Chapter Seven

Adrianna’s POV

            “Mamamamamamama,” the baby monitor lights up as my eyes slowly open up and adjust to the morning light. I check my phone for the time and it’s just after seven. I’ll never understand how my daughter is such an early riser when I am anything but. I’m virtually a zombie to anyone other than her before I’ve had at least two cups of coffee.

            “Okay, baby girl! Mama’s up.” I call to the nursery next to my room and I hear my mini me start babbling and laughing in her crib. I quickly brush my teeth and take a brush through my dark brown hair before throwing it up into a messy bun. I grab my phone off the charger and head down the hall to Autumn’s bedroom.

            When I walk in, I see a huge mess of brown hair going all over the place which is her normal morning look, but somehow she’s managed to wrap herself up in her blanket and is sitting in her crib like a mummy, just looking up at me with her wide brown eyes. Before I move to help her escape her bed, I pull my phone out and take a picture to send it to my family members and a couple friends.

            “Good morning, Autumn!” After releasing my daughter and changing her diaper, I place her on the ground and we walk to the kitchen to start our morning. I’m just starting the coffee maker when my phone goes off.

            From MJ: Good morning! How’s your morning so far? :)

            I let out a small laugh remembering how early Mackenzie always used to wake up when we were teenagers. She was always up with the sunrise and once she was awake, she was a livewire; no stopping her. After I put Autumn in her high chair with some juice, I text her back.

            To MJ: Kenz, it’s only 7:20 in the morning. My day so far has consisted of waking up.

            I continue to text her throughout the morning..

            From MJ: Oh yea, sorry. I forget that not everyone is as hyper as me in the mornings. :/

            To MJ: Never need to apologize for that. I’m just surprised you’re awake right now with the babies. Is everything okay?

            From MJ: Of course! And we all had a kinda crazy day yesterday, so I think they’re worn out, which let me sleep better. Do babies get worn out when they are in your stomach like do they sleep too? Have you learned that yet in your classes?

            To MJ: Yes, they do sleep, but usually when you’re awake because your movements soothe them. But why did they get worn out? What was crazy about yesterday?

            From MJ: I don’t think my babies got that memo, because they are constantly moving during the day. They like peace and quiet to sleep like their mommy.

            To MJ: Well, it’s not bad that they do that, it also may be different with twins, I’m not sure. But what was so crazy about yesterday?

            From MJ: OH! I forgot I didn’t talk to you last night.. The Rivera’s threw me a surprise baby shower! :) It was Disney themed and so adorable. I got like everything I would need at least for the babies’ first year and some things through toddler. I got everything except cribs and bedding. So, Naya and I are going to go shopping this afternoon for them. :)

I can’t help but feel a little hurt when I read this, because I wasn’t able to be there. This makes me wonder if the Rivera’s even know that I’m back in Mackenzie’s life. Not that I could fault her if she didn’t tell anyone, because I haven’t told anyone in my family. To MJ: Well, that was nice.

            From MJ: Come on, don’t be like that. Please?

            To MJ: Be like what?

            From MJ: You’re being short with me because you’re upset that you weren’t able to be at the shower, but honestly, as much as I would have loved you there, I don’t think it would be the most appropriate place to get to know each other again. Don’t you think?

She always was able to read me through little things like that. I move the 11 month old brunette out of her high chair and hand her the last couple Cheerios she had left. She plods out to her toys in the front room while I finish cleaning up from breakfast.

            To MJ: Okay, I’ll admit you’re right on that point, but I still would have loved to have gotten something for the babies. And speaking of getting to know you again, you said you weren’t busy today?

            From MJ: Well, I’m free all morning and early afternoon! :) I guess Nay and Mama are going to go do some stuff this morning before we go shopping. So I’m free til around 2. Do you wanna hang out? :)

I can practically hear the exuberant sixteen year old I first met through the text.

            To MJ: Lol! Sure! How about brunch? We can meet at our old IHOP a couple towns over around 10?

            From MJ: Okay! I’ll be there! I’m going to get ready. See you then. :)

I know I was the one that kind of invited her out, but I am so nervous now. What am I going to wear?Do I dress up or casual? Do I wait outside for her or maybe I should offer to pick her up?

            “Mamamamama.” I see a half-naked baby stumbling towards me. I laugh because somehow she managed to pull half her diaper off.

