Surviving the Aces (#Wattys2018)

Meet Tina Hart

I was half asleep on my couch bed in the hospital when I felt a presence over me. At first, I thought I was still dreaming but then I heard it breathing.

The breathing was ragged and really gross. It smelled horrible, like cigarettes.

I slowly opened my eyes.

"Hey baby." She said smiling.

My mother may possibly have been selling herself on the street, and maybe she did want to give me up. But I still loved her more than anything. She was all I had when my father left us. We worked together like a team.

I threw myself up and into her arms. "Oh mom, I've missed you so much!" I exclaimed burying my face into her shirt.

"I missed you too baby." She said. She was crying.

My mother pulled us down into a sitting position holding me tightly.

She pushed me back and held me by my shoulder. "You're so beautiful." She said shaking her head and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Tears spilled from her eyes. "I don't want to let you go." She gave me a pleading look. "Please understand."

She looked horrible. Her once flawless hair was matted and stringy. Her face was skinny, her eyes bloodshot. Her breath reeked of smoke and she was dressed like a clubber on steroids. She was wearing enough fur for three people.

When she'd still been with my father, she'd always dressed immaculately. She was one of those woman that wore still rid to the super market. Even after the divorce, when we lost our money, she found a way to look nice.

She'd passed it down to me. Always making sure my nails were done, even if she had to do them myself. She always got on me about doing my hair and made sure I had enough perfume, make up and lotion. I couldn't imaging how she'd been in school. A total nightmare for the "nobodies."

I shook my head. "Mom, I don't." I told her.

She sighed. "Baileys a good woman, she can support you and give you a good life. I'm trying to get my own life together and maybe-"

"No mom." I interrupted. "No maybes. Either you want me or you don't."

"I hear you have a boyfriend." She said changing the subject. I knew what she was doing. She was trying to salvage our last moments together because we both knew her answer to my statement and neither of us wanted our time to end.

"His name is Gregg. He's an actor." I told her going along with it.

She raised her eyebrows at me. "Does he treat you well?" She asked me.

"Of course." I responded. "He's great. He came and brought me dinner last night and a few days ago he brought me lunch."

She smiled. "That's really nice honey." Her eyes landed on Ash. "What happened between you two? Bailey said you had a fight."

I silently cursed Bailey for being so informative. "We had a minor argument." I amended.

She narrowed her eyes at me. "What else? I know you're not telling me the whole story. Why is he here anyways?"

I sighed. "He was just upset that I didn't like him the way he liked me and he couldn't handle seeing me and Gregg together. He also found out that his mothers plane crashed, she survived though. She's in a hospital in Florida." I explained. "He was just so depressed he drank so much he got poisoned."

"He didn't hurt you did he?" She asked me suspiciously. "You two always fight. Why was this one so important?" She asked.

My mother didn't miss anything. It was a blessing and a curse.

"I-no! Of course not." I spluttered.

"Don't lie to your mother Dakota." A voice said. It was familiar. My mother and I both turned to Ashs bed.

"Ash!" I exclaimed jumping up and throwing myself on him.

"I'll call the nurse." I vaguely heard my mom say.

"Oh Ash," I cried. "I've missed you." I buried my face in his chest.

He laughed. "Well, I haven't missed you. You only left me twice. What's up with that? I've been out for five days."

"Four." I corrected. "It's been awful."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah it's been awful for you. I've been in a coma and I had to hear you flirt on the phone about a dozen times a day. And I could smell that Chinese food. That's torture at its finest."

I laughed and kissed his cheek. "I did miss your kisses though." He teased smirking.

"I'm still gonna punch you." I informed him. "Twice."

He grimaced. "Looking forward to it. So my mothers fine right?"

"I don't know. But she's alive." I told him honestly. I didn't want to give him false hope.

He smiled at me and squeezed my hand. "Thanks for finding out for me. I just have one more question."

"What's up?" I said.

"What year is it?"