"When Mama said you were gonna surprise me, I didn't think we would just go out to eat." Gianna said while clicking in her seatbelt after getting into her dad's SUV. "But before you call me spoiled, I'm not disappointed, I'm just saying."
"I'm glad you know that you are a brat."
Gianna decided to ignore his slick comment. "Anyway, I'm happy to be spending time with you Daddy. We always miss each other at home. Work has been busy lately?"
"There was a big crash on the website and we lost a lot of money, but it's all fixed now." Gino worked a high rank tech job at a vast internet-based enterprise. The whole reason their family up and moved to Seattle in the first place. "But it's you too. You've been out living your young life. I'm not mad at it, but it's forcing me to see that my baby girl is growing up."
"I am, but I can still be your baby if that's what you prefer." She made him laugh as he cruised through the streets. "Where are we going?"
"Duke's." Gianna slightly gasped when he said the name. The seafood restaurant was a family favorite; so much so that they all vowed to only go as a party of five. Or six now that Karter could sit in a chair by herself.
"Without Devin and Mama? They're gonna be sooo jealous." She snickered with a smile on her face. Sabrina would be too, but jealous is all she seemed to be to Gianna lately anyway.
"Brina too, huh?" He said, almost as if he was reading her mind.
"Yeah. Her too." Gianna spoke lowly and looked out of her window. They were pulling into the parking lot of the mainly outdoor restaurant.
"Gianna, I know you girls have this thing going on, but Sabrina is your sister."
She held back the urge to roll her eyes. She didn't wanna talk about this right now. "I know she is, Daddy."
"Good." After parking, Gino went around to open Gianna's door. "So there's no way you two should be going months without speaking to each other. And even though your mom is trying to let you girls figure it out on your own, we didn't raise you to be like that, and I'm not at all okay with it."
Gianna was rarely silent, but her dad had her mouth glued shut. They entered the restaurant that was crowded due to Lobster Monday which took place every week.
Gino's arm was around Gianna's shoulder as they bypassed the hostess stand. He sniffed the air as he pulled her closer. Either his nose was overstimulated or playing tricks on him, but Gianna smelled like she'd doused herself in cologne before they left the house.
"You smell that?"
"Seafood?" She laughed as she stuffed her hands inside her jacket pockets. More so Miles' jacket pockets since the brown leather piece belonged to him and she'd taken it out of his closet.
Gino looked down at her, his eyebrows in the middle of his forehead. It wasn't until then he noticed the jacket she wore. It was crazy big on her, but Gianna seemed to love the oversized look, which was unusual for her. The unique gold necklace that caught the dim sunlight stuck out to his eye as well.
"Do you have a—"
"Daddy, what is this?" She stopped in her tracks, her smile disappearing when she recognized her sisters' faces. Gianna looked just like him when her eyebrows furrowed together and she looked up at him.
Gino's hold on her shoulder tightened as he pushed her to the booth where Devin and Sabrina waited for them. When Sabrina's eyes fell on a stern Gino and a pouting Gianna, she realized what this was and wished she'd declined the invitation.
"Dev, this is not funny. Let me out." Sabrina said as she pushed Devin since she was on the outside, but Devin wouldn't move. Gino made Gianna slide in so she was both trapped and facing Sabrina.
"I can't believe you're doing this." Gianna felt betrayed as she decided to look at the fisherman by the docks instead of her family in front of her.
"I'm sorry y'all but this has gone on for way too long. It's so hard being around you two because it feels like walking on eggshells. You're either taking up for this one or favoring this one or not being there for that one. It's tiring and draining, y'all. And it's not just affecting you two, it's taking a toll on all of us. We don't even feel like a family anymore." Devin spoke up, tears starting to fill the pool in front of her eyes as she looked at her little sisters.
She was the oldest, but also the most sensitive out of the three. And it hurt her so much to see her sisters fighting. All of the tactics she'd used for their whole lives were proven faulty and she didn't know what else to do.
Gino put his hand over Devin's as she turned away from them all to wipe her tears. "Devin's right. Bickering between siblings is normal, hell I still do it with mine, but it's never supposed to last longer than a week or two. Especially over something silly like a guy who has been nothing but shit to the both of you. My daughters could never be at home, crying and fussing over a weak ass nigga."
