Aalayah and the Stars

Chapter 7

Kates POV:

With Zara back at daycare for the first time in a couple weeks, Charlotte and I are anxiously awaiting for the moment pick up time comes.

I sit down next to Zara, and smile at her as she looks up at me, "where have you been sweetheart, you haven't been here in a couple weeks, hm?" I softly ask the little girl, eagerly awaiting her response.

"Sissy was too sick to leave the house she said, so we stayed home and colored and watched cartoons" she explains as she smiles and looks back down at her lego house she's building.

"Mm, I see" I reply back to Zara who is now placing more legos on her house. "Yup, it was lots of fun." Slightly chuckling, i mutter out a quiet 'I bet'.

"Your parents didn't mind, darling?" She simply shakes her head causing me to furrow my eye brows in confusion and slight concern as to why these parents are not caring that their 5 year old and teenage daughter aren't attending class.

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As dismissal time comes and goes, Charlotte and I are once again left sitting here with Zara. We already got Zara ready under the impression that she'd be picked up on time, but It's almost been an hour since dismissal.

Zara is currently laying sprawled out on her back, already dressed in her winter coat, staring at the ceiling whilst squishing one of Charlottes squishy fidget toys.

Sighing and checking the time on my watch once again, I'm starting to think Charlotte should call the girls guardians to come pick her up sooner rather than later.

The sound of shoes hitting the floor down the hall captures mine and Charlottes attention, as we both turn our heads towards the door.

And sure enough, a few moments later, there was the little one.

Her appearance slightly concerned me, she looked quite unwell.

Her hair was thrown into a messy bun and it was blatantly obvious she hadn't brushed it in quite some time. She's wearing a crop top and sweatpants, once again, no jacket in the middle of winter.

Her under eyes are alarmingly darker than the last time we seen her, harshly contrasting with her washed out face, that was showing off her malnourishment very clearly.

She pushes the stray hairs out of her face and brings a hand to rest on the side of her neck, as she ignores Charlotte and I's presence entirely, directing her attention to Zara.

"Let's go, Zara" she tells the little girl who instantly perks up and gets up to grab her stuff.

As Zara's grabbing her bag, Charlotte and I walk over to Aalayah.

"Hey sweetheart, are you alright?" Charlotte asks, resulting in tired brown eyes void of all emotion, looking up at her.

Aalayah exhales deeply and looks down,"Yeah." She responds with a small smile.

Charlottes eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What's wrong, sweetheart?" Her voice soft and genuine.

The look of pure exhaustion crosses Aalayahs face before she ignores the question entirely and turns her head towards the approaching Zara.

My eyebrows furrow in confusion at the little girls attitude, a certain worry settling deep in my chest.

"Come on, Zara. Let's go." She grabs ahold of Zara's hand and slightly pulls her closer.

I place my hand under Aalayahs chin, lifting her head ever so slightly to make eye contact with her.

Her eyes double in size for just a moment, assumingely not expecting to be touched.

The moment we make eye contact her doe little eyes begin welling with tears. "Oh, darling" I sigh out, "what's going on in that little head of yours?"

The little girl furrows her eyebrows and shakes her head. She takes a step back, giving me my cue to remove my hand.

"I'm fine" she says as she slightly shakes her head. She exhales deeply as she wipes her eyes quickly.

She looks down at Zara, once she finished wiping her eyes "you ready to go?".

Zara nods her head, and says a quick goodbye to Charlotte and I. Aalayah muttered a quiet 'bye', only after we said it first.

And with that, I watched as the two little girls made their way out of the building.

I looked over at Charlotte and saw her face practically mirroring mine, confused and worried.

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A/N- Unedited

This has been sitting in my drafts for a while. I'm struggling with writing, everything I write pretty much sucks recently lol. So I haven't been wanting to post. Sorry! 😬🫶