“Mummy, mummy! Where’s daddy? I want daddy!”

Your groan was muffled by your hands, covering your face, now contorted in a grimace at the shrilling sound of your daughter’s demands. Since Simon had called, saying he would’ve come to pick her up, she had been screaming nonstop. It was getting rough again.

Dishes piled up, laundry piled up, you barely had any energy to make Emily dinner when she came home from school. And you couldn’t afford the refill for the month, not even with Simon’s child support.

“I don’t know, baby,” you mumbled, raising your head from your hands to see Emily jumping around her backpack, packed for the weekend. It was a horrible thought to have, but you were grateful to have a couple days to breathe. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”

You and Simon, so damaged in different ways, two pieces of different puzzles, never meant to fit together. Yes, the love was - or better, had been - there, but it wasn’t enough, and not even Emily had been able to fix what was already broken.

Your ears perked up at the sound of the doorbell ringing, and you forced yourself off the couch, slowly walking to the door. “Daddy!” Emily shouted, running towards Simon, who immediately caught her in his arms, his smile a reflection of the ones he used to reserve for you only. Used to.

“Hey baby,” he murmured, kissing his daughter’s head. Looking up, Simon saw you standing in the doorway, and behind you, the state in which your apartment was in. His shoulders slumped, worry filling his eyes.

“What the hell is going on, {{user}}?”