《Forbidden Love》 Chapter 1 - Classroom Chapter 1 - ssroom Red or ck¡­Red or ck. I stared at the two different colored shoes while ¡°SuperBass¡± by Nicki Minaj yed in the background. I sighed; getting up in the morning is one thing, but choosing your outfit is another. Being the only ck person in an all-white environment is difficult for me. I always have to wear stupid ssy clothes to be able to fit in with the other white teachers. It¡¯s not helpful knowing that the school only hired me because they needed diversity points. I love my job, and I love the kids, but sometimes, I wish there were some ck brothers and sisters in this mess. Finally deciding on the ck shoes, I put them on before I turned off the music and closed the lights in my fairly small bedroom. I grabbed my two ss binders and briefcase then rushed out the door. I stuffed everything into the backseats of my car, making sure they were secure before I hopped into the driver''s seat. Miraculously, I was able to get to my ssroom early and set everything up. I made sure to keep the doors to the ssroom open, so the children coulde streaming in with their nannies¡ªyeah, nannies. None of the white rich parents had time to bring their children to school. They were too busy making big cash. Slowly but surely, my first grade students started making their way into the ssroom. As they came in, I gave them highfives and told them to pick a colored stick from a jar. Once everyone finished walking in and unpacking their things, I began to speak. ¡°Good morning, kids! I hope you all had a good night¡¯s sleep!¡± I told them, smiling as I looked at every single student one by one. ¡°Good morning, Miss Aisha!¡± the kids shouted back enthusiastically. ¡°Today, we are going to be doing station groups. When you came in, I told you all to pick a colored C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org popsicle stick. I want everyone who has green toe up to the front,¡± I ordered. The kids with the green popsicle sticks slowly started shuffling towards my desk. After making sure they all had the right colors, I sent them to the building blocks section. Next was the coloring section, then the reading sections, and finally the numbers corner. Once everyone was in their correct groups, I went to my desk and began replying to some emails I got this morning. Not long after I began going through my email, I heard wailinging from the building block section. I got up from my seat and looked to see that Jenna was the one wailing. ¡°Jenna, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. ¡°Didi took my block!¡± she cried. I looked over at Didi who had a cheeky little grin on his face. ¡°What did I say about taking people¡¯s things without asking?¡± I asked, cing a hand on my hip. His smile disappeared from his face and was instead reced by a soft frown. ¡°W-we not allowed to and¡ªand we suppos¡­be kind,¡± he struggled to say. ¡°Good. Now what should you say to Jenna?¡± He looked up at her bashfully. ¡°S-sowwy¡­Here¡¯s your block.¡± Jenna smiled as she took the block, then began building a tower with him. I couldn¡¯t help but coo, they were adorable. Five minutester, I had the kids all rotate and go to a different station. Once the kids got settled down in their new stations, I saw my boss¡ªthe principal¡ªpoke her brte head around the door, asking if it was alright toe in. I nodded my head, smiling brightly at her. ¡°Hey, Aisha! I see you¡¯re still doing wonders with this ss. Out of all the ssrooms, you¡¯ve managed to have the kids underplete control,¡± the principal smiled sweetly. My smile faltered for a moment. I knew exactly what she was doing. She would alwayse into my ssroom,pliment me and my work, then ask for a stupid favor. ¡°Thank you so much, Miranda. The kids are absolutely wonderful,¡± I replied with a soft smile. Miranda¡ªmy bossughed a bit for no particr reason. ¡°I have a little favor to ask¡­Do you mind watching a little girl from Amy¡¯s ssroom, please? She¡¯s been a bit of a handfultely and I figured you¡¯d be able to keep her under control since you¡¯re able to keep your ss under control! I hope you don¡¯t mind taking in just one more child.¡± ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t mind taking her in!¡±¡ªEven though I don¡¯t want to.¡ª¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± ¡°Oh, you are such a dear! Her name is Jasmine Brown, I¡¯ll send her over right now!¡± Miranda said as she left the ssroom to get Jasmine. As I waited for Jasmine toe, I took a moment to consider how my life is at the moment. I looked at the kids in my ssroom. They¡¯re everything to me. They might not have the best parents in the world, but at least their parents care enough to pay for them to go to an expensive private school. Scared Academy is one of the best private schools in California. Their education system is amazing, but their prices are pretty high and theyck diversity among their students and staff. Unfortunately, the staff also don¡¯t know how tomunicate to their students, and therefore end up treating them like they¡¯re a pair of beat up shoes they own. But, the education makes up for that, right? Another thing I¡¯ve noticed from working at the school is that the teachers don¡¯t even care about their students. They only care about the money, which is shameful and a tad bit disgusting. I never understood them. They thinking to school wearing expensive clothes and essories is more important than sitting down and learning about their students. Simply put, I did not like it at all. At that very moment, Miranda walked into the ssroom with an adorable little girl who I assumed to be Jasmine. Jasmine had long, very curly hair that looked like it hadn¡¯t been taken care of very well. Her eyes were neither big nor small, and she was short, which was expected since she was still in 1st grade. She was wearing a cute little pink dress and had on a pissy look on her face. I smiled as I walked right up to her. I bent down so we were face to face. ¡°Hi, Jasmine! You can call me Miss Aisha. I¡¯m going to be taking care of you for the rest of the day, okay?¡± She nodded. ¡°I also like your dress. It looks very pretty on you,¡± Iplimented her. That made her eyes light up, and she giggled. ¡°Thank you!¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°I need to talk to Miranda, so I need you to go to the coloring section of the ssroom. It¡¯s right over there. Can you do that for me?¡± I asked, pointing at the coloring section. Jasmine looked to where I was pointing before she nodded her head yes. I watched her as she walked to the stationzily. I turned back to face Miranda. ¡°How long is she going to be staying with me?¡± I asked. ¡°I think she¡¯ll just stay in your ss since you have more experience and patience than most of our other teachers.¡± I proudly smiled, knowing that I was very damn well one of the best teachers at the school. ¡°That¡¯s perfectly fine. I¡¯m happy as long as I can do my job. Do you know why she has been acting up?¡± ¡°She has her days. Her parents split up and they¡¯re co-parenting. She stays with her dad on weekdays, then goes to see her mom on the weekend. Maybe that¡¯s one of the reasons. Parents can y a huge role in a child¡¯s life,¡± Miranda sighed out. ¡°Yeah, tell me about it. At least it seems like her parents are doing the best they can. Mine didn¡¯t even want to keep me,¡± I sadlyughed, knowing that I was oversharing. Miranda smiled sadly at me. Her smile told me enough. She was just pitying me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Aisha,¡± she softly said. I sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not you who should be apologizing. I¡¯m going to get back to my ss now, I know you have more important work to do.¡± ¡°Yep, you are correct,¡± she said, chuckling. ¡°I will check up on you and Jasmer today. It was nice talking to you!¡± ¡°You too!¡± I replied back before I made my way to my desk, where I got into my thoughts. I hate how my biological parents had a big affect on me. I never got the chance to meet them since they didn¡¯t want me. I was put into the foster care system and ended up jumping around in different houses, until one day, a beautiful family decided they wanted to keep me. I have ten siblings. All of them are adopted (including me), except two. Even though I¡¯m not blood rted to them, they treat me like I am. They treat me with so much love and passion. I will forever be grateful for them. I snapped out of my thoughts when I heard the bell ring. It was time for lunch. I always gave my students a choice for whether they wanted to eat in the lunchroom or in the ssroom. In the ssroom, we usually put on a movie and watched it as we ate our lunch. ¡°ss, do you guys want to eat in the ssroom and watch a movie or do you want to go to the lunchroom?¡± I asked the ss. ¡°Movie!¡± the students all shouted, making meugh since they were acting like they won a million dors. ¡°Okay! Calm down, we don¡¯t want the mean boss toe in here,¡± I said, whispering thest part. It was a harmless joke that made the kids all giggle. ¡°Guys, you want to watch a movie and eat your lunch here, you have to clean up the ssroom first!¡± I announced. ¡°Okay, Miss Aisha!¡± they all said in usion. It took them about 10 minutes to clean up everything. I was happy knowing that they were working together and not fighting. While they were taking out their lunch boxes, I was setting up the movie for the kids. I put on The Smurfs, since it was appropriate for their grade level. Once all the kids were seated in their assigned seats with their lunchboxes in front of them, I noticed that Jasmine didn¡¯t have her lunchbox. I was confused since I thought all the kids brought their lunch, but clearly that wasn¡¯t the case. I started the movie, then called Jasmine over so I could talk to her quietly. ¡°Jasmine, where¡¯s your lunchbox, sweetie?¡± I asked once she came up to my desk. ¡°Daddy forgot to give it to m-me¡­he was in a rush,¡± she said. ¡°Aw, sweetie. Well, I don¡¯t want you to go hungry for the rest of the day, so I¡¯ll give you some of my lunch. I hope you like tuna sandwiches, fries,soda, and potato chips. Those are my favorite,¡± I told her as I smiled. She looked slightly happy, but also really sad at the same time. ¡°Are you okay, sweetie? Are you not hungry?¡± ¡°I hungry, b-but mommy told me eating f-food makes me f-fat¡­¡± she stuttered out, looking away from me. I was stunned. What kind of mother tells their children that? It¡¯s disgusting and uneptable. It made me even more suspicious, but I can¡¯t say anything until I know everything. ¡°Oh, no, sweetie. It doesn¡¯t make you fat. Food makes you strong. Don¡¯t listen to your mom when she tells you anything mean, okay? You look beautiful no matter what. Now go eat your food like the strong girl you are.¡± She smiled and gave me a tight hug before she walked away with the food I gave her. I looked over at the clock and saw that it was already 1 o¡¯clock. I might as well let them watch as much as they can before school ends since it ends at 1:30 PM. I remembered that I also had an important meeting today where we were gonna discuss how to make the kids'' education better and whatnot. How fun, I thought as I mentally rolled my eyes. ¡°Guys! The school day is almost over. Please finish eating then throw the garbage away. When you¡¯re done, please go get your backpacks and jackets and ce them by your chairs. You can keep watching the movie until the bell rings,¡± I announced to the ss. The students immediately began doing what I asked them to do, talking to their friends as they did it. They continued to eat their food while I finished answering thest of my emails. I hated how many emails I had to answer everyday. From parents asking me about their kids, to teachers and other staff asking for feedback and whatnot. I always told the parents that they could ask me as many questions as they wanted when we had a parent teacher conference but they kept sending emails regardless. After replying to thest email I had, I heard the bell ring. I paused the movie and looked up to see that my students were already ready to go, which made me smile proudly. I led them out of ss and outside to the front of the school so they could get picked up by their nannies. Spoiled kids these days, huh? ¡°Miss Aisha, that¡¯s my nanny!¡± Jenna announced excitedly. She hugged me goodbye then went to her nanny. Soon, every single one of my students were gone except for Jasmine who was staring down at the cement. She looked sad, so I decided to check up on her. I grabbed her hand and led her to a bench, which we both sat down on. ¡°You okay, Jasmine?¡± I asked. ¡°I think daddy forgot me¡­¡± her voice trailed off. She sounded disappointed. ¡°I don¡¯t think he forgot, sweetie. I think he¡¯s runningte, don¡¯t worry,¡± I replied, trying to raise her hopes up a bit. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± I smiled. After a few silent seconds passed, I remembered I had candy. ¡°Oh! I have candy, do you want some?¡± I asked. Jasmine¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Candy? Really?¡± I nodded my head. ¡°Here you go,¡± I said, handing her a pink lollipop. She began giggling, although I didn¡¯t know why. I ended upughing too, despite not knowing why we wereughing. Out of nowhere, she hugged me tightly. ¡°Y-you¡¯re a nice t-teacher,¡± she told me. I didn¡¯t know what to say, so I just hugged her tighter. I don¡¯t know how long we hugged, but neither of us let go until we heard someone clear their throat. Jasmine pulled away and turned around to see the person who was clearing their throat. Sheunched herself at him. ¡°Daddy!¡± she squealed happily. The man picked her up and spun her around in the air, which made me chuckle at how cute the two were. ¡°Sorry I¡¯mte,¡± he said, turning to me. I couldn¡¯t help but blush a bit since he was very handsome. He looked to be in his twenties and he was well-built. Thankfully, he was also ck which made me d. I half expected Jasmine¡¯s father to be white, despite her dark skin tone that matched my own. ¡°I understand. But please, don¡¯t forget to bring Jasmine her lunch next time. She was hungry, Mister ¡ª?¡± ¡°Please, call me Elijah. And I know. We were both in a rush and Ipletely forgot to hand her her lunchbox. I apologize, and I¡¯ll make sure it doesn¡¯t happen again. Are you the new teacher?¡± he¡ªElijah ¡ªasked. His deep voice was surprisingly smooth, and his name really suited him. Gosh, I needed to stay professional. ¡°Alright, no worries. I gave her some of my food¡ªa tuna sandwich, soda, and some potato chips. I hope you don¡¯t mind. And, yes, I¡¯m her teacher as of now.¡± Elijah grinned. ¡°That¡¯s great. I can tell she already likes you. It was nice talking to you, Miss?¡± ¡°Aisha.¡± ¡°It was nice meeting you, Aisha. We¡¯ll be seeing each other more often, I presume,¡± he said. I nodded my head. ¡°It was nice meeting you, too. See you guyster. Bye, Jasmine!