Diana's POV
A little peck on my forehead makes me stir in slip as I slowly open eyes, letting out a grunt as I flush my face in the pillow. My legs are tangled with a pair of others and I can feel an arm lazily drooped against my torso.
"Mornin' love." I hear him say before I acknowledge his face, his voice laced with sleep and I peek from one eye to look at him.
"Morning." I say, still sleep deprived. I open my eyes and supporting my weight on my forearms, I move across to place a peck on Aaron's lips.
"God, I missed this." He smiles against my lips and I flop my head on the pillow again.
I nod, agreeing before opening my mouth to speak, "When was the last time you slept in a bed?" I question, referring to what he told me about not being able to sleep in bed ever since we broke up.
"Actually, I slept in my bed after you left that day. It smelled like you, and I missed you too much to let that go to waste." He informs me and I arch an eyebrow.
"Have you changed your sheets since then?" I ask, teasing and he shrugs.
"Probably not."
"Gross!" I crinkle up my nose and he laughs.
I hate the fact that we are so dressed right now but I can still feel the warmth radiating off his body. He attempts to get out of the bed but I stop him as I scoot closer to him, keeping my head on his chest as I listen to my favourite sound in the entire world - his heartbeat.
"You know, we need to get out of bed sometime of the day so you can wake up Emily and I can take a shower in the bathroom before that." He points and I narrow my eyes at him.
I part our bodies and he gives me a smug smile before moving to the bathroom but I throw a pillow at his back. "Use the one in the hallway." I tell him, feeling a little guilty but he gives me an understanding nod.
"Baby steps." He whispers before leaving the room and I check the clock, realising that it's already nine thirty. God! Life is exhausting.
I take my time to freshen up myself and take a shower before pulling out really short shorts to wear inside the apartment and a full sleeves shirt. Odd combination, but I kind of like it. After I am done, I move to Emily's bedroom. She's sleeping peacefully and I slide in bed with her. She stirs in her sleep as her tiny arms come to wrap around me.
"Morning, sweet." I say, and she fumbles as she lets out a groan.
I smile, putting my hand on her forehead to virtually check her temperature. She doesn't feel warm against my hand so I let out a breath of relief. She slowly opens her eyes and looks into my grey ones and I smile as I see just the hint of emerald in her orbs, reflecting her father's genes.
I have made my peace with it, I really have.
"Good Morning, Momma!" She pecks on my jaw, making me grin.
"Feeling better?" I ask and she nods, sitting up. "Alright, before we get out of bed, I wanted you to know that Aaron is here." I give her a forewarning and she frowns a little.
"Oh." She looks confused.
"He stayed the night." I tell her, not sure how I feel about it.
My words immediately make a smile creep on her face as she stares at me like I have just let her in on a secret. Why can't my daughter not act like a kid that she is? She gives me a tight hug before slipping out of the bed and going straight to the bathroom. She pulls the stool to stand near the sink before pulling out her brush and I help her put paste on it.
"Try and brush, I'll go pick clothes for you." I say and she nods, attempting to brush her teeth successfully.
I open her closet and pull out comfortable sweats for her, a warm sweatshirt and sweatpants. We're staying in today anyway. For next half an hour I help Emily get ready and fresh. After we're done, I brush her hair into braids and she looks adorable as she sticks out her lower lip at me when I tell her that she'll be going to school after one more leave.
"Come, let's feed you something." I tell her, picking her up in my arms and she keeps her head on my shoulder, still feeling a little weak from her illness.
When I enter the living room, Aaron is standing in the kitchen and I narrow my eyes a little before I realize that he's preparing breakfast. I love how good he looks when he prepares food, I wasn't kidding at all when I said that my kitchen suits him a lot. It just messes up with my hormones a little every time I witness such a sight.
"Good Morning, A." Emily chirps from my arms and I let her down before she runs off to the kitchen island. I give him a small smile as I notice that he changed into sweats that don't belong to him, that is definitely Connor's pair but it fits him as well because they both pretty much are the same size.
I push a few chairs towards the island as I make a little space for us to eat. Aaron serves a plate of fruits and a glass of milk in front of Emily and puts a plate of chocolate chip pancake in front of him.
"You didn't have to do this, you know?" I tell him and he frowns.
"I wanted to." He says and I shrug.
"Thanks."
Emily clears her throat as she stares at her plate of fruits, "I want pancakes."
Aaron and I immediately shake our heads as we both say at the same time, "Nope, no pancakes."
Emily giggles at us and we both stare at each other before he smiles. I lean forward and place a peck on his cheeks and Emily groans, "Gross!"
