❃𝙺𝚒𝚊𝚛𝚊❃
"Are we there yet? Where are we going now? Mommy? Mommy?"
I take a deep breath and turn in my seat while Noah laughs to himself, trying to stifle his own laughter. "Cameron Stone," I scold on a huff. He sinks in his car seat. "We will be there soon, okay?" I repeat for the umpteenth time. Slowly he nods at me. I shut my eyes as I turn back around and lean back in my seat.
I open my eyes and look out my window to watch the trees pass by. As it turns out, Noah's grandparents aren't in New York, but are in Connecticut. I warned Cameron about the three-hour drive ahead of us to get to the place we're having Thanksgiving, but I don't think he was really listening. He was too excited by the prospect of seeing more of his dad's family. He hasn't acknowledged that they're his family too, but I haven't pushed it. He's still teetering between calling Noah by his name and calling him his dad, so extended family is kind of the least of our priorities.
"Daddy," Cameron whispers loudly. "Are we almost there?"
I'm going to go insane.
Noah doesn't look away from the road. "Not yet, Nut." He whispers back. "Thirty more minutes." He adds. I glare at him while he encourages the whispering. He glances my way and offers a quick smile as if he wasn't just whispering back to Cameron.
"Can we get nuggets?" Cameron continues with his whispering.
Noah sighs at that and glances over at me. I narrow my eyes. "I don't know, kiddo. I'm getting a serious death stare over here." He murmurs, keeping his eyes on the road for now.
"Please?"
I scoff quietly when he grimaces. "Noah,"
"What?" He huffs. "Cameron, do that again for your mother." He orders with a smug look my way.
"Mommy, please?"
I shake my head at the road ahead while they both wait for me to answer them. "We're about to go to dinner." I dryly remind them both.
"Mother." Cameron tries some raspy voice in his higher pitch one. I make a disturbed face as I glance in the backseat at my son who's apparently been smoking for thirty fucking years.
"They wait a while before they serve it. If he's hungry now, it's probably best we feed him." Noah quickly informs without acknowledging Cameron.
I roll my eyes at that but suppose he's right. Cameron's going to end up getting hangry. I might too. Maybe I already am. "Fine." I breathe.
"Yess," They both celebrate at the same time. I recoil against the car door. It's fucking freaky.
__________
I've come to terms with the fact that I more than likely won't be the most liked person in the room, and that my son might be fawned over despite that fact. I've decided that I'm okay with that so long as Cameron's fine. I know Noah cares about his family too, so really it mostly matters if they're happy today.
Even though I've come to terms and thought about all of that, I still don't know what to expect today while Noah leads the way up the driveway and to the door. He doesn't knock or ring the bell, simply opening the door and looking to us to walk in, in front of him.
I'm not sure if any of us are prepared for this, to be honest.
Noah pauses at the door after slowly closing it. Warm laughter fills one of the rooms. It's quiet, but in the very far background lyric less music accompanies the laughter. For half a second, he looks unsure. But when he blinks and looks at me, that's gone. He smiles. "Come on, guys." He's almost whispering as he nods over to one of the doorways in the foyer.
I reach down for Cameron's hand while we follow him, mostly for my own comfort. He doesn't pull away from me, walking at my side with me instead of speeding up to go walk beside Noah. "Um," I quietly begin, but don't really have anything to say.
Noah stops walking as soon as he hears me though. "Need a minute first?" He asks. I awkwardly nod. His eyes dart down to Cameron too before back up at me. "I'll go find Aaliyah." He offers, already stepping away. That helps a little. Having Noah with us is helpful, but having another friend with me too is even more so.
I look down at Cameron and smile as I lower myself down to his level. He watches me curiously. "So, you remember what we talked about, right?" I ask with a little nod. He nods back at me quickly.
I figured it wasn't great to leave him in the dark about this while we're here. Especially since he more than likely will hear a conversation or two about our situation. I don't want another scenario like the one we went through with Noah, so we both sat down with him yesterday to talk. He hasn't acknowledged that they're his family too, but I'm sure he knows. He's old enough to understand that part, at least. What he has acknowledged though is that Aaliyah is now Auntie Ally, and he can't keep his cousin, Elaina, away from her uncle.
