A yawn escaped the lips of a groggy Mack, her frizzy curls all over the place as removed her head the satin pillow. Tanner's arms had her by the waist, due to previously being curled up as they slept through the emotional night. As usual, the olive-eyed individual bestowed her with affection, providing her with a warm meal of something too intricate to remember the name of. In hopes of soothing the anxiety she felt, he invited her to indulge herself with a romantic bubble bath, their laughs in between steamy kisses echoing the hallways. It wasn't long before the brunette reverted back to her emotional breakdown, the realization that her life wasn't simply bliss at the moment. Even if Tanner had intentions to create a reality where it was.

"Good morning, beautiful." He smiled sleepily, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before removing himself from the bed. Mack returned a genuine smile, warmth overtaking her. She then emitted a groan, having to work not the best thing to wake up to. Rubbing her exhausted eyes, she pulled her tattered work uniform out. It had suffered several months of temper tantrum pulling, frozen treats being hurled it's way, and had even torn a the a bit at the sleeves from her perverted boss making an effort to always make advances when it came to his female workers. As she removed her wrinkled nightgown, she felt a warm hand place itself on her stomach. Considering this would be her second time birthing the life of a child, her pregnancy bump would be visible sooner.

With such a soft smile on his face, Mack couldn't help but feel fond of Tanner seeming enthusiastic about being a father. Yet, sometimes it seemed as if he forgot she had another child in her life, who might question forever why mommy wasn't in existence anymore. She pulled away from his warm gesture, Tanner letting the torn mother dress in silence. After throwing her hair into a ponytail and applying gloss to her lips, she met the brunette at the front door, readjusting his tie as he bent down for a quick peck. "Cherries, my favorite." He breathed, taking her hands in his.

"We can discuss this after work. Don't feel as if you have to go back to your house feeling ridiculed." He left her off, traveling to his convertible. As much as she wanted to feel she would never have to face Brady again, there were worse consequences then getting shamed by the person you cheated on. Having a little girl of her own had always been a dream for her. Her mother had always joked about Mack growing up a tomboy, hoping that her granddaughter would at least take interest in the sparkly dresses that never got worn, and the wasted barbie dolls that had never gotten played with. Mack sighed when entering her car, realizing that her mother had gotten the granddaughter she had always wanted, but never the daughter she had always longed for.

It didn't help that the troubled young adult was faced with passing her own home on her way to work. Luckily, Lynn was always attending daycare during the summer, which meant she wouldn't have to pass by her energetic daughter playing in the yard. As always, Brady was attending his job, the last individual she would ever want to lock eyes with. Increasing her speed, she not only put herself in danger, but the drivers in front of her as well. Tears began to threaten her vision as objects blurred around her. Perhaps she would never convince herself that the events that occurred were just an altered perception of reality, a part of her fantasy for wanting someone more attentive. She could never convince herself that she would ever be in her husband's arm, holding her daughter as they validated themselves as a perfect family. Gathering her composure, she parked her car in the parking lot of Scoops n' Smiles.

How ironic that such a sweet looking place was the opposite of it's title. Why bother showering customers who glimmered with fake personas and bestowed her with idiotic ignorance? What was the point of pretending to be apologetic when mother's didn't take control of their screaming toddlers or bratty children? Why pretend that working here was a breeze when she dealt with hormonal boys and her widower of a boss? She sighed, sticking her hands into the pockets of her skirt as the summer breeze fluttered about. She was welcomed by both the yelling of her coworker and the chilly environment as she clocked in.

"I swear to god, you fucking perverted bastard. I'd never be fucking straight for someone like you." The ebony-haired girl exclaimed, slamming the employees door behind her. She shot Mack an apologetic smile, clicking over to a table near the window. The brunette invited herself over, instead of usually being beckoned by her. Sliding in across from her, she gave her a soft smile. Chrissie, or Chee as she referred to herself had been rivals with Mack since their middle school years. As the years progressed on, they both realized how petty they both made themselves look. Quarreling over the most idiotic topics.

Throughout her schooling years, everyone had known Mackenzie as the naive girl who grew up in a Christian family, making it known from the cross she wore around her neck. Her voice was the main source for things that preached of things so innocent; and Chrissie Fit hadn't been one of them. The hazel-eyed beauty had no longer been the charismatic girl with a stunning smile, but a slutty whore who purchased her way into a boy's bedroom. Mackenzie had been the first to rumor her sleeping around, guys endlessly conversing about her nude photos and wild acts in bed. From there, had it led to unnecessary drama between the two, causing Chrissie to point out that Mack had been nothing but a gossiping prude, too immersed if any else's personal life to think of her own. Yet, it a way she had been right.

Chee had turned out to be quite nice. Sure, she was occasionally still the sassy girl portrayed as a snob in her young life, but she was still known to others as a girl who proceeded to fulfill acts of kindness and shown the world her glistening smile. Whether or not she was doing it just to get her reputation back on track was a mystery to everyone, but in a way, it didn't matter at this point. Now, she was simply a figure in both the feminist and gay community, having coming out lesbian just a few months ago. Even though she had not been apart of an extremely religious family, she still received ridicule from people like her own mother and father. Yet, she had made it simply clear that zero fucks at not been giving, considering nonacceptance hadn't stop her from posting pictures of her and her girlfriend. In away, Mack had envied her, wishing that she had the strength to not care about what people thought about her.