            “Come on, Autumn June!” I pick her up and hug her while walking to her room. “Time to get ready for our day.” I’m half way through getting her dressed before it hits me. “S**t! What am I going to do with you? I can’t take you with me. That would just be too awkward. I mean, sure I’ll tell her about you at some point. You’ll love her, Autumn. Mackenzie will love you too.” I smile down to her and I receive the cutest smile in return.

            After she’s dressed and her hair is done, I press play on Princess and the Frog in my room and move to my bathroom to get ready myself. I curl my hair and get my makeup done. When I look at my phone, it’s now almost nine o’clock. I quickly call Holly and hope she’s not working today. The phone rings twice before she picks up, “Hello?”

            “Hey, it’s Ade, how are you?”

            “I’m good! What’s up?”

            “I was just wondering if you had any plans today. I have to, um, meet, uh, someone at ten and I don’t want to bring Autumn with me.” I cross my fingers hoping she’ll say she’ll watch her.

            “Well, Lilly and I were actually going to hang out today. Why don’t you call your mom?” Ever since my break up with Kenzie, Lilly has been attached to Holly’s hip always looking for advice and someone to talk to outside of the family.

            “I can’t call mom, because she threw that fit last week that I left Autumn for so long. Plus she’ll question what I’m doing and I can’t answer her right now.” Wrong choice of words..

            “Why can’t you? Are you okay? Is it Nick and that’s why you can’t bring Autumn? You really shouldn’t be seeing him until he starts paying child su-.”

            “Okay, chill! It’s not Nick or anyone remotely dangerous. Okay? I promise. Can you pleaseplease just watch her for like an hour or two? I’m begging!”

            “Alright. We were really just going to be at my house anyway, so that’s fine we can watch her.” I swear I screamed!

            “Thank you! Thank you so much! You don’t even know how much this means.. oh, but just please-”

            “Don’t worry, I won’t say anything. I’ll make sure Carlos and Lilly don’t say anything either, but you know your brother is going to want an explanation.” I can practically hear her smirking on the other side of the call.

            “Yea. Yea. And he’ll get one.. when I feel like giving him one. Ha!” I tell her I’d drop Autumn off in thirty minutes and we finish up the call. “Bueno, baby girl. You ready to go see Aunt Holly and Tía Lilly while mama goes to get her best friend back?”

            It’s 9:55 and I’m sitting in my car trying to figure out whether I should wait for Mackenzie inside or outside of the restaurant. Do I get a table and wait? No, because what if she doesn’t show up, then I’m looking like an idiot that got stood up. Maybe I should just wait outside, that way if she doesn’t sho-.

            A knock at my window brought me out of my thoughts, I look to the radio and turn it down while I roll the window down. The person spoke before I could look at them. “Would you get outta that pretty little head of yours and come inside. These babies are hungry!” The beautiful blonde chirped and looked at me with the biggest smile. God, I missed her smile.

            We don’t say anything while we walk into the restaurant and get seated. I just can’t stop smiling at her. Her long blonde hair is in loose curls and hanging over her shoulders, but she has a small single braid on the left side and pinned back. Her makeup is light and she’s wearing a white sundress with small pink flowers along the neckline. While she’s looking over the menu, she has her left hand resting on the top of her stomach. I quickly open my menu before she realizes I’m staring. Before I can ask her anything, a familiar old voice rings from the side of the booth.

            “Oh my gosh! If it isn’t the cutest couple back in the flesh?” I’m shocked when I look up and see our favorite waitress from years ago. She’s an older lady, probably now in her early 70s. She’s about the same height as Kenzie and she kind of acted as a grandmother to both of us for the two years we dated. She was always there to listen to and comfort us.

            “Hello, Rose! How have you been?” Mackenzie lit up again and moved to get out of the booth to hug her.

            “I’ve been really good, baby girl, but don’t get up. I’ll hug you!” They embraced for a couple seconds before Rose moved to give me a hug. “I see you you’re having a baby of your own now. Adrianna, I always knew if there was a way for a woman to get another pregnant, you’d be the one to discover it.” She laughs and the blonde across from me is laughing as well, but her face is beat red as I’m sure mine is. “I’m so excited for you two!”

            “Actually, it’s not Adrianna’s. We broke up two years ago when I moved to New York.” Rose looks stunned, but waits for Mackenzie to finish. “And not one, but two babies. A boy and girl!” She chirps out again and it warms my heart every time she talks about her twins, because anyone can tell she’s truly excited and loves them, even though their father is a douchebag. She gives all her love and focus to her babies.