So, at least we have that down. I think I might cry if I have to see a little girl sobbing on the floor because she thinks she's not allowed to hug her uncle that she so very clearly adores.
"And you'll let either me or Noah know if you want to go, right?" I remind him of that too. He sticks his chin up proudly as he nods. I smile at that. "Okay," I accept as I reach over to try and smooth down a piece of his hair that keeps popping up.
"You have to tell me too." Cameron quickly reminds. "And Daddy."
I laugh. "I will."
Noah comes back in no time with Aaliyah right behind him. She's already grinning, happy to see me. "Kiara!" She beams.
I grin too and stand up straight. "Hey," I step closer to hug her when her arms open up for me. "Oh, my gosh. Look at you," I gasp and pull away from our hug as I look down at her growing belly bump.
Aaliyah's eyes somehow get lighter. "Tell me how great I look in this freakin' dress with it." She steps back some just to show me her long black dress with little white flowers scattered about it.
I nod as I watch her turn from side to side to pose in it. "It's cute." I decide confidently. "Pull it back some at your belly." I encourage her, waving her on. She giggles as she turns to the side and puts one hand on the top of her belly and the other at the bottom to frame her bump.
"Guys, this is weird."
"Shut up, Nora." Aaliyah hisses immediately. Noah stares blankly at her. "We're calming Kiara's nerves." She hums, tipping her chin up confidently. He rolls his eyes at her as he leans down to scoop Cameron up in his arms. She looks back to me and goes back to smiling widely. "You want some pie? It's super good." She happily offers. I gasp and quickly nod, so she grins and reaches for my hand to lead me to the pie.
I look over my shoulder as I walk with her. Luckily, Noah follows us with Cameron in his arms. "Right behind you." He assures. I smile at him then look forward to watch where Aaliyah leads me.
It feels a little awkward to immediately be led through a house I've never been to before without greeting anyone, but I let it go and just follow Aaliyah and Noah's lead. They know their family best, and no one mentions saying hi to the owners of the house first, so I decide it's probably fine.
We, obviously, end up squeezing past a few relatives on our way there. Not all of them pay us any mind, but a handful watch us with a curious gaze. When I look back at Noah to see if he notices or even cares, I see his eyes trained on nowhere in particular with his jaw clenched tightly. He still holds Cameron in his arms, letting him absently mess with the collar of his shirt. I look forward again just as Aliyah is leading us into the kitchen where almost no one is. Probably because it's not time to eat yet and everything else is still cooking.
There's an older woman in the kitchen along with another younger lady and Alex with Elaina on his lap sitting at the kitchen island. His eyes fly over to Aaliyah as soon as she prances into the room with us behind her, and I nearly feel an aww creep up my throat. I swallow it down.
"Grandma," Aaliyah calls happily as she pulls me over to the kitchen island beside Alex and Elaina. "Can we have some pie?" She asks sweetly.
The older woman turns to look at us. She straightens almost immediately when she scans the different faces now in the kitchen. "Fine, fine." She waves Aaliyah off. Aaliyah lets my hand go and bounces to the other side of the kitchen island toward a tin foil thing of pie that looks like it's been snacked on already. She grabs a couple of plates while her grandma steps over to the side of the kitchen island, a little closer to us. "Noah," She coaxes, watching him over my shoulder.
I feel his chest brush against my back and can't help it when I quickly look over my shoulder up at him. He doesn't look back at me, eyes trained on her instead. "This is Kiara and Cameron." He introduces us with a slight clear of his throat. He looks back at me. "Kiara, this is my grandma, Molly." He nods over to her.
I give my best please don't hate me smile as I step a little closer and offer my hand. "Hi."
She seems a little wary, but she smiles back at me and reaches for my hand too. "Hi, Kiara." She returns gently.
The younger woman leaning against the counter by the stove clears her throat loudly.
Noah huffs at her, but he looks back at me. "That's my Aunt Jenny." He nods her way. I try not to blink at that. She doesn't look that much older than Noah, honestly.
