"Okay, I got you the Houston corkscrew you wanted," I took the red tool out of my gift bag and gave it to Daya, "And since you like to pick on me and my hometown, I got you a Carrie Underwood CD. I expect you to know all of the lyrics to 'Before He Cheats' soon." Lennox took the CD and kissed it.
"I sure will yodel some Carrie Underwood, she's kinda fine."
I rolled my eyes and welcomed Daya's light hug.
Every year, Lennox, Daya, and I bring each other random gifts from our hometowns after summer break.
Summer is practically over and everyone has made their way back to Philadelphia. This summer was incredibly fun. I worked a little more than normal, but I was still able to have a lot of fun with my boyfriend and friends.
We're supposed to meet up with the boys in an hour to celebrate the upcoming school year, so we decided to get our usual tradition out of the way.
"Me next. Zola, I got my nephew a gift instead." Lennox grinned and pulled a 49ers leash from her bag.
"Girl, you're from Fresno, this is San Fransico's team." I chuckled at the cute leash, at least Lee will love it.
"It's all the same to me, I just thought it was adorable."
I hugged Lennox and laughed with her.
"For my baby Daya." Lennox gave Daya a tiny keychain with her name on it.
"Hey, you found 'Dayanara.' I've never found my name on one of these shits." Daya laughed and clipped it on her keys.
"Took 20 minutes to find it."
Daya smiled and pulled her bag closer. She's been kinda quiet and less involved, but Lennox and I have agreed to give her time to adjust to being back here before jumping to conclusions.
"Zo, I got you a blanket with the Puerto Rican flag on it because you think it's so pretty." I gasped and took the soft blanket from Daya.
It feels great, I already know I'll be sleeping with it every night.
"Thank you so much, Daya."
"Of course. Here you go, Len." Daya gave Lennox a headband with 'Puetro Rico' on the front of it and Lennox screamed, she loves headbands.
Daya has never hesitated when it came to sharing her culture with us, and I'm really grateful for it. I've learned a lot during our years of friendship.
"Y'all already know what's next." I pulled the beautiful women into a group hug and laughed.
I love my best friends.
I noticed the short look of worry on Daya's face when we were pulling away, but I didn't say anything about it. I'm going to find out what's up with her soon.
"Look at y'all, all grown and shit, getting tattoos- you'll be graduating before I know it." Lennox faked a few tears and Bentley nudged her.
"They're about to be up there with you, Vaughn."
Vaughn let out a short laugh and sipped his drink before looking down.
"Cut it out, Knox." Bentley plucked the cherry from Lennox's milkshake and ate it.
The upcoming school year will be Lee, Bentley, and Elon's last years in college.
"My baby's gonna graduate," I pouted and smooshed Lee's cheeks, "All three of you are, it's making me sick." They all laughed at me, but I'm serious.
"It's not like much is gonna change after, we're staying in Philly." Elon stole a fry from my plate and nodded.
"Y'all can't get rid of us." Lee finished his drink and wrapped his arm around me.
"More like y'all can't get rid of us." Lennox pointed to herself, Daya, and me.
The whole table laughed and I agreed with Lennox. I peaked over at Daya as she fake-laughed and observed her. She didn't sit next to Elon like she usually would, and she still looks naturally worried.
Lennox subtly kicked my foot under the table and nodded to let me know she notices too.
Something is wrong.
With the end of summer break comes the beginning of classes, which is soon. Lee's been at the lab helping Healani prepare for it's reopening and he's supposed to be there until 9 PM tonight.
I'm getting dressed to go to Lennox's because my anxiety flares when I'm in a place alone. I don't think I'll feel comfortable in solitude until Penn is found and dealt with, even then, I still expect some nervousness.
Thankfully, my family has narrowed their search down to 23 addresses in the same area.
I tied my violet Converses and looked towards my front door once I heard quiet knocks. I crept to the door and glanced through the peephole.
"What the-"
I swung the door open and pulled Daya inside.
Daya's cheeks are completely wet and tears are dripping down her chin, her eyes are extremely puffy and three shades away from being bloodshot red. I watched her let out a sob and wipe away the wetness with her sleeve.
"Day, what's wrong?" I led her to my living room and sat her in the armchair with a miniature fan near it.
She struggled to speak through her sobs and I understood the feeling, I jogged to my kitchen and poured her a glass of ice-cold water.
I sat the glass in her trembling hands and watched her sip it as tears continued to fall. To say I'm scared is an understatement.
Daya never cries. The only time I've seen Daya cry is after she received the call about her mom being in critical condition after her stroke.
If Daya's crying, it's serious.
"Can you tell me what's wrong... please?" I kneeled in front of Daya and held her hands.
She looked at me and frowned, wiping the rest of her tears away.
"I fucked up, Zo, I did." I raised my eyebrows in confusion and soothingly rubbed her back.
"You fucked up? Daya, what's wrong? You're scaring me."
Daya looked down and tears fell onto the fluffy rug below us, she sniffled twice then looked into my eyes again.
"Zola, I'm pregnant."
I felt the wind being knocked out of me with her words.
Daya is pregnant?
Is that why she's been so distant? Is that why she's been so withdrawn from Elon, is she scared about how he'll react to their child?
I'm incredibly confused, shocked even. I couldn't have imagined this being the reason why Daya was so stressed, I'm even more scared for her now. None of us have any business with a baby, not now at least.
However, it's not my job to dump all of my negative feelings on her right now. I need to be her best friend and support her.
"It'll be okay, Daya. You can talk to Elon about it and you guys will work it out." I gently squeezed her hand and watched as more tears fell from her face.
"Zola... I don't know if Elon's the father."
The wind was knocked out of me again.
Elon, her boyfriend, isn't the father?
I can't believe this.
Elon's suspicious were right... Daya cheated on him.
I tried my hardest not to judge Daya and decided that it was in my best interest if I thought heavily before everything I said from this point on.
"W-who else have you been with, Daya?"
"I was already feeling him before, then he came to visit me in Puerto Rico and I was so fucked up about my mom... I wasn't thinking, Zola, I wasn't." Daya sobbed into her arm and I shook my head with guilt and worry building inside of me.
Please don't let it be who I'm thinking.
"Daya... who is it?"
She looked up at me and sniffled, I wiped her tears away and nodded.
"Vaughn."
~
Daya has a bun in the oven and she isn't sure which Alderidge brother it belongs to. It's a brewing sticky situation.
Sidenote: Tell me why I googled Dayanara again and a Puerto Rican actress named Dayanara Torres came up *Daya's full name is Dayanara Torres and she's from Puerto Rico*. I genuinely did not know about this woman. I thought the name Dayanara was cute and Torres came from a generator. Huh, what a cute coincidence.
Riddle: One of the four words does not belong with the other three. Which word does not belong? What is it that the others have in common?
2. April, December, November, June.
Answer: 2. December. The other months have only 30 days.
-Until next time, lovers 🎈