One Percent of You

by Michelle Gross

  I froze, eyes widening as I gaped at him. With a deep laugh, he jerked me forward and out of the traffic I was holding up. We hadn’t discussed anything about kids even after his mom brought it up two Sundays ago. Of course, I knew we’d talk about it eventually, and I was a little surprised he hadn’t brought it up sooner. It was clear he wanted to, especially after he admitted to wanting them with me.

  My mother was right about one thing with guys. She always said that when a man knew what he wanted, he was persistent in his pursuit. If a man didn’t do that for Olivia or me, Mom said he wasn’t worth the time. I hadn’t listened to that advice as a teen, but I finally understood her words.

  The thrill of Elijah’s affections zipped through my stomach, lighting me up with a flush glow of nervousness and happiness. I’d grown confident in myself again. Honestly speaking, I knew I was a capable mother and adult despite the times I let Scott’s family create doubt in myself. I knew I could take care of me and my mine just fine. Life had been hard, but it became much easier. I didn’t need Elijah in my life, but he fit in all the same because he made it so. And that effort he made? What reason did he have for it? There was no reward other than us. Stepping into my world changed Elijah’s life, and he welcomed it with open arms. His lifestyle was vastly different than mine yet in all these months of getting to know each other, he slowly meshed our worlds together with no apologies. He wanted this with me.

  I thought I was gradually heading toward the scary place of needing him in my life. In fact, I might have been there already. I’d never depended on anyone other than my family. Needing Elijah scared me to death. How did I get to be so reliant on him? And why did that feel safe like I honestly trusted he’d do anything for me?

  And that was the thing, wasn’t it? I had total faith in Elijah.

  I let my mind run rampant with images of our future together with the possibility of more kids. The only scenario I couldn’t see was the one where Elijah wasn’t with us. He belonged with me and my little family. He was our family.

  “I think I’ve gone and broken your mother, Lucy,” Elijah mumbled beside me. I heard Lucy giggle. A grunt came from Elijah. “Earth to Hadley. Will you stop staring at me like that and grab a buggy?”

  “I’ll grab one!” Lucy piped in as she ran in front of me and grabbed a shopping cart.

  I finally snapped out of it and focused on the man I ogled. He smirked as I peered into his dark, dreamy eyes. “We need to have this discussion eventually without you fading away on me.”

  “I didn’t fade away.” I rolled my eyes with a smile on my face as I walked up behind Lucy and helped her with the cart. “I find this a curious topic for someone who was adamant about showing his dislike for kids.”

  “I’ve had a change of heart,” he murmured behind me as we strolled through the store. “I think I just like the ones you birth.”

  I laughed, momentarily lost to his touch as his palm splayed against my lower back. I liked that he didn’t mind staying close even in public. “I think you’ve never given one the chance until Lucy,” I informed him.

  “He’s not allowed to. I don’t want him to like others. I like it with just us.” Lucy glared up at me. Her bright-blue eyes caught me off guard with how serious she seemed to be.

  I glanced over at Elijah and could tell he was way too pleased as he beamed down at her. I liked how much she adored him too, but I didn’t want her to be hateful about it. “What about when your cousins meet him? Or if you ever bring friends home? They won’t like him if he’s mean.”

  Lucy frowned and turned away gripping the handle on the shopping cart. “I don’t want anyone to steal him away. Can we not show him to cousin BeeBee, please?”

  At the mention of Briana, the blood drained from my face. “Who’s Briana?” Elijah smiled completely unaware until he caught my expression and it faded from his face. He sensed it then. The sourness in my stomach didn’t come from the betrayal. I no longer felt any sort of thing for that moment in my life. The bitterness came in the realization that night still lived in Lucy’s mind, and the way she perceived it was heartbreaking.

  “Lucy, want some bananas?” Elijah stepped over to the bananas and grabbed some. He watched me carefully. He didn’t say anything about it, but those deep-abyss eyes revealed the promise of words later.

  “Can we get some apples, too?” she piped in, letting the subject drop.

  “Should I cook so your mom doesn’t have to today?”