Aaron laughs and then looks at her, "C'mon, I'll eat fruits with you. Let only your Mum have pancakes." He smiles at her and she nods, suddenly fine with the fact that she isn't getting pancakes for breakfast.
"I can sneak you some later." I wink at Aaron who chuckles.
"Nah, that's okay." He smiles and I nod.
After we're done with the breakfast, I give Emily her medicine and put the dirty dishes in the sink before moving to the living room, Emily following behind me. I switch on the television and turn to the Disney channel. She plops down on the couch, Aaron following suit and I roll my eyes.
"I'll do the laundry, alright?" I say and they both nod mindlessly.
Aaron hasn't been to his apartment in two days, and I like the fact that he's staying here with me, opening up to Emily and giving us a genuine shot at making things alright. It used to happen on the days before we broke up as well, but he had never stayed the night until now. Something's changed in our relationship, it just seems better, stronger.
Just as I am about to be done with laundry, which is an hour later because of how many clothes were piled up, the doorbell rings and I shout out from hallway, "Aaron, please check who's on the door."
"Checking," He yells back and I go around to put another round of the clothes in the dryer.
After I do so, I make my way out in the living room and immediately stop in tracks when I see Charlotte standing there, Marcel and Shelly right behind her. I try to put a smile on my face after seeing them but fail when I see my evil cousin looking Aaron up and down with her gaze. His eyes move to me and I know he can immediately tell that I am upset but I give him an assuring nod.
"Come on in, guys." I say, my voice not cheery at all but they enter the living room.
Emily is staring at them cautiously but a smile splits on her face when she sees a basket of chocolates in Marcel's hands. She starts jumping in her seat and Shelly laughs. Marcel looks at me but then his eyes move to Aaron who gives him a curt nod, "Mr. Wilson."
"Mr. McCall." Marcel greets back and I can see the air thickening in the room.
"To what do I owe the pleasure of such an early visit in the morning?" I ask, trying my best not to sound rude.
Shelly smiles at me, "It's noon already, and we just wanted to check up on our grandkid." She looks at Emily who gives her a hug.
"You are taking those chocolates back, though. That really isn't going to help with her sickness." I point out and Marcel shakes his head.
"Save it for the time she gets better." He grins at Emily who gives me an evil smile, obviously pleased to be favored by everyone.
I notice that Aaron and I are the only one standing so I gesture for him to take a seat on the couch on the side and he shakes his head. It must be weird for him to be like this in front of his boss, and I understand but Marcel is my family, and I want him to know that Aaron and I are good, for real.
I move to him and taking his hand in mine, I move to the side couch, both of us taking a seat, right across from Charlotte and I can see the smug look on her face when she sees my hands joined with Aaron's. I immediately retreat it back to myself and he frowns but doesn't say anything.
"How are you feeling, Em?" Charlotte asks and I literally cringe at the use of her nickname.
Emily gives her a small smile, "Better, thank you." She says, politely.
"Is your mother taking good care of you, or not?" Shelly asks, obviously teasing me and Emily grins.
"Both of them are." She responds, looking right at Aaron and I.
I can see his cheeks flush when Marcel arches an eyebrow at us, "Yeah? When did you drop by, Aaron?" He asks, looking straight into his eyes.
Aaron fidgets uncomfortably by my side but Emily takes it upon herself to answer all the questions today, "Ye-terday." She says and I literally want to face palm.
"Ye-s-terday, Em." I correct her and she nods before I look at both Marcel and Shelly, who look like they have seen a ghost, "He stayed the night, not that big of a deal." I shrug and they nod, but Marcel still doesn't look satisfied with my answer.
"How is your job application for Chicago coming along?" He questions Aaron and I hold my breath, looking between the two of them.
Aaron's gaze shifts to me before he looks at Marcel again, taking hold of my hand mindlessly, "I rejected the jobs there, Sir." He says, his voice confident and I let out a breath.
Marcel finally lets out a smile and nods before giving me an approving look and I return the same expression before speaking, "I am sorry, I never offered, would you guys like to drink anything?" I ask and they shake their heads.
"Water." Charlotte says, her voice curt and just as I am about to stand, Aaron pulls me back slightly.
"I'll get it."
I give him a thankful smile before turning to them again and Charlotte starts speaking, "We need to take Emily for an hour or two for her dress as flower girl."
A frown immediately creeps on my face, "Today?" I ask and she nods, "Are you nuts? She just got discharged from hospital yesterday. She isn't going anywhere today, or with you alone at all. I'll tag along, when she's better." I say, clarifying my words and her eyes turn into slits.
