Soft.

e i g h t

11:34 a.m.

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                         NIA WOULD NOT allow Naomi to concentrate for nothing in the world for she craved her mother's attention. Truth be told, Nia knew her mother would stop anything to give it to her. She was running around the house in Naomi's clothing imitating how she acted. When she'd got bored with that, she begged Naomi to make her some French toast with strawberries and whip cream.

After eating the delicious breakfast, Naomi thought that Nia would leave her alone. Well, she thought wrong. Minutes later, Nia came back into her room in distraught because she couldn't find her crayons. It only took about a half a second for Naomi to find them once she walked in Nia's princess themed room.

   It was finally at that moment when Naomi knew that she wasn't going to get anything done on this Saturday. She placed a load of manila folders on the stand next to her king sized bed before pulling the covers back. Naomi didn't enjoy living directly in the city. She preferred the outskirts, either near water or the mountains. Luckily, Seattle provided her with both.

It was quiet here and she needed solitude to maintain peace both internally and externally. Moving her neck from side to side as she sat near the edge of the bed, she took a deep breath. She was a little tired from the jog this morning in the city, but nonetheless, it was needed. Maybe Nia bugging her was something she needed before she started her CEO position on Monday morning.

     It was here where Naomi could be herself. Every morning when she walks out of her home, she puts on a mask and hope it stays in tack. Around her room were colorful sticky notes with quotes from different people written on them. On one of them, somewhere in the room, was a Japanese proverb or phrase.

You have three faces. The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone. It is the truest reflection of who you are.

It was one of the few sticky notes that was never removed from the wall after she'd read it. That phrase sticks with Naomi because it is true. Zeke's request of being transparent would prove to be difficult. Mostly because he was a guy and trusting men wasn't her strength. It was easy to say one thing, but she doubted if she followed through with the request.

She got up from the red satin sheets and headed to the master bathroom. This may have been her favorite part of the house. It was a big space with an earthy theme. The vanities were of a dark wood and the counters were a brilliant white quartz. There was a wide bath accompanied with a huge walk in shower with two shower heads. The water exited the shower heads like a rainfall.

Using her phone to connect with the Bluetooth speaker, she went to her music and clicked on Sade's Ordinary Love. Once she was out of her clothes, she walked into the shower and turned on the water, as hot as possible. The scorching hot water came down on her skin allowing her to relax. As she allowed her body to relax, she just thought about everything that had happened that week. She figured that she needed to call her mother before she was cursed out.

"Mommy?" She heard Nia call out. "Mommy I think I made a mess."

She thinks?

Naomi sighed and counted backwards from ten before sticking her head out of the shower. When she saw Nia's green hands and red shirt that was originally white, she didn't even need Nia to explain. The little girl had found her way to her paint, something she was only supposed to use when Naomi was supervising. By the look on Nia's face, she knew she was in trouble.