  Lucy stuck out her tongue and gagged. “You suck at cooking.”

  “I saw you picking your nose yesterday,” he deflected. I fought a smile as I grabbed the shopping cart that Lucy left in the middle of the aisle since she was too worried about arguing with Elijah now.

  “I don’t pick my nose!” She did, but by her clenched fists, she was very embarrassed about it.

  “Don’t lie. It’s unbecoming,” said Elijah.

  “What’s unbecoming?” Lucy asked.

  “Guys!” I hollered and all three heads turned along with a few passersby. I pointed toward the chips.

  “The last melon,” Lucy mumbled slowly as her eyes took in the last bag of Funyuns.

  “Melons? You mean Funyuns, nose-picker,” said Elijah.

  She huffed at him. “It’s Ice Age, the movie.” When his brows furrowed in confusion, she palmed her forehead like it was the end of the world. “You haven’t watched Ice Age?” When he shook his head, she continued, “We have to watch it!”

  I snorted a little as I watched Elijah and Lucy hustle toward the last bag like an angry mob. Eli grinned. He didn’t have a clue why he was being bounced around in Elijah’s arm, but Eli liked it all the same. Probably getting a kick out of the two he was stuck with.

  Lucy tossed the chips in the cart once I reached them. Dragging the cart around made me feel like the fourth-wheel.

  “You know what we need?” Elijah glanced at Lucy.

  She smiled. “Ice cream?”

  He shook his head. “No, but that sounds good too. Chocolate milk.”

  “Let’s go get it!” Lucy bounced.

  Yep, I was the extra. The only one grabbing real food as they tossed in a lot of junk we didn’t need, but those donuts Elijah tossed in made me salivate, so I wasn’t going to complain.

  “What is this?” I recognized Lilly’s hateful voice.

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Hadley

  I turned and saw Lilly glaring at us. Her eyes were incredibly focused and very, very angry as she noticed Eli in Elijah’s arms.

  I only felt guilty for a fraction of a second before I realized I had no reason to be. Elijah was my boyfriend. He was great with my kids—Lilly’s grandkids. What Scott didn’t do and all the times he never sought to see them, Elijah made up for.

  “Lucy, Meme Lilly is here.” Understanding flashed in Elijah’s gaze as I spoke, but he made no move to hand Eli over to me nor did I to try to take him.

  Lucy was in a good mood and it showed. She didn’t seem upset when she saw her granny. It didn’t even seem like she was thinking about the last time she cried with her. For that, I was grateful.

  “Meme Lilly,” Lucy said and stepped over to her with a smile.

  It was a reluctant one since she was still glaring at us, but she gave a brief one as she looked down at Lucy. “You were supposed to come see Daddy this weekend. What happened?”

  Um, what?

  Lucy tilted her head. “We went to Elijah’s tattoo shop!”

  Oh, fudge. I knew things were going to get bad by the way Lilly’s entire face crinkled with furious lines as she skimmed over me. “You what? You never answered Scott’s calls or texts when he called to see them this weekend. And you took them to a tattoo shop instead?”

  I frowned. “Scott never called or texted—”

  “Don’t lie! He told me he did!” She screeched, face turning blood red.

  My face was equally hot. I glimpsed around as people strode by. I couldn’t believe she’d act this wa
y in public. Nor could I believe she’d lie about something like that. Maybe Scott lied to her? Either way, she had no right to confront me.

  “Mommy?” Lucy seemed anxious as she walked over to me.

  “What is this on her hands?” Lilly rushed over and latched onto Lucy’s arms. She tried to pull away, but Lilly gripped her too tightly as she glared at the fake tattoos.

  “It’s my pony and puppy,” Lucy smiled a bit as she spoke until Lilly opened her mouth.

  “What is wrong with you?” she snapped, her voice full of scorn. Her eyes dilated while her mouth curled like an angry dog.

  “What do you mean? They’re fake tattoos. I’m sure Scott had them dozens of times as a kid.” I reached down and pulled Lucy away from her grandmother.

