Falling For You

by Lily Haycraft

  Chapter Two.

  Chloe.

  I sigh as my alarm goes off in the morning not yet ready to get up, I roll over and shut it off, allowing myself a few more minutes of snoozing, but not getting that as I felt the bed dip and a small body colliding with my own.

  "Wake up mama, I have to go to school" She says patting my face softly.

  "You know, normal kids hate school" I groan opening my eyes and peering into her ocean blue ones. "I love school, I get to see my friends, and I play all day, it's awesome" She grins.

  "Wait until you go to big girl school and actually have to learn, you won't love it then" I chuckle sitting up in bed, wrapping my arms around her back to keep her steady on my lap.

  "I love learning" She smiles.

  "Yes you do, you're very smart, now go wash your face" I smile.

  She jumps up out of my arms and I lightly swat her behind causing her to giggle.

  Sometimes I have to remind myself that she is only four years old, because she acts a lot older than her age.

  I drag myself out of bed and make my way down to the bathroom to see Harmony washing herself, I smile and stand next to her and begin the actions on myself before retreating back to my bedroom and putting my waitress uniform on.

  "Baby what do you want for breakfast?" I call down the hallway.

  "Bacon" She shouts back.

  "Just bacon?"

  "Yes, lots and lots of bacon" She shouts back and I chuckle softly walking into the kitchen and making a start on her breakfast.

  "Can you brush my hair mummy?" I hear Harmony ask as I dish the bacon onto a plate, along with a buttered slice of toast, we can't just eat bacon. I arch my brow as I see her in a yellow sun dress with white shoes.

  "You hate wearing dresses" I say straight away. "No I don't"

  "Yes you do, it's always so hard for me to get you into a dress, what has changed?" I arch my brow. "Nothing mummy, can you brush my hair" She asks holding the brush out to me.

  "Hmm" I decide to let it slide and take the brush from her, she spins around and I softly brush her soft wavy locks.

  "Are we going to see Danielle again mummy?" Harmony asks as I put the brush down and she climbs up at the table.

  "I don't know baby, why?" I ask placing the plates down on the table and sitting opposite her.

  "I like her" She grins.

  "Me too" I smile.

  -- I look up at the entrance of the diner as I hear my best friend and daughter walk in, seemingly in deep discussion, I stand and watch them for a moment before they both notice me and walk over. "Hey baby, how was school?" I grin picking her up and placing her on my hip.

  "It was good, there's a new boy at school and I became his friend" Harmony grinned.

  "You did? What's his name?" I smile.

  "Jamie, he is four too, the other kids were picking on him, but I told them to stop and we ate lunch together" She grins.

  "That's my girl, always standing up for the

  underdogs" I grin.

  "Can I have a milkshake?" Harmony asks changing the topic.

  "Sure baby, go and ask Sue if she'll make you one" I smile and place her back down on the ground and watched her happily skip towards the counter. "So she told me what happened yesterday" Diana says pulling my thoughts back towards her. "She almost gave me a heart attack" I shake my head thinking back to the event.

  "She's okay though right? I mean she said she was okay and that she wasn't hurt, but I just want to make sure"

  "Yeah she seems okay, thanks to Danielle" I nod. "Yeah she mentioned her, You guys had dinner together?" Diana arched her brow.

  "We did yeah, I just don't think I was ready to be alone, so I asked her for dinner, she's sweet" I smile softly.

  "You like her" Diana smirks.

  "I what now?"

  "You totally like her"

  "D I hardly know her, she saved Harmony and we went for dinner" I shrug.

  "Chlo I saw that little smile when you said 'She's sweet' you totally like her" Diana smirks.

  "I'm walking away now and delivering my orders" I say leaving her side.

  "This conversation isn't over" She calls after me. "Yes it is" I call back and shake my head.

  My best friend is clearly delusional, how could she possibly get me liking a woman just because I smiled? I can’t help but roll my eyes at the thought.

  I finish delivering my orders and walk out into the back room and remove my apron hanging it in my locker, I grab my bag and check my phone seeing no new messages, not that that is at all surprising, I only ever talk to Diana, and there's no need for her to contact me during the day.

