After taking a forty-five minute shower, I was dressed in my pajamas and snuggled under my covers with Kobe, watching Grey's Anatomy.
Meredith was begging Derek to pick her, choose her, and love her when Kobe started to squiggle around underneath the cover.
I laughed slightly, watching his body and head move every which way as he tried to escape. I used my hand to lift the unnecessarily big but comfortable duvet and he quickly made his way out.
He trotted up to my head and put his paw on my shoulder. I turned to look him in the eyes, "What do you want?" He stuck his tuck out and tilted his head to the side with an innocent spark in his eyes making me narrow my eyes at him. We both know he's far from innocent.
He leans forward and licks my mouth, giving me a kiss, before hurriedly jumping off the bed. He knows he's not supposed to do that shit.
I wipe my lips, disgusted. "Come here right now!" I said sternly, pointing at the spot in front of me. His ears dipped but he hopped back up on the bed and slowly walked towards me like a toddler.
"I know you're white, but I'm black and we do not kiss on the lips over here." I told him seriously. He gave me sad puppy eyes, making me melt internally. I sighed and gave in, dropping a kiss to his head.
He instantly perked up and got down from the bed again, running around with his toy in his mouth. I got out of bed too, "Wanna go outside?"
His ears shot up and the chew toy dropped from his mouth and he started running around even more, jumping at my legs as I put on my slippers. Before I could fully get the door open, he zoomed out and went to the glass sliding door.
I opened the door and he rushed out. I left him to do his business and walked to the kitchen. Grabbing a mug and a tea bag, I added water and put it in the microwave.
When the microwave beeped, Kobe ran back inside and was at my feet in seconds, hoping to get food. "Why are you in your pajamas at five?" I kept stirring in sugar and turned to see Jmiere at the entrance of the kitchen.
"When a girl is on her period and is having cramps that make her want to end it all, she usually doesn't want to sit around in jeans," I say, enjoying watching his face turn into a grimace.
"So I'm guessing I shouldn't ask you to come play basketball with our friends?" He asks after taking a step away from me as if I had a disease.
"No," I laugh a little at his actions, "I don't want to play basketball right now but maybe another time." He nods and hesitantly creeps forwards.
His arms are shaking as he wraps them around me. "Feel better soon," Then he hurriedly removes them and takes multiple steps back.
"Jmiere, I'm not going to rip you limb from limb," I tell him amused. "I-I know, I was just being cautious!" His eyes are wide and he glances at the doorway as if trying to plan his escape.
"Go play basketball with your friends dude," I shook my head at him, bringing my mug up to my lips. I watched him run off, taking a sip of my tea. "Ow fuck that's hot!" I shouted, placing the mug back on the counter.
I dunked on Blaise for the third time before letting go of the rim and letting him and Javier do a 1v1 game so I could take a break. I walked over to the mini fridge grabbing a bottle of water.
Julieta had been sitting in the bleachers ever since she got here, balancing between scrolling on her phone and refereeing the game.
The door squeaked as it opened and Jmiere walked in my direction. I watched, still sipping on the cool liquid, noticing Naomi wasn't trailing behind him. "She didn't wanna play?" I ask, screwing the cap on the water.
He shakes his head, frowning, "She's on her-" he stops abruptly and I raise my eyebrow. "Well spit it out," I say when he doesn't continue.
"Red Badge of Courage. Crimson Tide. On the Rag. Bloody Valentine. Shark week. Girl Flu." I felt my face scrunch up on its own. What the fuck is he even talking about?
"She's on her period," he whispers in my ear and I feel my eyes widen. "We have to evacuate!" I whisper-shouted, throwing my hands up.
"I know!" He whisper-shouted right back. He turned to our friends, "Sorry guys something came up and we can't hang out today," he apologized for the both of us.
Julieta made her way down the bleachers when she heard this, pouting, "aww, what happened?" She asked as the boys surrounded us as well.
"Naomi's sick and not up to playing basketball," Jmiere answered before I could and I peeped Juli scoff under her breath and rolled her eyes.
"Has she taken any medicine?" Javier asked, empathy showing in his eyes. We nodded our heads even though we didn't know for sure.
"So we have to leave because wittle Naomi is sick?!" She sassed in a mocking tone. I stepped forward, getting in her personal space, "Don't fix your mouth to talk about my sister again unless you want it stapled shut. And you know I'll do it." I threatened in a dark tone.
Javier pulled her sister into his body as Jmiere pulled me back by my upper arm. "Look man, we're cool and all but don't step to my sister again." Javier said, rubbing his forehead in stress of having to come between his sister and best friend.
