Missing You
*Days Later*
I silently sat on the bleachers while everyone else engaged in some sort of interaction. They were catching up with each other, laughing and just talking about anything.
Personally, I didn't have shit to laugh about. I hadn't seen Angel since we got back from LA.
Angel didn't even attend our first few practices of the semester due to a family emergency. Besides that, Angel and I have been too busy working or starting classes for the semester. Our schedules haven't aligned whatsoever since we've been back.
To make matters worst, we've barely texted or FaceTimed. I hate this shit. I miss my girl.
"Angel!" almost everybody immediately cheered, taking me out of my thoughts.
I turned towards the doors and saw multiple teammates crowding around Angel. "We missed you." I heard someone say. "We're having lunch soon to catch up." someone else spoke.
I rolled my eyes.
Once Angel finished chatting with them briefly, her eyes scanned the bleachers. She smiled a little when she saw me.
I looked away as she approached me.
"Bae?" Angel questioned my action. "What's wrong? I missed you." she pulled me into a tight hug. I sat there silently, not hugging Angel back. "What's wrong?" she asked again, pulling away.
I stared straight ahead, not answering her. Angel sat her bag down then sat beside me.
"Did I do something? Are you mad at me?" Angel wondered. I turned to look at her for a second when she asked those questions.
"Why are you mad at me?" Angel softly asked me. I shrugged a little in response. "Did you miss me?" Angel wondered. "Yea..." I quietly answered. Angel immediately gasped.
"Oh my gosh, she talks." Angel covered her mouth, acting shocked. I smiled a little and shook my head.
"I have some free time between 12 and 1PM today. You wanna eat on campus or come over?" Angel asked in a soft, low tone. "Come over." I nodded a little. "Yea? Okay." Angel nodded.
She then kissed my cheek.
"Aww, look at my moms." Alia smiled, walking over to Angel and I.
She rest her foot on the bleachers while slightly leaning on her knee. "I just feel so slow. Now that I know, it's so obvious that y'all are dating." Alia sighed.
"You guys were always upset, annoyed or happy at the same time. When having scrimmages, y'all were either too touchy or not touchy at all. Don't even get me started on the locker room. Staring at each other changing?" Alia smiled.
"And then that party when y'all were all hugged up on each other." she gasped, looking like a lightbulb clicked.
"Damn...I'm slow as hell." Alia shook her head. Angel and I smiled a little.
"Anyways. Adopt me!" Alia smiled. "Ouu, me too." Mya came out of nowhere. "I don't know about that." Angel chuckled.
"Aw, why not?" Alia sighed. "Cause, Dominique wants two boys. Not two girls. And we already have a boy and a girl back home." Angel expressed.
"I know you're not talking bout those little plushies I saw on one of your stories." Mya frowned. "I am actually." Angel chuckled.
"I don't care. I don't care. You're still my moms." Alia said before walking away. "Right." Mya crossed her arms while following behind Alia. "Okay..." Angel chuckled a little at the two.
Shortly thereafter, the whistle was blown.
After practice, I was in the locker room. I had just finished changing and was now practically backed against the lockers. Angel stood in front of me, trying to get me to talk more.
I smiled a little at her attempts.
"Come on, stop being mad. I miss your voice." Angel sighed, lightly grabbing my waist.
"I'm not mad anymore. I just, miss you." I quietly expressed. "Well I'm here right now. Talk to me." Angel smiled a little.
"Get a room." Alia teased, walking past.
"Ugh! Y'all so ugly." Mya teased, trailing behind Alia.
Angel and I laughed a little, barely paying them any mind. Angel and I then continued talking for a little while longer. I smiled a little when Angel pulled me closer.
"Mm, stud for stud is crazy." Yazmin mumbled, walking past Angel and I.
I quickly stood up from the lockers, ready to react but Angel grabbed me. "Dominique." Angel gave me a serious look. I sighed while letting it go.
Yazmin was now gone. She's lucky I don't like protesting against my girl.
~♥︎~
I sat on the couch, now upset again. Angel had just dropped me back off from her house. We cuddled and talked for an hour, but it felt like two seconds.
Niya was in her room taking a nap.
That's honestly what I should be doing, since I'm working later on this afternoon.
Just as I was about to approach my room door, I heard a knock at the front door. I groaned in annoyance while going to open the door.
There was a woman. A woman that looked awfully familiar.
"Dominique Greene?" the woman spoke. "Uh, yes." I hesitantly nodded. "Hi, I'm a social worker." she showed me her business badge around her neck.
