Hating You From The Beginning

𝟯𝟱 | 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝘄𝗼

saturday january 29

I stir in my seat a bit before opening my eyes. I squint a bit, getting adjusted to the brightness. "You are a pain in the ass to wake up." A voice beside me grumbles.

I adjust myself completely and then remember where I am. "Don't be dramatic." I groan while stretching in the passenger seat of Roman's car.

He wanted us to leave early so we could get here before Aria woke up so we ended up leaving at 6:00 am. I must like him because I don't wake up before 10:00 on weekends.

"I shook you two times before you finally woke up." He deadpans. "Shut up," I mumble and get out of the car. I'm wearing leggings with one of Jadens football t-shirts that swallow up my whole body.

"I need to steal some of your hoodies." I blurt out. "Good luck with that."

I roll my eyes and go to grab my duffle bag but yet again Roman beats me to it. "I was gonna get it," I mumble under my breath.

"Too bad." I roll my eyes but thank him. We walk in through the front door, coming into a quiet house. "Is every one asleep?" I ask.

"Yeah they don't usually wake up until 10:00" he explains while leading me upstairs. I expect him to stop at the guest room I always sleep in but no, he doesn't stop until we reach his door. "Why didn't you stop at the room I always stay in?" I ask, making my way to his bed. "Because you're staying with me." He says nonchalantly.

"Oh yeah? Who says I want to stay with you?" I ask teasing a bit. I don't mind staying with him but his reactions are always fun.

He places the bags on the floor and walks towards the bed, "I do." I open my mouth to respond but Aria comes running in before I can say anything. She jumps on the bed next to me. "Hello, Lani." She greets me.

"Hey there Ar."

"You're gonna say hello to her before than me?" Roman asks with his hand on his heart.

She nods her head but soon gets up and throws here self onto Roman. "Do you like her better than me now?" He asks with faux puppy dog eyes.

"Yes." We answer in sync.

I want one of those. Like now.

"Trader." He mumbles but I can see the slight smile forming on his lips.

Roman puts her on the bed and goes to the bathroom connected to his room. "Can you take me to build-a-bear?" She asks with big doughy eyes. How do I say no to that?

"Of course I can, we just have to make sure it's okay with your daddy," I tell her.

"Yay!" She leaps onto me, holding me by the neck.

"What are you two doing," Roman says with a grin on his face. "We're going to build-a-bear. Is that fine?" I ask suddenly nervous.

What does he think about me becoming close to his daughter? I still don't know if he wants anything serious, so what if he doesn't want me getting close to her? I'm guessing he noticed my nervousness because he comes next to me and lifts my chin to meet his eyes. "It's completely okay."

I let out a sigh I didn't know I was holding. "You can take my car, I'll go put the car seat in." He tells me.

"Wait you don't want to go?" I ask with nervousness again. One thing is taking care of Aria knowing that Roman is nearby, but being out with her in public by myself. That's a little nerve-wracking.

"I don't think you guys need me, but if you don't feel comfortable then I'll go too." He informs me.

I think I can do this. Plus the fact that Roman trusts me enough to take his daughter out makes me happy.

"No, we'll be fine."

We go downstairs and have breakfast with his parents and they inform us that they'll be out all weekend. Apparently, they do this every weekend that Roman stays to 'get a break.' And I get it. It must be tiring to take care of an energetic 3-year-old, plus they already raised two kids at the same time and now that they should be relaxing instead they're taking care of another child. It's admirable.

Roman set up Aria's car seat in his car before breakfast so I'm all set to go, but I want to talk to him before we leave. "Hey Ar, wanna go get my wallet? It's on your daddy's bed." I ask her and she happily obliges. Once she's out of range I turn around to Roman. "You do know I'm not letting you pay, right?" He says right away.

"You do know I don't care, right? Plus it'll be an early birthday gift." I tell him.

"How—"

"Did you think Rebecca wouldn't tell me everyone's birthday? She even told me your parents' birthdays." I chuckle at the last part.

"I also wanted to thank you for trusting enough to take our Aria," I tell him, wrapping my hands around my neck. "I trust you Kai, you don't have to thank me because you have made it possible for me to trust you." I give him a quick peck on the cheek before Aria comes running down.

"Ready!" She shouts.

yeah yeah ik short chapter, don't sue me. also, ik that 3 year olds don't talk that much but idrc bc this is ✨fiction✨

also i'm rlly 'struggling' rn bc i'm working up a secret project but i'm deciding if i wanna do something else. it's confusing ik but it'll make sense soon.

anywayssss thank you so much for 1k! ARE YOU FR?! THATS CRAZY TYSM!

published 5•8•21

word count: 992