  “That’s beside the point. You think I’ll idly sit back and watch you bring such a bad influence around my grandkids? Look at him.” She gestured toward Elijah. Hissing, she added, “Tattoos are so disgusting and say a lot about a person’s character.”

  “I don’t like when you yell, Meme,” Lucy said frowning.

  “Meme is trying to take care of you.” She patted Lucy’s head. Lucy stepped back immediately which earned me a scowl.

  “Let’s not have this discussion in public,” I offered nicely despite the anger and hurt I felt. “You’re scaring Lucy. This isn’t the way to act.”

  “Having two kids doesn’t mean you know things.” She put her hand in my face and that was when I felt Elijah moving behind me. “I’ve raised three, and there’s no way I’d separate a dad from his babies the way you have!”

  “Hadley said she’s not doing this here, so I think you should move along so we can finish shopping.” Even while trying to sound nice, Elijah’s personality and stature was just too big and demanding to ever seem anything but rude.

  Lilly became rigid with rage. “Shopping? You’re not their family. You don’t even belong in this conversation.”

  His nostrils flared as he held Eli closer. His eyes were wild and angry as he glowered at the elderly woman. “That’s where you’re wrong. They’re my business because I care about them. I’m not going to stand back and allow you to hurt them like the last time they saw you.”

  She gasped and her accusatory gaze landed on me. “How could you do this to Scott?”

  Elijah tossed his hand up, clearly getting frustrated. “She’s done more than enough. If he really wanted to see his kids, he’d make an effort. All of you would instead of throwing your blame on someone else.”

  She scoffed. “Wow. Spoken perfectly from someone who knows so little. Has she told you that? She’s the one that never lets Scott see them!”

  Lies!

  “Want to take them to the truck while I checkout?” Elijah asked softly as he placed Eli in my arms. I nodded quietly as Lucy tugged on my hand and followed behind Elijah who took the shopping cart from me.

  Of course Lilly followed. “I’ll be taking this to court,” she told me.

  I was so mortified. What if we ended up on the internet in one of those crazy-people-of-Walmart videos simply because Lilly saw us shopping with Elijah. That’d be my luck. And what was worse was the fact that I was beginning to suspect that Scott was lying to his parents about what really happened. He chose not to show up each time he said he’d come for Lucy. And every time he failed, Lucy would sit in front of the window frowning. Eventually, she stopped waiting to see her dad. Her sad faces turned into disinterested ones. Thanks to Scott, Lucy didn’t want to see her dad since she spent so little time with him.

  Elijah stopped in front of me and sighed before he looked at Lilly. “Don’t you follow them outside. You’re a grown-ass woman. Act like one.”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s no way to talk to a woman. You want that around Lucy?” She pointed at him.

  “Elijah, please,” I mumbled quickly, just wanting the scene to be over.

  “I only see one mature woman, and it sure the fuck ain’t you,” he told her. “Have you stopped to wonder that maybe your actions are the blame for losing touch with your grandkids? No wonder Lucy cries when she’s with you. Look at the way you’re acting.”

  “Elijah,” I said more sternly. When he glanced at me, I gave him a frustrated frown as I gestured to Lucy who was listening to every word he said.

  “I’m calling Scott right now and telling him about this nonsense. First thing in the morning, I’m taking him to the courthouse.”

  Elijah chuckled dryly. “Take him? See what I mean? Raise your own damn kid before worrying about someone else’s.”

  Although I agreed with everything Elijah said, I didn’t appreciate how he’d done it. Maybe if Lucy and Eli weren’t listening it would be better, but I wasn’t okay with anyone bad-mouthing their father in front of them even though he deserved it. I didn’t want to raise them to think it was all right. And the fact that Elijah continuedly ignored my plea to ignore her only made it worse.

  So, yes, I was hurt and angry at him and this entire situation.

  “Tell your meme bye, Lucy. We’re heading to the truck,” I blurted. Lucy never said it though.

  “You need the keys.” Elijah handed them over. When I walked away, he grabbed my shoulder. “Hey…”

  I shirked away from him and steered Lucy out of Walmart.

  “Lucy!” We turned around to see Lilly running out after us. “Don’t you want to see your mommy and daddy get back together?”