She then extended her hand to me. I didn't shake her hand.
"Can I come in please?" she asked. "Why?" I questioned. She stepped closer after looking around. "Look. I'm not supposed to be here right now. I could lose my job. Now, can I come in?" she asked again.
I hesitated, but eventually stepped to the side.
Maybe there was something important she needed to disclose?
The both of us sat at the table, awkwardly. She kept on rambling about her job and what she does.
"Okay. Why are you here? I'm an adult, so I don't think I need your help." I scoffed.
"Uh...well, there's a little boy. I have reasons to believe he's being mistreated in his foster home. I'm really fond of him. He's a kind soul. He's so sweet. I just want him to have a better home." she expressed.
"So adopt him." I said. She then made a face.
That's when I recognized her. She was that random woman that stopped by my job to use the restroom. The one that kept staring at my name badge.
"Wait, I remember you. How the hell did you get my address?! And why the hell did you stop by my damn place?!" I stood up.
The social worker stood up as well.
"I- I thought about adopting him. I've never worked directly on his case, so the agency would let me but..." she trailed off.
"When I was going through his files and running his name in the system, I saw something-" she tried to continue.
"You know what, that's really nice but honestly I have a lot on my mind right now and I think it'd be best for you to leave." I said, walking towards the front door.
"He's your brother." the social worker suddenly spoke.
I paused in my steps.
"W-What?" I stuttered. "He's your brother...I didn't wanna say anything when I first walked in because I didn't want you to shut me down but, he's your little brother. You have the same mother." she explained.
"Before I started the process of adoption, I wanted your permission at least. Or to see if you wanted custody." she continued.
"Um, please leave." I told her, opening the door.
"But-" she tried to protest. "Leave. Now." I firmly demanded.
"He can't go back with your mother or his father because of their environment. The foster home he's in right now is terrible. Please. Just hear me out. He's only five. His name is Dakota." the social worker rushed out while leaving.
I immediately froze when she said his name.
"Please just, contact me or something." she pleaded, handing me her business card.
I stood there quietly while shutting the door. I slowly locked the door. When I turned around I saw Niya walking out of her room.
"What's all of that noise?" she yawned, rubbing her eyes.
"N-Nothing. It's fine. Go back to sleep." I told her. I then quickly went to my bedroom and shut the door.
I laid on my bed, feeling all kinds of emotions. I picked up the letter my father sent me. As much as I tried to read it, I kept zoning out and thinking about the past.
*17 Years Ago (August 2007)*
"Mommy, I want another sister or a brother." I softly expressed.
"I don't know." my mother smiled. "Yes! Please mommy. Just ask Santa for one." I told my mother. "Silly you Dominique." my mother tickled me.
I laughed while covering my stomach.
"Hm, let's see. What would you want to name a little sister?" my mother asked. "Um...Diamond!" I smiled. "Ou, Diamond. That's pretty." my mother rubbed my belly.
"And what about a little brother. And remember Dom, it doesn't have to start with a D." my mother chuckled.
"Uh...Dakota!" I smiled.
"Dakota? Girl, how do you know all of these names. You're a smart little girl. You know that?" my mother smiled.
I smiled as she kissed my forehead.
"Alright I'm gone. I'll be back around 11 tonight." Micheal poked his head in the room. "And Dominique, stay out of my stuff would ya?" he said before walking away.
I slowly raised my middle finger. "Oop, Dom stop. I've told you bout that." my mother smacked my hand down.
"Micheal's a bad guy." I shook my head.
"What are you talking about baby? Don't say that." my mother spoke.
*The Present*
I stared at my bedroom wall while chugging down a bottle of alcohol straight. I had now drunk about half of it.
I called off from work, I just couldn't go in today.
I'd rather stay home and get drunk. Numb the feelings. Ignore the memories. Even the good ones, because it hurts knowing that they couldn't last.
"Shit..." I mumbled as alcohol spilled when I rolled over.
The more I drank, the more I could feel myself getting emotional. Not because of what I was running from, but because of what I was doing.
I just knew Angel would be disappointed in me.
So I called her, to confess. I felt guilty.
It was late at night and I felt that maybe I should just go to bed and sleep it off.
"Hello?" I heard Angel answer the phone, sounding as if she had just woken up. Immediately tears began to escape my eyes at the sound of her voice.
"...I'm sorry Angel. I messed up." I cried.
