mikey pov
"thanks mikey." haven says as i hand her the cup of tea she asked for.
"you're welcome." i sit beside her on the couch.
"you've been a really good friend to me these last few days." haven smiles.
"what are friends for?" i smile back.
"so how're you and kiara?" she asks.
"you know about her?" i ask.
"yea. everybody does. you are famous." she says in a duh tone.
"sometimes i forget." i sigh. "to answer your question, we broke up a while ago."
"i'm sorry to hear that. how are you holding up?" she asks.
"i've had a few bad days and tough nights, but i'm managing." i reply.
"what was she like?" haven asks.
"she was mean and sarcastic, funny, goofy, playful. did i mention mean?" the both of us laugh. "but she loved me and i loved her. that was enough for the both of us." i say.
"so why'd you break up?" she watches me intently.
"it wasn't enough anymore." i shrug my shoulders.
"surely that wasn't it." she replies.
"it was." i say.
"it couldn't have been. you guys were cool for a long time. then you started dating and you break up a few days later? i don't see what happened that's so bad that made you guys end your relationship."
"haven, that's it. we broke up because our love for each other wasn't enough." i reply raising my voice. her facial expression instantly turns. she takes her gaze away from me. i sigh. "i'm sorry."
"it's ok. i shouldn't have asked." she shies away from me.
"i shouldn't have raised my voice at you. i'm sorry haven." i sigh.
"it's ok." she smiles assuringly. "i'm sorry for prying. i should've just left it alone."
"it's ok." i reply.
maliki pov
"what's going on?" dad asks.
"they've been talking." i reply.
"just talking?"
"yea. just talking. they talked about kiara, school, sports, all that. they've been talking for hours." i sigh.
"is she nice?"
"she's nice and understanding and pretty. she seems really genuine too." i say. i glance back at dad.
"you think he's gonna move on now?"
"yea. i do."
kiara pov
"what a big happy family you are." aliana murmured. isaiah chuckles lightly.
"if you're his aunt, what does that make kiara and mikey?" samila asks.
"y'all cousins kiara." isaiah snarls. i look at him. he smiles as he pops a chip in his mouth.
i roll my eyes at him.
"technically they're not." tobiah chimes in.
"how so?" isaiah questions.
"if she's my aunt on my dads side, then she's not related to anyone on my moms side. neither is mikey." tobiah explains.
"close enough." isaiah shrugs. he stands up from the bar stool and grabs the bag of chips. he heads toward the stairs. "sweet home alabama!" isaiah sings as he goes up the stairs.
"ignore him." aliana says. she rolls her eyes.
simone and tobiah spark a conversation in the living room leaving samila, aliana and i in the kitchen.
i watch as aliana seasons the chicken in a bowl.
"how are you feeling about your brothers newfound family ki?" aliana asks.
"happy that it's the family that i love so much. confused because the math ain't registering with me." i answer.
"i understand it. it's just really close to incest." samila says.
"it is." aliana replies. she places the chicken in another bowl of flour one by one.
"it's not like we're gonna end up together anyway." i reply.
"why you say that?" samila asks.
"because mikey's moving on. i need to at least try." i say.
"with who, sean?" aliana questions.
i stay quiet. samila looks at me awkwardly.
"who's sean?" samila asks.
"my-"
"her ex that talked bad about her behind her back and to her face, tried to fuck her, then cheated and broke up with her and made it seem like it was her fault. not to mention she doesn't fault him for it." aliana interrupts.
"don't get back with him. you got better chances of getting back with mikey." samila shakes her head.
"i don't know about that." i sigh.
"yes he's trying to move on, but we all know he loves you. he always will. that's not going anywhere anytime soon." samila says.
"ok." i sigh.
putting off the subject seems to be the better option at the moment. i don't want to rile myself up or get agitated because i know mikey won't want me back. it just seems like no one else understands that. i don't have the energy to make them understand. so the best option is to just let the dust settle and walk away. that's what mikey's doing. i'm doing it too.
mikey pov
"hey mike. we're back." samila says as she walks through the front door.
i look at haven.
"you've met my sister before, right?" i ask.
"i've talked to her in the halls a couple times." haven answers. "she seems nice."
"i just want you to be cautious. samila fell in love with kiara more than me and now they're besties. the one before that, she hated her. i'm not sure how she'll respond to you." i ponder.
"i'm sure she'll be fine." haven assures me.
"ok."
samila walks into the living room. she tosses her jacket on the back of the couch.
"samila, this is haven. she goes to our school." i say.
"nice to meet you haven." samila straight faces us as she speaks.
"you too." haven smiles enthusiastically.
"i'm going upstairs." samila says. she grabs her jacket from the couch and walks toward the stairs.
i sigh.
"i'll be back." i smile at haven and stand from the couch.
"ok." she smiles back.
i toss a pillow back on the couch. i jog after samila. her room door closes. i walk up the steps. i turn to her room and knock on the door. i open it a second later.
"you good?" i ask.
"i'm fine." samila replies. she plops on her bed.
"you don't seem ok." i state.
"i just had an eventful day today. i'm tired." samila says.
"ok." i sigh.
"who is she?" samila asks.
"my friend." i answer.
"that's it? just friend?"
"yea. she's just my friend." i reply.
"you and kiara are pissing me off. you both love each other. why make yourselves suffer because of some past bullshit?" she snaps.
"it's our choice to make. not yours. it wasn't your decision. you weren't in a relationship with us mila." i sigh.
"whatever." she grabs her phone and lays back on her bed.
i sigh and turn around, ready to leave her room. i close her door behind me. i walk back downstairs. i walk into the living room and flop on the couch.
"is she ok?" haven asks.