¡± The two walked away together, but not after Jasmine shyly waved bye to me. As they walked away from me, I got a message from Miranda saying that the meeting was canceled and I could go home early, thankfully. I couldn¡¯t wait to go home and catch up on some sleep. I made my way to my car and drove home. The whole drive, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about Jasmine and Elijah. Both of them seemed like sweet souls and I felt like maybe I would be seeing them more often. When I made it home, I put my things away and got ready for bed. I wore my pajamas then hopped into my bed. I wanted to call my friends and tell them about what happened at work today, but I would do that tomorrow since tomorrow would be Saturday and I didn¡¯t work on Saturdays. Iid on my bed, feeling rxed and a bit happy which is unusual. Maybe life will finally give me a break and a chance to breathe. Maybe things will get simpler and easier. Maybe I¡¯ll finally be happy¡­ Maybe it¡¯s time for some good to happen. Before I knew it, I drifted off to sleep. Chapter 2 - Free Chapter 2 - Free Beep! Beep! I groaned, instantly regretting setting an rm on Saturday, the day I didn¡¯t have to teach. The longer I waited for the rm to stop, the louder it got. I eventually put my pillow on my face and screamed into it, just to let all the negativity out. I put the pillow aside and stretched, even though I was still under the covers. I then rubbed my eyes which were still trying to adjust to the light that was seeping through the curtains. Throwing the covers off my legs, I walked straight to my window and yanked the curtains open. I yawned whilst admiring the perfect-looking world. Although everything seemed peaceful, I knew it wasn¡¯t. Not at all. Only few actually good people existed. I slowly chuckled at myself. I always seemed to be thinking about the negative things rather than the positive things. I really needed to stop it, but how could I when I was always surrounded by bad things? I walked into my bathroom and washed my face before I brushed my teeth. I decided to take a shower after I went on a quick morning run. I went back into my room and opened my closet. I threw on some sweatpants as well as an oversized shirt. I put my extremely curly bed hair into a bun so it wouldn¡¯t get in my face while I was running. I checked the time before I left the house and saw it was 7:30 AM. I woulde back at around 9 AM, which gives me an hour and thirty minutes to feel free. As soon as I stepped outside, I felt the cool breeze hit my skin. I was able to feel the goosebumps rising already. I smiled at nothing in particr. I enjoyed running, especially in the mornings when there wasn¡¯t much traffic going on. It was nice being able to connect to mother nature. I started off by walking while I looked around myself. It was a chilly October day, and the sun was just rising. The sky was a beautiful blue and the clouds looked practically majestic. I wished I was able to stay out all day so I could watch the sun rise and set. It would be beautiful. After running for about an hour, I got pretty thirsty and so I stopped at a Dunkin'' Donuts so I could get myself something. I ordered a coffee and a donut, obviously. My order came pretty quick and just as I was about to leave, I heard my name being called. ¡°Miss Aisha, Miss Aisha!¡± the cute little voice said. I turned around and was surprised when I saw Jasmine grinning and waving at me. I then furrowed my brows since I didn¡¯t see her dad by her. ¡°Hi, Jasmine!¡± I greeted her, smiling softly. ¡°H-hi, Miss Aishia,¡± Jasmine shyly said. ¡°What are you doing here without a parent, sweetie?¡± I asked, slightly concerned. ¡°I here with auntie Ameilia,¡± she said slowly, as if she didn¡¯t know how to say what she wanted to say. It was expected since she was just in first grade. ¡°Jasmine!¡± I heard a voice yell. ¡°Why are you talking to a stranger?¡± the olderdy asked Jasmine sternly. I decided to butt in and said, ¡°I¡¯m not a stranger, I¡¯m her teacher, Aisha.¡± Thedy turned to me and her mood instantly changed. Now, she was happy and smiling. ¡°Oh! You¡¯re the Aisha my niece has been talking about. She absolutely adores you!¡± she told me, smiling. I couldn¡¯t help but notice her appearance. Jasmine¡¯s aunt had short ck hair, which was styled. Her eyes were a bit small, and she gave off a ¡°I don¡¯t give a fuck¡± vibe. She also had pretty small lips. If she smiled, you wouldn¡¯t even know she had lips. ¡°Aw, that¡¯s so nice to hear. Jasmine¡¯s also a very sweet and talented girl,¡± I said proudly. ¡°She¡¯s very sweet, but sometimes annoying,¡± she said jokingly. Iughed along with her whilst Jasmine looked at us, confused. We stayed and talked for a bit until I saw that it was almost 9 o¡¯clock in the morning. I said goodbye to both Jasmine and her aunt before I left, and I even got Ameilia¡¯s phone number. I jogged back home and instantly took a nice long shower. After showering, I went to my desk and began working on lesson ns for my students. I always tried to find ways to make learning fun for the kids. They always get distracted easily, which is normal for kids their age. Throughout the whole week, I was gonna be giving them quizzes and pre-tests so I could see what they know and need to know. I kept nning the lessons until I heard my phone ring. I grabbed my phone and saw that it was my sister, Linda, calling. I immediately picked it up and said, ¡°Lin?¡± ¡°Hi, Aisha,¡± Lin said to me through the phone. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up? How are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m well; enough with the chit chat. We¡¯re all going to a club tonight, including you,¡± she says. I chuckle, already used to her not liking small talk. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Ling¡ª¡± She cut me off. ¡°First off, don¡¯t call me that. I already told you I prefer being called Lin or Linda,¡± she said sassily on the phone. ¡°Second of all, I didn¡¯t ask. The club is called ¡®Wild¡¯. Wear something sexy. I¡¯ll pick you up at 8.¡± ¡°Wait, Lin¡ª¡± I tried to say but she already hung up. I sighed before looking up at the clock. It was already 5 PM, and so I had three hours before Linda was gonna pick me up. To this day, I still don¡¯t know why she changed her name from Ling to Linda, even though she said something about getting bullied and people stereotyping Asians. She should¡¯ve stood up for herself or let us¡ªme and our other siblings¡ªso we could help her out. I went on my phone and decided to call my best friend, and ex-boyfriend, Liam. We were friends ever since we were little, but then things got a bit romantic. We ended up dating for almost a year before we broke up because we realized we didn¡¯t really love each other and it was best if we stayed friends. Now, we were very close friends. I asked him if he could go to the club with me and my siblings, and he said sure. We ended up talking until it was 7:30, then I hung up and hurriedly got ready to go to the club. . . . I managed to quickly get ready in time for Lin to pick me up. Now, we were walking inside the club with Liam, Jada, Anna, Vera, and Sara. I was wearing a short ck dress along with some heels. I also had on some lipgloss and mascara, but that was it since I didn¡¯t really like putting on makeup. The song ¡°Birthday Sex¡± by Jeremih was ying. Of course, people were grinding on each other and having fun. If I guessed, I¡¯d say there were a hundred people or more in the club. Thepany was huge and there was never a day wherethey had less than 50 customers. ¡°What do you think so far?¡± Sara, my other sister, asked. ¡°It looks pretty nice! Let¡¯s go get some drinks so we can start dancing!¡± I yelled out so they could hear me. We walked over to the bartender and began ordering some drinks. ¡°What would you all like?¡± the handsome bartender asked. ¡°I would like¡­you,¡± Anna said teasingly whilst winking. The bartender blushed, causing us all to giggle. ¡°Don¡¯t mind my perverted and flirty sister. I would like a beer,¡± Vera told him. ¡°I want a beer, too!¡± Lin added. ¡°Could I get some vodka, please?¡± I asked as my siblings turned to look at me like I was stupid. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have a huge hangover tomorrow¡­¡± Jada¡¯s voice trailed off. I shrugged, knowing that I could handle my alcohol well. The rest ordered their drinks and we began drinking quite a bit. Anna kept talking to the bartender who looked very interested in whatever they were talking about. After a few minutes, I began feeling the alcohol start to kick in. I took Liam¡¯s hand and brought him to the dance floor where we began dancing with each other. I let my body take control and I began feeling the rhythm. I don¡¯t know for how long we were dancing, but it felt amazing. For the second time that day, I felt free. N?velDrama.Org owns this text. After a while, I got tired from the dancing and so I went back to the bar to take a seat. I noticed that Anna and the bartender were still talking. I chuckled when I saw how flushed the guy looked. I spent the rest of the time catching up with everyone. We drank, andughed, and danced, then drank some more. There was even a stranger who paid for my drink and danced with me. He really knew how to dance well. We ended up leaving the club at around 2 in the morning. We had to call a cab since we were all drunk and couldn¡¯t drive. Once we reached Lin¡¯s house, we watched Tom and Jerry. I fell asleep leaning on Liam. All I could say is that this was one of the best days I¡¯ve ever had. Everything went perfectly well. Chapter 3 - Getting Ready Chapter 3 - Getting Ready The next morning I woke up tangled with Liam and Vera on the couch. Meanwhile, my other siblings were asleep on the floor. It was clear that none of them had woken up yet, since they were all snoring. I got up from the couch and stared at them, debating on whether I should scare them awake or be mature and make them up normally. Eventually the childish side of me took over like it always does when ites to my siblings. ¡°Eeeeek!¡± I shrieked, waiting for chaos to unfold. Everyone woke up with a start, and even Jada sat straight up with her hands out as if she was trying to shoo off the devil. I cackled at their confused expressions, not being able to hold myughter in. ¡°Good morning, everyone! I hope you guys all had a good night¡¯s sleep,¡± I said innocently. ¡°Are you trying to get beat up? Cause it really seems like that right now. I got a whole ass headache and you think you can just keep ying around like that?¡± Sara began saying as she picked herself up from the floor. ¡°Oh, hell no. Not in my house. You all can go ahead and leave so I can do the things I need to do before mom¡¯s dinner,¡± Lin said. She got herself off of the ground and was stretching. ¡°You¡¯re not even gonna call me a taxi? Damn, I wonder where the manners mom taught you went¡­¡± my voice trailed off. Lin looked at me with her head tilted, probably contemting to help Sara beat my ass. Before they could beat me up, Vera spoke up and offered to drive me home. I had to go grocery shopping, doundry, and clean my apartment before 7 PM so I could go over to my mom¡¯s house and have dinner with my whole family. It was a routine where we would have dinner at our mom¡¯s house every month, so we could spend quality time with each other. Some of my siblings moved hours away from the town we live in, so aren¡¯t really able to see that often but, of course, we still facetime every now and then. The point of the dinner was so everyone could get together and spend time with each other. I got into the car with Vera and thankfully, she let me have the aux. I yed a soft R&B ylist so I wouldn¡¯t annoy her or make her headache worse. We had a light conversation until she pulled up to my Once I got inside the apartment, I stretched then began writing down my thoughts in my journal. I only wrote a sentence or two before I closed the journal and moved on with my day. I ended up making a small to-do list so I wouldn¡¯t be overwhelmed with everything I had to do. Laundry was the first thing on the list since I just had to put my clothes in the washer. If my mom saw me putting the light clothes with the dark ones, she probably would¡¯ve killed me right then and there but a girl¡¯s gotta do what a girl¡¯s gotta do. Next, I decided to tackle my kitchen since it was the dirtiest. I threw out all the bad food from the fridge, then cleaned the stove of all residue and organized my cabs. Once I finished cleaning the kitchen, I moved on to the bathroom. I made sure to be careful with the bleach since I didn¡¯t want to get it all over my clothes or even die from it. It took me a bit longer to finish cleaning the bathroom because I changed all the curtains and cleaned inside the tub. After I finished cleaning the bathroom, I went to put my clothes from the washing machine to the drier, then proceeded to clean the rest of the apartment which only took me around an hour since I always cleaned my apartment every week. When I finished cleaning the entire apartment, I felt really aplished and so I decided to take an hour long break since it was just 2 PM. I sat on the couch and ended up watching random YouTube videos to pass time. Once the rm I set for myself went off, I got my ass out of the couch. I grabbed my keys and wallet then went to my car where I began driving to the store. I made sure to bring a list of all the things I needed to buy, since whenever I didn¡¯t bring one, I just bought whatever looked cool or seemed interesting. Surprisingly, I wasn¡¯t an unhealthy eater, but that was just because the vegetables were cheap when you buy them in multi-packs and I hated wasting food. I parked my car in the Walmart parking lot then took out my list and looked at everything I needed. Absentmindedly, I scratched my hair under the bo I threw on before leaving the house and realized that I also needed to buy some hair products since I was running out. About an hourter, I stepped out of Walmart with an annoyed look on my face. I bought very little things but somehow, the total was over 100 dors. How? I don¡¯t even know. When I arrived home, I put all the groceries away. I decided that since I did everything I needed to do, I would just spend the rest of the time online looking for activities that my students would like to do. Eventually, I got lost in the sea of websites and ended up creating four new lessons that I could teach after the parent-teacher conferences. I groaned as I remember the parent-teacher conferences. I still needed to practice my professional voice since I couldn¡¯t afford to lose my job over cussing out a student¡¯s parents. Hopefully they won¡¯t evene though. Lord knows they don¡¯t ever make time for their kids and therefore have no reason or right toe up into my ssroom and act like they are just oh-so involved in their kids¡¯ lives. Except Elijah, maybe. I mean, he dide in to personally pick up Jasmine. And from what Jasmine said, and how she acted around him, it seemed like he cares a lot for her and she loved him. But what about her mom¡­? Thatment Jasmine said her mom made was concerning to say the least; about her being fat. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have any evidence that her mom¡¯s a bad influence so for now, I was just gonna have to make sure that Jasmine ate food and took care of herself. I really need to stop treating these kids as if they were my own, I thought, chuckling a bit as I stepped out of the shower. I got dressed into a light colored top and ck jeans with my new knee-high boots that I got from an Etsy shop. I put on some silver jewelry then put my hair up into a high puff. Just as I finished dressing up, I heard a car beep its horn outside. ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. I rolled my eyes, immediately knowing that it was Vera. She never calls or texts me when she arrives at my ce, she always just honks the horn. I turned off all the lights in the apartment, then grabbed my keys and a small sweater that I put on over my clothes. I walked outside and into Vera¡¯s car. Vera was wearing slightly oversized blue pants with a ck oversized shirt. Her hair was in a bun with two strips of her hair in front of her face. ¡°Don¡¯t you look pretty,¡± Iplimented her. She really knew how to make ugly clothes look pretty. ¡°Shut up and put on your seat belt,¡± she sassily replied, rolling her eyes. ¡°Remind me to neverpliment you again,¡± I sighed out, putting on my seatbelt. ¡°You look nice yourself,¡± she quickly told me, chuckling. I rolled my eyes at herpliment. We didn¡¯t talk throughout the whole ride. I couldn¡¯t help but feel like something was off. Vera was usually really happy and talkative but now she seemed really distant. Maybe it was because of her boyfriend? I mean, he seemed like a really sweet person but I don¡¯t know what else could be bothering her. ¡°How are you and your boyfriend, Dan?¡± I asked cautiously. Vera shrugged as she kept driving. ¡°We broke up,¡± she finally whispered out. To say I was shocked would be an understatement. ¡°Why? What happened? Are you okay?¡± I immediately asked. ¡°I just found something out¡­I don¡¯t want to talk about it. But, I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not fine, so don¡¯t bother lying and saying you¡¯re fine. Does anyone else know?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine, really. I¡¯m just trying to get over it. You¡¯re the only person who knows though. Don¡¯t tell anyone. This dinner is gonna be about family and about family only. I¡¯ll let them all know when I¡¯m ready,¡± she told me as she parked outside our parents¡¯ house. I took off my seatbelt then turned to her. I grabbed her hand in mine. ¡°I¡¯m here for you, okay? If you ever need something, let me know. We¡¯re all here for you, no matter how long it takes for you to be ready,¡± I said sincerely. She hugged me tightly but didn¡¯t say anything else. I could already tell that it was gonna be a really long night. Chapter 4 - Family Dinner Chapter 4 - Family Dinner ¡°Vera, Aisha, I thought you girls weren¡¯t gonnae?¡± my mother, Fiona, asked, raising a brow. ¡°Oh, please, mom. Tell me why I would want to miss your wonderful cooking,¡± I joked. She sighed, putting a hand on her hip. ¡°You better go set up the table or else you will miss my wonderful cooking.¡± I nodded and began walking to the kitchen with Vera. She was honestly so quiet, I would be surprised if my mom didn¡¯t know something was up. ¡°Listen, sis, if you don¡¯t want to be here, tell me. It¡¯s obvious you aren¡¯t okay. They¡¯ll know something is up and they¡¯ll want you to tell them what it is, even if you aren¡¯t ready. I understand this is hard for you, which is why I¡¯m telling you that¡ª¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t! You keep saying ¡®I understand how you¡¯re feeling, h, h, h¡¯¡ªwhen you don¡¯t! You don¡¯t understand what I¡¯m going through. You don¡¯t understand how I feel right now. You don¡¯t even know what it feels like to be in love with someone because you¡¯re too scared you¡¯re gonna get hurt! So, tell me, how can you understand how it feels knowing that him and I broke up and he might find someone else? Do you even ¡®understand¡¯ how that feels?¡± sheshed out. I stared at her in disbelief, my eyes wide. ¡°Are you kidding me? You have got to be joking. For once in your life, stop making everything about you! I know you¡¯re going through a lot but that doesn¡¯t mean you can justsh out at other people! I have been in a rtionship, and I¡¯m so fucking sorry that I¡¯m, quite literally, scarred. Maybe that¡¯s why you and Dan broke up. Do you even try to understand how he feels?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± I cut her off. ¡°Cause you¡¯re a fucking selfish bitch!¡± I was fuming with anger, and so was she. I was so sick and tired of her making it seem like she was the only person going through stuff. It¡¯s always about her and how she feels, and honestly? I don¡¯t mind most of the time. But even I have my limits. If she¡¯s going to yell at me for literally trying to help her, then fuck her. I don¡¯t need to help a selfish person who doesn¡¯t deserve my help and support. ¡°Aisha, I¡¯m so fucking sick and tired of you acting all high and mighty. You always act like you¡¯re the best child, with the best job, and h, h, h, only because you¡¯re a teacher at a private school. When, in reality, you¡¯re a cold-hearted bitch! I¡¯ve always been going through so much shit and you¡¯re the only person who doesn¡¯t even try to understand what I¡¯m going through! Always too good for the rest of us, huh? Fuck you and your sick ego,¡± she spat. ¡°Do you hear yourself? I was literally telling you that I fucking understand how you feel because I do! And even if you believe I didn¡¯t, at least I was trying to! And now you¡¯re saying I didn¡¯t even try to? I was just trying to help¡ª¡± ¡°What¡¯s all this yelling?¡± my mom yelled,ing in between the two of us. ¡°Why are you both arguing like kids? Have you not grown up?¡± she asked, looking at the two of us. I sighed. ¡°Look, mama, I¡¯m just gonna go,¡± I announced, getting ready to grab my things and leave. ¡°No, you will not. It¡¯s a long drive back to your ce and I want to spend time with my kids.¡± She set her foot down. ¡°No, mama, Aisha should go,¡± Vera said, angering me more. Who did she think she was, saying if I should go or not? I gave her a heated re and she backed down instantly. ¡°Enough of this bickering! We are trying to have a peaceful dinner tonight, as a family. You both should be ashamed of yourselves! Leave this kitchen this instant and go talk your problems out. Don¡¯te to the dining table until you¡¯re done talking it out. And, as a reminder, none of you are going to leave this house without my permission. Understood?¡± my mother, quite literally, barked. ¡°But, mom¡ª¡± I tried to say but she cut me off. ¡°Leave. Now,¡± she said, pointing to the kitchen¡¯s entrance. Sighing, Vera and I unhappily walked out of the kitchen. Our other siblings gave us knowing looks before they tried to make it seem like they were minding their own business. It was obvious they weren¡¯t though. Admittedly, I knew the fight was stupid and I didn¡¯t want it to get in the way of us being sisters. Once we were out of earshot of our siblings, I talked. ¡°I¡¯m sorry forshing out at you like that. I was¡­not in the wrongpletely but also not in the right,¡± I apologized. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize¡­¡± Vera sighed out. ¡°It was my faultpletely. I shouldn¡¯t have said those things or yelled at you in the first ce. I know you¡¯re trying to understand what I¡¯m going through¡­ I was just angry and took it out on you. I¡¯m sorry,¡± she then apologized. I gave her a small, sad smile. ¡°Don¡¯t stress over it. Besides, as people say, if you¡¯re brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello.¡± Vera smiled back, hugging me. ¡°Let¡¯s go enjoy this family dinner, eh?¡± . . . ¡°Oh my god, mom, remember the time you were looking for all of us at the movies for two hours because you forgot that aunt Tina took us home? You were so worried!¡± Linughed out, causing the rest of us tough along with her. ¡°Hush, child. Didn¡¯t we agree to not speak of that day?¡± ¡°But, mama, it was so funny! But at the same time, it was so cute,¡± Lin responded. ¡°I will smack all you kids across the face,¡± my mom said with a smirk. We allughed once again. That day was probably the day I first realized my mom really did care about us a lot, and loved each and every one of us. ¡°How are all of my kids doing, hm?¡± she then asked. We all looked at each other as we replied ¡°good¡± in sync, which made us all giddy and stuff. ¡°Everything¡¯s the same, ma. But I started talking to this sexy bartender I met a few days ago,¡± Anna replied. ¡°Yeah,¡± my other sister, Grace, said. ¡°Apparently she was making the poor man blush. But everything is the same as always.¡± She hadn¡¯te with us to the club but we had told her about how Anna flirted with the guy. ¡°Agreed. I think we¡¯re all just trying to get the hang of life since we don¡¯t live with you anymore. I¡¯m actually surprised we didn¡¯t all juste back here and live with you,¡± my brother, Leo, said. My mother sighed. ¡°A mother is always going to be worried for her kids.¡± ¡°We can clearly see that, mom,¡± Donny, my other sibling, said, chuckling. ¡°We can alwayse back and live here.¡± ¡°No, my te is full. I also¡­have something to tell you kids.¡± ¡°Mom, we¡¯re not kids anymore, Charlotte said, rolling her eyes. I smack her across the head since she was sitting next to me. She red at me though, which made mom chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna get straight to the point: I adopted two more kids. They¡¯re siblings who came from a rough background. The adoption center was gonna separate them but I made sure I could get custody of both of them. Their names are Diamond and Daniel, and they¡¯reing here today with your father.¡± ¡°Ooh, no wonder dad isn¡¯t here yet,¡± Lin acknowledged. I was surprised to see how she was pretty calm about the situation. Meanwhile, the rest of us were stunned as we tried to digest the information. I don¡¯t mind getting two new siblings; I¡¯m just worried about my mother. She¡¯s always adopting kids and trying to give them better homes, which causes her to not take care of herself. ¡°Mom, are you sure about that?¡± Sara asked. Yes, I¡¯m very sure. They¡¯re gonna be my kids. I love them already.¡± ¡°But, mom, don¡¯t you think you already have enough of us? You have 10 kids, afterall,¡± Leo said. ¡°Yeah,¡± agreed David. ¡°We¡¯re worried about you.¡± ¡°No need to worry, my kids. I¡¯m doing the Lord¡¯s work. I¡¯ve always wanted to adopt a lot of children, so I¡¯m just fulfilling my dreams. I love you all the same, so don¡¯t worry about that. And I¡¯m sure I can handle just two more kiddos. After all, I¡¯ve been doing this since I was 22. I¡¯m 43 now, did you all forget?¡± ¡°Whatever makes you happy, mom. If you need any help or anything, we¡¯re all just a phone call away,¡± Jada told her. ¡°Thank you, my wonderful children.¡± . . . Nearly an hourter, after we finished eating dinner and began hanging out in the living room, Dad arrived home. ¡°I¡¯m home!¡± he called out from the front door. We all greeted him, some of us walking to him and asking him how his day was. I think I was the first to notice the two kids who were huddled together behind him. I went towards them. ¡°Hey! You must be Diamond and Daniel, right?¡± I asked, smiling. They both nodded but didn¡¯t look at me. In fact, they seemed to be avoiding looking at me. Diamond was a girl. She had a small body, and wore clothes that seemed too big for her since she was so skinny. She also had straight brown hair that was short, and her eyes were brown. They looked dead, to say the least. Daniel stood next to her like how a protective older brother would. He looked nothing like his sister. He had ginger hair, green eyes, and was tall. He also had much more meat on him than his sister. It was clear he wasn¡¯t veryfortable yet, but he was trying to be brave for his sister (at least I assume so). ¡°Well, I¡¯m Aisha and I¡¯m your new big sister,¡± I greeted them both, smiling still. ¡°I¡¯m excited to get to know you both better!¡± Just then, mom saw the two kids and rushed over to them. ¡°My sweet babies, there you are!¡± she said, hugged them both tightly. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you both in two whole days! You must be hungry. Don¡¯t worry, I saved some food for you both so you can go eat it. You can also meet the rest of your siblings.¡± ¡°Did you save food for me, too?¡± my dad joked, causing Diamond to giggle. Iughed a little at how the two kids looked more at ease with mom and dad around them. They just had that effect on people. No one was ever ufortable around my parents. It was something I loved Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. about them. I remember when I first got adopted just how shy and wary I was. I had been through a lot but I found myself telling mom about the things that happened. She didn¡¯t pressure me into talking nor did she tell anyone my secrets. She was easy to talk to. I made her promise not to tell anyone about what I told her, too, just in case. That¡¯s why the others don¡¯t think I¡¯ve gone through anything. I could tell them, but I didn¡¯t want them to worry or anything since I was mostly over it. Besides, I was already enough of a burden. I noticed theughter and joy that surrounded me, and at that moment, I realized just how blessed and lucky I was to have been adopted into a good family the way I was adopted. Diamond and Daniel were in good hands. I just knew it. We spent much more time together as a full family, even with our new additions: Diamond and Daniel. Turns out, Diamond and Daniel were twins who looked nothing like each other. And, surprisingly, they were really close. As our dad was telling us a funny story, the doorbell rang. I told everyone I would answer it since I didn¡¯t want them to stop spending time together. Before I even opened the door, I had a feeling it was Dan: Vera¡¯s now ex-boyfriend. ¡°Hey, Aisha. It¡¯s, uh, good to see you. How¡¯ve you been?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± I answered. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you in a while, Dan.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I¡¯ve just been really busy. Is Vera here? I really need to talk to her in-person.¡± I thought about lying but decided that if Vera wanted to talk to him, she should. I wasn¡¯t going to stand in her way. ¡°One sec,¡± I told him, closing the door softly in front of his face. I went and quickly found Vera before I told her that Dan was here and he wanted to talk to her. A look of worry came over her face but she went to the door anyway. I began to worry myself. Maybe I should¡¯ve said she wasn¡¯t home? But¡­I trusted Dan. I knew he wouldn¡¯t do anything to hurt her on purpose. They¡¯ve been on a rocky road together for a while before Vera eventually broke up with him and he disappeared. But now he¡¯s back. For the better, I hope. The feeling of worry quickly disappeared when Vera came in the house with a huge smile on her face and Dan behind her. She and Dan began talking to the rest of the family, and I couldn¡¯t help but smile. It looked like they resolved things somehow. She¡¯d have to tell me how though. ¡°Vera, Aisha,e help me with the drinks in the kitchen,¡± called out Sara. As soon as we were all in the kitchen, Sara turned around and faced Vera. ¡°Spill. Now, please.¡± With those three words, Vera began rambling about everything that just happened. ¡°Basically, he said something happened that made him realize how important I was to him and how he didn¡¯t want to lose me. He found a good therapist and a couple¡¯s therapist, and wants to try that route out since he really doesn¡¯t want to lose me. So, we¡¯re gonna try it out and see what happens,¡± she quickly said, not pausing to take a breath. ¡°Oh. My. Goodness, Vera! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Sara cried out, grinning. ¡°That man really loves your ass, for real real. He used to say he doesn¡¯t believe in therapy but look at him now! And it¡¯s all for the sake of your rtionship!