            “Twins?” Rose yells out and we have about half the restaurant looking over at us and it also gets the attention of some other waitresses we knew from before. I see them making their way over to us with big smiles and I inwardly groan, outwardly roll my eyes and the blonde across from me just smirks. She always thought it was funny that I put on a “badass” act in front of them. I just didn’t like some of their wandering eyes. I was a little insecure, okay?

            “So, who’s the lucky person you’re with now?” My chest instantly constricts and I want to go crazy on poor Rose for bringing up that a*****e, but Mackenzie, forever a Jackson, remains poised and calm while she answers.

            “No one, it’s just me. I mean, the Rivera’s will obviously help, but there is no significant other right now.” She smiles at Rose and greets the three other woman that came over to the table.

            “So, your family?” Rose asks quietly, but shakes her head as if she already knows. Mackenzie just shakes her head in return. After we finish up with everyone and Rose takes our drink orders, we go back to looking over our menus.

            “How are you feeling?” I ask as I move to the burger section of the menu.

            “I’m fine, just hungry.” She laughs and is pointing through the breakfast section of the menu. Whenever we came here in high school, it didn’t matter what time of day or night, she always got breakfast. “How are you doing?”

            “I’m doing well. A little tired because I haven’t been able to sleep well the last couple nights.” I purposefully leave out that I have been either having nightmares or Autumn’s been waking up because she’s teething; neither things she needs to know about right now.

            “Are you having night terrors again?” I inwardly groan, because I don’t even know why I’ve ever tried hiding things from her. She can read me like a book, although I’m the same way with her. Like right now, I can tell her side hurts because she keeps putting pressure on it with her hand and her face is a little furrowed.

            “Umm.. just a couple, but no big deal. You sure you’re okay? Looks like your side is hurting.” I point towards where her left hand is currently pushing into her stomach, just under her ribs. She giggles, which makes me smile, just before she answers.

            “Okay, it’s clear we can still read each other like books, so I guess we don’t have to play the ‘I bet I still know you better than you know yourself’ game. To answer your question, my side hurts, but I think it’s just because Anya was kicking up a storm yesterday at the shower.”

            We continue to make light conversation throughout our meal. Just the basic catching up conversation. She tells me everything she’s done since she moved to New York and I tell her about my internship and how I’m almost done with my schooling. I tell her that I’m top of my classes and one of the top five at my internship and she congratulates me with a huge smile and a high five across the table.

            However, even with all this new information, she still seems like the same 18 year old I was dating just two years ago. Granted, she’s definitely more mature and she’s more beautiful than ever, but at her core, she’s still the Kenzie I fell in love with.

            When we finish our meal, she pulls her phone out, I assume to check the time. “Oh s**t, my battery died.” She pouts and I have an instant need make her smile again.

            “I have mine. What did you need?” I tell her as I start to pull my phone out of my purse to hand to her.

            “I just need to call Naya, because she’s going to pick me up. We still haven’t gotten my car. One of the things on our to-do list today. I know her number, can I call from your phone?”

            I hand her my phone, but still offer. “I can drive you home or to your car. It’s no big deal.”

            “No worries. I don’t want to impose. She’s already planning on getting me.” She slides the lock on my phone and her eyes widen and a smile graces her face. “Awe! Who’s this? Your niece? She’s so cute!” She turns the phone quickly for me to see and my eyes widen. I can’t lie. She’ll know. As it is, I already didn’t tell her about Autumn in my ‘this has been my life’ story. Suck it up, Adrianna, it’s sink or swim.

            I start to stutter. “N-no. Th-that’s my, um, thatsmydaughter.” I ramble out and I am looking down at the table, unable to make eye contact with her to see her reaction. She doesn’t say anything for a couple seconds. I hear her clear her throat and I look up. She’s dialing a number and has a short conversation with Naya, answering the question of who’s phone she’s calling from and why. This means that the Rivera family, or at least Naya, knows she’s talking to me again. Great. That’ll be a fun conversation.

            Mackenzie places money down on the table to cover her meal and part of the tip before she starts moving to get out of the booth. “Thanks for inviting me out. It was really fun. I missed you, Ade.” She practically whispers to me as she moves and I quickly throw money down for my meal and tip and follow her out of the restaurant.

