𝗌𝗍𝖺𝗒 𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗇 𝖨𝖨

𝟹𝟷

Ch 𝟹𝟷:
Secrets
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3:13pm
DAYS LATER
Mir's Backyard

"All these fucking kids." Aijah muttered irritably as Cee and Zariah, who were chasing Mari's dog, ran past her, almost knocking her over.

Mari glanced at her best friend and laughed. "How do you ever wanna have kids if you get irritated this quick?"

AJ almost cringed at what Mari said, just now remembering she still hadn't told anyone except for Rell that she was pregnant. She'd been planning on telling Mari, but she was still dealing with trying to accept the fact that she was pregnant herself.

The pair walked over to one of the many tables set up in Mir's large backyard. The space gave Mari major nostalgia of all the times her and Samiron would help Sani practice walking on the grass when he was still tiny — but she pushed those memories aside.

Today was Sani's fifth birthday and his parents had gone all out. Samiron specifically, since he felt like he'd missed enough of his son's birthdays when he was locked up. The party was basketball-themed which was ideal since that was one of the main things Sani and Samiron enjoyed doing together.

Being the dad of who he believed was a future NBA player, Samiron hired a party planner he was referred to by Zion. He told her to not worry about the money and just worry about the details and that's exactly what she did.

The party invitations were all made to look like tickets to an actual NBA game. Entering the backyard was the same experience. Three tables were set up on the right side of the backyard, packed with basketball themed food. Everything from the basketball-net chip baskets to the miniature Gatorade bucket beverage cups was on point. Samiron already had a half-basketball court in his backyard, so he had it extended for the party.

Mari looked over her shoulder at Sani who was already bouncing a basketball on his own on the court alongside Silas, Duck, and Rell. Sani wore a custom jersey with his name on the back and number 5.

Feeling a tap on her arm, Mari turned around and looked at Aijah. "Hm?"

"I have to tell you something." Aijah blew air out through her nose. Her and Mari knew every single thing about one another — from their allergies to their bra sizes — so keeping this a secret was getting harder by the day.

Mari arched an eyebrow at the nervousness written all over Aijah's face. "What's wrong?"

Taking another deep breath, she opened her mouth to speak but before she could get a word out, her eyes focused on something over Mari's shoulder before widening in shock. "Uh- who the fuck is that?" She sputtered.