¡± Sara and I continued to gush about how cute Vera and Dan were together as the three of us got the drinks ready. We also brought some apple juice for the people who didn¡¯t want wine, along with the twins since they were still young. The evening ended on a nice note. I was d to realize just how closer I felt to my family. It had been a while since I felt this close to them. Chapter 5 - Its A Date Chapter 5 - It''s A Date The week following the family dinner went by in a sh. It mainly consisted of my grading the projects my students did. Parent teacher conferences wereing up and, honestly, I¡¯m not too nervous about them. Probably because I don¡¯t meet the children¡¯s actual parents, just their caretakers. But, for the parents that doe, they¡¯re usually snobbish and turn their noses up at me¡ªwhich is to be expected. But thements are honestly not needed. I don¡¯t need them to criticize my work and how I teach their kids when, truthfully, their kids are doing good in my ss. I also don¡¯t need them to scrutinize my colorful ssroom. Kids learn better when they¡¯re not in a in old ssroom The rest of the teachers seem to think otherwise, though. Their ssrooms are all dull and have little to no life in them. There¡¯s not even a single nt in sight. And, honestly, I couldn¡¯t just get my colorful ssroom. I had to fight for it since the principal of the school was mad and didn¡¯t like it. When she realized I wasn¡¯t going to back down, she let me have my way. Sighing in relief¡ªsince I had just graded thest paper¡ªI rxed on the ground which I was sitting on. I stayed there with my eyes closed for a few seconds before I opened them and realized it waste. Veryte, at about 11 PM. I had to get up early in the morning too since I had to let the early kids into the school. I took a soothing shower before brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed. By the time I was ready to sleep, it was 11:45 and I was extremely exhausted. Keeping up a facade gets tiring which is why I¡¯m alwayszy and tired. Right before I drifted off to dreand, I remembered a gorgeous pair of deep carmel eyes staring into my own and a small smile spread across my face. . . . ¡°Alright, kiddos. Don¡¯t forget to remind your parents that parent teacher conferences are tonight, if you were scheduled to have it tonight. Okay?¡± ¡°Yes, Ms. Aisha!¡± the students replied in usion. Tonight is the first night where I was gonna be talking to every single one of my student¡¯s parents about how their students have been doing. Over the past few weeks I¡¯ve been giving them tests to see how much they¡¯ve learned and what I need to work on them. Every single one of them had their own little struggles but only three of my students were really struggling: Jasmine, William, and Devora. I don¡¯t want to tell their parents about them struggling since they might feel like their child isn¡¯t smart enough and possibly get mad at the child, so I decided to tutor them all personally so by the end of the year, they would improve and be ready to go to the next grade. I made sure I asked the principal for permission and thankfully she granted it, thinking it was a good idea. (Surprisingly she just went along with it and didn¡¯t argue about it to me.) The children file in a single line while I grab my ck coat. I put it on while walking with them outside. All of the kids had their nannies waiting for them except Jasmine, and I honestly feel really bad for her. Usually her dad picks her up but two times, and two times only, her mom came to pick her up. And both times, her mom was disrespectful and snobby. Unlike Jasmine, she had blonde curly hair. She also had dark brown eyes that had no life in them whatsoever. She was fit but not very tall, maybe about 5¡¯5. And, god, the clothes. Everything she wore was expensive. When she¡ªJasmine¡¯s mom¡ªcame to pick Jasmine up, she always just said two words: Let¡¯s go. She didn¡¯t hug her, ask her how her day at school was¡ªnothing. Maybe both times she was in a rush to get somewhere but still. It doesn¡¯t take five minutes to say ¡°Hey, Jasmine! How are you? How was school?¡± and then continue the conversation in the car. Evern Jasmine seemed ufortable when her mom came to pick her up. But what could I do? I don¡¯t have proof or anything against Jasmine¡¯s mom. And if I tried to speak up, the school would surely fire me. Besides, I might be wrong. I might be reading everything the wrong way. Soon enough, every kid was gone except Jasmine, again. I can tell she was about to cry because her lips kept going down in a frown and her eyes were starting to water. I quickly grabbed her hand and went to sit on the bench with her. I took out a lollipop from my jacket and handed it to her without saying a word. She smiled and put it in her mouth after taking the wrapper off. I chuckled at her eagerness. ¡°Thank you,¡± she said whilst enjoying the lollipop. We sat infortable silence before I heard a male voice and a female voice arguing. I thought they were going to fade away¡ªI hoped they were going to fade away¡ªbut they just got closer and closer until I found out who those voices belonged to. They belonged to Lisa, Jasmine¡¯s mother, and Elijah. I swiftly turned to look at Jasmine and I saw that she looked a little worried. I told her to cover her eyes so she doesn¡¯t have to hear her parents arguing and so I can talk to her parents. By now, Elijah and Lisa were walking towards Jasmine and I. I got up from my seat and decided to talk. ¡°Excuse me?¡± I interrupted them both. They both turned to look at me but Lisa didn¡¯t care about what I had to say because she continued yelling after seeing it was me who said excuse me. I scoffed. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, Lisa, but what you will not do is start an argument in front of the school and your daughter. That¡¯s not eptable and you should know to be a better mother than that,¡± I sternly told her. Her jaw dropped. ¡°Who the hell do you think you are?¡± she yelled. Elijah sighed, running a hand through his hair. ¡°Enough, Lisa. Jasmine¡¯s right there,¡± he told Lisa. She turned to him. ¡°Oh, so now you¡¯re gonna defend your hoe? Don¡¯t think I¡¯m stupid, I know you¡¯ve been sleeping with her. Jasmine speaks about her at home all the time!¡± ¡°Mrs. Lisa, that¡¯s enough,¡± I cut her off. ¡°I¡¯m Jasmine¡¯s teacher. Please, I don¡¯t need name calling here. As of now, I don¡¯t feel safe sending her home with you.¡± Her eyes widened. ¡°Oh, my, I am so sorry for this inconvenience. I¡¯m sorry for how I¡¯ve been acting. You¡¯re not a hoe, I just misunderstood things.¡± She smiled softly. ¡°It¡¯s just Jasmine loves you a lot and I got the wrong idea, you know?¡± I didn¡¯t know but I nodded my head along with her anyways. She was acting like a child; I didn¡¯t even know how and why Jasmine and Elijah put up with her. I looked over at Jasmine. Her ears were still covered and the lollipop was still in her mouth. I beamed happily at her obedience. While Lisa was still apologizing and rambling, I walked over to Jasmine and so did Elijah. I bent down so we were about the same height then I tapped her leg and told her to take her hands off her ears. ¡°You ready to go home, sweetheart?¡± I asked. She immediately shook her head no. ¡°I want to stay here with you, Ms. Aisha.¡± I smiled sadly. ¡°You can¡¯t, I have to go home to get ready for conferences, remember?¡± She pouts. ¡°But I want to stay here with you.¡± I thought for a moment. ¡°How about youe with daddy to the conference and we can hangout then, alright? I¡¯ll even give you a present if you¡¯re on your best behavior,¡± I settle on saying. She nodded happily and got off the bench to hug me. I hugged her back. ¡°Bye, Ms. Aisha,¡± she said, waving. ¡°Bye, sweetie,¡± I replied. She grabbed Elijah¡¯s but before the two talked away, Elijah apologized and said a quick thanks. I just nodded my head before I realized Lisa wasn¡¯t anywhere to be seen. She probably left. Sighing, I walked away. I still can¡¯t believe Lisa had the audacity to say that to me. I got into my car and drove off to my house so I could get ready for the conferences. The whole time, I tried taking my mind off what Lisa said and instead focused on the conferences. . . . The parent teacher conferences were much longer than I had originally anticipated. The parents actually came (I know, shocking) and were asking so many questions. They even kept asking the same questions over and over again but just worded them differently. Hopefully they don¡¯t think I¡¯m stupid since I didn¡¯t bother to change the wording of the answers I gave them multiple times. I met with everyone except thest two people, which were Jasmine and Elijah. And they were supposed to arrive in a few moments. ¡°Ms. Aisha!¡± Perfect timing. Jasmine ran into the ssroom and ran up to hug me. I picked her up and twirled her around a bit before I put her down. She broke down into a fit of giggles. ¡°Hi, Ms. Aisha!¡± she said again, grinning from ear to ear. ¡°Hey, darling,¡± Iughed out. ¡°How are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m good! It was boring when I went home.¡± She pouted. I ruffled her hair. ¡°I¡¯m sure it was.¡± I looked over at Elijah who was, for some reason, smiling extra hard. I guess he fixed the issues he had with Lisa or something. He was wearing ck ripped jeans and a simple ck shirt. An outfit so simple yet it looked hot on him. But, of course, I had to keep it all professional. No flirting with him or anything. On the other hand, Jasmine was wearing a short blue skirt which looked cute on her. She also had on a white top and her hair was in a bun with a few hair strands out. ¡°Hello, Mr. Elijah,¡± I greeted him. ¡°You cane sit right here while I go get my papers for Jasmine.¡± As he went to sit at the table, I went to get the paper and the present I got for Jasmine since I promised I would get her something. It wasn¡¯t anything big, just a teddy bear and a bag of candy. But hopefully she¡¯ll like it. And hopefully Elijah is okay with it. I went back to the table where Elijah was sitting. Jasmine, on the other hand, was at the y section ying with the dolls. ¡°You have a beautiful daughter,¡± I tell him. ¡°She has such an amazing personality.¡± Elijah grinned. ¡°Thank you. My daughter loves you, if you haven¡¯t already noticed. She hasn¡¯t always been really happy, especially with everything going on at hometely, but whenever she talks about you she¡¯s always smiling. It¡¯s nice seeing her happy like that.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s nice knowing she has taken a liking to me,¡± I chuckled. ¡°Also, I brought her a teddy bear and a bag of candy since I promised to get her something. Is that alright with you?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to actually¡ª¡± ¡°I never break my promises,¡± I cut him off. For some reason, he just looked at me for the longest time ever and had a smile on his face. I would be lying if I said my heart didn¡¯t do a little dance. ¡°Yeah, you can give that to her,¡± he eventually said. ¡°Jasmine!¡± I called out. ¡°I have something for you.¡± She stopped ying with the dolls and walked over to me. ¡°Yes, Ms. Aisha?¡± she asked. I handed her the bag of candy and the teddy bear. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed them before hugging me. ¡°T-thank you, Ms. Aisha,¡± she said, stuttering a bit. ¡°A-am I allowed to keep it?¡± ¡°Yes, Jasmine,¡± Iughed. ¡°You can keep them.¡± She turned to her dad, grinning. ¡°Daddy! She got me a teddy bear and candy!¡± she excitedly told him. He chuckled. ¡°I see, darling, but make sure to not eat all that candy in one day. Okay?¡± he asked. ¡°Okay, daddy.¡± ¡°Okay, Jasmine, could you go over to the station while your father and I talk?¡± She nodded her head and went back to the dolls. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get into business, shall we?¡± I said, turning to face Elijah. ¡°I¡¯ve been testing all my students unfortunately, Jasmine is one of them. I¡¯m really worried for her because, as her teacher, I really want her to seed. I¡¯ve been working with her more in ss and she¡¯s been improving slowly but gradually. And, so, I was wondering if it was okay with you if I could possibly personally tutor her?¡± I asked. ¡°All you have to do is sign a paper. So, it¡¯s your choice.¡± Elijah thought for a moment. ¡°First, thank you. And second, what¡¯s she mainly struggling at?¡± he asked. ¡°She¡¯s struggling in every area but mainly in reading and math,¡± I told him. He sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll sign the paper,¡± he said. I quickly pulled out the paper and a pen then handed them to him. He signed. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°When are you gonna start working with her and where?¡± he asked. ¡°I can start tutoring her next week after school. And, anywhere is fine. She can also stay here, in the school, then you can pick her up once she¡¯s done.¡± Elijah nodded his head. ¡°Alright.¡± We began talking more about Jasmine and how she¡¯s doing in ss. I showed him all her tests and some of her projects. The whole time, Elijah looked happy. Soon enough, we finished the conference. ¡°Before I go, I¡¯d like to apologize for the way Jasmine¡¯s mother was acting. We got into a whole argument about nothing, really. I¡¯m sorry for the words she called you, and I want to make it up to you by taking you out to dinner,¡± he said confidently. It took me a moment to realize what he was saying. Was he basically asking me out on a date though? ¡°There¡¯s no need to,¡± I kindly declined his request. ¡°I understand.¡± I didn¡¯t really want to get my hopes up. After all, he was just trying to be nice. Elijah shook his head. ¡°I insist. This is a way of me repaying you. I want to take you out on a date,¡± he said again and this time, I blushed. ¡°I, erm¡­I¡¯ll think about it,¡± I settled on saying. Elijah¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Great! Take as long as you need, the offer isn¡¯t going anywhere.¡± He then turned to Jasmine. ¡°C¡¯mon, Jasmine. It¡¯s time to go, honey.¡± She said by to me and I watched both of them walk out of the ssroom. Once they were out of sight, I couldn¡¯t help but grin. I knew I was gonna tell him I wanted to eat dinner with him¡ªbut¡­wait. I didn¡¯t ask for his phone number. I got onto my schoolputer and looked up his phone number. Once I got it, I put it in my phone and shot him a text. Hey, it¡¯s Aisha. I¡¯m up to going to dinner with you if the offer isn¡¯t withdrawn yet. I texted. He replied quickly. Can¡¯t wait. Yeah, me too. Chapter 6 - Date Time Chapter 6 - Date Time The next day, Elijah texted me the time and address of our date. Or, at least I think it¡¯s a date. I¡¯m not sure. Either way, I¡¯ve been panicking since he said he was going to pick me up unless I wanted to Basically, whenever I went on a date, I always went with my own vehicle just in case I didn¡¯t like it and wanted to leave early. Usually I would ask Vera to borrow her car since she¡¯s okay with it but she drives a 2012 Toyota Coro. There¡¯s nothing wrong with the car. In fact, I think it looks nice. But to park it in a parking lot full of Lamborghinis and Ferraris? Absolutely not. The attention it would attract is frightening. Yeah. Lamborghinis and Ferraris. I made the mistake of looking up the restaurant and that¡¯s what''s been troubling me since it was such a high-end restaurant. I definitely couldn¡¯t go there with my sister¡¯s Toyota. It was so high-end that if I were to book it it would probably cost me four days of working. I mean, I knew Elijah was most likely rich but damn. Was not expecting that. Sighing, I decided to ring up my sister Anna. She had the most experience with dating since she was extremely flirty. The first time I called, she didn¡¯t pick up. Of course, me being me, I called her again and again. She answered on the third call. ¡°Girl, what do you want?¡± she immediately said once she answered the phone. ¡°I¡¯m trying to shave my coochie but you¡¯re over here blowing up my phone.¡± ¡°So you just watched my calls go through?