Love Stitches

I am sorry, Savannah.

Hazel's POV

I knock once before walking to his room and I don't see Ruby today. I smile at him and wave those three cards making him smile too.

"You seriously want to throw all the spotlight on me, don't you?" I ask and he just shrugs.

"Or maybe I want my employees to know not to mess with my appreciations" he says.

"Smooth enough. Thanks though" I smile and shrug.

"I don't see Ruby by the way" I say looking around.

"She has something else to take care of. She might be here at any moment" he says again with a shrug.

"You both have an understanding I see" I smirk making him chuckle but he doesn't deny it or doesn't even wave off.

Okay this is weird. I nod at him and walk out to see Ruby already sitting at her desk. Which is right across mine. She plasters a fake smile and I give her an awkward smile.

I then sit at my desk to see that this time, she did not throw the flowers in the trash can. Which is, also strange. Flowers from Elliot. Ruby walking into the office late. She saw the flowers and let it slide. And the cherry on top is her fake plastered smile.

I just shrug it off and get back to my work going through the latest marketing trends and their growth on the graph. Sometimes it amazes me just how fast a trend changes in people.

One day they like fluffy hoodies and the next day everyone goes crazy over transparent coats.

Time flies by and today, weird enough I don't see Ruby getting into boss's cabin. Not just me but everyone is probably thinking of that. Because we randomly catch one or other looking at Ruby and her giving them death stares.

I don't care about it as I keep my work aside for lunch.

"Hazel" I hear Jennifer after so long and I give her tight lipped smile.

"I am so sorry for treating you that way" she says and I don't pay attention as I serve myself some penne pasta.

The buffet menu at Modish is to die for. There are so many varieties and they make sure to change the menu every single day. I go for some stir fried veggies and then grab a smoothie.

I walk to a table where no one else sits because one end of it is broken somehow. It accomodates only two and I happen to be the single one with no friends. Just enough for me to have my lunch peacefully.

Jennifer follows me and sits before me and I sigh giving her the attention that she is demanding for.

"I am sorry, okay?" She asks and I just stare at her.

"For what?" I finally ask.

"I came to know that Daniel is indeed a pervert" she whispers and that now has my attention.

"How?"

"So I ran into his ex girlfriend who warned me of him. The main reason they broke up was because he cheated on her multiple times and even made a move on her sister!" She says.

"That's awful"

"You think so? Let me get to the worst part. He had s*x videos of this girl and him that she was unaware of until a friend of his told her. She threatened to sue him and he deleted those" Jennifer says again and I just want to scoff.

How can a person stoop this low? Having s*x with their girlfriend and recording that video? That man must be sick mentally or maybe he is sick all over.

I look at Jennifer and she looks like she might cry again. And as a matter of fact, she indeed starts crying. I stand up and walk to her side. I stand and pull her head towards me so I can hug her.

I feel my shirt getting wet with tears but I don't mind. People finish their lunch soon and starts leaving while Jennifer and I catch up on what we missed.

Turns out she was just a fool in love. She ignored all the red flags. And when Daniel's ex accused him of being a pervert, she finally thought to check that herself.

She invited him to her home and he initiated the s*x as per what she said. Someone who never even asked her out on a date straight up made a move on s*x.

I mean, he is not just a pervert. His whole brain is filled with s*x s**t. He might even be an addict, one can never predict about it.

We are the last ones to leave the cafeteria and by the time we reach, Ruby is not at her desk. We all know where she must be right now.

"She had her lunch so she must have gone for some dessert" Jennifer says.

"Ewww!! Stop" I scoff and sit at my desk as Jennifer laughs and walks towards the floor entrance.

I turn around and look at the tinted glass walls and shrug getting back to my work. Since I leave early at evening, there is not much of a gap between my lunch and shift closing.

I wish bye to Jennifer and I still don't see Ruby. I guess they are so busy. I take my car and drive towards Savannah's school.

And I see my daughter laugh at something that Jaylen is telling her and Ameya is just sitting there probably waiting for her mom. She once told me that the talk Jaylen and Savannah has bores her sometimes.

"Hey Jaylen! Hello Ameya" I smile as I get down my car.

I see few more kids waiting for their parents. And Esther arrives just in time too. We talk about the kids for a while and she offers to take care of Savannah while I go to Paris. Which, is from tomorrow. I will be gone for four days.

"No, a friend of mine is having Savannah at their place" I smile.

"Oh wow! Someone who has kids going to the same school?" Esther asks with a smile.

"No, Mrs. Stone. It's Uncle Josh. Elliot's friend" Savannah says and I mentally face palm myself.

Just two days ago I was acting like I don't know Josh at all and now my daughter chose to burst the bomb.

I awkwardly smile at Esther and she does too. She doesn't ask anything again, thankfully. It is either she understood or she knows I won't be answering them straight.

On the way back home Savannah tells me about her day and she also tells me that she scored well in her test about animals. I remember she was studying hard for that yesterday night. She was repeatedly yelling those spellings and pronunciation. Of course she would ace it.

"How many days will you be away, mommy?" Savannah asks as soon as we walk into our house.