  I exit the back room and smile at Harmony sitting up at counter with a straw pressed between her lips as she finishes her milkshake.

  "You ready to go baby?" I smile kissing the top of her head from behind her.

  "Yes mama" Harmony nods.

  "Come on then pumpkin" I smile.

  "I'll see you guys in three hours" Diana smiles. "Have fun at work" I grin over at her.

  "Oh yes, I love my job" Diana rolls her eyes. I just chuckle and help Harmony down from the stool and take her hand into my own.

  "Can we go to the park?" Harmony asks looking up at me as we exit the diner.

  "Sure baby" I smile.

  "Can we invite Danielle?" She questions.

  "What?" I ask just to make sure I heard her correctly. "Can Danielle come to the park with us?"

  "Uhm, I think she's at work baby" I say turning the corner.

  "Can you call her and see?" She continues to push. She looks up at me and she just looks so sweet and innocent, I find it incredibly hard to say no to that face, curse cute children, I can never say no. "I'll text her okay" I smile.

  "Okay" This seemed to satisfy her as we crossed the road and entered the park.

  "I'm going to the swings, text Danielle mummy" Harmony shouts letting go of my hand and darting towards the swings.

  I roll my eyes and keep my eyes on her, making my way closer, so I am standing just a few feet away from her, I could just tell her that I had texted Danielle and that she never replied, but I'm not one to lie to my daughter, and knowing her, if we ever saw Danielle again, she would end up asking her why, and I would get caught up in my lie, so I sigh and pull my phone out of my pocket, glancing up at Harmony every few seconds.

  *Hey Danielle, It's Chloe.. I'm at Gomez park with Harmony, and she wanted me to ask if you would like to join us, I told her that you were probably working, so it's okay if you can't, I just can't seem to say no to her, so yeah the offer is there, we're by the swings if you do*

  I read over the text and shake my head at how incredibly lame it sounds, but send it anyway. "Mama come push me" Harmony says after a minute, the kid that was helping her before, now on the slide. I smile and put my phone away, walking behind my daughter and pushing her on the swing.

  No matter how many times Harmony comes to the park, she never wants to play on anything else but the swings, I think I've seen her play on the slide once, since I have been bringing her here, she always just ends up back on the swings, but I don't mind, at least on the swings I know where she is at all times, and I don't have to chase her around the park, it makes my life easier, and I don't have to worry.

  "What do you want for dinner tonight baby? Before mummy has to go to school" I ask.

  "Can we make pizza?" She asks tilting her head back so she could see me.

  "You want to make it?" I arch my brow.

  "Yeah we can buy the dough and toppings and make it ourselves" She grins, her head now facing the front once more.

  "DANIELLE" She shouts and before I even have a chance to stop the swing, she is falling off of it and making her way towards the black haired, green eyed beauty.

  I smile as I watch her pick my daughter up into her arms and walk back over to me.

  "You managed to get out of work" I smile.

  "Yeah, my boss let me go early because I was there late yesterday, plus I fin
ished my work early today so I've been twiddling my thumbs for the past two hours, and then I got your text, and I myself can't say no to cute children" She smiles at me placing Harmony back down who quickly hopped back onto the swing. "I'm sorry, it just seems she has taken a liking to you" I smile softly.

  "It's nothing to apologise for, I've taken a liking to her too" She smiles softly.

  "We're going to make pizza" Harmony grins. "You are" Danielle grins back.

  "I don't remember agreeing" I object.

  "Mummy please" Harmony tilts her head back again so she can see me.

  "I don't know if we have time baby, we have to go to the store to get everything" I tell her.

  "What if we leave right now? We will have time then" She asks hopping off of the swing.

  I check my watch and do a quick calculation in my head.

  "Yeah baby, we could" I nod.

  "Can Danielle come?" She asks and I completely freeze, why must my daughter keep putting me in awkward situations?

  I glance up at the older woman and she just gives me a small smile.

