One Mississippi

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty: Royal Fuck Up

AALIYAH sat criss-crossed in her favorite chair in the front yard, watching the boys play two hand touch. Khaiyon had met DJ and Jay. She hadn't been able to still a moment alone with him since they had woken up that day.

She didn't mind though. She was happy that liked him and accepted him so quickly. One less thing for her to worry about. "Hey," Aaliyah smiled upon seeing her older sister and mom approach her.

"Hey sweetheart," her mom smiled, kissing the top of her forehead and handing her a cold soda. "How are you feeling, baby?"

Looking at them as they sat around her, she shrugged. "I'm great, now that I'm home," she answered honestly. "I missed you guys so much. Like you have no idea."

"We've missed you too. It was just by the grace of God you found someone you knew," her mom sighed, before turning and looking at the boys playing out in the yard.

When Aaliyah thought about it, if it weren't for Killian doing everything in his power to have her forgive him, she wouldn't have made it to Khaiyon, let alone make it home. And when she thought about it even more, she never thanked him.

For saving her life and for bringing her home.

He went unappreciated and she never realized it until she realized just how truly thankful she was to return home to her family. . . with Khaiyon.

Killian had saved her life more than once. And she never thanked him. She felt he deserved better than that.

"Aaliyah?" She turned and looked at her sister, Nevaeh. "You okay?" she asked worriedly.

Nodding quickly, she looked back at Khaiyon. "I'm wonderful. I'm just so happy to be home," she explained. "And Khaiyon's with me. You know how important it was for me to meet him. He's wonderful. I'm just glad that I got that opportunity," she explained, shrugging.

They all turned to the boys whom had decided to give the game a break. Khaiyon walked over to the water bottles sitting on the table and chugged one down in seconds. "Dang. Thirsty, ain't you?" Nevaeh asked, watching the others do the same.

All four of them shook their heads, not quite satisfied. Khaiyon looked at Aaliyah. She sighed, handing him her Sunkist. She watched him swallow that no problem, seeming finally satisfied.

"Better?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He nodded, crushing the can and tossing it into a bag.

"Definitely."

DJ speaking up caught their attention. "Ya boy got moves out there," he commented after emptying his water bottle. It was obvious he envied the boy's talents.

Everyone started laughing, noting the jealousy evident in his tone. "What's wrong? Finally met your match?" El Lay asked, leaning back in her chair. "You suck." Laughter surrounded them again as they realized that she was actually right.

DJ was always the family athlete, but it seems that Khaiyon had him out-matched. Obviously, he wasn't liking that very much. Khaiyon only chuckled at it, watching Aaliyah's family over. It was a true blessing to have people like them as a family.

If anything, he was a bit jealous himself. He's always wanted a close knit family like that. Aaliyah's was about as good as he was going to get it.

Her eyes landed on him and she slowly stood up. "Hey, wanna go for a quick walk?" she asked.

He looked at her then back her family before nodding slowly. "Sure." The two turned and made their way in the direction of the park. Aaliyah's hand instinctively found Khaiyon's and he intertwined his fingers with hers, looking down at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.