Hope In The Morning

2

I groan out as my alarm goes off and my hand dances around the clock before I am able to silence the stupid thing.
"What time is it...?" I hear Law mutter as he pokes his head out from underneath the warm comforter. "It's 2:00." I let a out a sigh and sit up, stretching out my tired muscles. "2-? What??" Law sits up in bed and squints at the red digital clock that lit our room in a soft glow. "What are you getting up so early for?" He scratches at his chest. "We got a really late call in for a wedding cake." I stand up from the bed and make my way over to my closet to pull out clean clothes. "Wedding?" He hums out "This early??" "The cake is supposed to be ten layers." I explain, "Some people think we are miracle workers." I pick up a shirt off the floor and give it a quick sniff, realizing a missed throwing it in the washing machine. "I'm just going to take a quick shower and head out so you can go back to sleep." I toss the shirt aside and then turn to grab my underwear from the dresser. "Can I have a goodnight kiss?" Law asked from the bed and I turn to him, "Okay, but then I have to go." He nods as I walk over to him, leaning over the bed to plant a soft kiss against his lips yet squeal out as he pulls me onto the bed and shifts around until I'm trapped underneath him. I give him a shocked look, "Law?" He smirks at me before he laid down, getting comfortable, "I want cuddles, I don't get to see you before work." He had a point. Our regular routine was sudden flipped as now I wouldn't be there to make him breakfast or see him out of the house. He looks up at me with puppy eyes as I try to tell him that I don't really have a lot of time, "Just a few minutes?" The soft whisper melts my heart as he snuggles me and I reluctantly sigh, "Only a few minutes." I wrap my arms around his lower back and place a gentle kiss on his temple as he closes his eyes. I stare up at the ceiling, my mind wide awake. Other than Law's soft breathing the room was silent.
I glance over to the dark corner of the room.

~flashback~
"Hey," I glance over to the dark corner where the voice came from. "...are you a nice lady?"
"I would hope so." My voice tore out of my throat and pass my cracked, bleeding, lips. "Can I have your water?" A little girl slowly scoots into the light of the room and my heart nearly stopped. She was so skinny and looked like she had gone through so much torture. Her blue eyes were so dull and lifeless. I glance down at the glass in my hand before slowly passing it to her, "Yeah, you can have it." She took it from me and took a few long gulps before the door to our room slammed open and the large figure rushed over, knocking the glass out of her hand and then slapping her across the face "It's not your turn for water!" He pulled back his fist to swing again and I leap up from my position, "Leave her alone!" Knocking my body into his, causing him to stumble into the far wall. He turned back towards me and wiped the blood from his nose, "So you like to get pushy." He whipped out a knife as I took a step back, "It was just a glass of water..." He swung and I lurch back from the cut across my face.
~end~

I jolt up at the sound of my phone ringing and lean over, grabbing it. "H-hello?" "Fae, where are you?" It was Thatch calling and I glanced at the clock to see it was only 2:40 am. "I must've slept through my alarm." I explain hastily as I shove the covers over, Law had rolled off of me and was facing the wall. "I will take a quick shower and see you in a few minutes." "Okay, see you in a few." He replied before we both hung up and I rushed towards the bathroom with my clean clothes in my arms. Bepo yelps out as I stumble "Sorry, buddy," I give him a quick pat, "I'm in a hurry!"

I park my car in the parking lot before hurrying up the small alleyway to make my way to the back door for the bakery. Sanji opens the door, "You alright?" He asked as I make my way inside, setting down my keys and phone in a hast as I make my way over to grab my uniform. "Uh, yeah." I step around Thatch. "Morning." "Not used to being awake so early?" He chuckles as he points at my mess of hair. "Had a rough sleep." I give him a shake of my head before stepping into the changing room. "I brought Sanji in for extra hands." Thatch called through the door, "As we are making the cake today and then as soon as we can deliver it to the hotel that we are catering at tomorrow." "Wait?" I call out as I step out of the changing room, "We are sleeping overnight in the hotel?" "Yep." Thatch gives me an uneasy smile. Clearly he wasn't happy with the setup. "I have to call Law and let him know that I won't be home then." I make my way back over to where I had set my phone down. I shot him a quick text.