In a purely platonic way, of course.
“Well, Imma let you go. I need to finish packing,” My Dadsays, and I nod, my eyes still on Kay and Sera. “I love you, Zee. Tell my baby girl that I love her, too.”
“I love you, too, Dad,” I reply, finally looking back down at him. “Have a great trip.”
Once he’s gone, I place my phone on the coffee table. Serenity is back playing a game on her tablet as Kay walks over to me. Before I can say anything, she sits beside me and pulls me into her lap. Was this a first? No. Did my heart damn near jump out of my chest when we were this close? Absolutely. Did I want it to stop? Hell fucking no!
“So, I’m guessing that you’re not going home this weekend,” she says, and I nod. “Okay, well, would you still like to get out of the house? I know Princess doesn’t wanna be stuck inside all weekend. So, how about y’all come to the orchard with me?”
“That could be fun,” I say excitedly. “I was just talking to your parents yesterday and promised to bring Sera to see them. It’s been a few weeks.”
“Okay, then it’s settled,” she nods, her hand rubbing my thigh lightly. “Go pack your stuff, and I’ll help Princess pack. It won’t take long, because you know she already has so much stuff over there. The problem is what plushies she’s gonna fuss about not being able to bring.”
I let out a knowing laugh. Sera had an affinity for plushies, and she couldn’t go anywhere without at least three. She even had a few in her backpack that she took to school. Miss Brown informed me that she never took them out, though. They were there more for support than anything.
“Alright, let’s get this done and head out before it gets too late,” I nod, standing from her lap.
About thirty minutes later, we were packed, and Kay hadpulled my car into the garage. After double-checking that everything was locked and turned off, I set the alarm and got into Kay’s jeep as she secured Sera into the car seat that she kept in her car for her. Soon, we were all set and heading out to make the hour and fifteen-minute trip to her hometown.
CHAPTER 2
Time At The Orchard
Jakayla “Kay” Collins - September 17th, 2023
“Jakaylaaaa!”
I jump at the sound of my name being called and quickly turn from the apple tree I was tending. My younger sister, Morgan, stood about two feet away, waving her arms to get my attention. I pointed to my ear, and she nodded, understanding instantly.
Usually, when I was busy harvesting apples, I played lo-fi or jazz music through a small portable speaker that clipped to one of my belt loops. It wasn’t loud or anything, but the orchard was always pretty quiet, especially this far back, so any sounds echoed a bit, making it hard to hear anything past it. I’d also been having trouble with the hearing device I’d been wearing for the last year, and was due to get an upgrade in a few days. I’d stopped wearing it for the time being, so sometimes I didn’t quite hear when people called me from further away.
“Hey, sis,” I smile, lifting a hand. She strolled over, ready to annoy the hell out of me, but when Serenity peeked fromaround the tree, her attention shifted, and a smile graced her face.
“Oh, I didn’t know the princess was out here helping.” She smiles at her, squatting to her level. Sera lights up, throwing her tiny arms around Morgan. “Hey, Auntie’s baby. How have you been?”
“You’re so fake.” I laugh, and she waves me off. I glance over at Sera. “Don’t fall for it, Princess. Auntie is a meanie.”
“No, Auntie is nice!” She replies before holding out her left hand, palm-side up. We watch as she swipes the palm of her right hand across it, signing the word ‘nice’ perfectly. “Right, Mama Kayla?”
“Yes, that’s right.” I smiled a proud smile before ruffling her hair. “You’re so smart, Princess. I mean, your Auntie is still not a nice person, but you are, and that’s all that matters.”
Morgan flips me off, and Serenity gasps before falling into a fit of giggles in Morgan’s arms. I swear, this was the silliest little girl ever. She brought me so much joy, and I was grateful to be part of her life. I never admitted it, but I was honored that the woman who was supposed to be her other mom wasn’t in the picture anymore. Now, I get to help my best friend raise this amazing bundle of sunshine. I may technically only be her godmother, but to me, Zee, and everyone else in our lives, Sera was just as much mine as she was Zee’s. That was my baby girl, and I would always be there for her.
And for Zee.
The love of my life, except she doesn’t know it.
Even though I’ve never admitted my feelings to her, they’ve been present since that first day she walked her fine ass up in that house all those years ago. Back then, I wasstill dating someone, but it didn’t last much longer once Zee and I started hanging out. No, I didn’t cheat or anything. Our relationship had been on the rocks for a while, and even though it took me a minute, I finally realized that it was time to give that up.
But, because the universe likes a good joke, by the time I was single again, Zee had met Sasha, and they fell in love fast. I’ve never liked her, and I could tell that she didn’t like me either, but I didn’t care. All I cared about was that she treated my best friend right.
And she did.
She treated her so well that I put my beef aside while they were together, but once she did what she did to Zseyah, she lost all respect from me once again. I wish I could’ve been more shocked than I was to find out that she’d been cheating the whole time they were together, but I wasn’t. My gut feelings are never wrong.
But then, when she ultimately chose some other woman over Zee and their child, leaving Zee devastated when she found the real truth of why she left, my hatred for Sasha only grew.
Fuck her for real. She didn’t deserve Zseyah, and I’m glad that I was right there to tell her that she was gonna be okay. I was always there, and I always would be. Zee meant the world to me. Serenity meant the world to me. They were my little family, and I would do everything in my power to make sure they were taken care of.
