the thing about love.

the thing about love: p r o l o g u e.

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AUGUST
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Sunlight streamed through the curtains of Olivia's apartment as she dressed her one year old son, Malakai, up in his baby sized nike sweatsuit. She smiled, kissing her son's cheek which was welcomed by the one year old's infectious little chuckles as his face lit up with a bright smile.

"Are you ready to see daddy?" She asked, laughing a little while she mimicked Malakai's expression by clapping her hands in excitement.

Her eyes slowly moved to a framed picture of herself, her son, and his father. The two of them starting off as best friends, turned high school sweethearts, now in their junior year of college with a one year old.

Being a parent was hard enough, but raising a child while entering adulthood brought upon a new wave of responsibility, discipline, and stress. But, also an indescribably amount of love formed into something that Olivia could never take for granted. She loved the family she was blessed with immensely.

However, she never imagined things to end up the way they were now. The heartbreak that also came with adulting, and relationships in general blindsided her completely. Now, she was only left with bittersweet memories and the hope that everything that was meant to be would eventually find its way back.

Hearing a knock on the front door, Olivia quickly regathered her emotions and cleared her throat. Wiping away one single tear that managed to escape her eye before she gently scooped her son in her arms.

"Come on, Kai." She smiled, kissing his head before they left out of her room.

On the outside of the front door, stood Malakai's dad, Spencer. The University of Southern California's star football player. A shoo-in to make a top-pick in the NFL Draft this year, if he chose to go that route early on. However, entering a new season and fall semester of the start of his junior year, football has been the least of his focus as of late.

Coming from a summer that was filled with high emotions and regrets, he couldn't seem to focus on anything other than his son, and the estranged relationship he now had with Kai's mother.

He stood awkwardly at the threshold, his heartbeat picking up speed when he heard Olivia's voice from the inside, letting him know that she was coming. The air around him grew with a heavy silence as he shifted his weight nervously from foot to foot. Remorse still eating at him as he clutched a small football in his hand.

He took a deep breath when the door opened, but that breath was completely knocked out of him once seeing his ex girlfriend appear. Even after knowing and being around her for years, how she managed to take his breath away every single time would always amaze him.

"Hey, Liv." Spencer said softly, receiving a quiet response as Olivia took a step back, allowing him to enter.

Before turning to face her he heard a shuffle of little steps coming towards him. His smile grew immediately when hearing his son's giggles.

"There's my lil' twin!" He matched his energy, squatting down to lift Kai into his arms as he hugged him tightly before handing him the mini football.

"I missed you so much, lil' man!" He chuckled, kissing Kai's chunky cheeks.

Olivia couldn't help but smile at the two of them. Every time Spencer was around Malakai, a light that he carried with him just for their son was bright enough to illuminate any room the two of them were in. It made her miss the times where she had her family all under one roof even more.

Quickly shaking herself from her thought, Olivia walked into the kitchen to continue packing Kai's bag. Following her shortly after, Spencer kept his son in his arms while Kai held on tightly to the football in his hand. Spencer sat him down in his high chair, strapping him in safely before turning his attention to Olivia.