"apparently, she's pissed at me and kiara for not getting back together." i say.
"really?" she asks, a confused expression sits on her face.
"yea."
kiara pov (2 days later, January 30, 2023)
"hey." sean smiles as he hugs me.
"hey." i reply. i hug him back.
"you wanted to talk?" he asks. he leads me into the living room. he sits on the couch.
"yea." i sigh and sit on the couch. "i was thinking yesterday about a lot of stuff. i came to the conclusion that i can't be in a relationship with you. we agreed to be cordial when we broke up and i think we should stick to that." i explain.
"why? why can't we just start over?"
"because it's not so easy. i was really hurt by what you did and i can't come back from that."
"does this have anything to do with mikey?"
"yea. it does. i realized i'm in love with him and i can't let him go. i'm sorry." i fiddle with my hands.
"it's fine. i can understand." he sighs.
"ok." we sit in awkward silence for a couple of seconds. "i think i should get going. i have to meet my brothers in a little." i say. i stand up from the couch.
"ok. i'll see you around i guess." he says.
"ok. let me know if you need anything." i smile assuringly.
"i will." he gives me a genuine smile back.
i walk toward the front door. i open it and smile at sean as i walk outside. i close the door with a sigh and walk toward my car.
"time to go find mikey." i whisper.
third pov
mikey walks in the kitchen. he goes into the fridge and grabs a bottle of water. the doorbell rings. he sighs and places his water on the kitchen island. he walks toward the front door. he opens it. haven stands on the other side of the door. she smiles in excitement when she sees mikey.
"hey haven." mikey smiles, genuinely excited to see her.
"hey. i hope you don't mind me dropping by unannounced. i just wanted to talk to you." haven says, her smile plastered on her face.
"it's fine. come in." mikey steps to the side to allow haven more room to walk in. she steps in slowly and walks to the kitchen island. she places her purse on the kitchen island and sits at a bar stool. mikey closes the front door and walks to stand on the other side of the island. "what's up?"
"so i was thinking about what you said yesterday." she starts.
"what did i say yesterday?" mikey asks, confusion in his voice.
"you said you were trying to move on, but you didn't know when the right time was or who the right person was." haven stops and looks up at mikey for a response. mikey nods his head for her to continue. "well, i think i want to be the person you move on with." she looks up at him unsure.
"really?" mikey questions. he smiles on the inside.
"yea. you seem really genuine about our friendship, but i kinda wanna take it to another level." haven says.
mikey looks away from her, contemplating the moment.
he thinks for a few seconds before coming to a conclusion.
"i would actually really like that." mikey smiles slightly.
"really?"
"yea. really." mikey smiles a little wider.
haven gets out of her seat and comes around the island to hug mikey. mikey stands taken aback by her sudden actions but hugs her back. she squeezes him tight as he wraps his arms around her securely. she pulls away slowly and looks in his eyes just as he looks at hers.
he smiles and glances away before closing the distance between them. he kisses her softly. she kisses him back. their lips slowly move in sync. haven smiles into the kiss and pulls him closer, removing any distance keeping them apart. their bodies press firmly against each other.
while mikey and haven are lost in their moment, kiara pulls up in the driveway to mikey's house. she sighs and cuts off the car. she sits in her car for a second, contemplating what to say to mikey once she finally sees him in person for the first time in weeks. she takes the keys out the ignition and opens her door. she steps out the car and closes the door. she walks up to the front door of mikey's house, completely ignoring the unfamiliar car in the driveway. she rings the doorbell and takes a step back.
the ringing of the doorbell pulls mikey and haven apart from their heartwarming kiss.
mikey sighs and looks down. he pulls away from her slowly, not wanting to let go. he walks up to the door as haven leans against the island. mikey opens the door to reveal kiara on the other side. she turns to face him as her back was turned to him. mikey looks at kiara with a shocked expression on his face.
"hey." kiara shoots him a shy smile.
"hey." mikey says. he speaks in almost a whisper.
"is now a bad time to talk?" kiara asks. mikey looks back at a confused haven.
"kinda yea." mikey replies.
haven notices the nervous and confused expression on mikey's face. she walks over to him, revealing herself to kiara. kiara looks at haven confused but smiles anyway.
"hey." haven says with a smile.
"hey." kiara replies. she looks at mikey, wanting to know who the girl is.
"i'm haven." haven says. she smiles warmly at kiara.
"i'm kiara." kiara replies.
mikey looks down at the floor, scared to look at kiara in the eyes. he brings his eyes to kiara's anyway only to find kiara's eyes fixed on haven.
"how do you guys know each other?" kiara asks. regret flows through her as the words leave her mouth.
"we're umm-" mikey starts
"we're dating." haven interrupts.
kiara's face drops. she looks at mikey.
"really?" she asks.
"yea." haven smiles.
"i don't mean any disrespect, but i was talking to mikey." kiara says.
kiara looks to mikey for an answer while haven's excitement disappears. mikey looks at haven, then to kiara.
"yea. it's true." mikey says.
"ok. i think i'm gonna go." kiara turns on her heel to hide her teary eyes. she grips her phone as she walks back to her car.
mikey hesitates on calling her name, even just to see her face again, but he decides not to. he lets her walk off to her car. kiara shakes her head slightly seeing the unfamiliar car in the driveway. he watches as she speeds off down the road before even putting on her seat belt.
"i'm gonna go too." haven says. she walks up to mikey with her keys in her hand.
"ok." mikey nods his head slightly.
"see you later." haven shoots him a fake smile and walks out the front door. he watches as she drives off a minute later. he closes the front door wondering if he made the right decision with haven.
♕⚤♔
~TT