Gianna looked over at her dad as he spoke so vulgarly, but his face never moved from its serious state as he looked between the both of them. "Family is important. That's all me and your mom ever preached to y'all. Y'all are grown ups, so I'm not gonna force y'all to hug it out like when you were kids, but you will talk. You're both very smart, so please use your words like you know how to. Me and Dev are gonna be quiet and let y'all work it out, but we're not getting food or leaving til y'all solve it."
Gianna picked her curl off of her lip as the blowing wind made it stick to her lip gloss. She and her family were silent as they waited. Only the sound of distant chatter, squawking seagulls, and the water crashing against itself filled their empty table.
Gianna felt her dad tap her knee under the table and could only imagine Devin was doing the same to Sabrina across from them. She was beginning to say something, unsure if it was good or bad yet, but Sabrina beat her to the punch.
"I was hurt." Sabrina took a deep breath. "Really hurt. Me and her went through the same thing but it seemed like y'all only cared about her and left me to deal with it alone. I didn't feel like my family cared about me, so I didn't care about Gianna's apologies that felt ingenuine or how you guys felt about the way I was treating y'all."
Going against his own rules, Gino spoke up before Gianna could. "I'm sorry you felt like that, Brina. It's no excuse, but the situation was so foreign to me, so I followed my wife's lead on what to do. I didn't even know this was still a thing until Dev let me know. I love you so much, all three of you, and I never want you to feel like you're unimportant for any reason."
Sabrina nodded her head as his words marinated. Gianna watched them both exchange chummy smiles before exhaling deeply. She'd said the words before but chose to swallow her pride and make sure Sabrina knew she meant it this time.
Gianna didn't think that she was entirely to blame, but her dad was right. Her family was so important to her and she had no desire to keep going back and forth with Sabrina over something that wasn't worth it. A weak ass nigga as her dad put it.
And Gino definitely wasn't letting her up until those words came from her mouth.
"I'm also sorry to you, Gianna. I wasn't hearing you and I was acting out of anger. I should have handled it better than that and been more mature about it all."
"You had the right to feel how you did, it's okay. I can't control how Mom or Dad acts, but I shouldn't have acted like I was the only one who was hurt so, I'm sorry too, Brina."
"See? That wasn't so bad now, was it?" Gino shook Gianna's shoulder and made a slight smile appear on her face.
"No more fighting ever again, okay?" Devin held both of their hands across the table and both Gianna and Sabrina nodded their heads in agreement.
_____________________
Miles sat against the headboard with Gianna tucked in his underarm. Her hot pink satin bonnet was slipping off, allowing her curled and swirled baby hairs to escape. She had the sheet up to her neck to cover up as she and Miles looked through some of the things he brought back from LA. He didn't have to make any big decisions yet, but Gianna suggested he get a head start.
The cerulean light of dawn began to trickle into the room. It was going on 7 AM and they'd been up since 5, enjoying each other's company until it was time to get their day started.
"There's no question about it. Nia Long is the way to go." Gianna picked up her professional headshot, finding it crazy that the actress she'd seen on tv her whole life was an option for him. "None of these men are fine though." Miles pulled back and she could feel his eyes on her. "For Nia, I mean. They don't look compatible."
He narrowed his eyes, "Yeah, alright."
She held back her laugh and began to get up but Miles pulled her back down. "Come on, I have to do my hair and get dressed. My teacher is crazy, he's gonna lock the door even if I'm down the hall."
"If I let you lock and close a door in my face, will you let that go?" Miles asked and made her laugh as she scooted closer to him. "I'm gonna cancel."
"No, don't do that." He wrapped his arms around Gianna and pulled her to his chest. "I'd like that but it's not fair. I'm not the only person in the class."
"You might as well be." Miles cared about his students just as much as any teacher would, but he loved Gianna. She reigned over everybody else every single time. "Plus you're sick."
"I'll be okay. I think it's just my allergies." She assured him while sniffing through the one nostril she could breathe out of. Miles repeatedly kissed her face and made her giggle in between. "But you obviously don't care that much since you're all in my face."
"I don't care." Miles said plainly, looking down at her. "I gotta get you back right though. That snoring you have going on right now is crazy. I can barely sleep next to you." A smile rested on his face as he teased her.
"Well, I can barely sleep next to you because you're always feeling up on me through the night." Gianna lightly pushed his head to the side as she was finally able to escape from under him. Miles sat up as he watched her ponder over what she wanted to wear today. Her options were limited to the pieces she'd found a new home for at his place.