"Wait- what? Baby, why are you crying?" Angel sounded panicked. "I told you that I wouldn't do it again. But I did." I continued to cry in the dark.
"It's okay. What'd you do?" Angel softly spoke.
"I got drunk again, because I'm sad. I'm sorry." I said, occasionally interrupted by my sniffles.
"Okay. Everything's gonna be okay, alright?" Angel calmly voiced. "Okay." I nodded to myself. "Now, where are you?" Angel asked. "Home." I answered.
"Okay, good. Do you think you can carefully set the bottle or cup down?" Angel wondered. "Yea." I slowly sat up.
I placed the bottle on my nightstand. Angel then directed me to get a bottle of water and drink it.
I drunk some of the water but not all of it.
I then ran cold water over my face as instructed. When I finished doing everything Angel told me to do, I felt more at ease.
Part of it was just from hearing Angel's voice.
Angel and I talked about everything that occurred today that upset me or made me uneasy, including Dakota.
After talking for awhile, Angel stayed on the phone with me to monitor me and help me sleep.
~♥︎~
*A Few Days Later*
I was just finishing up with my therapy session. I walked out, towards Angel's car.
I got in the passenger side and Angel instantly wanted to know how today's session went. I smiled a little while talking to her. Angel really seemed to care about me and my wellbeing and it made me smile.
"So...about today. You still up for it?" Angel asked. "Yea...I wanna meet him." I nodded a little.
After having a couple of days to myself and to think, I decided that I was up for meeting Dakota. Although I'm still kind of unsure about the situation, I wanna see for myself.
The social worker that stopped by my house, Kaitlyn and I were supposed to meet before hand. We were gonna discuss rules and whatnot.
Afterwards, I would meet Dakota, his social worker and his foster mom.
I was honestly nervous as hell.
There's just no way I've had a little brother for five years and never knew until now.
Angel and I arrived at the location and my nervousness spiked all the way up. Angel tried to comfort me but after all, I was going in alone.
"You look fine." Angel smiled when she noticed me checking myself.
"Thank you. I love you." I smiled a little, pulling Angel in for a kiss. Angel kissed me back and deepened the kiss. My thumb softly caressed her cheek as I pulled away.
"I love you too. Now, go. Before you're late." Angel pushed me a little. "Okay." I sighed, opening the car door.
When I walked into the place, I immediately saw Kaitlyn sitting at a table. She turned around and waved when she saw me.
"I was starting to think you got cold feet." Kaitlyn chuckled a little while shaking my hand.
"Yea..." I nervously smiled a little.
Kaitlyn and I talked for about 15-20 minutes. As we were wrapping up, I had a burning question that I just had to know the answer to.
"Um...do you know the name of his father? Dakota's father." I specified. "Uh, yea. I saw it somewhere." Kaitlyn said, looking through her papers.
"I just can't remember his last name...it's Micheal something." she mumbled to herself.
"Micheal?" I immediately questioned, my skin crawling. "Yea. Do you know him?" Kaitlyn wondered. "Uh, nah. I don't think so." I shook my head, lying.
"Oh okay. I became hopeful for a moment. It's just sad that his parents don't want anything to do with him. Signed off their parental rights and all..." Kaitlyn sighed.
"Yea..." I looked away. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything bad about your mother." Kaitlyn quickly tried to explain.
"Nah, it's cool." I nodded a little.
"Um, I'm gonna chill over there now. They should be coming back soon." Kaitlyn expressed.
I waited at the table alone for a couple of minutes. I nervously scrolled on my phone, opening and closing apps randomly.
"Dominique?" I heard a woman's voice. I quickly looked up and saw two women standing before me.
One was a dark brown woman with really short curls. She wore light makeup and a casual dress that came to her knees. The other was a thicker white woman with brownish blonde hair. She wore regular clothes and honestly looked like she didn't give a fuck about shit.
"Hi, I'm May, Dakota's social worker. And this is Sheryl, his foster mom." the brown woman spoke, extending her hand.
I lightly shook their hands.
"Dakota's using the restroom right now but he should be out soon. In the meantime, tell us a little about yourself." May smiled, sitting down.
My mind immediately went blank. Almost as if I didn't know shit about myself.
"Hold on, one second. I'm getting a phone call." Sheryl said while walking away. I could've sworn I saw May give Sheryl a dirty look, then play it off once she realized me watching.
Suddenly my attention was completely taken away from her. I looked past her and saw him.