¡± I asked with slight disbelief in my voice. ¡°What if it was an emergency?¡± ¡°Well it wasn¡¯t so what do you want?¡± ¡°The lion, the witch, and the audacity of this bitch,¡± I muttered under my breath. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± I told her, chuckling a little. ¡°I needed help with something though.¡± ¡°Okay. You better not be wasting my time though,¡± she replied. Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°So¡­hypothetically speaking, if I had a date that was rich and wanted to take me to an expensive as fuck restaurant, do I let them pick me up? ¡®Cause you know momma always said to drive yourself but if I did drive myself I would have to rent an expensive car or something and I don¡¯t have that kind of money so I¡¯m stuck,¡± I exined. ¡°FINALLY!¡± Anna screamed into the phone. I winced, pulling the phone away from my ear. ¡°Finally what?¡± ¡°I just knew you were gonna get with one of them rich men at some point, sis. Good for you!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not even like that, Anna. He only insisted because of some random mishap at the school. So he probably only asked me out to keep me quiet or whatever,¡± I honestly said. ¡°Mmhmm,¡± she said as if she didn¡¯t believe me. ¡°Alright, if you say so. But anyway, I think you should just let him pick you up. Live in luxury for a night. You deserve it since you¡¯ve been working hard. I¡¯m also assuming the guy is young and pretty mature, so hopefully he won¡¯t try anything. Especially on the first date since clearly it¡¯s not gonna be a one night stand -¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you have sex with that one dude on the first date?¡± I interrupted her. ¡°Anyway, if it¡¯s really bad and you want to leave, just text me the code word and I¡¯ll call you with the whole ¡®mom is in the hospital you need toe now¡¯ bit, okay?¡± I nodded my head before realizing she couldn¡¯t see me. ¡°Okay! Thanks. You¡¯re the best.¡± ¡°I know,¡± she said cockily. ¡°Soo, what are you gonna wear?¡± I froze for a minute. I had forgotten to pick out an outfit. ¡°Hello?¡± she asked, getting my attention. ¡°Sorry. I¡¯m gonna have to call you backter,¡± I shamefully mumbled. Sheughed before we both said our goodbyes then hung up. After I put my phone away, I headed into my small room and to the closet. I immediately began thinking about what I should wear. I exhaled. Well then, I guess it¡¯s time to raid this closet and see what I can find, I thought to myself. Almost an hourter, I found the perfect dress for the dinner. It was a royal blue color with a little slit up the leg. It was also spaghetti strapped and had a semi-deep v-neck. My mom had gifted it to me saying it was for a ¡°special asion.¡± At the time Iughed because I didn¡¯t think I would ever go out to a fancy ce but now I¡¯m thanking her profusely in my head. After getting my dress, I turned around to see how my room was extremely messy. Are you kidding me? I thought. I literally just cleaned it, too. I cleared a small space on my bed where I thenid the beautiful dress on. I felt a little giddy and apprehensive at the same time. On one hand, Elijah showed interest in me. But on the other, I could¡¯ve just gotten the wrong idea. There¡¯s pretty much no reason for me to think this is anything beyond him trying to be nice and winning my heart just in case he¡¯ste to pick up Jasmine again. But I might as well take the opportunity to treat myself while I can, like Anna had said. I checked the clock and realized that I had about two hours before Elijah was going to pick me up, so I rushed into the bathroom to get cleaned up and ready for the dinner. I went all out when I cleaned myself because I wanted to look my best at the restaurant. After 45 minutes of extensive boiling in hot water, a mini concert, and a panic session, I was finally all done and ready to do my makeup. I never liked putting on a ton of makeup, or putting on makeup at all actually. I just wore it on slightly more special days, like picture day or another asion. Once I was done putting on some makeup, I wore my dress and paired it with a ck pair of heels that I absolutely adore. When I was finally done wearing the clothes, I did a little twirl in front of the mirror so I could hype myself up. I even took pictures and sent them to the family group chat. Although they immediately began texting back saying things like ¡°I see you, sis, looking cute as fuck. who you dressing up for?¡± Naturally, I left them all guessing since it was fun torturing them all. I sighed. Now, all I have to do is keep myself entertained until Elijah gets here. Simple enough, right? Chapter 7 - I Love It Chapter 7 - I Love It Wrong. Astronomically wrong. Extremely wrong. It''s been ten minutes and I''m already worried that I''m going to sweat out what little makeup I had on. I''ve also had to resist the urge to change about three times, try not to go upstairs and take an amazing bath twice, and fight the part of me that just wants to cancel altogether. I decided to just sit on my couch with my phone at least 3 feet away from me so I wouldn¡¯t - and couldn¡¯t - touch it. My hands were tightly sped together so I wouldn¡¯t touch my hair and face and ruin things. Ugh, these minutes go by even slower than when I work out, I swear. Finally I heard the doorbell ring, and thank God Elijah just got here because if he took a minute longer, God knows what I would¡¯ve done. Attempting to not seem too eager, I took deep breaths as I slowly walked to the door. I checked through the peephole real quick, to make sure it was Elijah, then opened the door, nearly gasping at the sight in front of me. Elijah stood there with a dazzling smile blessing his face, pearly whites showing and all. He had on a dark brown suit that honestly would look horrible on any other person. Somehow he was able to pull it off and not look like an old man. He still had his gold chain around his neck instead of a tie, and on his wrist was a cartier watch. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if it cost more than my rent for a month. He also had a beautiful si ring on, along with a couple others that adorn his fingers. Jesus¡­This man is fine, I couldn¡¯t help but think. I smiled at the sight of him, trying to calm myself down. ¡°Hi!¡± I greeted a bit awkwardly. ¡°Hey,¡± he breathed out, looking me up and down. ¡°You look stunning. I hope I didn¡¯t keep you waiting for too long.¡± I shook my head. ¡°Oh, no, you¡¯re fine. I just got finished with everything anyway,¡± I smoothly lied. He nodded his head. ¡°Good. Alright, well, are you ready to go? My car is across the street.¡± ¡°Yeah, let me just turn off the light real quick.¡± I rushed to find the light switch and turned it off before Eli led me out to his car. As I expected, it was beautiful, sleek, and expensive as hell. It was a ck Ferrari Roma. The only reason I know that is because I like to sit down and tortue myself by looking at things I could and would never have. It¡¯s a beautiful car but not exactly my first choice of a car, not like I could afford it though. He opened the door for me and helped me get in. As he walked around the front of the car to the driver¡¯s side, I took a second to gap at the customized inside of the Ferrari. The seats were white leather, the carpeting was a night blue, almost ck in color. The interior smelled like a mix of Eli and a new car. In other words, I felt as though I was in heaven despite the date just starting. On the way to the restaurant we made small talk about basic things, like how our week was and other simple things like that. For some reason I found it really easy to talk to Eli andugh with him, although it might just be because his cologne smells like ¡°rail me.¡± One thing that wasn¡¯t helping me though is the way Elijah drove. He had only one arm on the steering wheel and the other was on the armrest thingy, whatever it¡¯s called. I was so enthralled in our conversation I didn¡¯t even realize that we had pulled into the valet parking space of a restaurant until a valet person opened the door. I stepped out and took Eli¡¯s outstretched arm when he came to my side, all white internally freaking out. The ce was incredibly high fashion and high priced so I was scared to touch anything in fear of dirtying it with my poorness. All of my worries and anxious thoughts dissolved once we stepped foot inside the building. Jazz music yed softly in the background as I admired the beauty and extravagance of the lobby. Huge draping curtains covered the entrance doors that head to what I assumed to be different dining halls. Hints of gold and purple were ced expertly throughout the room. As I said, it was an expensive-as-fuck restaurant. Chuckling at my awe, Eli turned towards one of the servers and whispered something to them. We were then guided through one of the entryways and walked through a door on the left side of the hallway. We found ourselves in a small but elegant room with a simr design pattern as the lobby, but that¡¯s not what shocked me. What shocked me was the door leading out to a small balcony that had a candlelight dinner scene set up. Unable to contain myself, I twirled a little, basking in the scenery. I came back down to life when I heard a smallughing from Eli. ¡°So I take it you like it? ¡°Like it? I love it! It¡¯s absolutely amazing, Eli!¡± He raised a brow. ¡°Eli?¡± I froze. ¡°O-oh, well, yeah, I kind of give nicknames to everyone,¡± I stammer. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me to call you it, though, I¡¯ll stop. I don¡¯t mind.¡± His smile widened a bit. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I just haven¡¯t been called that since I was a little kid. It¡¯s nice to hear,¡± he responded. I internally sighed in relief before going to sit down at the gorgeous little set up. Eli also sat down in front of me, eyeing me the whole time the waiter came to get our orders. ¡°Can you order for me?¡± I shyly asked since I didn¡¯t know what to get and I didn¡¯t want to appear as an idiot. He nodded his head and ordered a bunch of delicious sounding foods without even needing to look at the menu. I guess hees here often, I thought. He ended up pouring us some wine while the waiter went to go get our food. Usually I wouldn¡¯t drink some but I decided to drink a tiny bit to ease my nerves. We begin talking and the food soon arrives. As we¡¯re eating I looked up at the sky and saw the moon peeking through the clouds. It looked absolutely picturesque in the way it glowed. No, Aisha. Don¡¯t do it. No, no, no- ¡°Oh, my gosh! Look at the moon! It¡¯s so pretty!¡± Dammit, girl, why? Instead ofughing at my stupidity, Eli looked up at the moon and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re right, it does look wonderful. I¡¯m d I booked the balcony for tonight,¡± he chuckled out. ¡°It must¡¯ve been impossible to book this ce,¡± I said. ¡°The view¡¯s amazing and so is the scenery.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t all that hard considering I own the ce.¡± My jaw dropped open at Eli¡¯s words. ¡°Oh,¡± I dumbly said since I didn¡¯t know what else to say. ¡°Don¡¯t freak out about it.¡± Eliughed. ¡°I just wanted to make sure you had a good night and that we could enjoy a private area. I also had a feeling you¡¯d like it out here.¡± ¡°Oh, okay then,¡± I said, trying to calm my racing heart. ¡°Thank you for that then.¡± . . . The dinner went smoothly after that. Eli was actually a pretty funny guy, even though he seemed like a low-key serious person. We were sharing jokes all night long, even in the car when he went to drop me off back home. He rushed to my side when he parked and opened the door. We ended up standing around for a few minutes, exchanging ourst words. Admittedly, I gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek before rushing back to my apartment. I can swear I heard himughing as I ran to my apartment after kissing him. Once I was inside my apartment, I heard my phone buzz. I looked to see who texted me and smiled ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. when I saw it was Eli. I had a great time tonight. Can¡¯t wait to do it again, the text read. Me too. I had a great time. Goodnight, Eli, I responded. You too, Aisha. Smiling to myself, I prepared to head to bed. The date went really, really well, and I couldn¡¯t wait to see him again soon. Chapter 8: Lonely days Chapter 8: Lonely days Today was one of those days where I couldn¡¯t get out of bed, even though I had to go to work. I could go days without eating and I still wouldn¡¯t get out of my bed. My phone could be going off and I would just let it ring. It was like one of my ¡°moods.¡± How I felt when I first got diagnosed with depression. I didn¡¯t want to speak with anyone; I just stayed home and felt like ending it. One moment I was fine, happy even, and the next I was ready to give up. My siblings all have a key to my house. Usually they¡¯de andfort me but I just wanted to be alone. I know I could lose my job if I kept doing this. I just couldn¡¯t help it. It wasn¡¯t my fault. My boss supposedly understands, but who says she won¡¯t find someone more capable? I don¡¯t have to take certain pills anymore. I got better. Antidepressants just made me feel¡­artificial, but they did help me in a weird twisted way. I can¡¯t stay in bed today. Not again. I picked up my phone and called Liam, my best friend. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s up?¡± he asked, answering the phone. ¡°Don¡¯t you have work right now?¡± ¡°I need you right now.¡± The line went quiet for a few seconds. ¡°I¡¯ll be there in a few.¡± Then he hung up. I checked my phone and saw the many messagesing from all my siblings, my parents, and from Eli. Ever since our first date two weeks ago, everything had been going perfectly. We went out on a few dates. Got breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon. He would bring me flowers sometimes, too. But a man like him makes me question everything. He had everything I wanted in a man, but he did everything almost perfectly. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a good thing or a bad thing. I heard a knock on my door. I really didn¡¯t want to get up, but I needed him right now. I¡¯ll just answer Elijah¡¯s textster, when I¡¯m in a better mindset. I opened the door, revealing a smiling Liam. He grinned and hugged me. He¡¯s always so warm and ¡°You stink,¡± he teased. I scowled. ¡°I know. I¡¯m gonna go take a shower.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± He nodded. ¡°Go ahead. I¡¯ll just try to do some work here or something.¡± Without telling him anything else, I left him to go take a shower. I don¡¯t exactly know how long I¡¯ve been in the shower. All I know is that I was running out of warm water and Liam was beating on my door, telling me toe out. I shut shower and wrapped my towel around my body. Before he could bang on the door again, I yanked the door open and gave him a stern look. ¡°Why are you banging on the door so hard?¡± ¡°Because!¡± he shouted in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯ve been in there for an hour and a half!¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Stop being so dramatic. I¡¯ve only been in here for like twenty minutes.¡± ¡°No,¡± he said, grabbing his phone to show me the time. ¡°See?¡± I scratched the back of my neck when I realized I have indeed been in the bathroom for over an hour. ¡°Sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to.¡± He chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s fine. Anyway, your phone has been going off for a while now. Some guy named Elijah.