  "You better ask Danielle that sweetie" I smile giving her the permission.

  "Danielle, will you come?" Harmony turns to look up at her.

  "Sure" She smiles.

  "Yay, come on mummy let's go" Harmony quickly links her hand with Danielle's as I walk around the swings.

  Harmony slides her fingers into my own, and together, hand in hand we all exit the park and make our way towards the store.

  It's a strange thing to see Harmony acting this way with Danielle, she is normally so shy and hides behind me whenever someone tries to talk to her, but this beautiful young woman saves her life, and she is practically treating her like her best friend, who am I to say no to her and stop her from wanting to be friends with the woman who saved her life.

  Well maybe because it's weird Chloe, maybe because you don't know her, this woman could be a psycho child killer for all you know, and here you are allowing your child to grow attached and form a relationship with her.

  My subconscious pipes up and I want to kick her, it's not often that I trust people, but there is something about Danielle that makes me want to reveal my darkest secrets to her, surely that must mean that she is safe?

  I zone back in and listen to the conversation Harmony is having with Danielle.

  "Do you have a boyfriend?" I heard Harmony ask. "Nah I don't like boys" Dani scrunches up her nose and fakes disgust.

  "I like boys" Harmony grins.

  "Oh really? So does that mean you have a

  boyfriend?" Danielle smirks.

  "No I'm too young to have a boyfriend, auntie Diana says I have to be at least fifteen before I can have a boyfriend"

  "When did you have this conversation" I chuckle only just hearing about it.

  "Today on the walk home from school, I told her about Jamie and she told me that I'm allowed to be his friend but I can't kiss him or hug him until we are fifteen" She explains.

  Danielle and I both laugh at this, only Diana would teach my daughter on when she can go out with boys.

  "Your auntie Diana sounds like a clever woman" Danielle speaks up and I smile.

  "She is, she is super smart, she is going to be a doctor like mummy"

  "Oh wow, that makes her super smart" Danielle grins as we walk into the store.

  I release Harmony's hand and pick up a shopping basket.

  "I think you are smart too" Harmony smiles. "Not as smart as your mummy though" I look over at Danielle as she says that and roll my eyes, she just winks at me and I smile and begin picking up the basics for making pizza's.

  "What toppings do you want on your pizza baby?" I ask gaining her attention away from Danielle. "Bacon" She grins.

  "What else?" I ask.

  "CHEEEEEESE" She grins and we both chuckle. "Anything else?"

  "More bacon"

  "I'm starting to think you're obsessed with bacon" I chuckle.

  "I love bacon, bacon is good" Harmony sings. "Danielle, what would you like on your pizza?" I smile bringing her into it.

  I watch the shock cross her face, obviously not realising that she too is going to be joining us for making pizza, I already know that Harmony would try and rope her into it, so I may as well get it over with now.

  "I'm good with Bacon and cheese" She smiles. "Okay, well you two can have that" I chuckle. "Me and Diana will have some Ham, some

  pepperoni, chicken" I say picking it up off of the shelf and throwing it into the basket.

  "Can we get ice cream too?" Harmony asks. "On pizza?" Danielle asks confused.

  "Noooo silly after pizza" Harmony chuckles. "Oh right, yeah I knew that" Danielle nods and blushes slightly while I just laugh.

  "Okay baby, go and pick out the ice cream with Danielle" I smile.

  "Yay come on Dani" Harmony pulls on her arm dragging her down the isle.

  I just chuckle, and slowly follow after them.

  "Danielle picked Caramel and I've got strawberry" Harmony grins running back and placing them in the basket.

  "Okay so we've got everything?" I ask.

  Harmony peeps in the basket and then nods her head.

  "Yes" She smiles up at me.

  "Then let's go"

  We walk to checkout and Danielle bags up the food while I pay.

  "I guess you are paying for our second meal after all" Danielle smiles as we make our way out of the store. "Yeah I guess I am" I chuckle, taking one of the bags off of her, and we both link our hands with Harmony's again, and begin the short walk back to my apartment.

  Chapter Three.

