Flower Girl | h.s.

4.

Harry

The alarm wakes me out of the deep slumber that didn't feel long enough. My hand reaches out to grab the phone that the alarm is set on, turning it off before I'm groaning and looking at the time.

5:10am.

It's time to start getting everyone up and ready for the day, which I try to do every morning, except weekends. On weekends, they can fend for themselves. It's my job to be able to get them through school, and having to sacrifice sleep for that seems worth it. The only time that we have to wake up on weekends is if someone has a sports event, which depends on the season.

I pull myself from the lying position, moving to sit on the edge of my bed before I'm rubbing the sleep from my face. I stand up to walk and grab a t-shirt from my drawer before I throw it over my body, pulling shorts up on my waist before I'm walking out of my bedroom door.

Everything at this time of the day is quiet, and I find myself waiting for this sound. It's the only moments that I really have to myself before I have to find the means to be responsible for the rest of the lives within the home.

I hadn't gotten in until a little after one that same morning, so running off of a few hours of sleep wasn't necessarily the worst part of my day. I'd go and get a few more hours after the kids went to school; the nap would be the savior to the day before I had to head off to work.

I go downstairs to start pulling out breakfast options for Lottie and Brooks before I turn on the coffee pot and rub my eyes at the tiredness that I feel. Something about the morning feels calm, and while I may not be the most awake, there's a sense of calmness that I struggle to find at any other time of day.

The first cup of coffee is always black, then I'll dabble in a bit of cream on the second cup. There's no room in the first cup, as it's just pure fuel to get me going and ready for whatever type of bullshit the kids have for me that morning.

The most common is that Lottie has cramps, which she knows she can get away with because I honestly do not know how to help, and Brooks always has a stomachache, which he can usually never get away with because I send him with some Peptobismol and off he goes.

I always start with Lottie because her school starts first, and she gets picked up by a friend by 6:30, so they're at school by 7.

The older she gets, the more time she needs in the morning to get ready, but also the more sleep she needs. It's a double-edged sword, and I never know if she's happy to get up early, or if she'll be pissed that I woke her up at all.

When I approach her room, I start by opening her door. The curtains are drawn and it's totally dark in the room except for the small lights from her computer that blink around her desk. The light switch on the wall is flicked on, and she groans before turning over

"Time to get up, Lots. Let's go," I say, holding the cup of coffee in my hand, leaning on the doorframe. "What's for breakfast this morning?"

She doesn't answer me at first, which is again, completely normal. I sip at my cup before I start speaking again.

"Waffles? Toast? Cereal? Could make a bit of eggs and–"

"Can you just shut up?" Her grumbled tone has me smirking before she pulls the blanket over her head, like she's trying to push me away.

"Coffee is ready downstairs," I check my watch, "It's already 5:30 so you better get going if you need to shower and everything."

I start making my way downstairs again, sitting on the stool at the island and looking at my phone. The morning usually filled me with catching up on the news, drinking coffee, and making sure that the school-run always went smoothly. Lottie always had a friend pick her up, and I would take Brooks when the time came for him to go into school.