¡± I nodded my head. ¡°I¡¯ll answer him once I change.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you so you can change now. And don¡¯t take over an hour!¡± Iughed as he walked away, grinning. In my room, I put on some in ck baggy clothes. I began slightly tidying up my room until my phone went off again. It was a text from Elijah. Elijah: Are you okay? Elijah: Why are you not answering my calls or texts? Elijah: I hope I didn¡¯t do anything wrong. Elijah: Do you want to hang outter? Elijah: Please answer Elijah: What happened? Elijah: Do you want space? Elijah: Do you want me toe over? Elijah: Please answer. The texts were all scattered out and sent at different times. I sighed and quickly sent him a message. Sorry, Elijah, for not answering your texts or calls. I¡¯m just kind of sick. Sorry if I worried you. Tell Jasmine I said hi since I wasn¡¯t able to see her today. I didn¡¯t wait for him to respond. Instead, I left the room and went to my living room where everything looked more clean and organized. I saw Liam sitting on the couch, sitting with his leg on the coffee table and aptop on hisp. When he sees me walk in the room, he closed theptop. ¡°You like how I cleaned the ce? ¡®Cause I sure do.¡± A proud smile was on his face. I nodded. ¡°Yeah, it looks way nicer. Thanks.¡± ¡°I ordered pizza,¡± he informed me. ¡°It¡¯ll be here in a few minutes. I also ordered sushi since I was sort of feeling it. We can watch a movie and talk,¡± he suggested. I agreed with the idea and we began searching for a movie to watch. Once we picked out the movie, someone knocked on the door and Liam went to pay for the food. We watched the random movie we picked out, my headid on his shoulder as we watched. Along the way, we finished eating the food he ordered. Liam eventually paused the movie so we could have a talk about my mental state. He was worried, obviously, but I told him I was fine and I just needed a break, some time to rx. We resumed the movie until we heard another knock on the door. I frowned since, well, we didn¡¯t invite anyone else. So who could it be? Liam offered to go open the door whilst I stayed sitting on the couch. I was stunned when I heard Elijah speaking to Liam. Shit, I thought, I hope he doesn¡¯t get the wrong idea. I quickly went to the door to see Liam with a stern look on his face while Elijah had a blithe face on. ¡°I¡¯ll take it from here, Liam,¡± I told my brother. He nodded and walked away. ¡°Sorry I came here unexpectedly. I just thought I¡¯d bring soup since you said you were sick. I texted, but I guess you didn¡¯t see the texts,¡± he informed me genuinely. My heart did a little jump as I saw he was, in fact, holding a small pot with soup. He¡¯s just too perfect. ¡°I am sick, just not the sick you¡¯re thinking of,¡± I said, chuckling. ¡°Come inside.¡± ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. He looked hesitant but nodded and entered the ce with me. We went to the kitchen together. ¡°What kind of soup is this?¡± I decided to ask. He smiled proudly. ¡°My mama taught me how to make it. It¡¯s just vegetables with chicken. I hope you enjoy it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I will,¡± I answered while keeping eye contact with him. We stared at each other for a while, slowlying closer and closer. We were about to kiss when Liam interrupted us - and I just know he did it on purpose. I¡¯ll definitely get him back for that. Elijah and I pulled away, blushing. He red at Liam who looked amused. ¡°Sorry for the interruption, folks, but I have to go, Aisha. Something came up. I could stay if you want, but I don¡¯t think you want me to.¡± I red at him harder. ¡°Get out, Liam.¡± He quickly pouted. ¡°Okay¡­bye, sweetheart!¡± I knew he was just doing that to piss Elijah off, but Eli didn¡¯t really react. He just had a nk face on. ¡°Bye, Liam. Text me when you get home.¡± ¡°I will.¡± He gave me onest hug before walking out of the ce, closing the door on his way out. ¡°Sorry for him,¡± I apologized to Eli. ¡°That¡¯s just how he is.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± I grabbed the soup and began heating it up on the stove. Then, I left the kitchen to go to the couch. Eli followed and we both sat down on the couch and began watching a new movie. I liked the silence. It felt nice. Chapter 9: Mr. Perfect Chapter 9: Mr. Perfect It was past one in the morning. Eli and I had still not slept, nor was he nning to leave. We were both food and I was sure I¡¯d explode since I ate so much. He was still wearing his clothes from earlier: gray sweatpants and a ck shirt. He looks like he belongs to the streets, I thought,ughing a bit. He¡¯s for the streets. ¡°Why are youughing?¡± Eli asked, turning to me. I giggled. ¡°What you¡¯re wearing -¡± I tried exining ¡°- it looks like you¡¯re meant for the streets.¡± He earth. We sat in silence for a few seconds before he spoke up. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to say anything, but I feel like I have to ask. Who¡¯s Liam to you?¡± I sighed. I knew we were going to talk about this, so I didn¡¯t really mind much. ¡°Liam¡¯s my best friend and ex-boyfriend. We dated for a year before we realized that we were better off as friends. He was there for me when I was at my lowest points. He¡¯s family, Eli. And nothing will happen between me and him. Alright?¡± I asked slowly. He nodded. ¡°I understand. I didn¡¯t want toe off as mean or anything - I just really like you a lot. I¡¯m not a controlling person, you can hang out with whoever you want whenever you want, I just want to make sure you¡¯re loyal, you know?¡± This is what I mean when I say he¡¯s perfect. But why is it getting on my nerves so much? I¡¯m supposed to be happy yet¡­I¡¯m not? I have to ask - ¡°Why do you act perfect? You have nothing bad about you. Why is that?¡± I asked before thinking. He looked stunned and opened his mouth and closed it like a fish. It was a bit funny. I had to remind myself it¡¯s a serious conversation. ¡°I¡¯m not perfect. I¡¯m far from it, actually. I have a lot of ws. I just learn to hide them. I own a business, as you know, so ites with certain consequences, if you will. I¡¯m sorry if you see me as Mr. Perfect.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± I said dumbfoundedly. ¡°It keeps passing my mind that you are a CEO. A sessful one, too. Sorry for the way it came out. I don¡¯t see you as just Mr. Perfect. I see a lot of things,¡± I told him, smirking at thest part. He smirked back. ¡°What do you see?¡± He moved closer, making my heart flutter. ¡°You¡¯re handsome, smart, funny¡­did I say handsome? Like, you¡¯re really hot.¡± Heughed, and God did I love hisugh. It was deep and just so smooth and hot. Then, he cupped my cheeks in both of his hands. His breath was fanning my face. Butterflies erupted from my stomach to my chest. My heart skipped a beat. I stared at his deep brown eyes and I began gently ying with his hair. I subconsciously bit my lip. ¡°You¡¯re sexy when you do that,¡± he said. Before I could respond, he connected our lips together. I quickly parted my lips, giving him some ess. My whole body was tingling with pleasure and warmth. Before things could get too far, I pulled away. We both looked at each other, a little dazed from the kiss. ¡°Wow,¡± he breathed. ¡°That was amazing.¡± I blushed. ¡°Yeah. It was.¡± I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be such an amazing kisser. I almost felt bad because of Jasmine. I turned to look at the clock and saw that it was already 2 in the morning and I still wasn¡¯t tired. But wait¡­Jasmine. WhoN?velDrama.Org owns this text. was taking care of her right now? Eli had been with me the whole day. ¡°Hey, Eli?¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s Jasmine? Who¡¯s taking care of her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s doing wellst I checked. And she¡¯s with her mom. I¡¯m gonna get her tomorrow. I also wanted to thank you for the impact you had on her.¡± I smiled proudly. ¡°Yeah. She¡¯s a really sweet girl. I can¡¯t wait to see her grow up. She¡¯s gonna be the most independent, most powerful woman ever. I just know it. I can already envision it,¡± I softly said while looking at the ceiling. ¡°I like when you talk about her like that,¡± he confessed. ¡°She¡¯s growing way too fast for me. I just want to hold her and protect her from all evil.¡± My heart fluttered a little. ¡°You¡¯re an amazing father. Just don¡¯t hold her too tight. She needs to explore the world, too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m scared.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be.¡± After that we didn¡¯t say a word to each other. He justid his head on myp and I ended up ying with his hair. I looked at his peaceful figure, knowing this is going to hurt¡­ But it¡¯s gonna hurt more if I don¡¯t try, right? Chapter 10: Its Friday Chapter 10: It''s Friday Throughout the rest of the night, Eli and I had various conversations about anything and everything. The conversations flowed with him smoothly and at a constant pace. It was nice having someone to talk to about things other than my family for a change. He left at around 4 AM since we both had work, and after taking a small nap, I began getting ready for work. I dreaded speaking to my boss because I knew she was going to be overly concerned and ask questions that I wouldn¡¯t want to answer. She was just like that. Miranda locked eyes with me as soon as I stepped into the school building and sped over to me with thatrge smile of hers. It always irked me how wide it was, skin stretched a little too much for it to be considered natural. And then that one time she got botox and it all seemed so much worse. ¡°Hi, darling!¡± she greeted me in a sickly sweet voice. ¡°We missed you yesterday! Luckily we had someone who could sub for your ss, so no worries. You always leave such detailed notes so the sub did excellent.¡± I smiled back, ignoring the urge to reach out and touch her face¡­ ¡°Ah, that¡¯s great! I¡¯m so sorry for the inconvenience. I was just really out of it yesterday and I figured it¡¯d be best for everyone if I stayed home so as to not ruin anyone¡¯s day.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just fine,¡± she replied. ¡°You know we¡¯re always here for you no matter what. Do you mind if I ask for a favor?¡± Oh, no. ¡°I don¡¯t mind, of course! What is it?¡± Text ? by N0ve/lDrama.Org. ¡°Well, do you think you¡¯re able to take home a little extra paperwork? It¡¯s just that a lot of the teachers here don¡¯t get an extra day off, so the extra work would be extremely taxing for them.¡± Ugh, I mentally groaned. It wasn¡¯t an extra day off. I physically couldn¡¯t get out of bed to shower or brush my teeth, much lesse to work. Whatever, though. ¡°Of course. That¡¯s perfectly fine. Email me what needs to be done.¡± Her grin somehow widened. ¡°You¡¯re the best, Aisha! I¡¯ll see youter, alright? I¡¯ve got to go check in on the other teachers.¡± I rolled my eyes once she was out of sight and walked into my ssroom. I love working with kids, but honestly, this is not how I wanted to help them. I wanted to do something I love, and although I loved teaching kids and I enjoyed it, it always ruined my mood when I realized that this is the dream job I wanted. I would be working here for the rest of my life. I sat down at my desk realizing I had about 30 minutes before ss would start. I opened my desktop I was typing away, I heard my phone go off. Without giving it a second nce, I put it on silent since I needed, or wanted, to focus. But I kept forgetting that even if it¡¯s on silent, it makes some noise from vibrating. I¡¯ll check it after I finish typing this document, I think as I continue typing. After I finished thest document, the kids starteding into the ssroom. Thank God I finished it before they all came back. I quickly emailed the documents back to Miranda and went to greet the kids. Just by their attitudes, I knew that today was going to be a rough day for everyone. ¡°Why are you guys so upset?¡± I asked, furrowing my brows. ¡°It¡¯s Friday.¡± Who was sad on a Friday? ¡°I didn¡¯t get to see mommy and daddy today,¡± one of the kids said as my heart literally tore into pieces. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll see mommy and daddyter,¡± I told him. He quietly shrugged and sat in his seat. I sighed. ¡°Alright, everyone. Since today is Friday, we can watch a movie, but only after we finish doing the worksheets,¡± I proposed the idea. Most of their faces lit up, but Jasmine was one of the few who didn¡¯t react. I didn¡¯t think much of it since it seemed like everyone was having a bad day. I gave them all their worksheets and had them get started on the work. As I was walking back towards my desk, I heard a piece of paper getting ripped. I whipped my head around to see it was Jasmine who ripped up the worksheet. All the students looked at her, stunned. ¡°Excuse me, miss, what are you doing?¡± I asked in disbelief. She didn¡¯t say anything but rather just stared at me. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on her and I decided to gain their attention. ¡°Everyone, get back to work. I¡¯ll deal with this.¡± They silently nodded and began working on their sheets again, shooting Jasmine a look every few seconds. ¡°Why are you acting like this?¡± I asked Jasmine in a whisper. She didn¡¯t say anything. ¡°Are you going to answer me?¡± I asked, raising a brow. She shrugged. Without saying anything else, I walked away to get another copy of the worksheet. I gave it to her with a stern re. ¡°Rip this paper up and you¡¯ll be going straight to the principal¡¯s office,¡± I told her with no room for bullshit. She returned the re and God, for a girl so young, she can re. Well, this is going to be a long day. Chapter 11: Bonding Chapter 11: Bonding I love going on public outings with my family mainly because since there are so many people with different personalities, they¡¯ll sh and something is bound to happen that¡¯ll make usugh until we cry. I¡¯m especially excited this time because we¡¯ll get to show our two new siblings our dynamic and wee them into it. I was dressed in a cute outfit consisting of regr jeans, chunky sneakers, and a in ck sweatshirt. This time, we decided to go to a small-ish skating rink that we often go to. Our dad¡¯s friends with the owner so we go there at least four times a year to bond and enjoy ourselves. I pulled up to the skating rink, super excited to finally get on the ice since I had to miss on thest family trip here due to work. I greeted everyone who had already arrived before Dad told me that we were waiting for Lin, David, and Charlotte. I ended up goofing around with Diamond and Daniel until they finally arrived,te as hell, might I add. ¡°And y¡¯all are alwaysining about me beingte?¡± I sarcastically told Lin, snorted when she gave me a look that tranted to ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± ¡°Shut up! You didn¡¯t have to pick up two other people, so suck a-¡± ¡°Aye, aye, aye! Let¡¯s just go inside,¡± Mom said, cutting her off. I stifled a giggle and stuck my tongue out just to antagonize her Lin more. Pat, the owner of the ice skating rink, sported a huge smile, shing his almost perfect teeth at us when we walked into the lobby. ¡°Hey, how y¡¯all doing?¡± he asked, grinning. ¡°I was thinking it was ¡®bout time for the Chantele family to drop by!