meant to be | j. parker¹

FORTY

"Hey, hey, where are you headed off to in such a rush?" Billy asked walking through the front door and spotting Aaliyah running down the steps. "I've got to meet with my sponsor," Aaliyah said shooing him out of the way so she can leave.

"You're not gonna say hello to your parents, or your siblings?" he asked holding his arms out for a hug.

The girl hesitated for a minute before giving him a small hug. "You're here every day. I don't know why you insist on a hug," she bluntly stated, before running out of the house and heading towards the direction of the beach where she met her sponsor for her weekly meeting.

"You are late," Dennis yelled at the girl watching as she ran through the sand in her sneakers tripping and falling in the process. "I'm two minutes late!" she yelled brushing the sand off of her body before joining him on the blanket.

"Two minutes late," he repeated. "What are my rules, again?"

"Don't be late, always tell the truth, and absolutely no quiet sessions when we meet," she listed, counting on her fingers and making him chuckle at her child-like antics.

"Great. Now, speak. What's on your mind or what's been going on?" he asked.

The girl shrugged her shoulders and picked the sand up from the ground watching it run through her fingers. "Not much, honestly."

"I don't believe that. Considering the last text that you sent me," he said, picking his phone up to read the text out loud. "Hey, Dennis, my ex-boyfriend/hookup just tried to kiss me and now my current boyfriend wants to kill him. What do I do? I need a drink lmao," he read chuckling softly to himself.

"Okay," she giggled, raising her hands defensively. "In my defense, I was in a state of panic and I thought I might need a drink. But, then my boyfriend reassured me that things between me and him were okay. That's why I sent the following text saying, lol jk everything's fine. still sober!"

"Alright...um, we've got like, five more minutes. How's your brother doing?" he asked, looking down at his watch.

"How do you know about Jordan?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Nurse Joy just happens to be a friend of mine," he hummed.

"You know her?" Aaliyah asked. "Wow...you know what, I can totally see that are you two—"

"Five minutes are up. Get out of here," Dennis said, cutting her off.

"Maybe our next meeting should be about you?" she teased, standing up and brushing the sand off of her legs. "Just kidding! See you next week...maybe!"

"Don't be late!" he yelled.

✯✯✯

"Dude. You're still on the couch?" Aaliyah scoffed, entering her house and crinkling her nose at the sight of Jordan lazily on the couch surrounded by junk food.

"What about it?" he scoffed.

"Let me change and I'll join you," she said, running up the stairs and into her room immediately stripping out of her uncomfortable jean shorts, into a pair of running shorts and an oversized t-shirt that was most likely JJ's. "So, what are we watching?" she asked plopping down on the couch.

"I'm playing video games. Feel free to watch," he snarkily told her.

"Jordan..." she sighed, plugging her nose at his stench. "You smell like ten cans of—"

"Bounce that ass. I know," he scoffed. "You told me that multiple times this morning. But, I don't smell that bad."

"It's bad," she groaned, kicking her feet up on the coffee table. "But, if you're gonna sit here like a lazy slob. Then I'll join you and maybe if I annoy you enough, you might move your smelly ass off of this couch."