“Where there is family, there is love.”
–Unknown
Camila POV
Shawn and I told Karen and Manuel the story and they were in shock. They knew a few things about the night, but no one told them the whole story until now.
Anyways, after we told them everything, we all decided to drop the subject and just enjoy the sunny day.
The picnic was amazing and so was the rest of the day. That night, I slept at my apartment because I needed to meet up with Aaliyah the next morning and surprise Shawn.
I planned to surprise Shawn with Aaliyah in the morning so we can all eat breakfast together and then our friends would come over and we can have a mini party. After all that, I planned an evening at my apartment just for him and I...
Karen, Manuel and Aaliyah would stay at Shawn's apartment with Riley and we'll spend the night at my place. Karen insisted to take Riley, so we could have a worries free night, so I just accepted.
It wasn't like Shawn and I weren't getting any alone time cause we were getting it, but maybe we really needed a night where is JUST the two of us.
The morning of Shawn's birthday, I woke up at 6 am in the morning to go and pick up Aaliyah from the airport. She was coming from LA because she was studying in UCLA. From what I know, Aaliyah was also accepted at NYU, but her dream was UCLA so that's where she went.
She's going to stay in New York for a while because she was in summer break now. Well the summer break started in June, but she took some summer classes because she wanted to make an exchange year in Europe, so she wanted to show how passionate she is.
From what she told me on the phone, everything is going just great and her chances for an exchange year are really high.
I ate something quickly, changed in a matter of a second, fed Riley and then also changed her as fast as I could.
I walked with Riley in the baby carrier to Shawn's apartment. We got there pretty fast without any problems. I only took Shawn's car keys and left again.
I walked to Shawn's car and put Riley in her baby car seat in the back and I got in the driver seat and drove off. It was really early so the roads were free.
Thank god.
I'm not the best driver and the busy streets of New York are a nightmare for me, but I hope I'll get better one day.
Anyways, after a while we arrived at the airport and I parked the car and took my phone to wait for Aaliyah to text me.
While I was waiting I looked at Riley who fell asleep in the back. She was looking so peaceful and I couldn't help, but take a picture of her. I put that photo as my background photo and I kept my lock screen that had a picture of Shawn, Addison and I.
That picture was probably my favorite. Addison and I were making weird faces while Shawn was kissing my cheek. I smiled at that and at the memory.
Suddenly my phone started to ring and I saw it was Aaliyah so I immediately picked up.
,,Hey! You landed?" I answered the phone.
,,Yep! I'm actually at the passport control. I need to get my luggage and I'll be out in maybe 15 minutes. Where are you?" Aaliyah asked.
,,I'm in the car park right in front of the airport. I can come and pick you up at your terminal. Is that okay?"
,,That would be great! Then I see you later, sis!"
,,See ya!" I said and we hung up.
I don't know why I was so happy that she called me sis. I mean she always did that, but this time it feels different for me cause now I'm not just her brother's best friend, but her brother's girlfriend.... You know what I mean?
I got out of the car and also took Riley with me. I held her protective in my arms and walked with her in the airport after I locked the car.
I didn't put the baby carrier on because I just forgot it in the car so I just held Riley hoping she won't wake up.
I entered the airport and walked to Aaliyah's terminal while I held Riley as close as possible and also tried to put my hand over her ear so that she doesn't get scared by all the sounds.
As I got at the terminal, I sat down on a chair next to an older lady and waited for Aaliyah.
I kept looking between the gate and Riley. I wanted to see when Aaliyah had arrived and also if Riley was waking up.
,,God bless her. She's a beautiful baby." The older lady said and smiled at me.
,,Thank you so much." I said and gave her a soft smile.
,,Are you waiting for the daddy to come home?" The woman asked.
,,No. I'm actually waiting for his sister. We wanna make him a surprise." I said thinking about Shawn.
Shawn and I discussed a while ago everything about us raising Riley and he told me that he wants to be a part of it. He said he wants to be her dad figure if I'm okay with that and of course I'm okay with that! I'm even more than okay! We both came to the conclusion that Riley needs a father in her life and she deserves a father in her life and Shawn is the only person on this planet who I could imagine to have by my side for the rest of my life and raise a kid with.