¡± ¡°What¡¯s up, Pat,¡± my dad greeted, nodding his head towards the man. We all greeted Pat with hugs Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. and kisses on the cheek, answering his questions about our health and asking him the same questions back. His eyes eventually fell upon Diamond and Daniel, the twins who were trying to hide behind Momma¡¯s purse. Somehow, his smile grew bigger. ¡°And what do we have here?¡± he asked with a smile. Mom answered after it became evident that the twins were too shy to answer. ¡°This is Diamond and Daniel, the new additions to our family! They¡¯re twins.¡± She smiled brightly, looking at the two with pride. The twins waved after a little bit of prompting and I giggled since that¡¯s how I acted when Mom first started introducing me to family friends. ¡°Well, ain¡¯t that lovely!¡± He squatted down to speak with the two face-to-face and asked if they wanted lollipops while we got our skates. He also helped them put their skates on before weing us into the rink that painted half of my childhood memories. Then, he went to greet other customers. As soon as we stepped into the main area with the rink, the disco light shined across my eyes. The rink was kind of old fashioned and yed a lot of 80¡¯s and 90¡¯s music, which I actually enjoy. The lights were pretty much all the way dimmed and the only light that really shone through was the disco light memories of learning to skate here with my family flooded into my head. I became a bit emotional but didn¡¯t shed a single tear since I wanted to have fun today, not cry. I was the first to be ready to skate so I quickly entered the rink and skated to the middle of it. I decided to show off a bit since there weren¡¯t many people on the ice yet. Starting off slow, I vibed with the music, getting a feel for the beats before I began doing a full on choreography. I was so into the dancing that I didn¡¯t notice Donny, Leo, and Grace sneak up from behind me. All three of them screamed next to my ears and I fell t on my ass mid-spin. They all burst outughing, same with everyone who attempted to stifle theirughter. Even Momma was giggling. And, honestly, if it weren¡¯t for the twins giggling and smiling, I would¡¯ve smacked them dead in the face since my ass hurt so much. ¡°I see y¡¯all like ying games.¡± I red at the three. ¡°Sorry, sis. We¡¯re just messing with you,¡± Leo said as he helped me get back up on my feet. I innocently smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just know I¡¯m going to beat you in this race though,¡± Iughed out, smacking his head. He rubbed his head with a re. ¡°Oh, yeah? How much you wanna bet?¡± he asked cockily. ¡°I¡¯m betting 30 for Aisha!¡± Grace called out. ¡°50 for Leo,¡± Donny said. ¡°If I win,¡± I began, ¡°I get to set you up on a date. And if I lose, you get to choose whatever punishment you want. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Aww, sis, you don¡¯t wanna know what I have nned for you. Let¡¯s do this!¡± Leo and I positioned ourselves on the ice, preparing tounch off and race. ¡°Ready?¡± Grace asked. ¡°Yeah!¡± we yelled back. ¡°You have to go to the very end of the rink and back! Don¡¯t disappoint me, Aisha!¡± Grace called out. ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Get her ass, Leo!¡± Donny called out to Leo, causing me tough. ¡°Go!¡± I bolted forward, starting off a bit slower than Leo. The only reason I even wanted to race was because I knew Leo didn¡¯t have the technique I did. His technique was to just go forward as quickly as possible. I pistoned forward and zoomed past him, making it the other end of the rink in no time. Then I quickly began making my way back, zooming past him once again. Just to piss him off even more, I yelled, ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll win next time!¡± My family¡¯s cheering and hooting was silenced by a round ofughter. Even Daniel had a grin on his face, hands pping as he cheered for me, which was good since he was usually pretty shy and withdrawn. I soon passed the finish line and Leo passed after me as well. Right when I opened my mouth to brag about winning, he snapped. ¡°Shut your face! Just because you won, doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± ¡°Oh-ho, but it does!¡± I grinned. ¡°Did you forget about the deal, darling? I get to set you up on a date!¡± ¡°Oh, no. Absolutely not. I was just joking when I said that. Mom! She¡¯s tryna ruin my life!¡± Our mom smiled. ¡°A deal¡¯s a deal, sweetie. You¡¯re going to have to deal with it on your own.¡± We ended up also teaching the twins how to skate since they didn¡¯t know. Diamond was a social butterfly whereas Daniel was always glued to Mom¡¯s side, Dad¡¯s side, or my side. Honestly, I¡¯m really happy he took a liking to me because it¡¯s obvious he always keeps to himself. I even ended up taking us to the ending machine to get drinks when we were both tired, and he told me about his love for art. Needless to say, the night ended on a fabulous note and I headed home with a huge smile on my face. I parked my car and got out of it before I noticed the guy from earlier, Keanu¡­I think, also getting out of his car. His attention was on his phone and he was frowning a bit. ¡°Hey, Keanu!¡± I greeted loudly so he would hear me. I felt like it would be rude of me to not greet him. He looked up from his phone, the frown on his face disappearing when he saw it was I who called his name. ¡°Hey, Aisha! It¡¯s nice seeing you. ¡°The same goes to you. You alright, though? You don¡¯t look so good.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. Just remembered that I don¡¯t have any more essential oils and I need them to fall asleep, usually. All the shops that have them are closed right now so I¡¯m annoyed,¡± he exined, rubbing his face with his hands. Clearly the guy was stressed out. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m actually super into aroma therapy so I have, like, a huge collection of oils. I can let you borrow a few if you¡¯d like?¡± I suggested. His face broke out in a grin and he began thanking me profusely as I led him up to my apartment. I began regretting letting the man into my ce since that was just weird. Nevertheless, I had him sit in the kitchen while I went to my bathroom to pull out my big box of essential oils. I brought the box to the kitchen and opened it up, oblivious to his shocked stare at the over 30 bottles. ¡°When you said you had a huge collection, you weren¡¯t kidding,¡± he said, still staring ck-jawed. I all great choices for stress relief and rxation. ¡°Good choices! I have like three of each so you don¡¯t need to return those.¡± ¡°Thank you so much! You really know your stuff, though. You even had ng ng oil in there,¡± he eximed, holding his three bottles of oils. ¡°Obviously! Anyway, you look hungry. I have leftover food, so do you want to stay and eat?¡± I asked. He cocked a brow up. ¡°Well, someone seems interested.¡± I blushed. I wasn¡¯t interested in him though. I was just being polite. ¡°Keep thinking that, buddy. I¡¯m currently talking to someone else,¡± I replied, looking into his eyes. His eyes were really gorgeous. Why are eyes my weaknesses? I swear everytime I look into Eli¡¯s eyes, my legs just want to buckle. ¡°Hey, you never know,¡± he chuckled out, raising his hands in surrender. Iughed along with him before going to heat up the food. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have potato sd with rice and steak. I know it might sound like a weirdbo, but let me tell you, it tastes amazing. I cooked it. ¡°I¡¯ll have to be the judge of that,¡± he joked with a grin. We had a few small conversations as the food was getting ready. Once it was finished, I put food in the bowls and set them up on the table counter. ¡°Try it,¡± I said when handing him a spoon of the food. He took a minute but eventually, and hesitantly, took a bite out of it. His whole face changed into a more pleasant face. ¡°You like it, huh? I told you it was going to taste amazing!¡± ¡°It tastes great,¡± he says after swallowing the food that was in his mouth, ¡°but I¡¯ve had better.¡± The audacity of this man. Somehow, though, I ended upughing with him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have, Keanu.¡± For the rest of the evening, we talked andughed. I¡¯d be lying if I said it wasn¡¯t nice conversing with him. We got to know more about each other, about each other¡¯s families, hobbies, sports - anything, really. The fact that he wasn¡¯t a big person on family kind of sucked, but I understood his reasoning for that. His family members weren¡¯t there for him, but they still love him. His parents had money, but he still chose to live in this apartment even though he¡¯s loaded. He also didn¡¯t speak about his siblings, although he did mention having two. Each time I tried to urge him to speak about them more, he seemed hurt, so I stopped. ¡°Thank you for inviting me for dinner. It was really nice, but I have to get going now. And than you for the essential oils!¡± ¡°No problem. Hope you have a good night, Keanu,¡± I replied. He stared at me for a while before he simply nodded and left my apartment. I made a new friend. It was something new, and I liked it. Chapter 12: Bonding Chapter 12: Bonding I love going on public outings with my family mainly because since there are so many people with different personalities, they¡¯ll sh and something is bound to happen that¡¯ll make usugh until we cry. I¡¯m especially excited this time because we¡¯ll get to show our two new siblings our dynamic and wee them into it. I was dressed in a cute outfit consisting of regr jeans, chunky sneakers, and a in ck sweatshirt. This time, we decided to go to a small-ish skating rink that we often go to. Our dad¡¯s friends with the owner so we go there at least four times a year to bond and enjoy ourselves. I pulled up to the skating rink, super excited to finally get on the ice since I had to miss on thest family trip here due to work. I greeted everyone who had already arrived before Dad told me that we were waiting for Lin, David, and Charlotte. I ended up goofing around with Diamond and Daniel until they finally arrived,te as hell, might I add. ¡°And y¡¯all are alwaysining about me beingte?¡± I sarcastically told Lin, snorted when she gave me a look that tranted to ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± ¡°Shut up! You didn¡¯t have to pick up two other people, so suck a-¡± ¡°Aye, aye, aye! Let¡¯s just go inside,¡± Mom said, cutting her off. I stifled a giggle and stuck my tongue out just to antagonize her Lin more. Pat, the owner of the ice skating rink, sported a huge smile, shing his almost perfect teeth at us when we walked into the lobby. ¡°Hey, how y¡¯all doing?¡± he asked, grinning. ¡°I was thinking it was ¡®bout time for the Chantele family to drop by!¡± ¡°What¡¯s up, Pat,¡± my dad greeted, nodding his head towards the man. We all greeted Pat with hugs and kisses on the cheek, answering his questions about our health and asking him the same questions back. His eyes eventually fell upon Diamond and Daniel, the twins who were trying to hide behind Momma¡¯s purse. Somehow, his smile grew bigger. ¡°And what do we have here?¡± he asked with a smile. Mom answered after it became evident that the twins were too shy to answer. ¡°This is Diamond and Daniel, the new additions to our family! They¡¯re twins.¡± She smiled brightly, looking at the two with pride. The twins waved after a little bit of prompting and I giggled since that¡¯s how I acted when Mom first started introducing me to family friends. ¡°Well, ain¡¯t that lovely!¡± He squatted down to speak with the two face-to-face and asked if they wanted lollipops while we got our skates. He also helped them put their skates on before weing us into the rink that painted half of my childhood memories. Then, he went to greet other customers. As soon as we stepped into the main area with the rink, the disco light shined across my eyes. The rink was kind of old fashioned and yed a lot of 80¡¯s and 90¡¯s music, which I actually enjoy. The lights were pretty much all the way dimmed and the only light that really shone through was the disco light memories of learning to skate here with my family flooded into my head. I became a bit emotional but didn¡¯t shed a single tear since I wanted to have fun today, not cry. I was the first to be ready to skate so I quickly entered the rink and skated to the middle of it. I decided to show off a bit since there weren¡¯t many people on the ice yet. Starting off slow, I vibed with the music, getting a feel for the beats before I began doing a full on choreography. I was so into the dancing that I didn¡¯t notice Donny, Leo, and Grace sneak up from behind me. All three of them screamed next to my ears and I fell t on my ass mid-spin. They all burst outughing, same with everyone who attempted to stifle theirughter. Even Momma was giggling. And, honestly, if it weren¡¯t for the twins giggling and smiling, I would¡¯ve smacked them dead in the face since my ass hurt so much. ¡°I see y¡¯all like ying games.¡± I red at the three. ¡°Sorry, sis. We¡¯re just messing with you,¡± Leo said as he helped me get back up on my feet. I innocently smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just know I¡¯m going to beat you in this race though,¡± Iughed out, smacking his head. He rubbed his head with a re. ¡°Oh, yeah? How much you wanna bet?¡± he asked cockily. ¡°I¡¯m betting 30 for Aisha!¡± Grace called out. ¡°50 for Leo,¡± Donny said. ¡°If I win,¡± I began, ¡°I get to set you up on a date. And if I lose, you get to choose whatever punishment you want. How does that sound?¡± ¡°Aww, sis, you don¡¯t wanna know what I have nned for you. Let¡¯s do this!¡± Leo and I positioned ourselves on the ice, preparing tounch off and race. ¡°Ready?¡± Grace asked. ¡°Yeah!¡± we yelled back. ¡°You have to go to the very end of the rink and back! Don¡¯t disappoint me, Aisha!¡± Grace called out. Exclusive content ? by N?(v)el/Dr/ama.Org. ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± ¡°Get her ass, Leo!¡± Donny called out to Leo, causing me tough. ¡°Go!¡± I bolted forward, starting off a bit slower than Leo. The only reason I even wanted to race was because I knew Leo didn¡¯t have the technique I did. His technique was to just go forward as quickly as possible. I pistoned forward and zoomed past him, making it the other end of the rink in no time. Then I quickly began making my way back, zooming past him once again. Just to piss him off even more, I yelled, ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll win next time!¡± My family¡¯s cheering and hooting was silenced by a round ofughter. Even Daniel had a grin on his face, hands pping as he cheered for me, which was good since he was usually pretty shy and withdrawn. I soon passed the finish line and Leo passed after me as well. Right when I opened my mouth to brag about winning, he snapped. ¡°Shut your face! Just because you won, doesn¡¯t mean anything.¡± ¡°Oh-ho, but it does!¡± I grinned. ¡°Did you forget about the deal, darling? I get to set you up on a date!¡± ¡°Oh, no. Absolutely not. I was just joking when I said that. Mom! She¡¯s tryna ruin my life!¡± Our mom smiled. ¡°A deal¡¯s a deal, sweetie. You¡¯re going to have to deal with it on your own.¡± We ended up also teaching the twins how to skate since they didn¡¯t know. Diamond was a social butterfly whereas Daniel was always glued to Mom¡¯s side, Dad¡¯s side, or my side. Honestly, I¡¯m really happy he took a liking to me because it¡¯s obvious he always keeps to himself. I even ended up taking us to the ending machine to get drinks when we were both tired, and he told me about his love for art. Needless to say, the night ended on a fabulous note and I headed home with a huge smile on my face. I parked my car and got out of it before I noticed the guy from earlier, Keanu¡­I think, also getting out of his car. His attention was on his phone and he was frowning a bit. ¡°Hey, Keanu!