Author's Note: I completely scrapped the other chapter to rewrite the story. Enjoy!

"C'mon Sweetie, let's get you dressed," Violet sung to Melody, her three year old daughter, almost four if you asked Melody. Violet handed her child her clothes and Melody began to get dressed out of her polka dot pajamas as they had practiced many times before.

"Why?" Melody asked curiously and stopped dressing to look at her mother who was now on her eye level.

"Because Baby, you need to go to preschool," She ran her finger over Melody's bare stomach to tickle her slightly. Then assisting her to get ready faster by pulling the dress over her small head that frayed some tangles of hair from the braid that took her so long to make.

She giggled, but that didn't stop her questions so it spilled again from her lips, "Why?"

"Because you're going to get really smart so you can grow up to be whatever you want to be."

She laughed as her mom tried to soothe her child's dark brown waves from escaping.

Melody was the perfect picture of childhood, despite not knowing most people had not one parent, but two. Even so, she'd throw a fit when her brain couldn't understand the world. But when she was happy she would always find her small fingers curled into the fabric of the closest stuffed animal. She'd bounce up and down to music only her imagination could hear and smiled with chubby cheeks that dimpled. When her Mom played with her she held a grin that lit up their small world inside their even smaller apartment. She'd giggle and wave her arms to be picked up as her almost black eyes watched her mother closely and she often tried to mimic her mother's facial expressions with a tiny laugh. And when her eyes finally dipped closed for the day it would only be when her mom sung a soothing lullaby or read her a book. But Melody was far from sleepy as she knew exactly what she wanted to be.

"I wanna be a princess!" She squealed and jumped up in excitement by using her mom's shoulders for stability.

There was a knock on the apartment door filled with urgency.

"Okay honey, go get your things for school so you can be a princess, Mommy will be right back," She placed a rushed kiss on the top of her head and stood up to exit the room.

The knock came again, but this time faster and louder. The pounding wouldn't stop until she called back.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Violet yelled, a crease forming on her already distressed forehead.

As she unlocked the door carefully she was sure to only open it up a crack to see who the lunatic was that was knocking on her door so early in the morning. "What?" She snapped before identifying the man. Her face dropped into guilt when she did, it was her landlord and boyfriend. "Oh I'm so sorry Andy, I didn't realize it was you. Good morning, would you like some coffee?" Her voice was terribly rushed because she knew exactly what he was here for and she still didn't have it.

Andy was a mere thirty, but that didn't stop his ravaged gray tendrils from his dark brown head of hair. His hair was long enough to cover his brown eyes that had watched Violet carefully the first day he saw her. He hadn't shaved in a while so his obscured, pale chin was dashed with unkempt grayish-brown stubble not long enough to be an intentional beard. Every movement he made was precise and in slow motion, but walked as if his bones were loose and with each step came a heavy footfall. If you hadn't known him personally you may have helped him across the street before realizing his age. His clothes didn't fit badly, slightly loose because he appeared too tall for his slender build, but the mysterious stains on his shirt didn't help. His thin lips pushed into a smile when he saw Violet, but in that moment they formed into a slit and remained serious.

"No thank you, I'll only be a minute. I'm here for this month and last month's rent." Andy's husky drawl was calm and calculated, but he was just as irritated as Violet.

"Please, just one more day!" She tried to hold back the urge to yell so Melody wouldn't hear, "I'll have it to you by the end of the week I swear." She hushed her voice even further as Andy cast his gaze closer on her.

He drew a gray eyebrow up in momentary thought and spoke quickly, "You said that last month. Violet, I know you mean well, but we constantly get noise complaints and your bills are always overdue. We shouldn't have to do this every month." Violet gulped as he stepped closer to her and tried to whisper seductively into her ear, "You know this wouldn't be a problem if you just moved in with me."

She forced the bile down her throat and stepped out from behind the door. "Can we discuss your payment later please? My daughter is here right now and I'd hate for her to hear any of this."

He nodded promptly, "Of course baby, if anything I'm not unreasonable. I'll come by later in the week to collect." Before she could close the door he gave her a swift hug on her butt and chuckled to himself.

She leaned against the closed door and frowned in a huff. In the back of her head she repeated what she had to get through the day. For Melody. Do it for Melody.

Violet of course was a busy, single mother, yet she held something in her confident radiance that intrigued men. They always wanted to find out more, that is until they found out she was a mother. She always held incredible pride in Melody so it confused her as to why anyone would deny such a wonderful child. Andy of course was the only one that stayed, probably because she couldn't get rid of him. While Violet hated that she was dating him because she needed a place to live she couldn't bare the idea of raising Melody on the streets. But over the past few months she began to actually like him, he was kind and funny in his own sort of way.

But Violet was polar opposites of Andy. Her eyes were an intriguing forest of greens after its first downpour. Though her lids sagged, her face showed her true youth. Her hair was a brown wool that lapped off her neck as it was hung high in the air. Her beauty wasn't at all classical. She didn't have flowing golden waves or perfect skin. Her makeup had been rubbed away and her eye bags were definite. Something about her ordinary face drew them in. It was too plain to see that she was disarmingly unaware of her beauty.

Violet straightened up and pulled a wandering hair and tucked it fastly behind her ear as she heard a small voice run to her. "Mommy, Maddie and I are gonna play horsies today." She held her toy horse in the air proudly. The stuffing spilling out was as white as her daughter's wide grin.

"That's great honey," She faked a smile and picked her daughter against her hip. "Let's go then," She neighed like a horse to please her angel which only granted her with a genuine grin.

---------------------------------------------

Violet collapsed onto the couch after a long shift of waiting tables at some hole in the wall restaurant. Melody was crying about how Maddie wouldn't share her horsies at preschool and all Violet could wish for was to have problems as small as that.

"We'll talk to Maddie tomorrow okay, baby? Let's get you to bed." Melody thrusted her body around in a weak tantrum. Her small arms flailing to the sky, her face hot, tears threatening her dark brown eyes. "Don't you want to dream about riding horsies to your castle, honey bunches?" She defiantly nodded and pursed her bottom lip out, but took her mother's hand as they walked to her bedroom.

There was a brief knock on the front door, Violet had grown quite tired of her "popularity" and would much rather prefered a sleeping toddler.

"Get your PJs on while I answer the door," Violet instructed softly in an attempt to hide her annoyance. "I'll be quick I promise."

"Do you know what time it is Andy?" She raised her voice as she opened the door yet again.

She froze when she saw the person before her. He looked exactly as he did in years before. The man's clothes were casual, but so impeccable they looked brand new. His blonde hair was tousled across his forehead while his deep brown eyes contained some flecks of fresh dew and they performed for her by twinkling. His jaw was strong and defined, it curved around his neck. His prominent face displayed playful features that were molded from stone. His lips were pale and thin but gaped open in a surprised but welcoming manner.

Ross.

Author's Note: First chapter done, many more to go! I'm so glad to be starting over and this will be my main focus of work until this one finishes. I also redid the cover and I think it looks great :)

I decided to try something new with 3rd POV so I'm sorry if it comes out a little odd.

Please vote and comment (and hopefully keep reading!)