            It doesn’t take long to catch up to her outside. I place my hand on her shoulder and she whips around to face me, silent tears starting to fall down her face. “You lied to me, Adrianna Isabella! I told you everything about my life the last two years. I told you about Kyle and my parents and the h-hospital stays and having to deal with re-restraining orders a-a-and everything!”

            “I didn’t lie to you. I just.. didn’t say anything about her.” I tell her sheepishly as I suddenly find the ground so much more interesting to look at.

            “I cannot believe you right now. Omission is still lying and you know it! How do you think it’s not? We’ve never lied to each other. Ever. Why would you think not telling me about your daughterwould even be okay, Adrianna?” A couple people in the parking lot are looking at us, but I don’t care, I just want her to calm down.

            “Can you please stop full-naming me? Okay, I wanted to tell you, so bad! You have no idea, but I didn’t know how.” I look her in the eyes so she knows I’m telling the truth. “Kenzie, you have to believe me. Obviously I don’t want to keep you from her or any other way. I just, I just didn’t- I didn’t want you to be dis-disappointed in me.”

            The blonde’s face softens and she moves closer to me and rubs my arm. “Why would I ever be disappointed in you? I’m more disappointed that you lied.”

            “I didn’t want you to be disappointed in the fact that I was with someone else. We always said we were each other’s. I don’t know. I guess I just didn’t want you to think I was happy with someone else other than you.” I tell her quietly as a tear rolls down my cheek. The pad of her thumb wipes it away though.

            “Honey, I’m almost eight months pregnant with some guy’s twin babies. I’d be pretty hypocritical if I was disappointed in you for having a kid. Are-are you disappointed in me?” She instinctively holds her stomach and takes a step back from me and looks up at me when fear in her eyes.

            “No! Of course not! I could never be.” I tell her as I move towards her again. Just then Naya pulls up and Kenzie quickly tries to wipe away her fallen tears before her sister sees, but it’s too late and I hear the car door slam within seconds. Mackenzie moves to stop her, but it’s obvious her tunnel vision is focused on me.

            “What the hell, Adrianna?” She practically screams as she closes in towards me. Mackenzie has her arms wrapped around Naya’s left arm trying to hold her back and get her into the car.

            “I already dealt with my mistake, so drop it because it’s none of your business.”

            “Nay, it’s fine. Ade, please don’t talk to my sister like that.” Mackenzie says quickly.

“My sister comes to have a meal with you, then she calls me upset.”

“She was upset, because I lied to her, but I told her the truth and she accepted it. It’s over! Drop it, Naya!”

“It was all a misunderstanding. We’re okay now. Ade, please.” She tells us, but we both have tunnel vision at this point. We’ve never been able to get along. I can feel Mackenzie’s delicate hands try and push me away from her sister and I know she’s still trying to pull Naya back towards the car.

“When I show up now, she’s crying!”

“Oh my god! It’s over! Just go home!”

            “Stop yelling!” Mackenzie shouts and makes the other Latina and I break eye contact and look to the blonde. Her eyes are squeezed shut and her hands are both holding fists of her dress. I want to comfort her, but Naya is quicker. She pulls her into a hug and Mackenzie’s arms instantly wrap around her waist.

            “What on Earth is going on here?” The three of us turn to see Yolanda walking up to us and Mackenzie quickly leaves Naya to go to her instead and it takes a lot for me not to send a smug look to Naya when she turns back to me. However, we remain silent as Yolanda embraces the pregnant blonde and they exchange a few words. After a minute, they let go of each other and without even turning to look at us, Mackenzie walks to sit in Yolanda’s car.

            “Now, I don’t know what it is about you two and why you’ve never been able to get along, but I do know that if you two cause my baby stress and those babies are premature, I will ring both your little necks. And Adrianna, don’t think your mother won’t be hearing about this.”

            “With all due respect, Mrs. Rivera, I’m an adult now. My mother can’t really punish me like she could when we were younger.” I tell her, but my weak voice is not very convincing.

            “With all due respect, Adrianna, she is still your mother and don’t ever underestimate the power a mother has with her children, no matter what their age. You should be learning that as well.” With that last sentence, my eyes widen and I quickly look between the mother and daughter in front of me. I know my mom and Mrs. Rivera are in a lot of the same social groups, but I didn’t know that she knew about Autumn. I’m just hoping that Naya hadn’t found out. She would surely use it to keep Mackenzie away.

            “Now, you two will go to your homes. Neither of you will be caring for Mackenzie today, because I will be taking her to get her car and she will go to her own apartment and I’m sure she will then text you both and you two can gravel for her forgiveness and attention.” She stood there and stared at us both as we were both rendered speechless from her monologue.

