𝐍𝐎 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘, 𝐍𝐎 𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄 - kiara carrera²

𝒙𝒙𝒙𝒊𝒊𝒊. 𝒔𝒎𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒕

Obediently and attention-happy, TJ tried clawing the wrapping paper off the present but only ended up hurting his fingers.

Tatum laughed, pulling his hands back to prevent anymore harm that might come to him, and tore open the paper herself. Inside was a photo frame, cream and beige, with a smooth clay mold where the picture is supposed to go. Carved in the mold was three, small baby handprints, labeled: 𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓼-𝓙𝓸𝓮 𝓗𝓮𝔂𝔀𝓪𝓻𝓭
𝓣𝓪𝓽𝓾𝓶 𝓔𝓼𝓶𝓮 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓷𝓷
𝓣𝓱𝓸𝓶𝓪𝓼 𝓚𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓠𝓾𝓲𝓷𝓷

"Leroy helped us get yours and Thomas' from when you were his age," John B stated, squeezing the girl's shoulder with comfort.

She nodded, wiping her eyes before any tears could spill, and turned back to the baby with a toothy grin as she tickled him. "Is that your foot? Your smelly, little foot?"

While TJ went on to distract himself by playing with his sister's fingers, Tatum looked up to face her friends with a genuine smile. "Thank you, guys," she said with true appreciation. "Seriously. The best thing you could've done is bring Thomas into this and that's exactly what you did."

JJ nodded and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Of course. We can't forget the moody, old grump."

Tatum laughed a little and her eyes flickered slightly to Kie's, who was already staring right back at her. She regretted not kissing her last night. She wanted to do it more than anything. But she wanted the drugs to ware off before she did anything drastic like getting back together with her girlfriend, whom she had been in love with since she was twelve years old.

Kiara flashed her a kind smile and the world seriously did stop for a moment, just like it did in the old days, when Tatum was still chasing after her with everything she had. Now it was the other way round. Since she escaped the Limbreys, everything Tate said she wanted was handed to her within five minutes by the girl. A hot chocolate, her meds, her pjs, food - it didn't matter. Kie spent every second of her day trying to make it up to her girl, and secretly Tatum loved it.

"Dinner with my Pops tonight," said Pope, shaking off his grief for Thomas, calling himself selfish for still feeling the loss greatly. They were never actually together, they never kissed - Thomas was Tatum's twin brother, and it was selfish of Pope to think about himself and his own feelings through this. Especially today. Her first birthday without him. "Just me, you, TJ and my parents."

Tatum nodded with a shrug and watched as all her friends began to rush to get ready for school. Everyone except JJ, who was still half-asleep, half-drunk beside her in the bed.

"We have have a geometry test in thirty minutes," Pope stated, slapping the blonde boy in the face with stacked up cans of Red Bull. "Get up! JJ!"

"I'm coming. I'm coming," he groaned, eyes shut.

As the Pope directed and carried two hungover boys outside, Kiara waited behind, claiming she'd meet up with them later.

Once the boys were gone and in the van, she sat beside Tatum on the bed, her hands stuck to her thighs, making sure she didn't make a move that the girl didn't want her to. "Hey, are you gonna be okay today?" she asked, meeting the Quinn's eye with worry and concern.

Tatum nodded with a smile, taking the baby's hand off her earrings. "I'm fine," she answered quickly. "Think I'm just gonna go and see Leroy - and Cameron, weirdly."

"If you want, I'll stay off today," Kie offered with a light smile. "I mean, after yesterday, I'm just a bit -"

"Pope locked up my meds so I can only take them when he gets them for me, I'll be with the baby all day so I'm not going to do anything anyway, and yesterday was just a little setback and I'm so, so sorry you had to see it, Kie, but I'm okay," she assured, her enchanting, blue eyes hypnotising the girl beside her. "You don't need to worry about me."

Kiara nodded slowly, still mildly concerned, but there was nothing she could do about it. All she wanted was Tatum to be safe - and it was hard for that to be 100% assured because she didn't even feel safe in her own head.

For a moment, the girls stayed there. Staring into each other's eyes. Neither one of them moving. Their chests feeling like they were being struck harder as each second drew by.

Before Kiara could start to lean in, Tatum shook her head, snapping herself out of it. She jumped off the bed, her loose clothes practically hanging off her as she walked to the kitchen area. "You should probably..."

"School." Kiara nodded eagerly, still stuck in the place she was so sure she was going to kiss Tatum at. She was so ready. They were so close. But then...maybe Tate just didn't like her like that anymore. Maybe she really did ruin everything that was between them. "Yep. Going. Now."