𝗱𝘆𝘀𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗲𝘂𝗽𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗮 || [1] Nate Jacobs

15

The incessant ringing of my phone is slowly starting to get on my nerves and I groan in frustration before I sit up on my bed and grab the device. Jules' name pops up on my screen and I accept the call. "Jules, what the hell? Why are you blowing up my phone?" I ask her and walk out of my room to let Rosie sleep in her crib. "Yeah, sorry about that, but it's important. Have you seen Rue?" she asks and I stop walking on the stairs and furrow my brows. "No, why? Did something happen?"

She then proceeds to fill me in on her fight with Rue because she wanted to meet the guy she's been texting. "Yeah, but that was hours ago? Why would you wait this long to call me?" I ask her and sit down on the stairs. "She came to my house after school. Fuck, Desi, she was crying and, like, really upset," Jules explains and I sigh. Something still isn't adding up. "Go on"

"She told me how much I mean to her and how she wants me to be safe. We made up and everything was good but...she suddenly kissed me, apologized, and left," Jules says and I sit up in surprise. Rue kissed her? "Are you serious?" "I wouldn't joke about that. She's ignoring my calls and I'm kinda worried," Jules replies and I sigh. "Fine, I'll text her to make sure she's being safe" "Thank you. Text me later," Jules says and then hangs up.

"Wow, Rue actually kissed her," I whisper and open my chat with Rue.

Desi: where are you? Jules and I are worried
Desi: she told me what happened

I wait for a few minutes and three dots appear just when I'm about to walk back into my room.

Rue: I'm with Ali. He'll help me get myself together
Rue: tell Jules and my mom to calm down...they've been blowing up my phone

I frown in confusion. Who is Ali and how could he possibly be of help?

Desi: who the hell is Ali? never heard of him
Rue: the man I met at the NA meeting
Desi: the pancake dude?
Rue: yes. listen, I have to go
Desi: ok, I'll text your mom and Jules
Desi: be safe

————

That day was one of the worst fucking days for me. I embarrassed myself in front of Jules and showed up at Fez's in a panic and desperate to get more drugs. And because his heart is so pure he didn't let me in. Humiliating for me, but nothing beats my temper tantrum and subsequent mental breakdown. I said a lot of fucked up shit and I can't even remember half of it but I'm just lucky that Fez would never judge me for that. He knows that drug addicts will say anything to get the result they want.

Of course, I also knew that Jules or Desi would be looking for me, which is why I made Fez promise not to tell them about this incident. Whereas he asked me to get help and that's how I ended up with Ali.

————

Sighing, I push Rosalyn's stroller through the park and look around in boredom. Dad chased me out of the house early this morning because he supposedly wanted to prepare a surprise for me. I just think he's trying to make up for his mistakes. After all, I've barely spoken to him since he let Lilith into our home and near my child.

"Mama," Rosie babbles to herself and I look down at her. "Hi, baby," I say with a smile and her little hands reach out to me, making me giggle. "Look at you. Such a cute girl," I compliment her in baby talk, bending down a little to grab one of her hands. I would usually cringe at my high-pitched voice, but when I'm with my daughter, I forget about all the worries my teenage self has. In those moments, I am not Destiny Taylor, the troubled kid, but just Rosalyn's mom.

"Babe"

The voice I hear makes me straighten up in surprise and a shocked gasp escapes me as I see the person suddenly standing on the other side of the stroller. Speechless, I stare at him, which puts that amused grin I love so much on his face. "You're really here," I whisper in disbelief and he walks around the stroller with a smile until he's standing right in front of me. "Surprise," he says with a grin and pulls me into a hug.

Being in his arms again and feeling his warmth breaks me out of my stupor and I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest. My tears of joy no doubt soak his shirt, but I'm too happy to care.

"I missed you"

————

With a happy smile on my face, I watch Kyle throw our giggling daughter in the air and catch her again, then kiss her on the cheek and repeat the whole thing. He hasn't left our side since he surprised us at the park and I had a good cry in his arms. It turns out that Dad made it possible for Kyle to come here. He had to go behind Lilith's back to do that, which he's usually very reluctant to do.

"I'm glad you're here. I didn't know how much longer I could last without seeing you," I confess, and Kyle looks over at me with a smile. "I feel the same way. My parents and I have missed you both," he replies before getting up off the floor with Rosie in his arms and joining me on my bed. "How long are you staying with us?" "Unfortunately, only over the weekend. I can't stay undetected from your mother any longer than that," he says and I reach for his hand, then intertwine our fingers together. "I hate that she's doing this to us," I murmur, and he squeezes my hand a little. "My parents and their lawyer are working on a solution. Your dad is helping them and if everything goes well, soon we won't be forced to stay away from each other. So just hang in there a little longer, okay?" he tries to cheer me up and I nod with a weak smile.

"If you're here for the weekend, I'm sure my dad told you about the Carnival that's going on tonight" Kyle nods in response and then turns to our daughter because she keeps pulling on the strings of his hoodie. "Yeah, he's taking your mom out to dinner on the other side of town tonight and they're staying in a hotel overnight. David wants to use this opportunity to talk to her again," he explains and I scoff. "That won't change anything-" "It's worth a try, don't you think? Besides, it'll give us the rest of the day to ourselves and I won't have to sneak into the house through the back door, afraid Lilith will be watching the driveway," he interrupts me, chuckling in amusement. "Fine, let's just enjoy today," I agree with him and he smiles at me.

"I promise you. Today will be a memorable day for us"

And he was not wrong about that.

————

"Kids, come downstairs for a minute!"

I hear Dad call for us and I reluctantly open my eyes and look around my room. Rosie is still asleep in her crib and Kyle is lying asleep next to me. This is a sight that is still unusual for me and if I couldn't see outside through the window, I would think that maybe an hour or two at most have passed. "Destiny!" Dad calling me again then gets Kyle to open his eyes as well and he sits up with a yawn. "Come on," I murmur and we both quietly walk to the door before heading out of the room and down the stairs.

As we enter the hallway, Dad is already waiting by the front door, just putting on his jacket. "There you guys are. What took you so long?" he asks us and I lean against Kyle's side, yawning. "We were sleeping," I reply and Kyle wraps his arm around my shoulder. "That makes sense. I didn't wake Rosie up, did I?" "Don't worry sir, she's still fast asleep," Kyle replies and Dad smiles at him before they give each other a fist bump.

That's what I love about my dad. He was just as angry as Mom was about my pregnancy, but instead of punishing us and disowning us, he chose to support both of us. Besides, he doesn't hate Kyle and allows me to stay in touch with him. Dad knows Kyle is a good guy and that we did everything necessary to protect ourselves. God just had other plans for us.

"So, Lilith and I are going to the restaurant now. We should be back around 9:00 tomorrow morning. Marta has the evening off and has gone out. But if anything should happen either she or I can be reached over the phone," Dad explains and I nod tiredly. "Is Naomi spending the night?" I ask him and he nods, then opens one of the drawers in the hallway and pulls out a small headset. "Here, these are for Rosie...for the noise. And, yes, Naomi is supposed to spend the night here," he replies and Kyle accepts the headset. "Thank you, sir" "No problem, son. Money's in the kitchen if you want to order food. I'll see you in the morning," Dad replies, and I step out of Kyle's arms and kiss my dad on the cheek.

"Drive safely"