            “Now! Ahora!” She yelled and made a shooing motion with her arms as we both shared one last glare and walked towards our own cars.

            I walk into Holly’s house unannounced, as all our family usually does, and I can hear music playing, Autumn babbling away, and her aunts and uncle laughing. I walk into the living room and smile at the scene. In front of me, I see them all dancing around to the music, even Autumn is bouncing around, laughing and smiling with the adults.

            “Mind if I join in?” I ask and they turn towards me and wave me in. After a couple more songs, we all collapse onto the couches and the youngest brunette climbs into my lap with her favorite and very worn, stuffed Michael doll.

            “She wouldn’t give up that doll all day.” Lilly tells me as my daughter relaxes into my chest.

            “It’s her absolute favorite. She usually isn’t attached to it all day though. Mostly just when she’s tired.” I look down at the girl skeptically and run my finger across her forehead and down her cheek to check for a fever, but she feels fine. “I’ve noticed she’s been holding onto it a lot though whenever I leave her. I think she’s developing some separation anxiety.” I frown.

            “She’ll be okay. She’s a social butterfly. Every time she meets someone new she just wants to talk to them. She probably just needs some mama time and she’ll be better.” Holly tells me with a smile. “How was your meeting?”

            “It-um-it was okay. Didn’t end very well though.” I shrug

            “Who was it with? Was it for work?” Lilly asks. I look towards the three of them sitting across from me and I just decide it’s best to tell them the truth. Mackenzie told the Rivera’s and I know Yolanda wasn’t lying when she said she’d talk to my mami.

            “No, it wasn’t work. It was with..” I start biting on my lip, a nervous habit I’ve had since I was a kid. “It was with Mackenzie.” I whispered.

            Carlos laughed. “We couldn’t hear you, sis. Who was it with?”

            “Mackenzie!” I squeaked out and their eyes widen, but wait for me to finish. “I ran into her at a Starbucks that she works at last week. She had an attack while I was there because Amanda and Emily were giving her a hard time about her being pregnant. So, I took her back to her apartment and she relaxed in the bath while she told me about her a*****e of an ex-boyfriend. We’ve been texting back and forth the last couple days and she told me everything about her life since our break up. And I told her about mine for the most part..”

            “What do you mean ‘for the most part?’” Holly questions me. “What did you leave out?”

            “Well, we kept our conversation on getting to know each other again today and we were having a really good time, but then she needed to call Naya to pick her up and I wasn’t thinking and I handed her my phone. That’s when she saw my picture of Autumn.”

            “So, what’s so wrong with that?” Lilly asks.

            “That’s the part I left out. I didn’t tell Kenzie about her.” Tears start rolling down my face as I kiss the top of the sleeping baby’s head. “She got so upset and then Naya showed up and, of course, we got into it, and then Yolanda showed up and now I’m here.”

            “I don’t understand, why didn’t you tell her?” Holly questions.

            “I didn’t want her to be disappointed in me. When we dated, we were each other’s firsts and during the two years we dated, we always said we were each other’s. We never wanted to break up, we just thought it was the mature thing to do at the time. Long distance relationships almost never work. I didn’t want her to be upset that I was with someone else in that way.”

            “Ade, she’s pregnant. She was with someone el-.”

            “But it was only one time!” I interrupt my brother. “She only slept with him once. They were drinking and she said it hurt.” More tears run down my face. “It hurt her and he just finished himself, rolled over, and fell asleep. He did even care about her!” I find myself raising my voice and getting mad. Autumn stirs and Lilly moves her to the pack and play in the guest bedroom. “The b*****d didn’t even care enough for her to make it special for her. And then when he found out she was pregnant, he put her in the hospital!”

            “But we knew that, remember, the article.”

            “I found her that day. That’s why I was late picking up Autumn from mom’s. We fell asleep after she told me all that.”

            “Why didn’t you tell us when you got to mom’s house?” Carlos furrows his brow. “You know we all miss her and you knew everything we were talking about and you didn’t say anything! You sat there like you were completely ignorant to it all!”

            “Why are you yelling at me? And I didn’t know everything. I knew about her ex and obviously the pregnancy, but I didn’t know about her parents. She never said a word about them. We only talked about Kyle and the twins.”

            “Twins?!” All three adults yell simultaneously.

