A couple weeks have passed since my first date with Mike and I'd be lying if I said things were any easier.
My seizures were getting worse, which meant my school work was slipping and work was difficult.
All of my managers and coworkers were so good about it though and helped me through every shift.
Mike had a big project at work so he was pretty busy. We went on a couple dates since Stacie was so gracious and watched the kids for me.
Jenna, Carter, Sam, and Juniper were doing okay with all of the transitions.
Jenna was of course worried about the thing with my mother because she was the only one who knew about it.
I haven't heard from my mom though, which gave me an awful feeling that something was coming.
Sam and Carter loved having Mike around, even though I didn't let him come over very often. I had him take the kids on a ride in the police car which they loved.
Juniper was a little weary of Mike because she had never really been around a male figure.
He was always very nice about it though and was patient when she was fussy.
Right now I was on my way to pick the kids up from school. Since it wasn't safe for me to drive from the lack of meds we got used to walking every day.
"Sissy!!" Juniper said as she ran towards me. "Hi, love bug." I said and lifted her up. "How was school?" I asked and started walking down the street and towards the middle school.
"Good! We colored a lot." She said with a giggle and wrapped her arms around my neck. "That's good. Coloring is very fun." I said with a smile.
I was able to walk with Juniper in my arms for a little while before I had to set her down.
When we got to the middle school I took her hand and waited for the others to be dismissed.
"Hey." Someone said next to me, causing me to tighten my grip on Juniper's hand.
"Do I know you?" I asked and turned to the man who was standing next to me. "I don't think so. We can change that though." He said with a grin.
"No, thank you." I said then lifted Juniper up, holding her on my hip. "No problem. Just wanted to let you know that you're gorgeous." He said as I nodded.
"Thank you." I said as the doors opened and kids started pouring out of the school.
I kept my eyes on the door so I could grab Jenna, Carter, and Sam before this guy next to me could.
He didn't necessarily seem like a threat, but he made me nervous.
"Hey, Jule!" Carter said as my siblings came over. "Hey, guys." I said and looked to see that the guy next to me was gone.
"Ready to go?" I asked as they nodded. "Do you have to work tonight?" Carter asked as I shook my head.
"So are you going out with Mike?" Jenna asked as I shrugged. "Probably not. Why? Want to get rid of me?" I asked with a laugh as we started walking.
"No, just wondered." Jenna said with a smile. "Can Mike come over?" Sam asked as I shrugged. "I don't know. He's pretty busy with a super secret case." I said as Juniper yawned.
"Sissy, he's boring." Juniper said causing me to laugh. "Right, sorry." I said as Carter shook his head.
"I think he's cool." He said as I nodded. "You would think he's cool." I said and patted his shoulder.
I was so glad the boys were getting along with Mike because they deserved a good role model. I was just still really nervous about letting him get too close.
When we got home I got the kids a snack then went upstairs to do some school work. I had so much to do but wasn't motivated to do it.
I worked for a while before my phone started ringing.
"Hello?" I answered, propping my phone between my ear and shoulder.
"Hey, beautiful. What are you doing tonight?" Mike asked as I sighed. "Schoolwork. Watching my darling siblings." I said as he hummed.
"No work?" He asked as I shook my head. "Not tonight." I said as he chuckled.
"Perfect. Let me take you out." He said as I chuckled. "Sorry, bud. Don't have a sitter." I said as he sighed.
"That's a bummer. We have a huge lead on our case and I wanted to celebrate with a beautiful girl." He said with a sigh.
"I can ask Stacie but no promises." I said and grabbed my phone and put it on speaker phone.
"That would be so great. We haven't hung out much." He said as I nodded.
"We're busy people." I said and texted Stacie. "Yeah, this has just been taking up a lot of my time. If you can get a sitter, it would be a fun night." He said as Stacie responded.
YES. Of course. Parker and I will come. What time should we be there?
I laughed and rolled my eyes at how excited she was about me going on a date. "She said she can watch them. What time?" I asked and texted Stacie back.
"I'll pick you up at 8. How does that sound?" Mike asked. "Perfect. Where are we going?" I asked as he chuckled. "You'll see." He said as I nodded.