¡± I greeted loudly so he would hear me. I felt like it would be rude of me to not greet him. He looked up from his phone, the frown on his face disappearing when he saw it was I who called his name. ¡°Hey, Aisha! It¡¯s nice seeing you. ¡°The same goes to you. You alright, though? You don¡¯t look so good.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m fine. Just remembered that I don¡¯t have any more essential oils and I need them to fall asleep, usually. All the shops that have them are closed right now so I¡¯m annoyed,¡± he exined, rubbing his face with his hands. Clearly the guy was stressed out. ¡°Uh, I¡¯m actually super into aroma therapy so I have, like, a huge collection of oils. I can let you borrow a few if you¡¯d like?¡± I suggested. His face broke out in a grin and he began thanking me profusely as I led him up to my apartment. I began regretting letting the man into my ce since that was just weird. Nevertheless, I had him sit in the kitchen while I went to my bathroom to pull out my big box of essential oils. I brought the box to the kitchen and opened it up, oblivious to his shocked stare at the over 30 bottles. ¡°When you said you had a huge collection, you weren¡¯t kidding,¡± he said, still staring ck-jawed. I all great choices for stress relief and rxation. ¡°Good choices! I have like three of each so you don¡¯t need to return those.¡± ¡°Thank you so much! You really know your stuff, though. You even had ng ng oil in there,¡± he eximed, holding his three bottles of oils. ¡°Obviously! Anyway, you look hungry. I have leftover food, so do you want to stay and eat?¡± I asked. He cocked a brow up. ¡°Well, someone seems interested.¡± I blushed. I wasn¡¯t interested in him though. I was just being polite. ¡°Keep thinking that, buddy. I¡¯m currently talking to someone else,¡± I replied, looking into his eyes. His eyes were really gorgeous. Why are eyes my weaknesses? I swear everytime I look into Eli¡¯s eyes, my legs just want to buckle. ¡°Hey, you never know,¡± he chuckled out, raising his hands in surrender. Iughed along with him before going to heat up the food. ¡°We¡¯re gonna have potato sd with rice and steak. I know it might sound like a weirdbo, but let me tell you, it tastes amazing. I cooked it. ¡°I¡¯ll have to be the judge of that,¡± he joked with a grin. We had a few small conversations as the food was getting ready. Once it was finished, I put food in the bowls and set them up on the table counter. ¡°Try it,¡± I said when handing him a spoon of the food. He took a minute but eventually, and hesitantly, took a bite out of it. His whole face changed into a more pleasant face. ¡°You like it, huh? I told you it was going to taste amazing!¡± ¡°It tastes great,¡± he says after swallowing the food that was in his mouth, ¡°but I¡¯ve had better.¡± The audacity of this man. Somehow, though, I ended upughing with him. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have, Keanu.¡± For the rest of the evening, we talked andughed. I¡¯d be lying if I said it wasn¡¯t nice conversing with him. We got to know more about each other, about each other¡¯s families, hobbies, sports - anything, really. The fact that he wasn¡¯t a big person on family kind of sucked, but I understood his reasoning for that. His family members weren¡¯t there for him, but they still love him. His parents had money, but he still chose to live in this apartment even though he¡¯s loaded. He also didn¡¯t speak about his siblings, although he did mention having two. Each time I tried to urge him to speak about them more, he seemed hurt, so I stopped. ¡°Thank you for inviting me for dinner. It was really nice, but I have to get going now. And than you for the essential oils!¡± ¡°No problem. Hope you have a good night, Keanu,¡± I replied. He stared at me for a while before he simply nodded and left my apartment. I made a new friend. It was something new, and I liked it. Chapter 13: Surprise Chapter 13: Surprise I walked inside the house to be greeted by Keaun. We both stood there, shocked. ¡°Aisha?¡± ¡°Keaun?¡± Eli looked over at us. ¡°Yeah, he lives in my apartmentplex. He had dinner over at my house.¡± ¡°Shit, Aisha, I didn¡¯t know you knew my idiot brother. Just know my offer is still up.¡± He said winking as he walked away. I chuckled. Too bad I already found the guy I want to be with. ¡°So you are inviting guys over to your house now? Not just any guy, but my brother...are you serious? What offer is he talking about?¡± I wanted tough at how serious he was. ¡°He wanted some essential oils so I gave him some. I am not just inviting any guy over so don¡¯t start assuming anything. Don¡¯t worry about his offer, all I said was that I¡¯m talking to someone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just someone you are talking to now?¡± ...Is he serious? Did he not hear anything I said? ¡°In case you forgot, we never made it official. Look, can we talk about thister? I¡¯m trying to make a good impression on your family and enjoy my time with you.¡± He nodded and kissed my forehead. ¡°Sorry. Now let me introduce you to my parents in the kitchen.¡± We walked into the kitchen, instead of finding his parents we found a woman who seemed too young to be anyone¡¯s mom. She locked eyes with me. She stood tall and confident, not a hint of nervousness. She had short curly hair. She was wearing a dress simr to mine, but shorter. ¡°You must be Aisha. I¡¯m Natalie, Elijah''s sister.¡± She said, holding out her hand. I shook it, she had a very hard grip. I like it. ¡°Hi. It¡¯s nice meeting you.¡± She crossed her arms. ¡°From the way you¡¯re looking at me it seems Elijah doesn''t talk much about us...¡± Elijah scratches his head awkwardly. ¡°I don¡¯t, but where is mom and dad?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still upstairs. They will be down in a minute. The table is already set.¡± I nodded. I can tell by the look in her eyes she wanted to say something more, but she chose not to. ¡°Elijah, can you help me out? I need to put a few things on the table.¡± ¡°Sure, Aisha you cool by yourself?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, nodding, ¡°Go help your sister.¡± As soon as he left, Keaun came in. I red at him. ¡°You never told your brother was Elijah.¡± He smirked. ¡°You never told me you were seeing my brother.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± I saidughing. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking... If you have all this money from your parents and your own, why do you still choose to live in that apartmentplex?¡± ¡°You sure do ask a lot of questions.¡± He sounded conflicted about whether he should tell me or not. ¡°Um, I pretty much had everything handed to me. It felt good, but I got tired of it. I started working hard for things I could get easily. I live in that apartment because for once I worked hard for it. Yes, I can still get a house bigger and everything much better, but I choose not to. I¡¯m happy.¡± I smiled. ¡°Okay, yeah, I get it.¡± I said, patting him on the shoulder. Natalie and Elijah walk in the room. I see Elijah frown, but he quickly reces it with a smile as he walks towards me. He puts his hand around my waist. ¡°Sorry sweetie. My parents are still upstairs. They will be down in a few, but-¡± He got cut off when I softly spoke to her kids. I turn around to see a little petite, but tall woman standing next to her husband, holding hands. They look strong and powerful. She was wearing a beautiful dark green dress, while her husband was wearing a ck suit. ¡°My beautiful children, you all look so beautiful.¡± I stood there awkwardly as she hugged her children. ¡°Mom, dad...I want to introduce you to Aisha. The special girl.¡± I smiled a little. When she locked eyes with me, I saw a hint of disgust. Her husband looked disappointed. I still held my posture. ¡°She is the girl you''ve been speaking of? I thought she would be more, you know.¡± I felt my heart drop. What does she mean by that? ¡°I¡¯m right here you know.¡± ¡°She brought an attitude with her too.¡± I felt all eyes on me in the room. I didn¡¯t like being the center of attention. Maybe this is just an act. Is Eli not going to stick up for me? ¡°Mom, stop.¡± Natalie said. ¡°Let¡¯s have dinner. Everything is already set on the table,¡± said Keaun. I smile at Natalie and Keaun, thanking them for the save. We all started walking toward the kitchen when Natalie wished in my ear. ¡°Don¡¯t pay any mind to them. Just rx.¡± I smiled, ¡°Thanks.¡± We all sat at the kitchen table. Elijah sat right next to me, while Keanun sat across and Natile on the other side of me. ¡°Mrs and Mr. Rivera, thank you for inviting me.¡± ¡°It was my son who did.¡± Mr. Rivera said. My smile faluted. ¡°This is a dinner introducing you to Aisha. Can we all be polite here?¡± Elijah said. They ignored him as we continued eating. ¡°What is your full name Aisha?¡± Mrs. Rivera said ¡°Um, my full name is Josephina Aisha Collision.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you like using your first name?¡± Mr. Rivera asked. I felt ufortable. I never liked using my first name because it brought memories. ¡°I was adopted.. My adopted parents liked it and didn¡¯t feel the need to change it, just thest name and the middle. That¡¯s why I prefer to be called by my middle name.¡± Elijah squeezed my hand, but I pulled away. I look over at him and he looks sad. ¡°What do you do for a living?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a teacher.¡± ¡°You are the one who teaches Jasmine. She talks highly about you.¡± I nodded. The conversation shifted to another subject. I felt upset that his parents don''t like me. I should¡¯ve known. ¡°Elijah, what about Lisa? Are you going to forget about her? All the things she did for you... She''s the one who you had a child with. She is more capable than Josephina.¡± I see Elijah was going to say something, but that was thest straw before I got up and left. I couldn¡¯t take it anymore. I was not going to sit there and let them bash me like I wasn¡¯t right in front of them.I felt disrespected. I saw the faces of Natilie and Keaun as I got up. I quickly made it outside and pulled out my phone to call one of my siblings toe pick me up. ¡°Aisha, wait up.¡± I turn around. ¡°I have to go Elijah. I am not going to sit there any more.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He sounded genuinely sad. ¡°Sorry for what? The way you just let them say whatever they want? Your siblings are the ones who stood up for me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡± ¡°Yes, it is. I am going home.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll drop you off.¡± ¡°No, Elijah. I¡¯ll call someone.¡± Keaun walked out of the house and towards us. ¡°I can hear you guys arguing. Aisha I will take you home since we live in the same ce.¡± Content protected by N?v/el(D)rama.Org. ¡°She¡¯s fine-¡± ¡°I will like that. Thank you Keaun.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go with him.¡± ¡°You are not my parents. I have to go.¡± I walk away as Elijah calls out to me. I opened the car door and tears started streaming down my face. I can¡¯t believe I thought his parents were going to like me. I should¡¯ve known. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m great. I just want to go home.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Those words echoed. I wish he did understand, but he won¡¯t. And he never will. Chapter 14: Something about them Chapter 14: Something about them It¡¯s been a few days, but it feels like weeks, months even. I haven¡¯t spoken a word to Elijah. I was hurting. I wasn''t enough for his parents just like I wasn¡¯t enough for my parents to keep me. The amount of times he tried to speak to me through text messages and when he picked Jasmine from school. I would dismiss him. I still treated Jasmine as I treated everyone single on the kids, but every time I looked at her I saw his eyes looking back at me. Am I overreacting? Maybe I should speak to him and let him know how I felt when everything went down. No. I won''t reach out to him. I''m going to do all the things I need to do today. I continued on cleaning my room as I debated on reaching out to Elijah. As soon as I finished cleaning my room my phone rang. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Hey sis, how are ya?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine Charlotte, I''ve just finished cleaning my house.¡± ¡°All of us are worried for you. The twins even miss you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even start with that bullshit. I know you¡¯re not fine. You¡¯re hurt that his family didn¡¯t ept you in.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about it. I have to go. We will talkter.¡± ¡°Aisha, don¡¯t you dare hang-'''' I did exactly what she didn¡¯t want me to. I¡¯m always pushing people away. I went on with my day doing nothing. The more I thought about it, the more hurt I got. I can¡¯t believe I was this stupid to believe his family would ept me. I started eating food as I put on the movie Twilight. Halfway through the movie I heard a knock on the ? 2024 N?v/el/Dram/a.Org. door. I open the door without looking through the peephole. I stood there in shock. It was Elijah. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I came here to talk to you?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Well are you going to let me in?¡± ¡°Um.. Yeah,e in.¡± I led him to the couch as we just stared at each other without saying anything. I really wanted to feel his touch. ¡°You look beautiful.¡± I blush, turning away. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°I am sorry for how my parents reacted to you and I¡¯m sorry for not standing up to you. I feel horrible about it. I¡¯ve been trying to reach out to you, but you kept ignoring me. I didn¡¯t want what we had to end. I want you for the long run.¡± ¡°Elijah I.. um.. Yeah, I am hurt. I wanted to reach out to you badly but it hurt so much knowing that you couldn''t even stand up for me in front of your parents. I felt betrayed.¡± I said, tears flowing down my face. ¡°Hey, hey, don¡¯t cry,¡± He said, wiping away my tears. ¡°I know what I did was wrong, I talked to my parents as soon as you left.¡± ¡°What did they say?¡± ¡°Nothing that matters. You¡¯re important to me. I don''t want this to end.¡± ¡°Neither do I, but I have one question. Please answer it honestly.¡± He nodded. ¡°Do you still love Lisa?¡± ¡°She is the mother of my child, of course I love her, but not the way you¡¯re thinking.¡± I felt relieved, but a little upset. ¡°I understand.¡± We sat in an awkward silence, which seemed like forever, but only for a few minutes. ¡°I want to take you on a date.¡± He finally spoke. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I want to take you on a date. I want to show you off to the world.¡± I smiled happily. ¡°When will we go on this date?¡± ¡°Tomorrow night at 7 sharp. Just me and you.¡± ¡°Okay, I would love to go on a date with you.¡± ¡°Good. I can¡¯t wait.¡± We sat there for the rest of the evening catching up with each other. I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about the future with him and I. I think I might be going a little too ahead, but this sure felt nice. The longer we talked the more I realized I miss him so much. What I missed about him was his eyes. There is just something about them. The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!