<< Go Back

New Life

By Kelsey Gallant

Order Now!

Aleah Matthews pasted on a smile as she rang up the purchases of her umpteenth customer of the night. “That’ll be ten seventy-four.”
The customer paid, and Aleah handed him his purchases. “Have a good night.”
“You too.” The man gave her a brief smile and headed out the door.
Aleah sighed and glanced at the clock on the wall. Five minutes left of her shift. She didn’t mind working at Walgreens, but standing at a cash register from four to ten every night wasn’t her favorite way to spend her time.
She glanced over to make sure her supervisor wasn’t watching, then pulled out her phone. Four missed text messages. The first was from Nick: How much longer?
She typed out a quick response: leaving in 5 min. Can’t wait till I’m @ ur place!
Nick was a junior like Aleah, and his parents were out for the night. Probably until about midnight, he’d said. Nick and Aleah would have free reign of the house for at least an hour.
She checked her other texts. One was from Jason, the guy she’d hooked up with last night and the night before, asking when he’d see her again. The other two were from guys she’d never met, but who’d heard of her “easy” reputation and gotten her number from other guys. They were asking if she’d make some time in her busy schedule for them.
As she thought about what kind of flirty, funny reply she could give them, another text came in. Aleah sighed when she saw that it was from her mom.
What time will you be home?
With another glance around for her supervisor, Aleah typed a response: I’m working till 11. Should be home before 12. Don’t text me unless it’s an emergency. Don’t wanna get in trouble with my manager.
The response came a few seconds later: You need to talk to your manager about cutting back on your hours. You need your sleep and Austin needs you home more. There are laws against minors work-ing too late on school nights. Your manager should know that.
Aleah rolled her eyes, even as a tiny sense of nervousness trickled through her body. Her mom was right. There were laws about minors working too late, which was why Aleah was never scheduled to work a minute past ten. What if her mom researched those laws and realized that Aleah’s late nights couldn’t possibly be as a result of her part-time job?
Aleah shook her head to clear her doubts. Her mom wouldn’t research anything on her behalf. Since the death of her husband six years ago, Georgia Matthews had become Miss Work Work Work, and Aleah had become Miss Fend-For-Herself Independent Woman. Even at ten years old.
Aleah’s phone now read 10:00. She slipped it back into her pocket and walked over to her supervisor. “Hey,” she said. “It’s ten. I gotta go.”
“All right.” Her supervisor was an older man, with gray hair and large round glasses. He had a kind demeanor that almost made Aleah feel bad for texting on her shift, since she knew it wasn’t permitted. But what he didn’t know couldn’t hurt him. “You have a good night now. Go home and get some rest; you look exhausted.”
Aleah smiled and wiped her long, dark hair away from her face. She had been feeling more tired than usual lately, that was for sure. Probably as a result of her long nights out and early mornings awake for school. And, of course, Austin’s random wake-ups in the middle of the night didn’t help either.
“See you tomorrow, Seth,” she said.
She walked to her car, a secondhand silver Toyota Camry. The thing was at least ten years old, but it ran smoothly, at least for now. Aleah was thankful. She needed her own car. It hadn’t been bad not having a car back when she and Jared were together, since he could drive her anywhere she needed to go. But after what he did to her…
She swore under her breath as she turned the ignition. Jared was in the past. He would never be part of her life again; that she was sure of. So she didn’t want to waste any time thinking about him. Especially when there were so many other guys to think of.
The radio was on, tuned to Aleah’s favorite pop station. The song playing was the old hit “Baby,” by Justin Bieber. Aleah sang along for a few beats before changing to another station. The title word was too much for her. Never mind that Justin was singing about a girlfriend. No matter how many songs she heard in which the word “baby” was used to describe a significant other, the word always brought a small twinge of guilt to Aleah’s heart. Guilt because the word made her think of someone she should probably be with right now. Not Nick or Jason or any of the other boys, and definitely not Jared.
But a boy who literally was a baby. Austin Isaiah Matthews, her six-month-old son.

Order Now!

<< Go Back