She jumped to pull her True Religion jeans over her thighs and her cropped halter top that was a skin complimenting guava pink was tied behind her neck. "Come on, Miles. You're letting me, of all people, be ready before you." Gianna walked past him to go into the bathroom and style her hair in a slicked back bun.
"You could be putting your shoes on when I start getting ready, and I'd still be done before you, Gia." Miles got up and fished through his closet for something to wear. He chose his usual, all black slacks and dress shirt. He peered into the bathroom to see her staring into the mirror, concentrating on making sure her hair was laid just to her liking.
Miles left her alone to finish and went up the stairs to the room Chase had chosen to be his. The decor was simple for now, the only extravagant things being the bed covered with blue sheets—his favorite color—and the large tv to go with the black Play Station 5 Chase made sure to pack with him.
He went around the room, putting some of Chase's things in his backpack to keep him entertained while he would be working. He didn't think his mom and Gianna thought about this when they practically forced him to take Chase to Seattle. He grabbed him an extra set of clothes to change into when he woke up, picked him up from out of the bed, and carried him to the back seat of his car.
Gianna was right behind him, locking the front door, and fiddled with her blinging set of keys as it chimed between her fingers.
"You don't wanna ride with me?"
"Do I have to remind you where we're going?" Gianna walked closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist and looked up. "And I need my car because me and Brooke are going somewhere after our classes."
"Where y'all going at?"
"To get our nails done, then shopping. Mostly to TJ Maxx since that's her favorite and she's been wanting to go for the longest. But you're just trying to deflect."
"Is it working?" Miles asked as the corner of his mouth lifted.
His smile was contagious and Gianna's cheeks dented in as she looked into his eyes. "Nope." She whimsically popped the 'p' before pulling her arms back. Miles took her hand and walked her to her driver's side.
He helped her get inside and stuck his head through the window when she rolled it down. "I love you baby."
Gianna leaned closer and met his lips with hers, feeling bursts of coziness spread throughout her body. "I love you."
_____________________
After finishing their second to last class of Campbell & Harlow's, Gianna and Brooke quickly found the exit, so they could make it to the nail shop before it got too crowded.
Gianna got into the driver's seat and held onto the diamond-studded steering wheel as she got comfortable. She saw Brooke's phone hooked up to the car as peak 90s and early 2000s r&b played through the speaker system. She didn't mind Brooke taking initiative and controlling the music since her music taste was just as diverse and of quality as Gianna's.
Brooke's top three consisted of Lil Wayne, Babyface, and the one Gianna found the most amusing, Bruno Mars. Gianna couldn't pick just three to listen to for the rest of her life, her last two constantly changed, but Anita Baker's timeless music was her favorite.
"The way you can relate to this song." Brooke turned it up slightly as Usher's Superstar began to play.
"Not you calling me a groupie?!" Gianna laughed as she looked over at Brooke, then back to the road.
"I mean.." She drifted off, making Gianna's mouth go agape. "Y'all are groupies with each other. That man is so in love with you and y'all barely make any effort to hide it anymore."
"There's really no reason to now, but I do have to tell him to chill sometimes. He's so ready for the class to be over." She lowered the music before speaking again. "Miles asked me to move in with him."
"In LA?" Gianna nodded her head. "I don't know about that G. That's a big step. Like really, really big, to move to a whole new state where nobody you know is living with a guy. Do you think you're ready for that?"
Brooke felt her phone vibrate in her lap and quickly declined the call before Gianna had the chance to look at the screen.
"I don't know, B. I told him that I wanted to graduate first and maybe after that. But I don't think I'm ready to move hours and hours away from my family, everything just became good and normal again. Plus, I've never told them about him so it would be insane for me to just be like 'I'm moving to a LA with this guy and oh, you guys might know him. He's my favorite author and also my former professor. Nothing out of the ordinary'."
Brooke's hand was over her mouth as she laughed at Gianna's dramatized future predictions. "And my parents would never go for it. My daddy would interrogate Miles so bad, he may just change his mind and break up with me."
"I don't think so, but it's cute that they care so much. They should have some type of idea about a guy though, right? Who did you say you were going to New York with?"
Gianna winced as she looked over at her. "You."
Brooke's mouth fell open as she let out a melodramatic gasp. "Brandy's gonna cut me off if this ever comes to light. All these lies, Gianna! You must stop."
