27. Chapter Twenty-Six
Eleanor and Janie were currently playing with blocks, building and demolishing whatever they made. It was a fun time since Janie could be partially Little right now.
“Mama,” Eleanor said as she pointed towards a block.
“Blockie!” Janie giggled and placed another block on top.
She didn’t always play with Eleanor while she was feeling Little, but it was Saturday which meant she didn’t have to work. Sure, she could use it to get ahead since she had fallen behind a little, but both of them needed to relax and get better.
Eleanor was still under the weather. Her fever hadn’t come back as bad, but she still had a fever in the evenings and got fussy. Janie was still exhausted and didn’t want to do much, especially work.
When she had first started editing, she told herself she wasn’t going to work on weekends unless she absolutely had to. She had stayed true to her rule and took the weekend to relax. Janie didn’t want to burn out and have to push through editing or take time off. That wouldn’t be fair to her authors. So she paced herself and had rules of no work on the weekend unless absolutely necessary.
Janie’s phone went off again and she sighed. It had been going off for the past five minutes and she didn’t know who it was. Okay, she did but she didn’t want to look at it. She had different ringtones for different people so she could identify who it was.
Her ex-husband was currently texting her nonstop. She thought he would have gotten the hint yesterday when she said, and Mac had also said, something. But he hadn’t. If anything, he was texting her more and more.
She sighed and pushed herself off of the ground. Grabbing her phone on the coffee table, she started to read the texts.
Donald
I still want to get together with you.
Donald
We could be happy together. Just you and I.
But he didn’t mention Eleanor. He never mentioned Eleanor, even yesterday. It was always “I want to be with you.” not “both of you”.
Donald
I made a mistake and I’m willing to take you back.
Donald
We can work through this and have everything like it was before. We’ll both be happy together.
Donald
We can get rid of the brat. Put her up for adoption and it can just be the two of us. Like it should have been.
Tears started to form in her eyes. How could he say that about his own daughter?
Janie turned to Eleanor who was still playing with the blocks. “Mama will be right back,” she said and headed towards the kitchen.
She sat down on the ground and pulled her knees up to her chest. Why was he doing this? Couldn’t he get the hint that she didn’t want anything to do with him? She had told him several times while they were together that she wanted kids. Even when she was pregnant, she was overjoyed but he stayed away.
Didn’t he know that she wanted Eleanor and she wasn’t going to get rid of her? It hurt her heart to know that he just wanted to get rid of their baby so easily. What made him hate kids so much? It made no sense to her.
Tears streamed down her face as her phone went off again. She had tried blocking him but he just got a new number and texted her again. Could she file an order of protection off of this? Would that stop him from texting her? She had no idea what restraining orders entailed.
Janie
Stop messaging me. I don’t want to talk to you or get back with you.
Donald
Tough luck. We’re going to get back together. But first you need to get rid of the kid. Put her up for adoption or better yet, throw her out of the house.
Janie started to sob as she read what he texted. How could he be so cruel?
Donald
Stay away from the neighbor too. You’re no good to him. He just wants to use you and then throw you away. That’s all you’re good for.
Donald
But I’ll take you back. Be the man of the house. Use you when I want and how I want. Maybe this time I won’t cheat. Unless you get pregnant again.
Donald
Better yet. We could get everything removed so you have no chance of getting pregnant again.
Janie screwed her eyes shut and cried. Mac didn’t deserve someone who had baggage and a child. He deserved someone who made him happy, cooked, didn’t have personal problems, or a child. She needed to stay away from him so he could find that person. It definitely wasn’t her which meant she needed to step back.
“Mama,” Eleanor said as she walked into the kitchen.
She came right up to Janie and touched her face where the tears were coming down. Janie didn’t like crying in front of Eleanor. It always put her off and she didn’t want that, not when she couldn’t understand everything that was going on.
“Mama is okay,” Janie whispered. “Mama’s just crying.”
Eleanor pushed her face into Janie’s chest and pushed her way to sit down on her lap. Janie chuckled and held onto her. There was no way she was going to get rid of her daughter. Over her dead body.
“Mama’s okay. Everything is okay,” she said as more tears went down her face.
Just thinking about giving Eleanor away made her sad and angry. She was Janie’s world. She loved her to death and wanted nothing but the best.