I shake it off and smile at her. "Hello," I wave instead of walking over to shake her hand too. I'm a little afraid to step away from Noah.
She doesn't seem to mind, waving at me too with a smile. "Hey," She pushes off the counter and gazes curiously at Cameron. "Hang on, so does this mean I'm a great-aunt again?" She gasps as she looks around the room. "Shit. Making me feel old over here."
"Jenny." Molly sighs deeply, probably over the curse she slips into her sentence. Cameron clutches at his nonexistent necklace and Taffy as he looks over at me. I just smile at him.
"Hi," Jenny greets Cameron with a smile. "You met my daughter, remember? At Elaina's birthday?" She reminds.
"Katie." Cameron smiles. Jenny grins back at him.
"Kiara," Aaliyah whispers as she slides a plate with a piece of pumpkin pie on it into the spot beside Alex and Elaina.
"Thanks." I smile and step over to climb up onto the stool. "Hi," I look over at Alex and Elaina to wave. Alex just nods at me while Elaina lifts her hand to quickly wave back at me, overly excited for it. I laugh and continue waving back at her.
Almost immediately, I feel Noah's presence back over behind me. I look over my shoulder and show Cameron my pie. He shakes his head simply. He's not a fan of pumpkin pie, but I thought I'd offer anyway. "Cameron, sweetie, you don't want some pie?" Molly asks with a slight frown.
Cameron shakes his head quickly. "No." He decides. When his eyes drift to me, I make a small hinting gesture. His eyes snap back to Molly immediately. "Thank you." He adds.
She smiles, pleased with his manners. "Okay," She accepts. "Let me know when you're hungry."
"Elaina," Alex mutters. I glance over to see her beginning to kick out of his arms, probably either wanting to go play now or say hi to Noah. When I look back at him, he watches her with a little frown.
"Cam," I call on a hum. He frowns because he already knows what I'm telling him. Ultimately though, he starts to push out of Noah's arms. Noah sighs as he leans down to let him down onto the ground. Alex spins in his seat to hold Elaina out to him. She's already excitedly reaching for him.
Meanwhile, Cameron peers over the kitchen island. He lifts Taffy up to peer over the counter too. Molly tilts her head at Taffy, just now noticing it. "Is that a unicorn?" She asks, squinting as if she can't see.
"Her name's Taffy." Noah informs as he casually flips Elaina upside down in his arms. She giggles while he does.
"Oh," Molly mutters. She stares at Taffy but ultimately says nothing more about her. She shakes it off and looks at Noah and me. "When will the wedding be?" She asks simply, as if it's just a casual question. An obvious one, even.
I stare at her for a long moment before up at Noah. His expression can only be described as the blank stare Jim in The Office does before he looks over at the camera. He clears his throat eventually though when Molly raises her brows expectantly. "Yeah...Grandma, we're not getting married." He shakes his head.
She stares at him like he just told her she has three days to live. "What?" Her hand raises to grasp at her actual necklace.
"We're friends." He awkwardly informs, shifting on his feet behind me while he flips Elaina upright before too much blood rushes to her head.
She looks over at Jenny in horror to see if she's hearing this. Jenny shrugs at her. "Times are a-changin'." She murmurs, almost like a warning.
Cameron beams up at us. "You're getting married?"
"Did you not just hear me say we weren't?" Noah asks on a sigh.
"All of my friend's moms and dads are married."
Molly jumps at that chance and gestures to him. "Yes." She agrees.
"Well...Except for Georgia's mom and dad. They don't live together."
"Oh." Molly pulls back some like he's now dangerous.
I can't help my laugh. I try to stifle it with a bite of pie. Luckily, what does manage to slip out doesn't seem to offend Molly. She now looks more disappointed than offended that we're not getting married. I look over my shoulder at Noah again with a little smile. He returns it, and I feel a heavy hand land gently on my back. His hand lingers for a moment before it falls from my back.
I take a breath as I look down at my pie. So far so good, I guess. We did just get here and have only met a couple of people, but weirdly enough, I feel like the hardest part might be over. I base that on the release of tension in Noah's shoulders. He must think so too.
