Still Here

Chapter Thirteen

"No, that's ridiculous!" Keanna laughed as she swiped her keys off the counter. She had been on the phone with Kendrick all morning.

Aubrey tried to brush it off but it wasn't working. Kendrick was making her laugh so hard and Aubrey hadn't said anything to make her laugh like that in a long time.

Keanna kissed him goodbye almost absentmindedly and walked out the door laughing at something that had to be really funny.

"Have you met Kendrick?" Aubrey asked Shiloh who was sipping orange juice from her Elsa cup.

She nodded.

"Mommy likes him?"

"They're friends," Shiloh said.

"Just friends?"

She nods again and goes back to drinking her orange juice.

Why the hell am I interrogating my five year old?

"Okay, ready to go to work?" he asked, standing from the table.

"Daddy, I really don't want to go to work today," Shiloh told him.

"Why not?"

"I don't like the car ride," she explained.

Aubrey nodded in sympathy. The car rides had been a pain.

"Well, you can't stay here by yourself," he told her.

"Don't make me go, Daddy. Please," she begged.

Aubrey sighed and ran a hand over his head. He decided he'd call Party and the crew to work in his in-home studio. There was no way he was taking Shiloh back in the car when she genuinely didn't want to.

"Ryan!" Shiloh cried running to Ryan's arms as soon as he walked into the door.

"So why are we here?" Party inquired, following Aubrey to the studio.

"Because Shiloh didn't want to get in the car," Aubrey replied.

"You need to check that little girl," Party laughed. "She's kinda slowing down my progress."

Aubrey glanced at Donovan who only shrugged. There wasn't much he could say to him.

"Look, I'm just trying to look out for my daughter, okay?" Aubrey sighed opening the door to the studio. "We shouldn't even be talking about this."

"I think we should."

"Jahron, don't argue with me right now. Get your ass in the booth before I fight you," Aubrey demanded.

"Yes, Mr. Graham."

Party stepped inside the sound booth and put the headphones on. Aubrey took a deep breath and plopped himself in his executive swivel chair. He knew it was going to be a long session.

Keanna came home for lunch and only then did Shiloh desert Ryan's arms. She was happier to see Keanna than anyone else.

"Hey, everyone," she greeted as Party, Donovan, Noel, and Aubrey entered the living room for a break. "Why are you working here?"

"Shiloh didn't want to get in the car and I didn't want to deal with her," Aubrey explained.

"I understand. I'll keep her next time. I know you have important work to do," Keanna said taking Shiloh upstairs with a smug look.

"What's her deal?" Noel inquired. "Y'all havin' issues?"

"No." Aubrey was quick to dismiss Noel's comment. He didn't want his friends to know he was having problems with her. "You guys can go. Hopefully we'll be back in the studio soon."

"Just tell your kid to get her act together," Chubbs suggested.

Aubrey was going to say something but he kept his mouth shut. He didn't need to start a fight in his house.

"Are you good, Mr. Graham? I mean, besides the whole thing with your daughter," Donovan asked when he knew they were alone.

"Yeah. I'm fine. You can go. Thanks for your help today."

Donovan nodded and exited the house. Aubrey sighed heavily and trudged upstairs to attempt making conversation with Keanna. He knew he would most likely fail.

"Hey, baby," he said, finding Keanna playing with Shiloh in her room.

"Hi."

"Are you mad at me or something?" He didn't have time to beat around the bush.

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Because you were acting all hostile to me in front of my friends."

"Aubrey, I'm always hostile," she sighed, ruffling her curls. "Are we really going to sit here and argue over this?"

"No, we're not."

Keanna nodded in agreement and went back to playing with Shiloh.

Something came over Aubrey in that moment. He didn't know how to describe it but he felt like he was falling in love with Keanna all over again.

"Keanna, do you wanna go out with me tonight?"

She froze and slowly turned her head to look up at him. "What?"

"I'll call my mom or someone to watch Shiloh and we can go get dinner or something. Just say yes."

Keanna chuckled lightly but nodded. "Why not?"

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A/N:

Wow, these updates keep getting slower and slower and I apologize from the bottom of my heart. But the story's kinda gonna pick up so be ready👀