"I will when I turn twenty-five. Two years of lies to go, I have to let them out while I can. Old habits die hard." Gianna laughed as she stopped at a red light. "My mom's very forgiving, so you'll be okay. Leo and I got caught lying for each other so much, and she still loves him."
Almost like her saying his name was a trigger, the music paused itself as Brooke's phone rang again. Both of their eyes traveled to the Carplay screen and then to each other when his name flashed across it.
Gianna used the buttons on the steering wheel to accept the call, but Brooke disconnected her Bluetooth and hang up on him.
"Why is Leo calling you, Brooke?" She asked calmly, not wanting to overact in case it was nothing. And she was hoping it was exactly that.
"Gianna...I swear I wanted to tell you but Leo asked me not to and I realized why when you told me about him and Jodie."
"Brooke, you didn't." Gianna side-eyed her.
She dropped her head, "I'm sorry Gianna. I was drunk and so was he, and you were already nervous about Miles, and I didn't want to ruin your trip. It didn't mean anything to me and I should've told you."
Gianna shook her head and made a wide U-turn to go to Brooke's place instead of the shopping center she was driving towards. This was the quietest it had been between the girls since the very first day they'd met. Brooke felt terrible as she looked out of the window. She never wanted those she cared about to be mad at her, and by the way Gianna was acting, it seemed like she didn't want to be friends with her anymore. And Brooke wasn't trying to lose her only friend.
Gianna let her get out and quickly pulled off, heading to Miles' house since she had nothing else to do until she had to go to work. She felt betrayed that Leo and Brooke did that to her, especially when the both of them knew what happened the last time she and Leo were in that predicament.
He kept on calling too. And she'd declined it each time.
"What do you want?!" She yelled, tired of hearing the loud overtone from her phone's speakers.
"Gianna, calm down." Leo spoke in his usual monotonous voice that always seemed to have a buried hint of condescendence. "Chill out on Brooke, alright? She wanted to tell you, but I made her promise me that she wouldn't."
"And what about me, huh? You promised me that you wouldn't put me in a position like this again, Leo. This is exactly why I didn't want you to meet her because you act like you can't control yourself."
"Gianna, it's really not that serious, man. Brooke is not Jodie."
"It is though Leo, and it's not cool! What if it doesn't work out between you guys? You're gonna expect me to drop her and it's going to be weird between me and her because of this."
"Brooke don't want shit to do with me, Gigi, and it's been like that since you told her what happened with Jo. Really since after it happened. She cares way more about you than me. You can be mad at me, but you need to forgive her." Gianna was quiet as Leo sighed over the phone.
Leo knew Gianna so well, she may as well have been his sister. She always had a witty remark to reply with and always aimed to get the very last word, sometimes even the last breath. So by her silence, accompanied by the beeping of her car, Leo knew her mind was completely made up. Which was making his indifferent demeanor slip from under him.
He was also trying to make it up to the both of them since he knew it was his fault that they were getting blown up. If he'd left it at a drunken hookup like he usually did and Brooke wanted to, it would've been harmless. But he just couldn't leave her alone.
"You know how Brooke is, Gianna. She's chill and doesn't like conflict. She was just trying to keep the peace."
She could agree that Brooke was those things that Leo said. Things that she was unaware that he liked about her. But she also knew that Brooke hadn't fallen and bumped her head recently. She didn't have amnesia.
"She still should've told me." Gianna was stubborn and she harshly said it.
"Gigi, you're full of shit. You were lying to her face for months about ole dude and she didn't trip on you at all after I told her. He lied and is leaving you, and you forgave him, but Brooke tried to keep a secret because she didn't want to hurt your feelings and you're ready to cut her off? That's fucked up." Leo didn't give her a chance to respond before he ended the call.
Gianna tossed her phone onto the passenger side, not able to think clearly. She rode in silence, ready to get out of the car and into a seat that stood still.
She knocked three times, rang the doorbell, and impatiently waited the few seconds it took for Miles to open the door. When he did, Gianna brushed past him and went to plop down on the padded grey sofa in the living room.
Miles eyed her suspiciously, wondering what was wrong with her and why did she cancel her plans with Brooke that she seemed so excited about.
"What's wrong?" His concern was evident as he asked and sat down next to her.
"My friends have been lying to me." Miles encouraged her to elaborate, and she sighed heavily before giving him a play by play of what happened in the car. "And Leo keeps saying I shouldn't be mad at Brooke like he can tell me how to feel." Gianna rolled her eyes.