            “Um.. yea.” I start softly with a small smile. “She’s having a boy and a girl.”

            “Is she keeping them? From what I’ve heard from Carlos in the last couple days, I don’t think she’ll be able to handle two kids on her own.” I feel my aggravation grow with this statement. Holly has a way to tell it like it is and doesn’t really have a filter.

            “What? She’s the most responsible person I know. She already revolves her life around those kids and would never let any harm come to them. You know that she used to babysit all the time and she was a lifeguard. How exactly would she not be able to handle children, Carlos?”

            He gave a ‘why would you say that to her’ look to Holly before turning to me and answering. “I didn’t say anything like that and I told Holly about babysitting and lifeguarding and cheering, but I also told her about the attacks and the history with her parents. She was unstable for the first year that you knew her, Ade, and you can’t deny that. A person like that could have a hard time dealing with one child, let alone two.”

            “How dare you? She was unstable because her family fucked her up so much. They were never there for her and when the Rivera’s moved to LA for Naya’s career, she didn’t even have them. She babysat and took lifeguard jobs so that she knew that those kids had someone to look out for them. That everyone had someone there for them! You knew nothing about her then and you don’t know about her now!” I get up and make my way towards the guest room. I pick up Autumn, who is still clutching her Michael doll, and move back to the living room.

            “Thanks for watching her Holly. I really appreciate it, but I just need to get her home now. I’ll talk to you all later. Love you.” I hear some mumbled ‘love yous’ and close the front door. I get Autumn into the car and was about to get into the driver seat when I felt someone hug me from behind.

            “I’m sorry they said those things about Kenzie. I know she’s going to be an amazing mother. Can you tell her I say ‘hi’ and ask if maybe I can see her sometime?” Lilly sounded like the 12 year old she was when she first met Mackenzie. I knew she missed her, but right now she sounded so small, like something was bothering her, but I knew better than to push. Lilly and I are alike in that sense. If you push us, we’ll push back and then shut down. If I question what’s going through her head right now, I’ll get nowhere productive.

            “Sure, Lil.” I turn around to hug her back. “I’ll text her when I get home. Do you want me to pass along your number?” She nods against my chest before pulling away. I kiss her forehead and she smiles at me. “Okay, I’ll do that. I’m sure she’ll love talking with you again. Good night, sis. Te amo.”

            “Te amo.” And with that, I got in the car and headed home.

            An hour later as I was trying to figure out what to make Autumn and I for dinner, I hear a familiar ringtone chime and I don’t stiffen my groan a bit. Mama, I love you. Mama, I care.

            “Hello, mami.”

            “Adrianna Isabella Guerrilla! You have so much explaining to do! You’re lucky you’re not living in this house anymore or else you would be grounded.” I go to speak, but she continues. “First, you don’t tell me or anyone that you saw Mackenzie again. Then, you don’t say anything about talking to her for the last five days. Don’t forget, not telling any of us that you were meeting her for lunch. Oh wait, top it off, you get into an argument with her sister in the middle of a restaurant parking lot!”

            I scoff. “Naya is not her sister.”

            “Adrianna, you know she doesn’t believe that. The Rivera’s are her family, so don’t start that. Now, why did I have to hear from Yolanda about all this instead of my own daughter? Let’s just start with today. Why were you arguing with Naya this morning?” The original edge in her voice has now dropped and she sounds soft and understanding.

            “Mami.” I groan. “You know Naya and I have never gotten along. She’s so overprotective of Kenzie. There’s no reason for it!” I continue to relay the story of what happened earlier at the restaurant. When I was finally done, my mom spoke again.

            “Okay, first I want to apologize for telling Yolanda about Autumn, but I know Naya doesn’t know about her, so don’t worry. At least she didn’t until today, if Mackenzie tells her, but I know Yolanda won’t tell her. Second, you know there are reasons why Naya is over protective of Mackenzie, it’s for the same reasons that you were and we all were when you first started dating. However, Naya has known her since she was a toddler and Yolanda and I both believe that Naya hasn’t realized that she’s obviously grown up since then.”

            “Well, Naya needs to understand that she doesn’t need to butt in and take over whenever something makes Kenz cry. I mean, does she do that with Eric and Amanda?”

