A Missed Opportunity

18

I reach down for Cameron's hand while we follow him, mostly for my own comfort. He doesn't pull away from me, walking at my side with me instead of speeding up to go walk beside Noah. "Um," I quietly begin, but don't really have anything to say.

Noah stops walking as soon as he hears me though. "Need a minute first?" He asks. I awkwardly nod. His eyes dart down to Cameron too before back up at me. "I'll go find Aaliyah." He offers, already stepping away. That helps a little. Having Noah with us is helpful, but having another friend with me too is even more so.

I look down at Cameron and smile as I lower myself down to his level. He watches me curiously. "So, you remember what we talked about, right?" I ask with a little nod. He nods back at me quickly.

I figured it wasn't great to leave him in the dark about this while we're here. Especially since he more than likely will hear a conversation or two about our situation. I don't want another scenario like the one we went through with Noah, so we both sat down with him yesterday to talk. He hasn't acknowledged that they're his family too, but I'm sure he knows. He's old enough to understand that part, at least. What he has acknowledged though is that Aaliyah is now Auntie Ally, and he can't keep his cousin, Elaina, away from her uncle.

So, at least we have that down. I think I might cry if I have to see a little girl sobbing on the floor because she thinks she's not allowed to hug her uncle that she so very clearly adores.

"And you'll let either me or Noah know if you want to go, right?" I remind him of that too. He sticks his chin up proudly as he nods. I smile at that. "Okay," I accept as I reach over to try and smooth down a piece of his hair that keeps popping up.

"You have to tell me too." Cameron quickly reminds. "And Daddy."

I laugh. "I will."

Noah comes back in no time with Aaliyah right behind him. She's already grinning, happy to see me. "Kiara!" She beams.

I grin too and stand up straight. "Hey," I step closer to hug her when her arms open up for me. "Oh, my gosh. Look at you," I gasp and pull away from our hug as I look down at her growing belly bump.

Aaliyah's eyes somehow get lighter. "Tell me how great I look in this freakin' dress with it." She steps back some just to show me her long black dress with little white flowers scattered about it.

I nod as I watch her turn from side to side to pose in it. "It's cute." I decide confidently. "Pull it back some at your belly." I encourage her, waving her on. She giggles as she turns to the side and puts one hand on the top of her belly and the other at the bottom to frame her bump.

"Guys, this is weird."

"Shut up, Nora." Aaliyah hisses immediately. Noah stares blankly at her. "We're calming Kiara's nerves." She hums, tipping her chin up confidently. He rolls his eyes at her as he leans down to scoop Cameron up in his arms. She looks back to me and goes back to smiling widely. "You want some pie? It's super good." She happily offers. I gasp and quickly nod, so she grins and reaches for my hand to lead me to the pie.

I look over my shoulder as I walk with her. Luckily, Noah follows us with Cameron in his arms. "Right behind you." He assures. I smile at him then look forward to watch where Aaliyah leads me.

It feels a little awkward to immediately be led through a house I've never been to before without greeting anyone, but I let it go and just follow Aaliyah and Noah's lead. They know their family best, and no one mentions saying hi to the owners of the house first, so I decide it's probably fine.

We, obviously, end up squeezing past a few relatives on our way there. Not all of them pay us any mind, but a handful watch us with a curious gaze. When I look back at Noah to see if he notices or even cares, I see his eyes trained on nowhere in particular with his jaw clenched tightly. He still holds Cameron in his arms, letting him absently mess with the collar of his shirt. I look forward again just as Aliyah is leading us into the kitchen where almost no one is. Probably because it's not time to eat yet and everything else is still cooking.