danteshope

[danteshope]

Slow Burn, Chapter 1

Born in a Hurry, Always Late

“JEREMY!” I called, holding up a warm coffee that I had just made and placing it on the bar. I turned quickly to move on to my next task before I heard a polite voice.

“Oh! Excuse me? Can I get an extra napkin? This is pretty warm.” His face was kind, he was older but he looked like the type you could immediately trust.

“Absolutely! Can I get you anything else?” I smiled, passing a napkin across the bar.

“No, that will do it. Thanks...Melynne.” He peered at the name tag on my chest.

“No problem, enjoy your day!” He smiled again, offering a shy finger wave before walking off. I looked towards the clock, 2:45. 15. More. Minutes. The last fifteen minutes ALWAYS drag on. I quickly mixed another Frappuccino, repeating the process like I do all day, every day. I was a single mom, of two boys and couldn’t ever afford to really take days off. I loved my job, as a barista at a local ski lodge coffee shop, Tahoe’s Best Brew, but most days it was monotonous. Like clockwork, Nikki, my relief for the afternoon waltzed in; her hair wild and wavy. I hope she planned on pulling that back before she came behind the bar. “What’s up Mel?” She asked, tying her apron behind her back. “Not a whole lot, pretty slow day. Think the snow got the best of everyone. I have Foster’s talent show tonight so I gotta leave kinda quick today.” I finished filling up the drink mixes and stocked the coffee filters. “Go ahead and take off Mel, give the boys a hug for me.” Nikki patted my back. I nodded, removing my straight raven hair from a hair tie and pulling off my apron, before stuffing it into a dirty linens bin. “Thanks Nik! I’ll see you tomorrow!” I pulled off my worn out converse and slipped into snow boots, concealing the shoes in a backpack. I wrapped my jacket around my body tightly, and pulled on a beanie. It was a cold winter, but not nearly as cold as it has been before. The snow was enjoyable, crisp enough but not bitterly cold. I ran out to the old Jeep parked on the side of Tahoe’s Best and turned the ignition on, quickly turning on the heat.

The drive to my sons daycare was a quick one, only ten minutes from work. I always picked up my youngest, Joey before going to pick up Foster. I ran inside the daycare, signing into the front office and into his classroom. “Mommy!!” Joey smiled, and wobbly ran to the door giving me a big hug. I picked him up, kissing his cheeks. “Well hey there Joe. How was your day?” I smiled, hugging him even tighter. “Miss Prescott, he was an angel today, per usual.” His daycare teacher, Brittany was a saint. She loved all of the kids in her room, and I was fortunate to have someone care for Joey as good as she does. “It’s almost time for him to move to the next room, I’m gonna be sad when he turns two!” She put Joeys bag, he shrugged away from her as I signed him out; wrapping his arms tightly around my neck. He was always afraid if Brittany touched him again, I would leave without him for some reason. “Ugh, I know! I’m not ready for that either. We gotta head our though, brother has a talent show today.” I grabbed Joe’s belongings and swept him out to the Jeep, strapping him into his car seat. “Momma momma momma!” Joey babbled pointing towards the front window. “Is Hawk momma! Is Hawk!” He exclaimed, his excitement eluding him.

“What, Joe? A hawk?” I asked. He pointed towards the window again. All I saw was another parent leaving with their daughter. Wait, that was the guy from the coffee shop. Weird. Anyway, a hawk? “Well, I don’t see a hawk Joey but we gotta go see Foster!” Joey smiled and clapped his hands. I watched the man from the coffee shop, Jeremy, strap his daughter into his SUV. Obviously this guy had some money. How have I never seen him before but now I see him twice in one day?

“Mom! Did you like my talent!” Foster jumped into a hug. “I did, big boy! I think we gotta tighten your drums a bit but nothing went wrong and I’m very proud of you!” I hugged him, Joey reaching from my hip to grab his big brother. Foster was my musical prodigy, he was 8 years old and had more talent on the drums than a lot of musicians I know. “Did you see Candance Witherby? She was totally checking me out.” Foster smirked, I whacked the back of his head gently. “Foster Henry, you are way too young to Be worrying about Candace Witherby.” My son blushed, flipping his hair out of his face. Note to self, haircuts for both boys. I looked at Joey, whose hair was just as long as Fosters. I loaded both boys up in the car, and proceeded to drive home. In the midst of Foster telling me about his day, my phone began to ring. I groaned looking at the screen, my ex husbands face flashing across. “Here Foster, it’s your dad.” I handed the phone to the seat behind me. I waited for Foster to grab it, “I don’t want to talk to him.” “Babe, he’s calling to talk to you. Just answer.” As much as I hated my ex, he still somewhat tried to maintain a relationship with the boys, even if most of it was out of spite for me. He sighed, taking the phone out of my hand while I listened.

“Hi Dad....yeah, I played the drums...well, mom told me I could...I had fun, though...she’s right here, hold on...okay...love you too...mom, he wants to talk to you.” I rolled my eyes, taking the phone.

“Yeah?” I asked, probably a little attitude tinted in my voice.

“Why are you letting Foster play the drums for a talent show?” Aaron barked.

“Because he’s talented. And he that’s the whole point of a talent show, Aaron.” I could hear Foster snicker in the backseat.

“You should be focusing on him playing football, you know, something that will pay for his college.”

“There’s no football in the winter, and he hates it.”