,,That's so sweet...You know what? Look at all this people who are coming back home. Look at the reunions. Isn't that beautiful? It reminds me of every time my husband came back home to me." The lady said and looked at the gates that opened every single minute to reveal another person.
,,Are you and your husband still together?" I asked.
,,He died two years ago, but he's always gonna be by my side." She said with a smile on her face.
,,Did it hurt? As he died..."
,,My heart broke and never healed again. I only live for my daughter. She needs her mom and I'm not gonna leave her until I know she is in good hands."
,,Your daughter is lucky to have at least one parent who is still alive..." I said and gave her a sad smile.
I never open up to strangers, but there is a thing about older persons that impresses me. I love hearing their stories because they have so much to say and they need someone to listen to their stories.
,,I'm sorry..." The woman said and placed her hand on my shoulder like she knew exactly what I've gone through. ,,People probably tell you that it will get better with the time, but that's not true. You can't heal death. You learn to live with it."
,,What if there is already too much death I've to deal with?" I asked and the woman looked at me understanding.
,,You learn to live with it. For her." She said and pointed at Riley. ,,For her daddy." She said with a smile. ,,There are people who need you." She continued.
,,Thank you.... I didn't know I needed it...." I said.
,,Anytime." She said with a smile.
,,Mila!" I heard Aaliyah's voice and as I turned around to look at the gate, I saw her starting to run in my direction.
,,Liyah!" I said excited and stood up carefully.
As Aaliyah got to me, she pulled me in for a hug, but she was careful as she saw Riley sleeping.
,,Oh....my....god.... She's so beautiful and adorable...." Aaliyah said and looked at Riley who started to wake up.
,,She is. It's like she's getting more and more beautiful every day." I said rubbing Riley's back lightly.
,,Maybe I'm just stupid, but is it possible for her to look a little bit like Shawn?" Aaliyah asked and that made me laugh.
,,It's not, Liyah." I said smiling widely.
,,Well she looks like you. That's possible!"
,,Yeah that is possible. Shawn says she even acts like me, but I don't believe him when he says she eats like me cause that's not true!" I said and Aaliyah started laughing.
,,Maybe it's possible for her to eat like Shawn." Aaliyah said and we both started to laugh.
,,Next time he says that I'm gonna tell him this." I said between laughters.
,,Is this beautiful human being really eating in such a horrible way like it sounds!? I mean I can't believe that a princess like this one is able to do something like that." Aaliyah said and tickled Riley lightly.
,,She's getting better with Karen's help."
,,I bet she is. I mean my mom made this princess." Aaliyah said and pointed at herself.
,,Of course!" I said and we both laughed again. ,,You wanna go to the car? We have to be at Shawn's before Shawn wakes up. The surprise needs to be perfect." I said excited.
,,Okay then let's go." Aaliyah said, took her bags and we walked to the car.
I wanted to help her, but it was pretty hard with Riley in my arms so Aaliyah didn't let me help.
We walked to the car and while Aaliyah put her luggage in the trunk, I put Riley in her car seat. Then I got in the driver seat and Aaliyah got in the passenger seat.
The roads were still free and I could drive with no problems.
,,So.... Can you tell me how you and Shawn finally got together?" She asked with an excited smile and I chuckled.
,,Ahm... Well you know we had that year where we lost touch and after we met again we started to see each other pretty much every day. And well...one day we confessed our feelings and then we started dating." I said letting out all the details.
,,I know that. I wanna know the details. Who confessed the feelings first?" She asked and I chuckled again at her excitement.
,,Well...he did...in a way..."
,,What should that mean?"
,,Well I was telling him how annoying a guy was in that day and I don't know how but we got to talk about who I have feelings for...." I said and smiled to myself at the memory.
,,And? What happened then!?"
,,He kissed me and then asked "Do you know now if you like someone?""
,,OMG! That was smooth!" Aaliyah said and we both started to laugh at her words.
,,And you? Do you have a boyfriend in LA?" I asked her with a smirk and I saw her blushing from the corner of my eye.
,,Well no... There is a guy I like, but he's not my boyfriend." She said blushing even harder.
,,Why not? What holds you back?"
,,He has a girlfriend..."
,,Oh..."
,,Yeah... Anyways is just a crush. Nothing really serious, so it's okay."
,,You can talk to me anytime about it if you want to. You know that, right?"