"Just when I thought hetero people had it easy." She sighed, sipping the strawberry milkshake in front of her. As usual, she provided a vanilla one for the brunette, being that both of them were the only ones who cared to show up each morning. Chee had been working at the shabby place a couple months before Mack arrived, being the mentor on how things worked at this place, the first to warn that their boss was a perverted misogynistic, dedicating his elderly life to making the lives of women miserable. She too had been looking for a job, considering most jobs she applied had been homophobic hypocrites. They had both been placed in desperate situations, Mack realizing that she would never find success at a prestigious school, failing her deceased mother, and Chee never finding the equality she strove for.

"As if I don't have enough problems on my plate." Mack retorted, sighing as she blew a stray strand from her face.

"What's that suppose to mean, shortcake? Your sexuality isn't oppressed." She smirked, eyes fluttering behind false lashes.

Mack could only roll her eyes at her comments, watching to smack that red smile off her full lips just like the old days. Mack was understanding of the gay community, considering she didn't find liking the same sex was all that big of a deal, and it definitely wasn't affecting her life. Yet, in her personal opinion, some individuals had become annoying when flaunting off their sexuality, crying offensive words that people of hetero relationships were nothing by human trash, scums of the earth. Just as any lgbt individual, heteros had problems of their owns. Liking someone of the same sex didn't make you special, at least in Mack eyes, and it definitely wasn't something you needed to remind someone of every five minutes of the day. Thinking before voicing her words, she sipped at the sweet treat, closing her eyes in satisfaction.

"Well, first off I'm pregnant." She started, unsure if she was willingly to share the news with her.

"Why is that such a problem? Any good mother would be happy-"

"But it isn't Brady's baby." She continued, cutting the girl off.

Chee furrowed her brows, taking another sip of her shake as she felt herself become confused. She had been one of the second out of her friends to become notified of Mackenzie's pregnancy after soon being married. She could only chuckle, remembering how infatuated the brunette was when she and the blonde had first started dating. Chee had been experienced with the dating joyride early on, giving Mack the ultimate resources to questions about things like kissing or giving herself to someone who was suspected to be the one. Judging from the lovesick babbling Mack used to do on a daily basis, she couldn't picture who'd else it'd belong to.

"It can't be anyone else's but the surfer's baby, unless there's some dirty laundry you haven't spilled yet." She eyed her, causing Mack's cheeks to warm with guilt.

"That's because it's Tanner's baby." She breathed, her eyes looking downward.

At first, she could only laugh, feeling as if this was some type of stunt. She couldn't find herself to believe, Mackenzie, a perfect Christian girl who walked around as miss virgin pure would ever sleep around, especially when she had another love at home. Even though she wouldn't say it aloud, she didn't want Mackenzie preforming the same mistakes she had made. She didn't want the smiling girl to face the remorse and internal anguish she felt each and every day. Yes, she had the support of her introverted friend, the girl that had now been the love of her life, but sometimes, other never found that certain beacon of light, which sometimes lead to a bloodier demise. "Don't make me bluff, shortcake. You and Brady are like the ideal relationship."

"I'm not kidding..I-I confided into Tanner one night, we got drunk, and it led off from there."

"So you're telling me, little miss perfect didn't use protection?" She scoffed.

"We thought we were invincible." She breathed, tears wetting her cheeks. In that moment, Chee felt sympathetic, despite that Mack knew that she was the only one in fault when it came down to her actions. She could comprehend from personal experiences that it was likely to feel anguishing remorse after committing such an act. Not only would it ruin your relationship with the person you're cheating on, but it would ruin the relationships between the ones that were supportive of you the most. It still was a stab to the heart to this day that her mother couldn't bare to meet eyes with her unless she wanted something, or that she still had guys bothering her from years ago. She sighed, hoping that she could comfort the crying girl.

"Something's telling me that Brady's found out, and hell yea you're going to feel fucking shit about doing something about that. The worse that can happen is that he shares the news with family and friends. Trust me, it's like walking with Satan himself." She explained, eating the cherry from the bottom. Mack sighed, not thinking of such a thing until she mentioned it. Just as Mack, Brady was very family oriented. When Mack said the long awaited yes when he proposed, he was already teary-eyed as he called his parents a few minutes after. He never held back from telling his family anything, especially when it came to things to excite over. The brunette never thought that something so trustworthy would seem so lethal.

"Do you really think Brady would tell?" She questioned, biting her nails into stubs.

"It's a possibility. When Giggles asshole of a boyfriend not only cheated on her with some bimbo bitch, but leaked the nudes she sent him to a bunch of people around school, you better believe she blackmailed the dude. Not to mention she alerted his mother of being an underage consumer of alcohol and cigarettes., and maybe even a whole lot of other scandals. " She smirked, proud of her girlfriend for taking him down with a few simple clicks of her computer. Though she found this as an amusing moment, Mack could only tremble in worry as thousands of possibilities overcrowded her head. Would his family no longer accept her with warming arms? Would her aunt even bare to look at her anymore?

As the day unraveled, Mack continued to bestow customers with her barbie smiles and coo at children despite that it made her think of her own daughter. She didn't bother to defend herself with he boss's fingertips brushed her thighs underneath her skirt. She hadn't even felt the energy to take her lunch break, a period of time that could have gave her the resources to sort of her thoughts out. Instead, she locked herself in the bathroom, tears hitting the tiled floor beneath her. Would he really tell everyone about her little scandal?

Hey guys, sorry that this chapter took a while. I hadn't been feeling well some days and when I did, half of what I'd write would delete or I would procrastinate like usual. But finally, it's done. I hope you enjoy the third chapter of Misery Business, and like always, I love to hear about what my readers think. Enjoy!~