Being a single mom and going to law school full time was definitely not easy, but today had been especially hard for Tally. She couldn’t rely on Ingrid’s father to show up when he said he would anymore, and she was really facing this alone. Her daughter definitely noticed too, there were too many nights where she would cry for her dad and he wouldn’t even answer the phone to talk to her when Tally called him. It was heart breaking to watch, and with all of her class work piling up and Tally’s insatiable need to be perfect, she just had a lot on her plate right now. It was easier when Cash was around - everything had felt easier with him, he had kept her grounded and made her feel a little more at peace. But she couldn’t let herself think about that for too long, since he had left with no more than a note and she hadn’t heard a word from him in almost a month. He was dead to her now - plus if she had to think about that on top of everything else, she might actually lose her mind.
Ingrid was particularly fussy tonight, and Tally had a big test in the morning that she had been studying for for weeks, but still didn’t feel prepared enough for. She was bouncing her two year old on her hip, pacing her apartment as she read some of her test notes aloud in a soothing voice. After trying everything else, she was just trying to study and calm her daughter at the same time, as if corporate law could be soothing in any way. It would have been funny to watch, she was sure. Just as Ingrid was starting to calm down and her eyelids were starting to fall shut, the sound of her doorbell being rung startled her again. Tally sighed, even more frustrated than a moment ago, and walked over to pull her door open, prepared to scold anyone on the other side for coming over this late. However, it was the last person she was expecting on the other side. She was tempted to immediately just close the door again, but the only thing that stopped her was that Ingrid had instantly stopped crying when she saw Cash’s face, reaching out for him. Tally held onto the little girl tightly, clenching her jaw. “What do you want, Cash?”