  “Lilly,” I breathed out slowly. “You’re going too far. You’ve caused a scene in a public place.”

  “You know this is ridiculous, Hadley. How can you guys raise your babies apart?” So she was being docile and trying to be nice. Her tone was fine, but her words were all wrong.

  “I’ve been raising them just fine. In fact, single parenting happens all over the world, and those kids are doing fine.”

  “Lucy…” She dropped down to Lucy’s height. “What do you want?”

  “My mommy.” She clutched my leg.

  “No, I mean don’t you want to see Daddy and Mommy get together again as a family?” Lucy pressed her face into my leg and ignored her.

  “Don’t be this way to her,” I practically begged as I bent down and scooped up my four-year-old in my other arm. It was hard to hold them both but I was determined. “I know you mean well, but what you’re doing is wrong.”

  And with that, I turned away and hurried to Elijah’s truck. I buckled Eli in quietly as Lucy climbed into her car seat and waited for me. “Are you okay, Mommy?” she asked as I buckled her in.

  “I should be asking you that,” I mumbled.

  “I’m okay. I hope Elijah doesn’t get lost in there alone.”

  “He’ll be okay.”

  “Will he get my chips?”

  “He will.”

  Before I closed the door, she asked, “Do I have to go to Meme’s?”

  “Only when you want to.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  Kissing her forehead, I shut her door and climbed into the passenger seat. It didn’t take the A/C long to cool us as we waited. A few minutes later, Elijah placed the groceries in the bed of the truck. When he sat in the driver’s seat, I peered out my window instead of looking at him. “Hey…” he murmured.

  “How much was it so I can pay you back?” I asked, still not turning in his direction. I knew I was being unreasonable and grumpy. No one despised me more than me. But my mind was in absolute turmoil. Eli and Lucy were my everything, and the fact that someone just threatened to take my world from me haunted every molecule in me. I hated confrontation more than anything and didn’t like people talking the way Lilly and Elijah had in front of my kids. I also didn’t like how he disregarded me when I tried to get his attention.

  It scared Lucy when people yelled, and I didn’t like her feeling afraid. So, yes, I was angry.

  “That’s a dumb-ass question when you know I’m not letting you pay me back.”

  I whipped my head around and glared. “Fine. It can go to
your house.”

  “Hadley,” he groaned, closing his eyes. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  “You shouldn’t have yelled at her. She’ll try something just because of you.”

  “I don’t care who it is. You’ll never see me stand back and watch as someone talks to you that way. I’ll never be okay with that shit. Never.”

  Tears filled my eyes, so I faced forward. I didn’t want to be this way in front of Lucy. My cell phone started going off. My heart dropped when I saw that it was Scott. When I ignored it, I knew Elijah was watching. The rest of the drive was spent in uncomfortable silence with my phone going off every minute. Neither of us even thought to put music on to fill the tension.

  All I could think about was what Lilly planned to do. It filled me with nausea. I unbuckled my belt and hopped out of the truck the second he parked. He went to grab Eli, but I mumbled, “I’ll get him since we’re going to head to the apartment.”

  “I thought we were going to Elijah’s?” Lucy said still in her car seat.

  “Not tonight,” I replied.

  Elijah’s hawk eyes were on me. “Hadley…”

  My phone started going off again. “Later. I need to deal with this mess.”

  He sighed. “At least let me carry the groceries to your apartment.”

  “No. Take them to your house.”

  “Lucy, do you want your chips?” Elijah helped her out.

  “Yeah, will you eat all the food without me?” She asked him just as a text message came through my phone.

  Scott: Answer your phone!!!

  Scott: I swear to god, Hadley, I’ll never let you see your kids if you keep that man around.

  Scott: He fucking yelled at mom!

  Elijah’s soft, deep chuckle pulled me away from the text messages. “No, goofy. We’ll eat together. It ain’t going to all disappear within a day.”

  “I want to go to your house,” she whispered.

  I closed my eyes, tears threatening to spill. Scott yelled at me all the time, so how was his reasoning fair? It was okay for him to yell at me but not for anyone to do it to his mother?