I was about to respond when he cut me off, "And Julieta, you seem to forget that these people are not your friend. They put up with you because of me. So if you can't stop acting like a brat you can stay home," he told her firmly, as if she was a child, which is what she's acting like.
I crossed my arms, glad he put in her place. "Sorry about that man" he said, dapping up me and my brother then Blaise.
He left dragging his sister with him, leaving us and Blaise still. "I woulda pimp slapped the shit outta her if I was you," He finally spoke, making me choke out a laugh.
"I would've if she wasn't Javier's sister." I assure him. He comes forward dapping up my twin and I, "Imma get out yall way, tell baby sis I said feel better soon."
I nodded my head as Jmiere spoke, "Alright man, text when you get to the crib. Be safe." And with that he left.
I desperately ransacked Hakeem's bathroom, searching for a heating pad or pain pills. I almost didn't notice him walking in the room, "What the hell are you looking for?"
I looked up briefly, finding him leaning against the doorway of the bathroom. "Advil, Tylenol, Ibuprofen, any pain pill," I told him looking through the cabinets under the sink.
"What hurts?" He asked as he went over to one of the drawers I had yet to check and pulled out a bottle of tylenol extra strength. As if my stomach wanted its presence to be known, six sharp pains came at once.
'ME! ME! ME! I'M THE REASON THE HUMAN IS IN SO MUCH PAIN!' I almost envisioned a cartoon version of a stomach yelling while smiling proudly. Yeah I definitely need to lay down..
"my stomach," I answered before taking the bottle from him and dry swallowing three pills. "Well that was definitely over the recommended dosage. Why yo stomach hurt anyway, you gotta shit or sumn?"
I shook my head, closing all of his opened cabinet doors, "nope just blood leaking from my vagina." I immediately regretted it even opening my mouth after that.
"Sorry that's a disgusting image to imagine," I grimaced as he made gagging noises. "Get out- now" He demanded and I stifled my laugh, leaving but making sure to take the pain meds with me.
now all I had to do was find a damn heating pad
I went through every inch of my closet, then my bathroom. I had asked Shawn, Jmiere, and Jy if they had one and they all said no. At this point, I was on the verge of tears from the never ending pain.
I sat on the stairs, leaning my head on the stairs taking a break. Absent-mindedly, I pull my phone from my pants pocket and go to my call log. My finger hovered over my mom's contact before I remembered she wouldn't pick up. I cursed myself and the tears that made their way down my face at the thought of never asking her to get me tampons, chocolate, or a heating pad ever again.
I saw Izaeah coming up the stairs through my tears and I hurriedly wiped them from
my face. He stopped a couple steps below me, face etched in concern, "what's wrong sweetheart?"
"N-nothing, I just need to find a heating pad," I winced slightly when the cramps started to flare up again. "Oh- Oh" his voice dropped an octave in realization.
"We don't have a heating pad, I'll just run to the store okay?" I nodded my head standing from my spot. "Do you need any girl products?" He asked sweetly, not at all ashamed or embarrassed, which I was grateful for. At least one of the boys in this house was mature.
"Playtex sport tampons from Target, I'll send you a picture so you get the right one. Oh, and a Cobb salad, please." I answered, not telling him all the other things I wanted, I didn't want to be greedy, especially if I wasn't paying for it.
"Alright Nai, I'll be back," He kissed me on the forehead before changing his direction and going downstairs. I followed him, deciding to camp out on the couch because I didn't feel like walking back up the stairs.
As the front door shut behind him, I turned the tv to Powerpuff Girls. Kobe jumped up on the couch and cuddled into my legs as we heard footsteps coming down the steps. His ears perked up and he growled softly. I turned my head from Buttercup to see that it was only Tae.
Kobe growled louder as his footsteps came closer. "Stop it, you know who that is," I told him, tapping his nose. He huffed and turned his body the opposite way and I scoffed at his attitude. Before I could reprimand him, Tae placed a very soft blanket over me.
He leans over the back of the couch and uses one of his hands to lift my upper body before placing a pillow behind me and forcibly pushing me down to lay on it. I quirk an eyebrow at him and watch his actions with a questionable gaze. "Heard you were sick. Girl Flu as Jmiere puts it," He answers my unspoken question.
I get comfortable and bring the covers up to my shoulders still looking up at him. "You want anything, Farfalla?" He asked distractedly, petting Kobe as he lay on his back enjoying the attention.