__________
Aaliyah told me her family likes to talk. She didn't really go into detail though, and that was just something she mentioned in a pretty long rant. I laughed it off because I thought she was messing around with me.
She wasn't.
I quickly realize that Noah never sits down with anyone to tell them about the random lady and kid hanging around him. Everyone seems to just already know, and they stare at us like we're not from this planet while we sit in the living room just to hang out. Luckily though, no one actually says anything about it.
Even though no one says anything, the entire time I feel a particularly curious gaze on me. I look around pretty often and always make accidental eye contact with Aaliyah and Noah's mom. I decide that's the culprit for what I'm feeling.
I drift off closer to Noah, deciding that I'm safest there. I don't know if she'll approach me, and I guess it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she did, but I'm still nervous about it. So, I decide to be a coward.
Noah glances at me when he feels my shoulder brush against his arm. "What?" He coaxes quietly. "Hungry? They're setting the table—we'll eat soon." He assures.
"Okay," I accept even though that's not why I stepped up so close to him. "Noah, where's our son?" I whisper as I glance around the room.
"Uh..." He scans the room awkwardly. "Outside. Probably."
I frown. "Probably?"
He smiles confidently. "Probably."
I don't even know how I managed to lose him. He followed me around at first, so I guess I started to assume he was just right behind me. He must've ran off with all the other kids though. Maybe that's where Alex went too—Aaliyah's still on the hunt for him.
I could've sworn Aaliyah said she was the one who wandered though.
My eyes drift over my shoulder to make eye contact with Angela all the way across the room. Only this time, she doesn't immediately look away from me and pretend like she was still scanning the room. She holds her ground. It almost feels like I'm being challenged here. I awkwardly break eye contact, but when my eyes return to hers, she's still staring. It gets creepy fast. I look up at Noah to see if he's feeling it too.
His eyes are trained somewhere else, but his brows start to furrow, and he starts to look displeased. He rolls his shoulders to try to shake it off.
I helplessly look back to Angela only to see her beginning to make her way over. I stare in horror as she does. From what I understand, she isn't happy with me. Or Noah, I think. And something tells me we aren't safe in a room full of people.
I choose to continue cowering. It's not my mom storming her way over like she's on a mission.
Noah sighs deeply when he notices her. He doesn't say anything though, even when she stops in front of us and crosses her arms expectantly. He waits until she inevitably begins all on her own. "Aren't you going to introduce us?" She encourages.
He stares at her for a good five seconds. "You met her at Elaina's party."
She blinks a couple of times. Then purses her lips. "Noah," She urges.
He blinks slowly. "Mom, this is Kiara. Kiara, Angela." He gestures between us.
I awkwardly smile. "Hi, Angela. It's nice to see you again."
She gives a simple nod at me. "Yes, you too." She returns. It's not all that sincere, but it's all you can really say in response to that. She looks up at Noah immediately. "Where is he?" She asks curiously.
I'm about to tell her to try outside where all the other kids went, but Noah beats me to it. "Okay, if you're not going to be nice to his mom, then how am I supposed to believe you're going to be nice to him?" He asks.
I blink and look up at him. Angela blinks too. She scoffs. "I was nice to her." She insists, gesturing to me. "And don't be childish, Noah. You can't keep my grandson from me." She dryly adds.
"Ooh, I can, and I will." Noah starts to smile at her like he finds this funny. "So," He pauses to nod to me. "Try again."
I stare at him before slowly looking to Angela. She stares at him with a bored expression before turning it to me. "It's very nice to see you too, Kiara." She tries. "I don't know what my son wants from me, so," She shrugs and glances at Noah.
"Well, remember she just moved here?" Noah reminds on a hum.
She blinks slowly. "How are you settling in, Kiara?"
I awkwardly smile. "Good—Pretty good." I nod. "Cameron's settling into school pretty nicely and—Oh. That reminds me," I look up at Noah. "He wants to have a sleepover with one of the kids. His first one." I inform.
Noah grins at that. "His first? Seriously? I had my first when I was, like, five or six."