“Who cares if he hates it? I pay for his extra curricular and I’m tired of wasting it on music.”

“Aaron, did you call to talk about something productive or did you just call to belittle your sons talent?” He scoffed.

“I want to see the boys, this weekend. I got Saturday and Sunday off, Laura can watch them Friday.”

“You can pick them up Saturday, your girlfriend has no business watching them while you aren’t there. They aren’t there to spend time with Laura.” I could hear the frustration growing in my ex husbands voice.

“Look, I’m picking them up Friday whether you like it or not.”

“Or what? You’re gonna have daddy save you again? Get a grip, your kids don’t even want to see you, much less your girlfriend with an IQ of 60.”

“I’ll be there Friday at 6 to pick them up, we can do this easy or hard. See you Friday.” He clicked the phone and hung up. I very annoyingly threw my phone onto the seat next to me.

“Mom, I don’t want to go to dads. He’s mean, and Laura is weird.” Foster choked in the back.

“No dadda!” Joey chimed, I thought he was asleep.

“Hey, I know. I get it. But your dad loves you, and I can’t stop him from seeing you. You know what happens.” I frowned. Both boys got quiet in the backseat. I felt horrible, and my stomach dropped. I pulled into the driveway of my small home in Tahoe, unloading both boys and ushering them into the house. I directed Foster to start him homework and put Joe in a playpin, with a few toys while I made dinner. “MOM! CAN I WATCH TV WHILE I DO HOMEWORK?” Foster yelled from the living room while I diced chicken. Normally, I would say no, but I know his dad has him bummed.

“Sure, but you better do your homework Foster!” I yelled back. I heard him yell back in agreement. As I finished dinner up, I portioned two plates, for Foster and Joey. I walked out to the living room, and placed Joey in a high chair with his food and a sippy cup. Foster has apparently just finished his homework and was putting it away. “Smells good, mom.” Foster smiled. I placed the plate down in front of him.

“Momma, hawk!!” Joey started yelling again. “Foster, do you know what Joes talking about? He said that earlier today too.” I brushed the hair out of my oldest boys eyes. “He’s talking about Hawkeye. That’s his favorite Avenger.” Foster pointed at the TV, one of the Avengers movies playing. I immediately recognized the face, the guy from the coffee shop. Holy shit.

I quickly tucked both boys into bed, I knew Joey would probably fall asleep quickly but Foster usually had a hard time. I had to double check, with him watching that all doors and windows were locked before he even got remotely comfortable. After the boys, were snug, I jumped onto the shower. Thinking about the older man that has appeared in my life several times today. As quickly as I got out, I jumped in bed and pulled out my phone and googled the Avengers cast. He surely wasn’t a Hemsworth, not an Evans, most definitely not a Downey. Renner. Jeremy Renner. That was him. I spent the next 30 minutes or so diving into this, Jeremy Renner and what the hell he possibly was doing in Tahoe. I dozed off, phone screen lighting up my face and drifted into a deep sleep.

Aaron paced in front of the bed, his hand ruffling through his tousled brown hair. His breathing was hitched, the vein in his forehead protruding out. He was angry, and the whole house knew it. “Look, Aaron...” I began to ramble, he immediately jumped towards me placing a firm hand around my throat. “We aren’t getting divorced Mel. You can forget it.” I gasped, trying to pull his hand away from my throat. “P...p...please let...go...” I choked out. He smirked. He fucking smirked as he watched my face turn blue. He pushed me back my throat into the wall, trying to stay quiet so the young boys in the room next to us didn’t hear. As if it was fate protecting me, my husbands phone began to ring. He stomped towards the dresser, and forcibly answered.

“Detective Prescott.” He greeted. I slumped down against the wall, trying to regain my strength.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll be there in about 15. Got to finish some business before I head out.” He smiled, making eye contact with me before hanging up his phone. He slowly crept towards me, who was still shaking on the floor. “You’re gonna regret asking for a divorce Melynne. I’m the best thing that ever happened to you. You know that.” He grabbed my small upper arm, leaving marks and pulled me off the ground, staring me dead in the eye. He could smell the fear. He knew I was terrified. That’s exactly how he liked me. “I have to go investigate an accident on Murphy and Staples road. I’ll have Greenhouser watch the house to make sure you don’t get any ideas. In the meantime, clean yourself up. I want something nice to look at when I get home.” He kissed my cheek roughly and pushed me back down. I was speechless. He quickly tossed on his uniform, and duty belt, loading his firearm into a holster. I held my breath, and finally exhaled when he was out of sight. I rushed myself to the bathroom and got into the shower, where my emotions overwhelmed me. I let the tears silently fall, as I thought about my life and where I went wrong. My heart hurt, for myself yes, but more for my two sons, who had to grow up in the shadow of a father like Aaron. I edited the shower, and stood in the mirror, observing the new purple bruises on my neck. I thanked Aaron mentally, for being smart enough to bruise me where my uniform could hide them. I quiet knock on the door revealed my eldest, Foster, who was far too empathetic for his own good and always knew when something was wrong.

“Momma, I wanna leave here. I don’t want us to live with daddy anymore.” He whispered, afraid that Aaron was lurking still. I pulled him into a hug, and apologized. I had to do something. I had to get my boys away from him.

[danteshope]

[danteshope]

bored tonight.

anyone feel like a quick one shot while i start my series? send requests in <3