  Danielle.

  I take the shopping bag off of Chloe as she fishes her house keys out of her handbag, I must admit that this seems a little crazy, not only did I show up at the park per her daughters request, but now I am about to enter her apartment for the second time in two days, and make pizza's with the Chloe and her daughter? This is completely insane.

  Harmony goes zooming off inside the apartment as soon as the door is open and Chloe gestures for me to head in, I throw her a small smile before stepping over the threshold and making my way towards what I think is the kitchen, and I’m pleased to find that it is, I set the bags down on the counter and watch as Harmony jumps up on a stool and begins pulling everything out of the bags.

  "In some kind of hurry?" Chloe asks walking into the kitchen.

  "We have to cook and eat before you go to school mummy, so come on" Harmony grins rolling the bags into balls once she had everything laid out on the sides.

  "Okay well first we have to wash our hands baby" Chloe smiles bending her body over and collecting her hair before tying it up into a pony tail.

  "Okay" Harmony quickly hops off of her stool and moves it over to the sink so she can reach and they both wash their hands.

  "Danielle you have to wash your hands too" Harmony says once she notices that I am just standing in the middle of the room.

  "Oh right" I nod and quickly remove my blazer draping it over the back of the chair, before

  unbuttoning my sleeves and rolling them up. I wash my hands as Chloe opens up the dough packet and begins to knead it, whilst Harmony opens up all of the packets of food.

  "Where do you want me?" I ask once I had dried my hands.

  "Can you start on the other pack of dough" Chloe asks, to which I just simply nod and open up the packet, repeating her actions.

  "Can they be mini ones mummy?" Harmony asks. "Sure baby" She smiles.

  Chloe and I begin to separate the dough into smaller balls, and I slowly start to shape them as she gets a couple baking trays and places them on the island. "Okay I need to grate the cheese, baby, help Danielle shape the dough" Chloe smiles.

  Harmony quickly walks round to stand by my side with her stall in hand, placing it right next to me, and hopping up picking up dough balls.

  "What do I need to do?" Harmony asks me. "Okay so you want to flatten the ball with your hand, and then you pick it up and place
it on your fingers tips and stretch it, like this" I explain whilst

  demonstrating.

  “Seems like you’ve done this before” Chloe smiles over at me.

  “I worked in a pizza shop through high school” I shrug.

  “Well your pizza better taste good then” She grins. “All my food taste good” I smirk.

  "We do have barbecue sauce right mummy? I don't like tomato" Harmony says interrupting our conversation.

  "Of course baby" Chloe smiles prepping the food, whilst the two of us place the base onto the trays. "Time for the toppings" Harmony grins.

  "Okay, first the sauce" Chloe smiles handing it to her daughter with a spoon.

  "Danielle are you okay with barbecue or would you like tomato?" Chloe asks.

  "Barbecue is fine" I nod softly.

  I'm not much of a lover of tomato either, so I have no complaints.

  Chloe and I sprinkle the cheese onto the bases as Harmony finishes covering the rest in the sauce, then we all place the different toppings, Harmony making sure that she has double the bacon.

  "Okay, now they just have to go into the oven" Chloe grins just as the door rings.

  "Danielle could you get that?"

  "Oh yeah sure" I nod quickly wiping my hands on a kitchen towel and making my way down the hallway. I open the door and see a light skinned girl, with golden eyes, and hair that looks like a lions mane, probably not a great description but she is absolutely stunning.

  "Hi" I say, not exactly knowing what else to say. "Hey, I'm Diana, is Chloe in?" She asks.

  "Oh yeah sure, come in" I smile opening the door wider to allow Chloe's friend in.

  "I'm guessing from the green eyes and the black hair that you're Danielle" She has a small smirk on her face as I close the door behind me.

  "You've heard about me" I say slightly shocked. "Yes, the rugrat wouldn't seem to shut up about you, she was right, you are pretty" Diana smirks and leaves me in the hallway as she enters the kitchen.

  What else has Harmony been saying about me? Four year olds don't seem to have any filter.