Miles picked up her hand, trying to think of the best way to tell her she was overreacting. He wasn't about to be added to the list of people she was mad at and wasn't talking to.
"You should talk to Brooke, she's your friend. A good one, at that and it's rare to come across people like that. It doesn't have to be today, but give her a chance." He watched as a pout took over her face. "Don't be mad at me too. I'd be a bad boyfriend if I enabled you."
"I'm not mad at you but I guess I'll think about it." She said before looking over his body and seeing that he was still in his work attire. "You have somewhere to go?"
"My last meeting at Wright is in a little bit."
"That's exciting, isn't it?" Gianna's mood started to move back on the better side as she sat on Miles' lap, her legs going on either side of his.
"I'm ready to get it over with." Miles licked his lips as his hands ran up and down her thighs.
"What do you wanna do to celebrate?" Gianna asked him as she flattened out the collar of his shirt.
"Pick something off of your list." He said, completely aware that Gianna would have him doing something that she either read out of a book or saw in a movie. Though, he'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy doing it. "It doesn't matter to me, I just want to be with you, Gia."
Her cheeks heated up as she severely blushed. Miles held onto her waist as he leaned forward to kiss her, but they were interrupted by the sound of the refrigerator creaking open.
Gianna quickly got off of Miles, completely forgetting that Chase was there and hoped that he didn't see the two of them. But luckily, he was deep into YouTube, watching his favorite streamer do the wildest things.
Miles hopped up behind her. "Chase, are you ready to go?" Miles took out one of his headphones so he could hear.
"Right now? I was just about to get online." He pouted a little bit, sitting his Hi-C juice box on the counter.
"Yeah man, it won't be long though, I promise. Go get your stuff." Miles looked at his watch, seeing it was almost time. Chase walked past the both of them and went up the stairs to do what his dad asked.
"If he doesn't want to go, he can stay here and I'll watch him." Gianna offered, going behind him and grabbing one of those juices for herself.
"You don't have to do that."
"It's okay, I don't mind it. It would probably be boring to wait for you anyway when he'd rather be at home." She took a sip of the fruit punch.
"I really appreciate you, Gia." Miles pulled her into his embrace again, and made sure he got the kiss and a few more this time.
_____________________
Gianna knocked twice before being granted entrance into his room.
Chase sat on the edge of his bed, wrapped in a blanket as he focused on the tv where he was playing on his Play Station 5.
"Hey Chase, your dad stepped out for a minute and I'll be here until he gets back. So if you need anything, just let me know." She said sweetly, even though she wasn't sure he'd heard her from how hard he was concentrating.
"Okay Gianna." Was all Chase responded with since before Miles left, he talked to him about how he was to respect Gianna and not to do or say anything out of the box while he was gone. Chase's fingers moved quickly across the controller before he shouted, "Let's gooo!"
Gianna walked in further to see what game had him so riled up. "Is Madden your favorite?" She asked, noticing the screen and stack of keep cases.
"Yeah." He said while creating a new team to play with.
Gianna's finger grazed over 2017's edition as she felt a wave of nostalgia since that's the version Leo taught her to play with. "Mine too."
Chase's eyes finally set on her. "You play?"
"Not much anymore but I used to."
He looked down at his sticker-infested controller and then back at her. "You wanna play with me?"
Gianna realized she had work she needed to get done, but then remembered that the work was due to his father. Luckily for her, she had privileges and she didn't mind using them.
"Sure." She agreed and unexpectedly saw Chase's eyes light up when she did. He quickly got up to grab the extra controller and gestured for her to take a seat next to him before she got the chance to change her mind.
"Do you always play by yourself? Or with your brother or friends?"
"My brother's only 3 so he can't, but sometimes I play when I'm with my cousins. Most of the time it's just me though. They have different consoles so we can never play together when we're apart."
She poked out her lip, feeling a little sad for him. "What about with your dad? I'm sure he wouldn't mind."
"My dad's always working. Sometimes I'm not even with him, I go by my Nana and Pops and I never see him. I know he probably doesn't want to play this but I wished we still did other stuff."
Gianna was confused, but she hid it from him. "Well, when you're here we can play together anytime."
Chase watched as it was Gianna's turn to pick her players. He let her go first. "You like Giovanni Graye too? He's one of my favorite wide receivers."
"Really? That's my uncle." She chuckled as his mouth dropped with surprise. "I'll have to tell him about you."
