𝑡𝑜𝑥𝑖𝑐 | 𝚊𝚛𝚖𝚒𝚗 𝚡 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚌

𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑡𝑦-𝑠𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛

L O C A T I O N : penthouse
T I M E : S A T U R D A Y at 1 0 : 3 0  A M
_____________________

jasmine crossed her arms, her expression hard as she leaned back against the couch. "fine. let's talk about loyalty and doing the right thing. dakota, where the hell were you when my daughter was born?

the air in the room shifted instantly. deja raised her eyebrows, clearly caught off guard, and kiana winced, glancing at me like she wanted to jump in but knew she couldn't.

i swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. "jasmine, i—"

"no, don't 'jasmine' me," she interrupted, her voice cold and sharp. "you missed one of the most important moments of my life. i needed you there, kota. i called you, i texted you, and you were nowhere to be found. do you even realize how that felt?"

i looked down at my hands, guilt twisting in my chest. "i know," i said quietly. "i know i let you down, jasmine. i can't change that, and i don't have an excuse that'll make it better. but i could never known that you were going to be going into labor that early." i defended myself. 

jasmine scoffed, "you didn't have to leave."

"there it is." 

"what?"

"that. that right there. you have this...this nerve to think that i'm just supposed to be around while everyone goes and lives their lives. kiana got married, deja had her restaurant, and you got pregnant. i wasn't going to just sit here and do nothing! that makes no sense. and you've been like this since we were kids and it has to stop now. we're grown now, jas." i explained.  

jasmine crossed her arms, her glare sharp enough to cut glass. "so what? you just decide to vanish because life isn't going the way you want it to? you think that's how family works, dakota?"

"family?" i scoffed, throwing my hands up. "oh, now we're playing the family card? jas, family isn't about guilt trips and making someone feel like crap for wanting more out of life. it's about support, about being there for each other. and you—" i pointed at her, my voice rising, "—you've only ever been there when it's convenient for you."

"that's not fair," she snapped, her voice trembling. "i've always looked out for you, dakota. always. you just don't see it because you're too busy feeling sorry for yourself."

"looked out for me?" i laughed bitterly. "jas, you looked out for me the same way a prison guard looks out for their inmates. always watching, always judging, and never letting me breathe."

her face fell for a moment, and i saw a flicker of hurt in her eyes before she covered it with anger. "i wasn't judging you, dakota. i was protecting you. you were always so...reckless. someone had to make sure you didn't screw up your life."

"reckless? you mean living my life the way i wanted? sorry, jas, but i'm not a kid anymore. i don't need your protection. i need your respect, and you've never given me that." my voice cracked at the end, and i hated how raw and exposed i felt.

"respect is earned," she said quietly, her voice laced with an edge. "and running off without a word isn't exactly earning it."

i took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "i didn't run off without a word. i told you i needed space. i told you i needed time to figure things out, but you couldn't accept that. you couldn't let me have that because it didn't fit into your perfect little picture of how life should be."

"you-."

"OKAY! lets take a breather." kiana cut in and jasmine got up immediately. "gladly." she walked right out of the door and i got up to go to the kitchen. the boys came out of the room and connie groaned, "did she leave?" kiana nodded, rubbing her hands over her face. 

"she needs to cool off," kiana muttered, pacing the living room. "but honestly, so do you, dakota. you're both so stubborn, it's like talking to two brick walls."

"i know," i admitted, leaning against the counter. "but it's not just me. jasmine has this way of making everything feel like it's my fault. and i'm tired of it."

armin walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "you're both hurt, kota. you and jasmine need to actually listen to each other, not just talk over one another."

"easier said than done," i mumbled, running a hand over my hair. "she doesn't want to hear me out. she's too stuck in her own head."

"maybe," kiana said, stopping to look at me. "but she's your sister, and at the end of the day, you two love each other. this fight isn't bigger than that."

before i could respond, the front door opened, and jasmine walked back in. her expression was calmer, but her eyes were still guarded. "can we finish this?" she asked, her voice steady but low.

kiana glanced at me, silently asking if i was ready. i nodded and took a deep breath. "yeah, let's finish this."

we all moved back into the living room, the tension still thick in the air. jasmine sat down across from me, and for the first time, it felt like we were actually ready to have a real conversation. not a fight, but a conversation.

"look," i started, my voice softer this time. "i'm sorry for how i handled things. maybe i should've communicated better. but you have to understand, jas, i wasn't trying to hurt you. i was just trying to find myself."

she nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "and i'm sorry for pushing you so hard. it's just...you're my little sister, dakota. i've always felt like it was my job to keep you safe. but maybe i took it too far."

"you did," i said gently, and her lips quirked into the smallest of smiles. "but i get it. you were trying to help in your own way."

"so where do we go from here?" she asked, leaning forward slightly. "because i don't want us to keep doing this—fighting like this. it's exhausting."

"same," i admitted. "maybe we just...start over? try to actually talk to each other instead of assuming the worst?"

jasmine let out a sigh, "starting over sounds good. but you better not run off again without telling me, okay?"

"deal," i said, and for the first time in a long time, it felt like we were finally on the same page.