"No I don't need anything, thank you though." I declined and he tsked at me. "I asked if you wanted anything not needed. I'll get you anything you want." He assured me.
aww that's so cute Jessica cooed
I felt myself getting emotional so I looked back to the tv, pretending to be interested. "Well no I don't want anything, Zae is bringing me some stuff."
"Okay, call if you need me," He ruffled my hair, making me grab hold of his hand before he could pull away. I dug my nails into his skin and he chuckled saying 'it doesn't even hurt, little baby'. I pinched harder and harder until he surrendered. I let go, satisfied seeing little moons on his hand.
He flicked me off and shook his hand out, walking away while I smiled triumphantly.
She never sent the picture. I don't even remember what the brand was called and now I look a fool, standing in the Target feminine hygiene aisle.
My shopping cart was almost filled to the brim. After searching up 'what should I get my sister when she's on her period' in google, I kind of went crazy. I grabbed all kinds of white, milk, and dark chocolate, and huge stuffed teddy bear, fluffy socks, different flavors of ice cream, gummy candies, Mike and Ike's which I know have been her favorites since she was little, a weighted massaging heating pad with 5 different settings, and chamomile tea since google says it helps with cramps.
I pretend I know exactly what I'm looking for when what looks to be a Latina woman walks on the aisle. I tried my hardest not to make eye contact with her but it was inevitable.
After three awkward glances she comes over to me. "Did you need help?" She asked with a slight laugh. I was entranced by the sound. She was absolutely stunning. My eyes instantly gravitated towards her hair; it was curly and brown with blonde highlights. My eyes traveled to her face, her brown eyes held a natural spark of childlike mischief and her prominent cheekbones sat high on her face.
"No" My voice came out gruff when I finally snapped back to reality. My eyes fell to her plump, pink lips when she started to speak again.
"Well you've been staring at the same thing for about 5 minutes so one would assume you need help. But I guess not," She grabs her cart and starts to leave.
I decided to suck up my pride, "Wait,"
She stops and turns to me. "I do need help." She nods and folds her lips back to keep her smile in. "What are you looking for?"
"I don't know really," I admitted. "Some kind of tampon."
She laughed dryly, "Well as you can see, there's a lot of different kinds." She pointed out the obvious, gesturing towards the tons of different products. "What brand?"
I stared at the ground, thinking hard. "Park?" I looked up and she was just as confused as I was, that obviously wasn't right. "Playground? I don't know, something with a 'p'". I knew for sure that it had a 'p' in it.
She snorted before covering her mouth, "You mean Playtex?" I snapped in recognition, "Yeah that's it, isn't that what I said?"
She snorted once again, pointing to the package that read Playtex. "Sure let's go with that."
I grabbed the tampons, this looked about right. How many do girls even use..
I grabbed three of them, tossing it in the cart, before looking back up at the woman. "That should be good enough right?"
She snickered, making my brows furrow, "Y-yeah that's plenty." I shrugged it off and watched as her eyes ran over everything in the cart. "Your girlfriend's lucky," She said and I suppressed my laugh, catching onto her game.
"My sister." I corrected her and then added, "I'm single." Why the fuck did I just say that..
Her eyebrows lifted to her hairline and she looked away from me for a brief second. "That's sweet!" She commented and I saw her eyes drop to scan my body. I smirked as her eyes met mine again, "You should go before your eight pints of ice cream melt."
"She's obsessed with ice cream," I shrug before squeezing the handle of the cart tightly so I didn't do something I wasn't supposed to. I thanked her for the help then walked away. I couldn't wipe the smirk from my face when I felt her eyes on me.
I turn my head back to her and she whips around so fast, not wanting to be caught in her daze. "I didn't catch your name?" I said with a questioning tone.
"Xiomara," She answered, then stared at me with expectant eyes. (Pronounced: Zi-oh-mar-ah)
"Izaeah. See you around Miss Xiomara." I tested her name on my tongue. I saw her shiver slightly before I turned and actually left the aisle this time, it took all of my strength to not give her one my fleeting glance.
I paid for all the groceries and drove to Zaxby's to get Naomi's food before driving home, my thoughts were consumed with her the entire time.
Pulling up to the house, I gather all of the bags, letting them hang off my arms ignoring how much it hurts. I refuse to make more than one trip.
I set the bags on the kitchen counter and put all of the ice cream in the freezer before setting up the cute shit all nicely or whatever.
Jyreese came into the kitchen and watched silently as I finished setting everything up. He picked up a snickers, "Ooh" I slapped his hand sharply making him hiss and drop it.