"You're not part of the wedding, you can't just tag along."
"Trust me, I am not even interested to be part of your pity wedding. But she's my daughter, and she isn't going with you anywhere or without me, at all." I say, emphasizing on each word.
Shelly interrupts, "Girls! I'll be there, alright? You have nothing to worry about Diana." She tries to reassure and I shake my head as Aaron gives a glass of water to Charlotte before coming to sit by my side.
"She isn't going today anywhere, at all. She needs to rest as much, and shopping is nowhere near resting."
"That's alright, we'll just wait until she's better." Shelly says and I nod.
They sure will, and even when she's better, she isn't going anywhere with Charlotte without me being right by her side. She's just a kid and I know Charlotte won't harm her, but that doesn't mean I trust her.
"Well, I guess we'll leave now that we know our girl is fine." Marcel says, standing up and his wife and daughter follow his actions.
They start moving to the door before he turns around and looks at Aaron, "I expect to see you in office tomorrow." His gaze is fixed right into his eyes and Aaron nods before I shut the door behind them.
I have never been more awkward around anyone, "That was bad." I sigh and he nods, wrapping his arms around me.
"Why do you hate her so much?" He asks, mentioning to Charlotte and I shake my head, not wanting to go into details.
"She has accused me of awful things that are just not true." I say and he nods, getting that I don't want to talk about it. We settle on the couch again, Emily moving to keep her head on the hand rest of the couch and watching some cartoon.
Aaron pulls me closer to himself and I look at him, "Why Chicago?" I ask, curious and he looks at the television screen.
"Lily lives there." He says and I immediately frown, moving away as he mentions another woman's name. Why would he want to move cities for some woman? When he notices my apprehension, he rolls his eyes, "She's my biological mother, Dee." He clarifies and I am left in utter surprise.
"Oh." Is all I say.
"Yeah, I just thought that if I moved there, someday I'll build up the courage to walk up to her doorstep and ask her why she did what she did." He says and I know it hurts him to even talk about it.
I wrap my arms around him before keeping my head on his shoulder, "We can still go to Chicago, you know that right?" I say and a small smile forms on his lips.
"We?" He asks and I blush a little.
"Yeah, I mean, if you want me to go with you, plus we could really use a getaway." I shrug and he laughs.
"Sure."
Something hits me in that moment as I slam my palm against my forehead, "I have to ask you something." I look up at him, suddenly very attentive and I know I have all his attention.
"Shoot," he says, sitting up straight.
"Will you be my date at Charlotte's wedding?" I ask and he grins, and then laughs, making me scowl. "Why are you laughing at me?"
"You're cute, that's why, I would have been kinda offended if you wouldn't have asked me. But yes, I would love to be your date at your evil cousin's wedding." He says and I smile before placing a peck on his lips.
Just as I do, I hear Emily say from behind me, "Aww."
I laugh out aloud, parting from Aaron and looking at her and she's looking at both of us with the most adorable expression. Aaron chuckles beneath me and I motion for her to move closer. She moves to my lap but shifts in a way that she's sitting half on my lap and half on Aaron's. Her tiny arms fail to hug us both together so we lean in to make it easier for her.
When we are so close, I whisper in Aaron's ear, "She's getting married in Chicago."
I can feel his body language change and when he parts, he looks at me, "When is her wedding?" He questions and I shrug.
"We're leaving in two weeks."
"You tricked me." He gasps and I grin.
Emily gets comfortable as she lies down on top of us both and watches television while Aaron keeps fidgeting in his seat so I take his hand, intertwining our fingers together and look into his eyes, "You're going to be okay, okay? Breathe." I say and he nods, taking in slow breaths and I give him a smile.
I know the consequences of asking him to be my date, and I know what lies for me at that wedding, but I can't always run or keep him in dark. He deserves to know me, everything about me, and this time I am ready to pull away the curtains completely. Not just for myself, but for him, for us.
Aaron's POV.
I look at her and all I can think about is two weeks, two weeks from now I will be in Chicago, with her, attending her cousin's wedding, as her date. I love her, I am in love with her and I love how things are turning out for us but what lies in Chicago for me apart from good days with Diana scares the shit out of me.
I haven't talked to my parents much apart from the usual phone calls from my mother's side. She likes to check up on me, and when days pass, I like to call her up myself. I am not sure about my father, but I am definitely more attached to my mother to check up on her once in a while. She broke down on phone a few days ago, and it wasn't because of someone else this time, she was worried about how I was doing.
Till yesterday morning, Diana and I were still broken up, and I still sounded miserable as ever. My mother asked me to come meet her this weekend. I plan on doing that, to resume the Friday dinners.