"Great. I have to get my work done now, so I'll see you later." I hummed. "Okay, Jules. See you then." He said then hung up.
I sighed then closed my eyes. I knew it was good for me to go out and have a good time but I still felt so guilty doing that.
It felt wrong for me to leave the kids at home so I could go out and party. Part of me wanted to cancel because of this reason but I was going to talk to the kids.
If they cared then I would stay.
I did some work then got up and went downstairs to go make some dinner.
"Hey." I said to the kids who were sitting at the table doing homework or in Juniper's case coloring.
"Hey." The three older kids mumbled. "So..how would you guys feel about me going out tonight.
Miss Stacie and Mr. Parker would be coming over." I said and picked at my nails.
"Going on a date?" Jenna asked and looked up at me. "Going to celebrate." I corrected. "I think it would be fine." Sam said with a smile.
"Yeah, have fun." Carter said as Juniper looked up at me. "He's smelly." She said causing me to laugh.
"So is that a no?" I asked as she sighed dramatically. "You have to shower when you come home." She said causing me to giggle and walk over to her.
"You're a silly girl." I said then kissed her cheek. "So it's a yes?" I asked as they all nodded. "Have fun, but not too much fun." Jenna said causing me to laugh.
"Never too much fun." I said then went to make dinner.
Once I was done with that I went upstairs and got ready.
Since I had no idea where I was going I decided on a black dress and some boots since that would be appropriate anywhere.
By the time I was done with my hair and makeup, Stacie and her husband were here.
"Miss Stacie!!!" Juniper squealed as she ran to give her a hug.
"Hey, sweetie." Stacie said then looked up at me. "Well don't you look cute?" She asked as I rolled my eyes.
"He wouldn't tell me where we were going, so this is what I landed on." I said as Parker nodded.
"That's probably a safe bet." He said as we walked into the living room.
"The kids are fed and probably doing their homework still. It's Friday night so there's no real bedtime except for this little one who should be going to bed before 9." I said and looked at Juniper.
"Uhhh...you know the rest. I'll be home before midnight and if I'm not, then send a search party out." I said as they nodded.
"You better be home before midnight because getting kidnapped seems sh-poopy." Stacie said and looked down at Juniper.
"Yeah, it sounds not great." I said as someone knocked on the door.
"Okay. I have to go. Thank you guys again, I owe you." I said as they waved.
"Don't worry about it. Have fun!" Stacie said as I went to the door.
"Hey, Jules. You look gorgeous." Mike said then kissed my cheek. "Thanks. Where are we going?" I asked as we left the house.
I made sure the door was locked before letting Mike lead me to the car.
"A bar, ya know...to celebrate." He said as I nodded. I didn't mind bars so much because there weren't usually people running around with narcotics that they were willing to share.
House parties are where shit got dangerous for me.
I probably wouldn't drink because it was a trigger, but I was still open to having a good time.
When we got to the bar we made our way inside.
"It's down here." He said then led the way down the stairs. At the bottom was a man standing in front of a door.
"ID's?" He asked as I nodded and pulled mine out, showing him. "Perfect. Enjoy your night." The guy said then moved out of the way so we could go in.
"Want me to get you a drink?" Mike asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist. "I'm just gonna drink water tonight." I said as he nodded and led the way to the bar.
"I'll have a jack and coke and a water." Mike said to the bartender. "Coming up." The guy said then started pouring our drinks.
Once we had them we went to where people were dancing and joined in. I wasn't the bed dancer by any means but Mike didn't seem to mind as he danced with me.
I had to admit that it felt like we were moving a little too fast but part of me didn't care. Part of me was totally content with this man dancing so close to me.
It had been a while since I felt this wanted.
We danced for a while before I had to pee. "I have to go to the bathroom, I'll be right back." I said then kissed his cheek and turned to find the bathroom.
As I walked through the crowd, I looked around trying to find any sort of signage to point the way.
I was so distracted that I was completely shoulder checked by someone, causing me to nearly stumble and fall.
"Sorry." I said and caught myself, turning to see who I ran into.
I felt all the blood in my body run cold as I stared into a pair of bright and familiar blue eyes that I haven't seen in forever.