"He's never asked before!" I defend myself quick with a laugh. "I think he just realized it was possible."
He laughs. "Okay, fine." He accepts. "Are you gonna let him go?"
I shrug. "Are we?"
He tilts his head. "What, you're asking me?" He asks. I smile as I nod quickly. "Uh—Well," He laughs quieter as he looks down at the ground. "I mean...Yeah." He smiles. "I'm onboard. I guess we should, uh, meet the kid's parents. Have you done that already?"
I shake my head. "Not formally, but I've seen his dad around."
"Okay, cool. I can go with you to the school Friday if you want."
"Yeah, that works."
"Goodness gracious, can I just see my grandson?"
I almost forgot she was here.
"He might be outside." I offer. "Or wherever the other kids went."
"I'll get him." Noah decides before his mom can step away. "It's almost dinner time anyway." He's already beginning to walk away. I don't think he wants her to be the one to go get him.
I clear my throat awkwardly. He left us alone. "Um," I whisper. "So, Aaliyah told me you and your husband were planning a vacation." I widen my smile in a friendly way. Hopefully.
She sighs. "Yes. My husband booked us a cruise."
"Oh, that's nice!"
"In the middle of December."
"Oh." I try not to make a face. "Uh—Well. That could still be fun." I weakly insist. "Have you ever been on a cruise?"
She nods. "We went for our honeymoon."
My smile softens. "Aw, that's sweet." I decide. "And hey, the cold could turn out to be romantic." I suggest with a soft shrug.
She tilts her head at that as she glances down at the ground to think it over. "It could." She mutters thoughtfully. "Or I could get a cold."
"That's when you use it to your advantage." I grin. "Think about it. In bed all day with him at your beck and call because he's kind of the reason you're sick in the first place." I roll my hands in a circle.
She starts to smile a little. "He makes good chicken soup." She admits. "But for some reason only does it on his own when I'm sick."
"Oh," I acknowledge. "You know what works well?" I smile wider. "Just ask casually for dinner and get, like, super happy about it. They pick up on it when you get super happy about it—And he'll probably want to keep going with it." I suggest.
"That doesn't work for David." She grimaces. "He does it too often. And then it's not good anymore."
"Oh, God. Yeah—My, um..." I pause. Shake my head and smile. "Yeah, that happens too. It's hard to find an in between without straight up just talking about it. But talking about it works great too."
She watches me silently for a long moment before she nods. "Yes, it is." She agrees, but it's only loosely and another one of those things you say but don't really mean.
"Okay, everybody! Dinner!" Jenny claps her hands together loudly a few times as she yells a little louder than she needs to. The man who I've learned is her husband grimaces a little at her loudness but smiles at her when she triumphantly looks up at him.
I look back at Angela and smile. "Dinner." I repeat as I start stepping away from her. She stares skeptically at me while I spin to hurry off to where Aaliyah is headed. Noah's still gone, so she's the only person here who I can follow. She smiles when she sees me following her, happy to have me along.
Noah meets us halfway, busy leading all the kids inside from the backdoor. Cameron runs over to me immediately, grinning widely as he catches my hand in his. I narrow my eyes at Noah. "You left us." I whisper.
He smiles apologetically. "It was either leave you guys together or leave them together." He glances down at Cameron. "Hope you can understand." He shrugs.
I lean in a little closer while we walk. "Forgive but never forget." I murmur. He smiles wider. I smile back at him and look ahead at the rest of the kitchen when we follow Aaliyah in. There are already lines forming for people to make their plates. I look curiously at Noah while we hang back for a moment. "What're we gonna do?" I whisper.
Noah leans in a little closer behind Cameron who waits eagerly beside me. "Okay, so first we're going to get our plates." He nods over to the lines forming. "And then we're going to wander around the house to find somewhere to sit and eat. We can go outside, living room, one of the rooms—I used to just hang out in the hallway with the older cousins. We can go anywhere."
I hum quietly. "Does your family have cliques?"
He chuckles. "Little kids go outside, adults in the living room, gossiping adults in the rooms, cool older cousins in the hallway, and the rest sort of just filter through everywhere."
