|A L W A Y S & F O R E V E R| B O O K 1

24||Q u a l i t y T i m e

Date: 10/26/15
Day of the Week: Monday
Location: Los Angeles, California
Place: Ciara's Condo

Ciara
My phone ringing woke me from my sleep. I grabbed it from the nightstand and looked at the caller ID. It was Zahir's dad. I looked at the time on my nightstand, 6 AM. My face balled into a mixture of worry and confusion. He had never called me this early before. I answered the phone as I sat up in bed.

"Hello?" I answer with my sleep-filled voice.

"Hey, Ci. I was wondering if I could keep the baby for another day." I threw my head back in shock.

"Umm, yeah. That's fine," I say suspiciously. He never started doing this until now, and it was kind of weird, honestly. Not that I didn't appreciate it.

"Alright. I'll let you know what time to come get him later."

"Okay. Bye."

Before he got the chance to say anything else, I ended the phone call and tried to go back to sleep. Not long after, I felt arms wrap around my waist and a head lying in the crook of my neck. His light breathing could be felt down the back of my neck. He inched closer to me, tightening his grip on my waist. I fell back asleep soon after. I slept in until 11 AM since Zahir wasn't here. I yawned and rubbed the sleep from my eyes until my vision became clear. Just as I was about to sit up, Russ' arm pulled me back, and I let out a sigh.

"Stay a little longer." He mumbles into my neck. The vibration sent chills down my back.

"I have to get up and cook breakfast, Russ." He groaned.

"So, you don't want me to cook breakfast for you?" I turned my head to look at him, still half asleep with his eyes closed.

"I'm not hungry right now. I just wanna hold you." I finally gave in and lay there.

When we did get up, it was going on noon. There was no point in cooking breakfast now. It was time for lunch. I sat up in bed for a couple of minutes before getting up and going to the bathroom to get ready for the day. I stood in front of the mirror to brush my teeth, and then I got in the shower. Once I finished, I did my daily routine after showering. I went back into my room with my robe on in case Russ was still there. He was gone, so I found a pair of blue jean shorts and a white tee to change into. I put my hair into a messy bun and made my way to the kitchen. The fridge was full of groceries, but I honestly didn't feel like cooking anything. Maybe we could go out today and do something together. I went to the living room and sat on the couch before turning the TV on. The older versions of Halloween and Chucky would be coming on. I figured I would watch those. Halloween is right around the corner. I got the idea that we should go to a haunted house this week. I could also do some shopping for Juicy Man and the kids that stop by for trick or treating. Well, there are not many kids besides mine and a few others who live in the condos here.  So I don't know. I want to take him, though. As I was thinking about my plans for the week, Russ sat down next to me.

"You hungry?" I ask him.

"A little bit."

"You wanna go out? I was going to cook, but now I don't feel like it."

"That's fine by me."
>>>
After we finished eating lunch, we sat at the booth and talked for a while.

"Halloween's in five days. I'm thinking about taking Zahir trick or treating. You wanna go with us?"

"Of course, I would love to go with you guys."

"Great! I was thinking about doing some shopping after we leave. I need to find him a costume and buy a few bags of candy. Is that fine with you?"