Saying Goodbye

chapter 43

kiara pov (June 16, 2023)
my house became lively with music and people filling the living room and backyard. a couple of cousins heard we were having a cookout and decided to pull up. because leo's cousin lives down the street, mikey invited leo and he brought his cousins and gabrielle.

currently, my living room is filled with a couple of aunts and female cousins bombarding mikey with questions and gushing over how attractive he is. samila and tom are watching and laughing at mikey's uncomfortableness. rose is helping tobiah and simone in the kitchen.

last i checked, isaiah was in the backyard with zeke and leo playing with some of my uncles and cousins at the basketball court. aliana and gabrielle were in the backyard with a few of my little cousins. my dad, aliana parents, mikey's parents and leo's aunt and uncle are in the smaller living room in the back of the house.

"mom, he doesn't want to know about your butt pimples." my cousin says.

"hush child." my aunt fans her away. my cousin gets up and walks toward the back.

i walk up to mikey and place my hand in front of him. he looks up at me, to my hand, then back to me.

"what?" he questions.

"you look like you need a save." i smile.

he immediately grabs my hand and pulls himself up. he places his hand on the small of my back and leads me into the busy kitchen. tobiah and simone are frantically moving around the kitchen while rose stands out of the way, careful not to interfere.

"this looks good." i smile and point to one of the dishes on the kitchen island.

"it is." rose smiles.

"how do you know?" mikey asks.

"tobiah made it for me once, and has refused to make it ever since. until now of course." she answers.

i look down at some of the other dishes on the kitchen island.

"you know how long until we can eat?" i question.

"about 5 to 10 minutes." simone says. she smiles at mikey and i. "now out of the kitchen."

she shoos us away with her hands. mikey and i smile as we make our way out the kitchen. hand in hand, we sit on the stairs. i lay my head on his shoulder and he lays his head on my head.

we sat together for a few minutes before mikey turned his head to me, making me lift mine off his shoulder.

"you know, i could get used to this." mikey says.

"what? my aunts bombarding you with questions about your feet?" i question, meeting his gaze.

"no." he laughs softly before he replies. " i mean this. cookouts at your house. dinners at restaurants. our families together. i really like this." he smiles.

"you know we're splitting up after summer right?" i ask.

"of course i know kiara. how could i forget?" he looks around us. "we could always find our way back to each other again. pick up where we left off." he suggests.