Her phone went off again and she cried harder. Why was Donald still texting her? Hadn’t he said enough already? She looked at her phone through her teary vision. Mac. She should have known it was him, the ringtone was different but she didn’t realize that at the moment.
Mac
Do you need anything?
She took a shaky breath in and sighed. What was she going to do? She had baggage and she didn’t deserve him. What if Donald was right and he only wanted to sleep with her? Maybe he was trying to get her comfortable with him right now so she would sleep with him.
Janie had feelings for him, she couldn’t deny that. He took care of both of them. Made her feel wanted and catered towards her Little side. But there were things holding her back. She had problems, what if he did want Eleanor in a couple of years, and so much more.
She placed her phone down on the ground and leaned her head against the cupboards. Everything was becoming overwhelming and she didn’t know what to do or how to handle it all. How was she going to get Donald to leave her alone? How was she going to get Mac to move on from her and find someone he would actually be happy with?
Her phone started to ring, but she let it go to voicemail. Mac was calling her and right now she didn’t feel like answering. The phone started going off again and she sighed. He was going to keep calling until she answered.
“Hello?” she said in a hoarse voice.
One good way to tell if she had been crying is by her voice, if you couldn’t see her. Everyone could tell when Janie cried because her face got all red and stayed that way for an hour or more. It sucked because people always knew, when she tried so hard to hide it. No cold water on her face did anything.
“Pinky, are you okay?” he asked in a caring voice.
Tears pooled in her eyes again and she held her breath. She couldn’t give away that she had been crying and was about to cry again. But sooner or later she was going to have to sniff with how runny her nose was.
“Pinky?” Mac asked. “You’re making me worried. Are you okay?”
She nodded her head.
“Janie.”
She sighed. Right. He couldn’t see her and the only way to tell him she was okay was speaking. Basically giving away that she wasn’t okay.
“Are you okay? Do I need to come over and get you?” he asked.
“I’m okay,” she whispered and cringed right after. Anyone with ears could tell that something was wrong and she wasn’t okay.
Maybe it would have been better to not answer his calls and just texted back that she was busy. But then he would have insisted on coming over and helping her out. She didn’t want that.
“I’m on my way home right now. I’ll stop by and check on you,” he said. “Do you need anything from the store?”
Janie sighed. “You don’t need to come over. Everything is okay.”
“I’m coming over. I’ve got something for you.”
Before she could say anything, Mac hung up the phone. Janie closed her eyes and leaned her back on the cupboards. What was she going to do? She couldn’t not answer the door when he knocked. He had said he was coming over and he knew she was home.
“Come on, baby,” Janie whispered. “Let’s get up.”
Eleanor held onto her and she pushed herself off of the ground. How long was it going to take for him to get to her house? Did she have time to clean up some of the living room before he did? Hopefully, he wouldn’t come in, but knowing him, he was going to. He liked to make sure she was okay and didn’t need anything. A good quality but also an annoying quality when she was trying to stay away from him.
“Let’s go play with the blocks again,” Janie said as she walked into the living room.
She sat Eleanor down on the ground right as the doorbell rang. No doubt it was Mac. Walking over, she stepped on her tippy toes to look through the peephole and see him standing there.
“Hello,” she said as she opened the door.
“Were you expecting anyone?” he asked.
She gave him a confused look and shook her head.
“So you don’t know who that person is?” he asked as he pointed towards the black car sitting at the end of her driveway.
“I don’t k-know who that is,” she whispered.
Worry filled her as she stared at the car. The windows were tinted and she couldn’t see inside. Who was that? Why were they there? It couldn’t be Donald because he didn’t drive that type of car and didn’t like the windows tinted either.
“If they’re still here by the time I leave, I’ll go talk to them,” he said. “I don’t want you talking to them until I know who it is. Understand?”
She nodded her head. “Yes, sir.”
Heat filled his gaze as she called him that. It came out naturally but what really came out naturally was calling him Daddy. It felt right, fitting for him.
“Can I come in?” he asked. “I brought you some things.”
She opened the door further and he walked in. After closing the door, she walked into the living room where Eleanor and Mac were.
“What did you need?” she asked. There had to be a reason why he was here and brought something. It would be strange if he didn’t have a reason.