I roll my lips into my mouth. "What level do I have to be to be in the rooms with the gossiping adults?"
He shakes his head quickly. "Aunt Jenny isn't even in there." He warns. I gasp at that.
I lean in even closer, shoulder brushing against his arm. "Do you think..." I pause to look around. "Do you think they're talking about us?"
"Oh, definitely." He nods quickly. "Yeah—There's no chance they're not." He promises. I purse my lips. "Anyway, what do you guys want on your plates? I'll just grab them really quick, and we can figure out where we can go, okay?"
I nod at that and glance down at Cameron who looks up at me with pleading eyes. There's no doubt in my mind that he's smelled the cookies. I sigh and look at Noah. "He'll take a little bit of everything except stuffing." I inform.
Noah starts to grin. "And cookies." He adds with a nod. Cameron whispers a quick celebration.
"A couple." I agree. "And I can do a little bit of everything except green. I can't stand greens, Noah. Do not put them on my plate."
"What did the green beans ever do to you?" He murmurs as he steps away. I giggle and hold Cameron's hand a little tighter as I guide us closer to the wall and out of the way of everyone else.
My eyes drift around the room subconsciously while we stand off in the corner, waiting for Noah. It doesn't take me long to notice that everywhere my eyes go, they somehow always meet someone else's gaze. I try to ignore it and glance down at Cameron to see if he notices or cares. He shifts on his feet as his eyes dart around too. I loosen my grip on his hand in case he wants to pull away, but his grip on mine never falters, even when he feels mine loosen.
I clear my throat quietly as I tighten my grip on his hand a little again. He looks up at me in response when he feels it. "How're we doing, baby?" I ask quietly as I lean down some.
Cameron frowns a little. "Staring is rude." He reminds on a whisper. "Why're they staring at us?" He asks. "Did we do something bad?"
I lower myself down all the way to my knees. "No, we did not do anything bad." I firmly inform. I doubt anyone would've told him so, but I tell him before anyone else can still. "We're just new." I quietly offer as I lift my hand to brush the one strand of brown hair that keeps falling out of place with him. "They're curious about us, is all." I reason.
Cameron still frowns. "Katie said her mom told her that we were cousins." He informs. "Is that true?"
I nod. "Yeah, that's true." I confirm. "And, you know, Katie's mom is your aunt." I add, still laying out the family tree for him. I shake my head quickly before I get too far though. "Your dad can explain who's who better than me." I admit on a laugh. He smiles some in response, but still looks kind of nervous with all those eyes on us.
I glance back up to see how Noah's doing with our food. I sigh when I see him diligently balancing a plate on the top of his head. He has another in one in his palm and is in the middle of carefully sliding the last in his other palm. But not before he snatches up a brownie to stick in his mouth though. He's sure to grab that first. I almost roll my eyes, but strangely I feel a lot more like smiling fondly at him instead.
That dumb urge creeps up on me when he looks at us and grins around his brownie. I end up smiling at him while he slowly makes his way over, looking up at the ceiling periodically as if he'd be able to actually check on the plate on his head. Cameron giggles loudly at him while he comes over for us. "Daddy, you forgot forks." He reminds happily.
Noah pauses at that. He can't answer Cameron around the brownie in his mouth, but his eyes say it all. Completely devastated and defeated. After all his hard work.
I laugh at his sad eyes. "I'll get them." I hold up a hand as I lift myself up from the ground. "Go find somewhere to eat." I dismiss as I reach up to grab the plate off of the top of his head before it inevitably falls. I hand that to Cameron easily.
Noah can be very expressive without his mouth. His brows furrow and tilt just slightly and his eyes soften. I believe it's his way of asking if I'm sure I can do this alone silently. Instinctively, I glance at the many more family members flooding in to get something to eat.
It's a little nerve wracking to be left completely alone in here, but I find it in me to smile. "It's just silverware, Noah." I reason on a laugh. I wave my hands to shoo them away. Noah still looks unsure, but Cameron is already stiffly saluting me before he begins to march out of the room. I smile at Noah while he hesitates here. "Go with him, please." I remind on a hum.