            “Ade, you did the same thing when you first met her. It’s just her personality that brings that part out in a lot of people around her. I understand why you didn’t tell her about Autumn, but at the same time, I understand why she would be upset that you didn’t. You two always had a no holds bar relationship. Even when you were friends, you two had no secrets. You didn’t even hint at the fact that you had something else to tell her. You just completely ignored it. You both have trust issues, because of your exes and I think that doesn’t help the situation. So, I believe you’re both right.”

            “Are you still upset I didn’t tell you about seeing her?”

            “That depends, how long do I have to wait until I see my future daughter in law again?” I hear her smirking through the phone and I’m just glad she isn’t in front of me or else I’d be teased for blushing.

            “Oh my god, mami! Don’t say that. I’m not going to even think about that right now. I’m just looking for her friendship, nothing else.”

            “Oh please, you two have and will always be on. Even if you don’t believe it.”

            “Whatever!” I roll my eyes. “Think whatever you want, but I really just want her friendship again. We both just got out of relationships, who wants to complicate things?” I truly believe this. I really do just want her friendship back, no matter what my family thinks.

            It wasn’t for a couple hours later, after Autumn had been fed, bathed, and put to bed that I got a text from Mackenzie. I was just getting into the bath when I heard my phone go off.

            From Kenzie: Sorry it’s taken so long to text you. I wasn’t really upset with you when I left, but my phone was dead and then I went home with mom for a little bit and then went out with her and Naya like I had told you and then they surprised me with something so we had to figure all that out and now I’m back at home and texting you, because I realized we hadn’t talked since this morning. So, I’m sorry. :/

            To Kenzie: Wow! Crazy day. It’s alright. I was a little upset at first over everything that went down with Naya, but I talked to mami and I’m all good now. I understand things a little better. What did you three do today?

            From Kenzie: We just went to a couple stores and then..um..over to Naya’s.

She’s always text how she talks, so when she’s nervous, she puts a lot of umm’s or uhh’s in her texts. I’ve explained to her that she does it, but some people never change.

To Kenzie: What was up at Naya’s?

From Kenzie: What do you mean?

            To Kenzie: Kenz, you’ve always added “um” whenever you’re nervous about something. So, what was up at Naya’s? Was she giving you a hard time about this morning?

            From Kenzie: No, she knew better with mom right there. So, I’ve been really nervous and worried about having the twins in my little apartment. It’s not a good area of town and you’ve seen my apartment, it’s tiny. I’ve been talking about it a lot with the Rivera’s that I don’t have room in the apartment and they wanted me to move in with mom and dad, but I just don’t want to impose. So, I said I would just get one crib to start, because that’s all I could afford.

            From Kenzie: But I was really just hoping that I would end up getting stuff at the shower, but no one got me cribs or bedding. So, we ended up going to Naya’s today and she showed me this amazing nursery in one of her guest rooms. I told her it looked amazing, but I wouldn’t want to impose on her either and she said I wouldn’t be..

            From Kenzie: ..because she gave me her house.

I swear, I almost dropped my phone into the bath. I was definitely not expecting that. Who the hell gives anyone their house? I mean, I know all our families and Naya, herself, is extremely well-off, but I can’t imagine ever giving someone my house.

            From Kenzie: You’re not texting me back. :/

            To Kenzie: Sorry, but that’s kind of big news. Why would she just give you her house?

            From Kenzie: That’s what I asked her! She said she’s going to be buying a new house in LA and it’s not really her house anyway. It’s the Rivera’s from when we were all kids. They were renting it out until Naya moved in and now they decided I could stay there with the babies.

            To Kenzie: Well, I guess that’s nice of them. It’s like right down the road from my parents’ house too.  Are you going to move in?

            From Kenzie: I’m still thinking about it, but I think I am. It’ll be easier for me to save up and closer to everyone if I need any help.

We continued to talk for the next couple hours before both of us headed to bed. She sent me pictures of the nursery, which was beautiful, and we made plans to meet up again for coffee and hot chocolate the next day before work.

            To Kenzie: Oh, before I forget. Here’s Lilly’s number. My family knows we’ve been talking again and Lilly really misses you. She said she’s proud of you and that you’ll make a great mom. And she wanted me to give you her number.

            From Kenzie: Oh yay! I miss her too. I’ll talk to her in the morning. Thank you! :) Good night, Ade.

            To Kenzie: Good night, Kenz. <3

Author's Note

Honestly, I'm in such a slump with this story and I haven't been able to write in it for about two years, but it's a goal of mine to finish, because it's the first thing I've ever written. Any constructive reviews could help or anything that would be cool to write about in future chapters. Thanks!