"That's for your sister, not you," I tell him, fixing the large bear that was leaning slightly. "All of this is for her, you didn't get us, your brothers, anything? You don't love us anymore do you?" He complained dramatically.
His eyes fell onto the Zaxby's bag and he opened it scoffing at the contents. "You didn't even get us food!" I rolled my eyes at him, "there's food in the fridge."
"Oh wow! So she gets fresh food and we have to eat out of the fridge!"
"Boy shut up! When your hormones start going haywire, your uterus sheds, vagina bleeds, and have all the other period symptoms; I'll get this for you." I finish my little rant as the rest of the boys stroll into the kitchen.
"No touching." I point my finger at each and every one of them before following the sound of cartoons emitting from the tv. I internally melt, finding Naomi sleeping on the couch, bundled under some covers.
I gently shake her awake and she moves slightly and with her eyes still closed she says, "What are you doing in my house, I'll fucking kill you."
I opened my eyes to find Zae standing over me, looking at me with a weird expression. "What's wrong with you?" I asked, stretching my arms over my head.
"You don't remember what you just said?" I shook my head, now even more confused. "What did I say?"
"uhh it doesn't matter, now c'mon sleepy head, I have something in the kitchen for you." I shook it off and followed him to the kitchen. When he moved to the side, I finally saw it.
An assortment of candies were arranged and a huge stuffed animal sat in the middle with my food off to the side. A fancy ass heating pad was sitting on the floor with two pairs of fuzzy socks on top of them.
Fuck fuck fuckity fuck fuck!
I looked up to the ceiling, trying to keep tears at bay but they fell anway. I wiped my eyes, embarrassed. "Aww the whittle baby is crying!" Jy taunted as he and Shawn laughed at me. I punched him before turning into Zae's open arms, trying to collect myself.
He squeezed his arms around me tightly and I heard footsteps coming in my direction. I felt a light kiss on the side of my head then Hakeem whispered to his younger brother menacingly, "You thought you did something huh? We all know that I'm the favorite brother, I got my eyes on you nigga!"
I giggled quietly before pulling away and standing on my tiptoes to whisper into Izaeah's ear, "don't worry you're my favorite." He smiled widely and turned towards Hakeem and said the exact thing, then watched his face light up with an expression similar to Zae's.
I rolled my eyes at the two children then focused my attention on the food. I excitedly opened the bag and practically drooled at the cobb salad. As soon as I opened it Jmiere's nasty ass lttle hand reached for a piece, I slapped it away violently, "fucking do it again, I dare you!" I snarled.
"Whoa whoa," Tae cautioned, dragging Jmiere towards him a bit. I took a deep breath to calm down, and as calmly as I could, I said, "Please don't touch my food. I'll make you something if you're hungry but I want every single bite of my salad."
"No you don't have to make him anything, the chefs are in the main kitchen. He's just being greedy," Tae slapped him in the chest and gave me a wry smile. I just nodded and opened my packet of ranch before drowning my salad. I looked up again to see Devontae pushing Jmiere head forward with two fingers, scolding him, "Fuck's wrong with you man?"
They all eventually came to sit down with a plate of their own food. I groaned appreciatively at the taste of fried onions, chicken, and bacon filling my mouth. "This is the unhealthiest salad I've ever had," I said once I swallowed.
After finishing my food I headed upstairs with a pack of skittles and fell straight to sleep halfway through them.
I woke up to my phone buzzing, I groaned, reaching under my pillow about to decline when I remembered I gave my number to Kalynn. "Hello?" I greeted, my voice came out raspy. I sat up in my bed and rubbed at my eyes, almost hanging up when no one said anything. I heard very soft footsteps reverberate through the phone and something slamming, "Kalynn?" I asked softly.
"Hey, did I wake you?" Her voice finally came through the speaker in a whisper.
I heard more slamming and then crashing before a door was shut softly and the sounds became muffled. "Sweetheart, are you okay over there?" I questioned, worried, now fully awake.
"Yes, I'm fine. My mom's just having a bad day, night.. whatever," She sighed, sounding exhausted. We were quiet for a moment and she started to sniffle. I had yet to say anything and it went dead silent making me think she went on mute. I laid there, staring up at the dark ceiling.
She turned her microphone back on, "I'm sorry. I don't even know why I called." She sounded like she was about to hang up, "No- no it's okay do-" I was interrupted by her mom's screaming in the background.
"Novah! Novah!" Her mom screamed in the background.