A little boy about my complexion, no taller than 3'10. His thick, long natural hair waved as the air hit it when he walked. He wore a black shirt, light blue jeans and black shoes.
He waved at me and smiled.
I waved back a little, caught off guard by his beautiful smile. His smile reminded me of my younger self.
Right then, I knew he was my brother.
"Oh, Dakota you're here. So this is Dominique and Dominique, this is Dakota." May introduced us. "I'll give you two a little space." she then smiled.
Both Dakota and I watched as May went a sat at another table, not too far from us. She waved at us. "Ugh!" Dakota turned around and shook his head.
I smiled a little at how cute he was.
"Hey, what's up?" I said. "The sky." he quickly responded. He then giggled a little while covering his mouth.
I chuckled a little to myself.
"Are you really my sister?" Dakota wondered. "Uh, it would appear that way." I nodded.
"Yea...I always wanted a sibling." Dakota expressed. I was a little shocked by how well he talked and pronounced his words. "Me too." I smiled.
"I like your hair." Dakota pointed at my hair. "Thanks. I like your hair." I smiled. "Thanks." he smiled as well.
He then looked as if he had something he wanted to ask or say but didn't. "What's up?" I asked him, thinking that could possibly encourage him to ask.
"Do you...wanna be a boy?" Dakota finally asked. I knew it was coming.
"No." I shook my head. "Then why do you have on boys clothes? And have tiny haircuts?" he questioned. I chuckled as he referred to my line up as tiny haircuts.
"Well, it's just how I like to dress. It's what's comfortable for me." I expressed.
"That's what my science teacher said. Her name is Mrs. Johnson and she likes boy clothes too. And she has a really big haircut. Oh! And she has a wife. I think she's a bean." Dakota expressed.
I immediately started laughing a little. "Do you mean lesbian?" I chuckled. "Oh yea! Lesbian." Dakota nodded.
"Are you a lesbian?" he then asked me. "Yup." I nodded. "So...that means you like girls?" Dakota questioned. "Women, yes." I smiled. "Do you have a wife too?" Dakota started to giggle.
"Not yet. I have a girlfriend." I explained. "Oooooooo." Dakota dragged out before giggling again.
"Do you guys...you know?" he covered his face while continuing to giggle. I immediately paused, not sure what he meant. I prayed it wasn't what I thought he was asking.
"What?" I questioned. "You know...do you guys smooch?" he laughed, kicking his little feet underneath the table.
"Oh." I nervously smiled, relieved.
"Well, sometimes." I answered. "Eww!" Dakota continued to laugh. Eventually I began laughing simply because he was.
"Smooching is only for adults!" Dakota voiced. "I am an adult little man." I stated. "No, you're not!" Dakota tried to argue, pointing his finger at me. "Yes, I am." I chuckled. Dakota shook his head no.
"How old are you?" he then asked. "I just turned 22." I stated. Dakota immediately gasped. "Woah. So that means..." Dakota began counting to himself.
"You're 17 years older than me?!" he gasped. "Yea." I nodded while chuckling.
"Hey, you count pretty well." I stated. "Wanna know a secret?" Dakota asked. "Um..." I stuttered, honestly not sure. He gestured me to come closer, so I did.
"I'm in 1st grade." Dakota whispered before giggling.
"Damn- I mean really?! You skipped a grade?" I questioned. "Yea." Dakota nodded while giggling very hard.
"I skipped a grade too." I told him. "But then I went back to my regular grade." I added. "Why?" Dakota wondered, intrigued.
"Well, I missed a good portion of my Junior year and had to start over." I expressed. "Why?" Dakota asked again. "Um...I was in a really bad accident when I was 15. So I was out for a long time." I explained.
"What kind of accident?" Dakota wondered. "...a car accident." I hesitantly answered.
"Woah, that's cool." Dakota spoke. "Cool?" I questioned. He nodded. "You're still alive. That's cool. That- that makes you like a superhuman!" Dakota expressed.
"And! That means you're strong!" he continued with an amazed look on his face. "Yea...I guess it does." I smiled a little at him.
Dakota and I continued talking for a while. I had almost forgotten I had to get ready for work soon. Dakota definitely was a sweet heart and he kept me laughing the entire time we were talking.
Eventually, the visit came to an end and we had to part ways.
Dakota gave me a long hug. I honestly felt attached to him already. I wish we didn't have to part ways. I assumed he felt the same as he looked really upset waving bye to me.
•*•*•
𝐃𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐭𝐚'𝐬 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐚 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞!!!
#welovedakota
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