Noah's chest rises with a deep inhale through his nose. He ultimately turns to follow Cameron out of the room. I take a deep breath and spin around to the rest of the room. Almost immediately, I make eye contact with what I know is Noah's grandpa. I give him an awkward smile, having met him formally already. He smiles back at me, seemingly completely unbothered by my presence. Unlike the rest of his family members.
I clear my throat and step up to the other side of the kitchen island, looking over the counter for some silverware. A young woman ends up stepping up beside me while I search. She glances at me at first but then quickly looks back when she seems to realize she doesn't know who I am. "Oh, hi." She smiles.
I smile back. "Hi." I haven't seen her either. Noah said he had a lot of cousins though, too many to track down right there and then. This might be one of those cousins.
"Um...I'm sorry, I don't recognize you." She laughs and shakes her head, watching me curiously. "Are you from Uncle Micheal's side of the family?" She asks.
"Oh, no." I awkwardly laugh. "No—Um, my name is Kiara." I offer my hand. She takes it without breaking eye contact. "I'm...uh..." Shit. Noah has been the one to introduce me, and all he says is my name. What do I say?
The woman quirks a brow. "You're Kiara?" Her smile starts widening, but it's not really polite.
I stare back at her quietly for an extra moment, slowly pulling my hand away from hers. "Yeah..." I slowly mumble, as if I'm not sure that's really my name. "Um, what's your name?"
She's still smiling in that not quite polite, little mischievous, way. "Abby." She offers on a hum. "So, you're, like, Noah's kid's mom, right?" She asks on a giggle she fails to hide.
I slowly nod. "Yeah, that's me."
Her eyes slowly drift down below my eyes then all the way back up. I shift on my feet while she studies my outfit. "He's seven, right?" She eventually asks, leaning up against the counter while we talk.
"Mhm. Eight by January." I smile a little more at this. He's excited to be eight.
"Damn...So, you kept him a secret from Noah and his entire family for seven years?"
I cock my head back at that, unsure of how I'm supposed to feel about her words and her tone. Ultimately though, I smile. Either way, it's not my place to piss anyone off today. Or ever in someone else's home. "It wasn't really like it was a hard secret to hide." I look away from her to continue scanning for those forks I need.
"Oh, yeah!" Abby grins and snaps her fingers. "Because you, like, moved or whatever before he even realized what day it was." She nods.
I pause to stare at her for a second. Noah told me—assured me—he didn't go into detail to his family about us. He admitted that he vaguely explained to his parents, but he hadn't gone around with this huge story to the rest of his family. I stare while I try to figure out what Abby thinks she knows about us. What conclusions were drawn and what was spread around.
I probably look shittier than I thought I would to them then. There's no way I don't. And I knew that on the way here, but it's still a lot to come to terms with. A whole house of people that I'll be forever connected to in some way hates me. Worst thing is, I would totally understand it if they really did hate me.
I shrug softly. "We've talked about all that already." I simply offer.
"God. Ever since Noah got sober, he's been so stupidly forgiving because of that whole twelve step thing. I don't get it." Abby laughs some more as she glances away thoughtfully. "I'd never forgive you." She admits with a shrug.
I stare down at the counter uselessly. I don't think the silverware is on this one, but I'm a little afraid to walk away from Abby. "Mm." I choose to just hum in response. My response is boring, there's no way she'll still entertain a conversation after a bit.
"I guess he's all caught up in being this super great guy though, you know? He was shitty when he was drunk, but he was a lot more fun." Abby begins a rant like that. I stare blankly at the counter, unblinking as I listen to it all.
How can someone talk about someone they love like that? I don't understand. The fact that Noah seems to know that these are the conversations his family chooses to have only makes my heart ache for him. He's trying, and that's all I really care about now.
My next inhale gets caught in my throat as I check over my shoulder at random. Or maybe instinctively, but he doesn't make a loud sound when he enters the room. Not enough for me to hear over the murmured chattering of everyone else in this room. So, let's go with a random glance. I make eye contact with him immediately after looking over my shoulder.
