt asked.

“Well, when girls shop they talk, and we got Kristel to start talking about Amber,” Val started, as Michelle realized what she was getting at.

“That’s right,” Michelle joined in. “She said that Amber would be two in a few months.”

“And her ex kicked them both out when Amber was two months.” Zack mused. “That’s over a year on her own.”

“Poor girl,” Val said softly, a hand over her mouth at the realization.

“But wait,” Jimmy interjected. “She said that she was in court with Amber’s father. I don’t think that the courts would let Kristel keep Amber if she was homeless.”

“True,” Brian agreed. “So her homelessness could be more recent then we think.”

“So,” Johnny dragged the word out, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Is she taking us for a ride?”

“Pretty sure she would’ve bought more with Zacky’s credit card if she was,” Val interjected.

“Never know, she could just wait until she gains our trust first,” Matt pointed out.

“I guess we’ll just have to find out,” Zack finished the debate. “Tomorrow night we can try to talk to her again, when we’re done with our recording session.” Everyone nodded in agreement, then turned the conversation onto the band and what songs they would be recording the next day.