"Four days. And I want you to be in your best behavior with Uncle Josh and Aunt Rebecca. Deal?" I ask.

"Deal" she says and rushes to her room.

I change my outfit and by the time I walk downstairs, she is already changed and she has few papers in her hand. I see that these are the test papers.

She wrote just one wrong. She wrote Leopold instead of Leopard and it's fine. We cannot expect kids to Ace everything.

"So dinner out today? At the usual diner? Since you scored so well in your test?" I ask and she jumps up and down excitedly.

"But first, we are going to pack your bags. Because staying there for a day is different from staying for four days" I say.

"Can I pack in my Elsa bag?" She asks.

"Yeah you can. You can take anything you want as long as you don't make them uncomfortable with it" I say and sit on her bed while she takes out everything that she wants to pack.

She took her socks, shoes, clothes, kerchief, scarf, toys and she even want to take her piggy bank with her.

Of the pile, I sort out things that she is truly going to need and also pack her extra toothbrush and basic needs. I explain her that she cannot take everything there because if she forgets them there, she might not see it again considering we won't visit their place often.

We then go to our usual diner which is open, thankfully. It has been a couple weeks since we last came here.

"Mom! I am turning seven in a week" my daughter is now excited.

"Yes. You are growing up so fast" I say and the waitress smiles at us when I tilt my head.

That means it is the usual order for us. Mac and cheese for my daughter and Shakshuka for me.

Savannah then tells me that she want to celebrate it with Jaylen and Ameya. When I ask her about Ameya, she tells me that now a days she is mingling well.

"Always remember to include your other friends, sweetie. Jaylen is your best friend but that doesn't mean Ameya or anyone else in your class is any less. They are your friends too" I say.

She nods and our food arrives just in time. Savannah then proceeds to tell me the list that she wants when I get back from Paris that includes chocolates to fancy shoes like the ones Elsa had in frozen.

If Elsa was a real life character, my daughter would no doubt marry her. But at the same time, this is such age. I remember dreaming of Justin Bieber or going on date with Harry Styles when I was a teenager. I am twenty eight now with a six year old daughter and my husband is not Justin Bieber and I never dated Harry Styles.

I only hope that my daughter later on develops a crush on some singer who raps absolute s**t and sings about s*x and weed. Who knows what the pop music is going to be ten years later?

We later have some ice cream and I cannot believe how fast Savannah is growing.

"Mom?" She calls me out when I am buried under the thoughts of her future.

"Yes, sweetie?" I smile at her.

"So the next month is father's day. And the teachers asked everyone to come to school with their fathers. They told that there will be few activities to participate with dads" she says which is barely a whisper.

"Is dad going to come at least now?" She asks and I feel my eyes get blurry.

When three year Savannah asked me about her father, I told her that he is far away. Before I finished the sentence saying that he is with Angels in the sky, she assumed he was working somewhere far away.

An year later she asked about her father again as she continuously showed me the picture of Adrian that is on the wall. Neither my mom nor I had the heart to tell her about what really happened to her father. My mom formed a riddle saying he lost his way and shall soon find his little princess. I remember the question my sweet little girl asked the day we were moving here. She asked if we could find daddy here.

And maybe this is finally the time I tell her about her father. That he is not coming back. But I still have no idea how to tell my daughter about it. I for one am still struggling with the fact.

"I'll tell you when we get home" I say through my tears that I am trying my best to get rid off.

I pay the check quickly and Savannah doesn't even say a word while we are on our way back home. And once we reach our home, she asks if she can sleep with me tonight. I tell her that it's okay and she smiles at me.

We both sit on the bed and she is looking at me with expectant eyes. Hoping that I would tell her about her father. And my heart is only growing heavier by every second.

"Your father is not going to be here, honey" I say.

"But you can call him" she says with her eyes growing a little wide with a little more curiosity.

"No, sweetie. Your father is far away. With the angels in the sky. Always looking down upon you" I whisper.

She looks at me confused and I cannot control my tears anymore.

"Please don't cry mommy" Savannah starts crying too and I just pull her to me.

"Mommy, did daddy die?" She asks me and I pull away to look into her eyes. And I nod, I see her cry a little more at that.

"Why?" She asks again.

"Car crash honey. You wouldn't want to know the details" I whisper.

"Oh" she says and she is not crying anymore.

"So you are alone? Without daddy?" She asks.

"No! I was never alone. I have the sweetest little girl. Remember, daddy is watching you and he is very much proud of you" I say and she gives a sad smile.

"Thank you Mommy. For not being alone" she says and I don't even know if she knows what she is saying but my heart swells at her words.

She sleeps with me. Her head on my chest. I play with her long black hair and I keep thinking of Adrian and the night that we had our first and last fight. If it wasn't for Lorenzo, I am pretty sure we would have been a happy family.

I slowly fall asleep with Savannah in my arms but I wake up at one point, in the middle of the night when I hear my daughter crying in her sleep.

"Dad" she whispers and soon, her cries die down before she falls asleep again.

My heart is breaking for my little girl now. And I have no idea what to do about it.