I want to tell her about Lily, and my plans to meet her. She wouldn't be happy, especially knowing that Diana gave me the information, she'll be thoroughly pissed but I can't do this behind her back.
The door bell rings, shaking me up a little and when I look at Diana, I see the concern in her eyes for me but she doesn't voice it. I give her a small smile before moving to get up but she shakes her head and Emily moves to my lap before Diana stands to check the door.
As soon as she opens the door, Connor and Ella barge in, and just seeing the smiles on their faces lessens my worry a little. These are the kind of people that just immediately brig positive vibes in your life, and I highly appreciate it.
"Hey babygirl." Connor greets Emily who's suddenly out of my lap and into his arms, "Well, you don't look sick to me at all." He chuckles and she pulls his cheeks.
He then eyes Diana before lunging forward and squeezing her in a hug, Emily still in his arms, "Oh how I missed you." He says, obviously getting the fun out of annoying Diana.
She pushes him off, her nose crinkled up in the cutest manner as she straightens out her hair, "I suddenly miss my peace." She gives him a look before moving to hug Ella who closes the door behind her.
"How are you feeling, Em?" Ella asks, and Emily laughs as Connor tickles her.
"Great!" She squeals.
"Babe! Let her go. Em, do me a favor and get me your favorite toy, will you?" Ella says, looking at her with a smile on her face and Connor lets down Emily and she runs to her room.
Ella immediately turns to me, "Aaron, I got something for you." She says and motions for me to move over to her.
Lazily, I stand and Connor immediately speaks up, "Those are my sweats!" He says and I roll my eyes.
"Nice to see you too, bud!" I grin at him and he mouths 'asshole' to me.
Ella pulls something out of her pocket and turn her palm into a fist as she offers both of her hands to me, "Choose one." She says and I frown, looking at Diana, who looks as confused as I am.
Connor look curious and I look at him for help but he just shrugs. What the hell is going on? I eye her hands before picking on the left, "Left one, I guess." I say, sounding not so sure.
"Good choice, buddy." She whispers.
Before I can even grasp what's happening, her fist connects to my jaw and I stumble back, my hand moving to cup my face and I groan in pain, "What the fuck!"
I look up at her and she's smirking and when my eyes move to Connor and Diana, both of them have tears running down their face because of how hard they are laughing. Fuck! Seriously?
"What the hell was that for?" I ask Ella, standing up straight, pain still shooting up my jaw and I know a bruise is going to be there.
"Well, that was pending from a long time for breaking her heart." She says, looking back at Diana who's still laughing, Connor right by her side.
It takes me a moment to let her words sink in. Fuck! I remember Connor mentioning something along the lines of Ella waiting to punch me. I kind of deserved it, but I definitely wasn't expecting it.
"Deserved it, can't complain." I shrug and Diana sobers down a little and I narrow my eyes at those two, "Stop it, it wasn't that funny!"
"You bet your ass it was." Connor says, still grinning like a lunatic. He moves to Ella and kisses her cheek, "So proud for offering my face to her for practicing all these years."
"She punches you?" I scowl.
Diana shakes her head, "Once. He was the first guy she ever punched."
"Or nailed. Just saying." He shrugs, nonchalantly and I laugh.
"You know, my right fist isn't so bad either. You want a punch as well?" Ella looks at him and he backs away.
"Yes, how the hell is your left fist so strong?" I ask and she grins.
Diana moves to me and cups my face, immediately making me wince and then suspects the bruise coming along, "She's left handed." She informs and I nod at the information.
Emily walks out in the living room, three stuffed toys in her hands and move to Ella, "Here, my favorite toys." She says, handing them to her.
"Good, now let's go play in your room. Connor, come along." She tells him and he nods, following her.
I know the only reason Ella asked her to bring her toys was because she needed her to go inside so she could punch me. After they disappear own the hallway, Diana turns to me, "Are you mad at her?" She asks and I shake my head.
"I deserved it." I tell her and she smiles.
"I gave you enough punishment by pushing you away, the last thing you need is a bruise on your beautiful face." She tells me, her eyes roaming around my face.
"That's okay, I deserved that too." I say and she kisses me, it hurts a little but her kisses seem to ease the pain. "Plus, a bruise makes me look very manly, like I just kicked someone's butt in a club fight or something." I tease.
"I love you." She laughs and I smile.
"I love you more."
"I love you the most." She grins and I laugh.
"Careful there, Dee! I think my cheesiness is rubbing off of you."
She doesn't disagree before kisses me again and I temporarily forget that I am about to meet my biological mother in less than three weeks.