“I had a feeling that you were down and not okay. So I bought you some candy and wanted to drop by and see if you needed anything,” he said. “Don’t eat all of this candy in one sitting.”
“You can’t tell me what to do,” she replied.
“If it’ll harm your well-being then I can,” he said. “We’ve had this discussion before.”
“How does candy harm my well-being?”
“You are getting off of being sick with Eleanor. Eating that much candy in one sitting will make you sick. I don’t want that.”
She rolled her eyes, but she knew he was telling the truth. Sometimes when she edited, she had candy right next to her and she subconsciously ate it. Janie had made herself sick several times doing that. It was no fun.
“Come sit down next to me,” he said, patting the spot next to him on the couch. Janie sat down next to him. What did he want? Why did he ask her to sit next to him? “Do you need anything?” he gently asked.
“No,” she whispered.
Mac gave her a look that made her squirm on the couch. “Tell Daddy what you need.”
Janie stopped moving and looked at him. Did he really just say that? “You aren’t my Daddy. I don’t need one.” That was a big fat lie, but it was easier to say that than give in to everything. He ran his hand up and down her back which soothed her.
“I think that’s a lie,” he softly spoke. “And we both know it. You need the structure, love, discipline, and care.”
He wasn’t wrong on that part. She had all of that when she was growing up and thrived, but when her parents died, she didn’t have that any more.
“Do you need me to cook several meals for you two while Eleanor and you recover from the sickness? And while you catch up on some of your work,” Mac said.
While it was sweet of him to offer that, she didn’t know if she should allow him to do that. She had said she was going to stay away from Mac and look at how that was turning out.
Not well.
It was like she couldn’t stay away from him, no matter how hard she tried to. He always found a way to come back into their lives and help out.
“No, you don’t need to do that,” she replied. It was better for her to say no so he didn’t come over.
“Do you have anything in your fridge or freezer?” he asked and she shook her head.
She couldn’t lie to him in this instance. If she did, he would know soon enough. She needed to go to the store to buy several frozen meal things for Eleanor and her.
“I’ll buy some things and cook for you today. I’ll bring them over first thing tomorrow,” he said. “What do both of you like to eat? Besides chicken nuggets.”
“You really don’t have to do this,” Janie replied. “I can get people to deliver things from restaurants.” Sure, it would be more expensive than going in person, but that didn’t matter. She had money and could spend it on that.
“I want to do this for you and I’m going to. I don’t want you two eating frozen meals all the time when I can help you out with it. I love cooking and I don’t do it much anymore,” he said. “Cooking for one person isn’t as much fun.”
Janie sighed. “You’re not going to give this up until I tell you what we both like, are you?”
He gave her a smile that melted her insides. “You’re exactly right. I know you both like chicken nuggets and mac n cheese. Do you guys like lasagna, spaghetti, pizza, breadcrumb chicken?”
Her mouth started to salivate as he talked about all of those foods. They sounded absolutely delicious. Better than anything Eleanor or her had in a long time.
“Those sound good to me and I know Ell will eat it,” Janie said.
“Is there anything else?”
“Chicken alfredo?”
“I can do that. If there is anything else, you text me and I’ll make it. Doesn’t have to be now. It could be in a week or a month and I’ll still make it for you.”
She nodded her head. Was she going to do that? Probably not. It would be weird to tell him what they wanted and he cooked it for them. It was like he was her own personal cook but she didn’t pay him. And that didn’t sit well with her at all.
“Do you guys have any allergies?” he asked.
“None.”
“Okay. If you need anything else, just text me. I’m going to go run out to the store real quick and then will be cooking,” he said as he got up from the couch. “I’ll be checking in on you two from time to time.”
“Okay.” Janie didn’t know what else to say to him. He wasnt going to stop from cooking her meals if she asked. He had set his mind on it and he was going to do it.
Just like he had set his sights on her and wasn’t backing off. No matter how much she tried to tell him that she was no good for him or even prove it by actions.
“I’ll see you later,” he whispered and kissed her forehead. She melted into his touch and watched as he walked over towards the door. “Don’t eat all that candy today. If I find out you did, your bottom will pay.”
Her mouth hung open as he walked out of the house. How was she going to resist him when he was saying those things and making her food? Janie was going to try her damn hardest to resist him so he could move on and find someone better.