"Woah." He mumbled as he went on to start the game. At the beginning, Chase was easily dominating over Gianna's rusty skills, but once she got back in her groove, their scores were neck and neck.
Time moved by quickly and before she knew it, she'd played three games and two hours passed them by. Miles walked into Chase's room to see him and Gianna both fixed on the tv.
"Touchdown!" Gianna's voice was laced with excitement as she stood up and danced in sync with the mini version of her uncle as he did his signature move in the fictional endzone. Chase laughed at her goofiness, not even caring that she was now seven points ahead of him.
"Y'all having all this fun without me?" Miles made his presence known and they both looked his way. "It's almost six, Gia."
"Is it?" She looked at the time on her phone. "I'm sorry Chase, but I have to go to work. Round two later?"
"Before I go back home?" He asked, needing the treassurance.
"Of course. I'll see you later, okay?" She slid her feet into her cozy slippers.
"Bye Gianna." Chase waved before going back to his game and playing something else until it was their turn to play the football game again.
"I think he likes you." Miles said once the door was closed and they were far enough away from it.
Gianna didn't respond as she walked to Miles' room, on the opposite floor of the house, with him following behind. She went to the few drawers where she kept her things and began to change into her dancewear.
"When was the last time Chase stayed with you, Miles?"
He sat on the side of the bed, "When everything happened. I try to get him when I'm up here, but I'm always caught up working and-"
"Maybe you should try harder to make time and do the things he likes to do with him. Even if it's just playing a video game for an hour."
"Trust me, if I had the time, I would. I try to make it up to him when I can." Miles reached on the nightstand to grab his MacBook and open it.
"Well, you have some free time now, why don't you take him to the movies or something and show him around the city?" Gianna suggested as she slid on her leotard.
"I don't have any free time, actually. I have to grade these and put them in before the night's over."
Gianna closed her eyes as she deeply breathed in. When she placed her clothes back in the drawer, it slammed as it closed, making Miles look back at her.
"Miles, your son said that he feels like he never sees you because you're always working! Don't you see how sad that is? You've had a present dad your whole life, could you imagine how it would've felt to know he was there but he didn't make any effort to bond with you?" Her emotions got the best of her as she felt the need to wake him up.
"I'm always working because nobody else is there to provide for him or me or the rest of my family, Gianna. I know you've never had to grow up being poor, but I did. And I don't want that for him." Miles looked back at the computer screen.
"I get that, but he still needs you to be there for him. Even if it's just the little things. Pushing him on your parents and buying gifts doesn't make up for your absence. You said it yourself that you didn't want that situation to affect your relationship, and here you are, doing that exact thing!"
Miles stood up and walked closer to her. "Why you bringing that up, huh? It doesn't have anything to do with this."
"Yes it does and you know that! You distanced yourself from him because of what his mom did, which has nothing to do with him. He is a child, your child, and he didn't ask to be here. You're acting like a deadbeat because you're caught up in your own feelings and that's not fair to Chase."
"I ain't no deadbeat, Gianna."
"Until you be there for him in ways that are not financial, yes you are." She looked right into his eyes as different emotions were swimming around in them. Guilt stayed afloat more than the rest of them.
She left him standing there with his own thoughts as she went to her car and drove the distance to Art In Motion's dance studio, thankful that Leo wouldn't be there and she had a couple of hours to herself and let her mind wander freely.
Gianna was going to think over everything that had happened lately, maybe overthink it all, but still get the gears of her brain turning. She was reflecting on her wins, which thankfully had no losses attached to them and her relationships.
Mainly, her one with Miles. A part of her was starting to think that she was in over her head. That same part that believed once they made it official, that's when their relationship would go downhill.
It didn't happen as quickly as it did for her previous relationships, but she felt like the demise was creeping up on her. She'd never noticed Miles' lack of priority for his family before and it rubbed her the wrong way since that was one of the most important things to her.
Miles had started to try and convince her to move with him, preaching that he'd take care of her, but how could she be at the forefront of his mind when his own son wasn't even there? What was stopping him from putting work before her too?
Questions stacked and stacked on top of themselves in her brain. Ones that she thought she gave herself the answers to were resurfacing. Was she and Miles really even compatible?
Her mind was running a mile a minute.
Though she didn't expect her mind to overwork itself so much that she'd be standing in her bathroom with a pregnancy test in her hand, awaiting to see how many pink lines would appear on the stick.
This was a lot 🫣 comment your thoughts pls!