Even though we've made eye contact, I look away quick and down at the counter to try to hide my cringe. Abby doesn't notice my quick look over my shoulder, so she's still talking.
This poor girl still goes on without a filter in sight.
"If I were him, I think I'd hate you. I mean—come on! You kept his kid from him for, like, seven years. Even the kid's gotta be a little messed up, right? I think I would be."
"The fuck are you doing to her?"
My cringe deepens as I slowly look back at Abby. Abby blinks, chin tilting up higher as she looks up at Noah behind me. I watch her apologetically. "We were talking." Abby shrugs with a little scoff.
"About what?"
She frowns. "Getting to know each other."
"Yeah? What did she tell you about?"
Abby blinks a couple more times. "What—"
"You're getting to know each other. What'd she tell you she's been doing?"
She stares silently. I don't dare look up at him, keeping my eyes on her. He gives her a handful of seconds to come up with an answer he knows she doesn't have. Her mouth opens and closes a few times while she tries to put together an answer. Truth is though, I didn't have a chance to tell her much. And what I did say flowed in one ear and out the other.
Noah doesn't exactly take pity, but he does end all of our suffering when he finally puts an end to his little challenge. "Leave her the fuck alone, Abby. I mean it." He firmly—and a little harshly—orders. "Stay out of both of their faces, okay?"
Abby slowly nods, expression shifting to a shameful one a child might wear while being scolded. "Okay." She mumbles under her breath, earning a deep sigh from Noah in the process.
I jump when I feel an arm wrapping all the way around my waist to start pulling me away from her. "Forks and shit are over here, Kiara." He grumbles in my ear as he practically lifts me up to get me to turn around and head in the opposite direction. He pushes me along in front of him once he decides I see them.
"Oh." I awkwardly acknowledge as I reach over to grab three plastic forks and three butter knives. "I would've found them." I decide.
"Hurry up and get them."
I still don't dare look up at him as I do as he says. I'm already turning to where I know I need to go, but he pushes me along still. I say nothing, keeping my eyes ahead. Meanwhile, he radiates pissed off energy behind me. I glance at different eyes that meet mine, and they all seem to drift over my head then quickly move away.
I pause once we get to the living room. It doesn't take me long to see Cameron isn't in here. Just as I'm about to look at Noah, I feel his hand land on the lower part of my waist to push me to the right where I think the back door is. I guess they settled on eating outside. I pivot and continue walking that way.
"I don't get why you'd let her talk to you like that." Noah begins. Anger is still settled down in his voice, but I can't find it in me to be afraid of that anger. Maybe because it's not directed at me, and I know it for sure. "She's a fucking kid, Kiara. All she knows how to do is talk, and you could've shut it down a lot sooner than that." He firmly continues, still walking right behind me instead of beside me.
"I didn't want to piss your family off." I weakly defend myself. It also didn't really seem all that worth it.
"Fuck them."
I scoff and pause at the closed back door to spin and finally look at him. The anger in his face is a lot more prominent than in his tone, and it catches me off guard. I keep going anyway. "Noah," I scold, my hands landing on my hips in fists as I still hold our forks and knives.
"I told you I didn't want you uncomfortable here." Noah reminds on a frustrated huff. "And I said fuck them earlier, didn't I?"
"Noah—"
"Didn't I?"
I huff sharply, pursing my lips in a pout while I watch him silently for a second. He waits for my answer. "You did." I grumble bitterly.
"I did." Noah repeats with a firm nod. "If you can't find it in you to stand up for yourself against any of my asshole cousins and shit, then we're leaving now." He points his thumb over his shoulder. "So, can you stick up for yourself and our son or not, Kiara?" He questions.
I still pout while I'm being scolded for something I thought I was doing right. "I can." I agree under my breath.
"Okay then." He sighs deeply and nods to the door behind me. I turn away from him quick and open it.
"I'm not a kid, you know." I bitterly remind as I step outside.
"I wonder sometimes." He returns, just as bitter. I flip him off over my shoulder which he scoffs at, but that scoff ends in a chuckle that he fails to hide.