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Thaïs gently adjusted the sleeping toddler sprawled across her bed, carefully shifting it into a more comfortable position. With a hesitant breath, she climbed into the oversized king bed, moving as if the slightest noise might shatter the moment. Her head sank into the plush pillows, and she let out a soft sigh.
She had no idea whose baby this was, just that someone had decided to stash their kid in a quiet place in Ayame's house while they partied. And of all places, Thaïs' room. The audacity of it all made Thaïs roll her eyes, her eyes landing on the small pool of drool glistening on the pillow beside her.
"Gross," she muttered, her voice barely above a whisper. Yuck, indeed.
Thaïs grabbed her phone from the nightstand and quickly texted Mariah. If her calculations were correct, Mariah was currently meeting fans after the show, but Thaïs wanted her to be met with a cute text once she finished. She would be lying if she said she wasn't counting down the days until she saw Mariah again—16 days and 3 hours to be exact.
She set her phone on the charger and rolled over to face the sleeping baby. Her right hand tucked between her thighs for warmth, while the other supported her head. The baby looked angelic now, but she knew that when it awoke, chaos would reign throughout the house.
A sharp knock at the door made Thaïs' head snap towards it. Maybe it was the baby's parents. She looked at it, awaiting the door's opening. When it did, footsteps tapping lightly against the hardwood flooring made their way to Thaïs' ears, immediately shooting her hopes down. It was, in fact, not the baby's parents.
"Hi, TT," Amari whispered, walking over to her side of the bed.
"Hey, Mar Mar." Thaïs sat up, patting a spot for her nephew.
He accepted the seat, climbing into the bed next to his aunt. "Momma told me to come check on you. Are you coming back downstairs?"
Today was Amari's birthday party, meaning Aya's whole family had taken over the house. Thaïs was familiar with most of her sister's relatives, but that didn't mean she liked them. It was very different from her own family, who could be overwhelming too, but in a warm, affectionate way. Aya's family, on the other hand, was overwhelming in an 'OMG, I want to pull my hair out' kind of way.
Thaïs had actually been enjoying herself earlier in the day, during the quieter stages of the party when the house was still relatively empty. She'd promised herself to stay outside for at least an hour, knowing that was about the time things would start to pick up, and she'd start to feel trapped.
She and Amari had already celebrated his birthday throughout the week, so even showing up for an hour was pushing it. They had gone to a Hawks-Wizards game, and Thaïs had even arranged for Amari to meet his favorite player, Jordan Poole. She'd taken him and his friends to laser tag, the movies, and a variety of other activities that 11-year-olds liked.