"I swear to fucking- ughh!" She growled under her breath. "Yes mom?" Her tone did a complete 360 and now she sounded like a complete angel.
"GET YOUR DUMBASS IN HERE RIGHT FUCKING NOW!"
Kalynn sighed, "Just give me a sec, okay?" I heard the opening of a door and then silence making me think she left the room. I spent the next fifteen minutes in complete silence as I bit my nails nervously. "Alright, I'm back."
"What happened? Are you okay?"
"Naomi, calm down. Everything's good," I took a breath and sighed deeply. I brought the phone away from my ear and pressed the facetime icon. She answered and her face popped up on the screen in her barely lit room. I could see the stress lines on her face. "Do you want me to come pick you up? We could go for a drive if you want?" I offered, getting up from my bed about to throw on some clothes.
"Naomi it's the middle of the night," She said with hesitation.
"And?" I lifted an eyebrow.
"You'll get in trouble," Her voice came through my speaker in uncertainty.
"I drive my own car that I pay for and have my own phone that I pay the bill for. Nobody can take that away from me. What're they gonna do?" I tried to persuade her.
"Fine" She sighed begrudgingly. A second later a text came through with an address and I quickly saved her contact. I quickly changed into a grey cropped tank top and army green sweatpants. After shoving my feet into a pair of Nike slides, I tried my best to comb out my hair.
It's time to take this damn sew in out..
I grabbed my keys and phone then left Kobe in Zae's bed. Successfully sneaking out, I put the address in the GPS and started the twenty-three minute drive, still on the phone, listening to Spongebob play on her tv in the background.
Once I'd made it to her house, I turned off my headlights and watched climb out of her bedroom window and run to the passenger's side of the car. I quickly drove off once she was safely buckled up. We didn't talk until I stopped at an empty park.
I watched as she tried to think of what to say, "I'm sorry I'm being awkward, I don't really know what to say," She whispered into the dark.
"Why not? I'm not gonna look at you differently because of whatever is going on with your mom." I tell her as sincerely as I can. She doesn't answer so I move on to a different topic, "Let's play twenty questions." I let her ask me a question first.
"How come I've never seen you with your brothers before?"
How does one answer this question? "Well from what I know, my Ma took me away from my brothers when I was little. She remarried and had my little brother, I don't really know the full story yet."
"Oh wow! So, where's your little brother now?" I would've told her that it was my turn to ask a question just so I didn't have to answer but I answered anyway, "Uhh.. he died.. not too long ago actually,"
She inhaled sharply and reached over, grabbing my hand that was resting on the center console, "I'm sorry for what you're going through, I know how it feels. If you ever need to talk, I'll be here." I looked out of the window, feeling myself grow uncomfortable. I never know how to respond to these types of things.
"It's my turn to ask: Why did your mom call you Novah, is that your middle name?" I asked, turning my body to her as she let out a laugh without any humor. "My dad," She pauses, audibly swallowing.
"My father named me Kalynn; ever since he was a teenager he thought the name 'Kalynn' was so pretty. But my mom never liked the name but she let it be because it made him happy. He passed away from cancer about seven years ago and ever since, she refuses to call me by my first name."
"I think your name is beautiful Kalynn" I say and wipe a lone tear that slips from her eye. She lets out a watery laugh, "This isn't really something you talk about to a girl you really like during your first real conversation."
"Lighter topic?" I chuckled.
"Yeah." She nodded, giving me one of her dazzling smiles, "So, what animal best describes you?"
a/n - long note ahead!..
omgg i left you guys for three whole weeks and im so sorry.. i still have a couple tests this week then im done
im also having a little problem so im gonna vent a little.. nobody actually has to read this but I can't get chapters out as fast as I want to bc I feel like I have to have long chapters and idk why... I mean i read books with short chapters but i feel like if i do short chapters it won't be good or up to standards.
i don't really know what to do so lmk your opinions, will y'all still read if the chapters get shorter?
And also y'all might've gotten annoyed with how much the dog was mentioned in this chapter but oh-fucking-well, I hate when authors write in pets and never mention them ever again
moving on, i introduced a new character with was literally a spur of the moment thing. so what are we thinking of her? do we want a face claim?
and a little peek at Kalynn's home life.. what are our thoughts on that?
and also i'm trying to be very very diverse especially with my characters so if ive done anything wrong, you want to see something specific, or there's something that you think should be added to a person bc of their cultural or identity please pm me about it!!
and special thanks to all my new readers , thanks for giving this book s chance despite the cringey start, love y'all🧡
alright no one's finna read this long as a/n so see you next time