Change: The Only Constant

Strong Woman and Information Seeker

***Aaliyah's POV***

I woke to the sound of muffled sobs. I turned in the bed towards the sounds.

"Ethan?"

He looked at me with tear-clasped eyes and nodded. I rushed out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and shorts. After chaging, I swiftly sat next to Mrs. Barksdale and began consoling her through circling my hand over her back. She loooked up at me, and I began to tear-up.

"It's going to be fine. You'll come out strong, and I believe it! You were, are, and will always be a strong person!" I cooed to this grieving wife.

"Thank you," She sighed as she began to lift herself from Ethanand the ground. I smiled at her as she did so. She reciprocated my comforting expression. Ethan began to stand; I stretched my hand to help and pulled him up. We all wiped the evidence of crying off of our eyes and laughed at how we looked.

"You are such a wonderful young lady, Aaliyah. My son is lucky to have a sweet girl like you. As for you, Ethan, We need to go ahead and plan the funeral. We will start tomorrow, or should I say later on today?" We laughed once again before Ethan nodded, and we said our see-you-laters.

I turned to Ethan with a mischievous smile and began pushing him to the bed.

"Is it more of me that you want?" he questioned cockily, and I nodded and purred a yes.

And so, we made love to each other for the second time tonight; this time, he was in my arms. I stroked his hair as he snored lightly. I couldn't sleep because I was worried about he and his mother. What will it be like for them? I hope that they will be able to pull together and make it through this.

I began praying silently and soon became engulfed in sleep.

***AALIYAH'S DREAM***

"Mom?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

I ran to her outstretched arms and hid in her embrace. "I've missed you so much!"

"Oh, sweetie, everyday I watch you and cover you from my heavenly home. You are so beautiful, and I can't believe how intelligent and strong you've become. Your head is on straight, and your chest is forward."

"Mom, can i ask you something?"

"Anything."

"How do I help Ethan?"

"Well, first, you should figure out if he wants to be helped or not. Then, if he does, you need pray for him and be there for him. Exactly how you have been in the recent past, you need to be always."

"So, I just need to be there for him?"

"Yes, especially while he is dealing with things you don't know about."

"What do you mean? What are yo-- I was forced awake by a vibrating cell phone. I reached to answer it, and turns out, it was Ethan's phone. I didn't recognize the name: Tom.

"Babe! Tom is calling!" I called into the bathroom. I heard water running, so I just assumed Ethan was there. Apparently he was, because I heard the water turn off andthe door open. When I turned around, however, he was wearing only a low-slung towel. His body was still wet, and his hair stuck up in all directions. His taught muscles and his blue eyes were enough to make me forget about his phone. It slipped out of my hand and hit the bed as I sat up and pulled him down to me.

"I dare you to exit the bathroom with only a towel again." I threatened into his ear.

I felt a shiver run down his back as I groped his tower-clad groin with my hips. Suddenly, I jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom, making sure to lock the door. Oh crap! Now, he's going to want to claim revenge!

Oh yeah, I forgot my clothes.

***Ethan's POV***

As she ran to the bathroom, I dropped my towel and picked up my phone. She is so going to pay for the way she turned me on and ran. Oh, Aaliyah, it is so on!

Just as I mentally started war, Aaliyah stepped out. I turned to her as she turned away. Perfect! I stepped over to her back and pressed my length against her, making sure to grind it on her. She let out a solid whimper as I placed my fingers against her nipple and circled them.

I dropped my hand and retreated to the drawers to finish my search. Take that, Ms. Start-Something-You-Can't-Finish!

She quickly retrieved her neccessities and disappeared into the bathroom. I pulled on my clothes and grasped my phone just before calling Tom.

"Hey, you called?'

"Yeah, hey the stuff you need is ready."

"Okay, thanks."

I placed the phone back on the charger as I hung up. You see, Tom is a computer expert and can hack into any database in this world. After hearing everything my mother said, I requested that he research my mother and father in the Marines Reserves Archives. I am hoping that I can rellish a bit more about this said mafia.

***~~~***

So, our plane is leaving today, and I promised my mom I would visit her soon. After a long process of goodbyes and tears, we finally arrived to our terminal to board the plane. The lady at the counter smiled as she checked our passes before moving on to the next passengers. After the process of getting settled in, Aaliyah turned to me.

"Do you know how your mom knows my dad?"

"Isn't your dad in the marines?"

"Yeah, why?"

"My mom and dad were too. They probably ran into each other from time to time."

"Oh, okay..."