,,I know, but like I said it's okay. I don't have any strong feelings. It's just a little crush and I hope i will get over it because he seems really happy with his girlfriend." Aaliyah said with a sad smile.
,,You're such a good human being. Not many would care about their crush having a girlfriend or a boyfriend and they'd still try to get in their pants. Sorry! Didn't mean to say... Sorry!" I said and Aaliyah started laughing hysterically.
,,Mila, I'm not a kid anymore! I'm almost 20! I get that kind of stuff." Aaliyah said between laughters.
,,Sorry... Sometimes I forget that you aren't 14 anymore."
,,Anyways...do girls still try to get to Shawn even if they know about you?" Aaliyah asked.
,,Argh yeah! Even the secretary at the praxis tries to! It's so fucking annoying. And the thing is that there are also a few guys who try to get to me and it just makes me so uncomfortable. You know?"
,,That means you're a hot couple! Not that my brother is hot. He's gross, but YOU!" Aaliyah said and I started to laugh so hard, but I was still concentrating on the road.
,,You're brother is hot. He's the most ho-"
,,BLA BLA BLA BLA BLA! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" Aaliyah said loudly interrupting me while she held her hands over her ears. Her action made me laugh so hard and thank God we arrived because I didn't want to get into an accident because we were laughing hysterically.
,,We arrived." I said and Aaliyah put her hands away from her ears. ,,Your brother is hot!" I said and then ran out the car so she couldn't hit me.
,,MILA!" I heard her yell and I laughed lightly.
,,Sorry. I couldn't help it." I said while I took Riley out of the car.
,,I'm gonna throw up!" Aaliyah said while she got out of the car and walked to the trunk to get her luggage.
,,Come on and let's surprise your hot brother." I said and this time she slapped my shoulder lightly.
,,I'm gonna kill you!"
,,You said you wanted details!" I said while I searched after my keys to open the building door.
,,Not those kind of details!" She complained.
,,Sorry." I said as I found my keys and opened the door.
,,You aren't sorry! You said sorry a hundred times and you did the same afterwards." She said and I couldn't help but laugh.
,,Yeah well...let's say it's fun to see you suffer like that." I said and she slapped my shoulder lightly again.
We got in the elevator and I looked at the clock to see that it was 8am and I was just hoping that Shawn didn't wake up yet. As we got at the apartment, I showed Aaliyah the room she'll sleep in and she let her bags in there.
As we walked out of that room, we were met with Karen and Manuel. They pulled Aaliyah into a big hug, but stayed quiet because we didn't want to wake up Shawn. Yet.
I told them to go in the living room and wait there. Karen also took Riley with them and I walked in the bedroom to see Shawn still sleeping peacefully.
I closed the door after me and then got in the bed next to him as slowly as possible.
I rested my head on the pillow and looked at his beautiful face for a few seconds before I started kissing him all over his face.
I knew he was starting to wake up as he started groaning. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt him smile.
,,This is the best way to wake up." He said in his HOT morning voice.
,,Happy birthday, babe!" I said and then started kissing his lips.
,,This is already the best birthday ever..." He said between kisses.
,,Do you want it to get even better?" I asked and stopped kissing him to only look at him.
,,If it can then yeah..." He said with a smirk.
,,Okay then stand up!" I said and got out of the bed.
,,What!? Nooo! I wanna stay here..." He said and gave me a puppy look.
,,You said you want it to get better. You have to stand up and walk in the living room then."
,,I thought you mean something else with better!" He said and let out a groan.
,,I know and you gonna get that later, but until then, I planned a lot of stuff for you, Mister." I said with a smirk and he started to stand up.
,,Should I be scared or excited?" He asked and wrapped his arms around me.
,,Both." I said and got on my tiptoes to kiss him one more time. ,,Come on now!" I said took his hand in my and pulled him after me out of the room. ,,TADAAAA!" I said excited as we got in the living room.
Shawn's eyes fell on Aaliyah and he looked in shock, but at the same time really happy.
,,Happy birthday, bro!" Aaliyah said and Shawn ran to her and pulled her in a thight hug.
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AALIYAH!!!!
What did you think of this chapter? And most important be ready for the next one because oh boy.... It's gonna be a rollercoaster🎢 (305 reference 😉😂)