|A L W A Y S & F O R E V E R| B O O K 1

12||S i s t e r S i s t e r

Date: 6/17/15
Day of the Week: Wednesday
Location: Seattle, Washington
Place: Russ' Place

Ciara
Faint music playing woke me out of my sleep. I turned to the alarm clock on the nightstand to see it was a little after 7 AM. I rolled over to stretch before staring up at the ceiling and smiling. After finding my phone in the bedsheets, I threw my legs over the edge of the bed and stood to my feet, making my way to the bathroom. As I got closer, I could hear loud singing as the shower ran. I covered my mouth, giggling to myself while listening to him sing along to the music playing through his speaker. When he got louder, I unlocked my phone and went to my camera to put it on record. When the shower stopped, I ran back to the bed and got under the covers, pretending to be asleep. It didn't take long for him to dry off and get dressed. The bathroom door opened not long after. From the sound of his footsteps, I knew he was making his way over to the bed. The pressure on it let me know he had sat down. I could feel him above me. I tried to keep a straight face, but I couldn't. I lost my demeanor as a burst of laughter slipped through my lips.

"What? You don't like my singing?" He hovered over me.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I looked him in his eyes while trying to act confused.

"You not slick. I heard you run away from the door. You better not have recorded me." My head turned to the side to avoid his eye contact.

"So that's how it is now?"

"What? I didn't do anything." I turned back to face him.

"Really? Why's your phone in your hand then? I know you didn't sleep with it." I was lost for words.

"I...um-"

"Exactly what I thought."

"You sounded so amazing, though. You should have been on American Idol." I giggled. He got up from the bed and walked over to the door.

"Girl, I don't have time to play with you."
>>>
"What time will you be back?"

"Around 10:30 tonight, but if anything else comes up, I'll call you." He kissed my cheek.

"Bye, lil' man. Be good with Mommy." He kissed his forehead as he rested his head on my chest. He'd woken up from his sleep recently. Just as Russ was about to leave, there was a knock at the door. I frowned in confusion.

"You didn't tell me you were expecting someone. I wish you would've told me. I wouldn't have come-"

"And I wanted you to come. Chill. It's just my sister." My eyes damn near bulged out of my head.

"Your sister? Russ, I'm not ready to meet your family members yet. It's such a short notice." I panicked.

"Calm down. She'll love you." His hands caressed the sides of my face. There was another knock on the door, this time much harder. I sighed out, giving in. Not that I had much of a choice.

"It sounds like she's getting impatient. You should probably go open it."

While he went to open the door, I got Zahir a bottle from the fridge and went back to the living room to sit down on the couch afterwards. A couple of seconds later, he brought her into the living room. She was beautiful. She stood a few inches shorter than him, and she favored him a bit. Her black, curly hair passed her shoulders a little, and her skin was a slightly lighter complexion than Russ'.

"Hi! I'm glad to finally meet you." She waved, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Hi! I'm glad to meet you, too." I smiled nervously. You can tell I'm not very good at meeting family members.

"Russ has been telling me so much about you. Good things, of course." She sat down next to me.

"This must be Zahir. He's so chunky and adorable."

"I'm gonna go ahead and get out of here. I'll see y'all later. Bye, baby."

"Bye." He kissed my cheek once more before heading for the front door. He stopped and turned back around.

"And Anna...be nice." He warned her. She waved him off while rolling her eyes.

"I will. Would you just go so we can talk?" I giggled at the two of them.

"I'll be fine, Russ. You can go now. You'll be late for your meeting."

"Alright. Call me if you need anything."

"Got it. Now go." He laughed and left out the door. Anna and I took a seat on the couch in the living room.

"So, how long have you and my brother been dating?" She asked out of curiosity.

"It'll be two months on the 30th."

"Nice. How did he pull you? You're so pretty and the last one..." She looked like she was disgusted just by talking about her.

"No offense, but she wasn't as beautiful as you. Not even close." I didn't mean to, but I let out a small chuckle. It's safe to say she and Gracie both didn't like her.

"Wow. You and Gracie seem to have a lot of hate for this woman." She shook her head.

"We don't hate her. Believe it or not, she used to be pretty cool. But things changed, and we have a strong dislike for her now." She shrugged her shoulders. I grew curious as to what made them dislike her so much. I know she's Russ' ex-wife, but my mind couldn't help but wonder what had happened between the two of them. I guess that's a story for another time.

"So how did he?"

"Huh? Oh. Your brother has been a very good friend to me. He's been there for me when I needed him and even when I didn't." She got comfortable, tucking her legs under her.

"How so?" I sighed.

"Back in April, I found out my grandmother had breast cancer." She gasped.

"I'm so sorry for asking."

"It's okay. I was feeling really low, and he was there for me. He flew out to LA just to make sure I was okay. He gave me a shoulder to cry on. He comforted me. He made me feel like everything would be alright."

"My brother did that for you?"

"Yeah. Your brother's an incredibly great person, you know?" She nods her head in agreement.

"I know. You just seem to be out of his league."

"That's not true. Trust me. If anything, he's out of mine." I put Zahir's bottle down on the table after he finished it.

"I can tell you're real special to him." I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear while blushing. That felt good to hear from her.
>>>
"We have a lot more in common than I thought. We're both tomboys, and we love sports."

"Oh, and I also ran track," I told her.

"Basketball, volleyball, track." She listed.

"You were the captain of your cheer squad. Cheerleader captain and quarterback on the varsity football team. What a coincidence. You and my brother are perfect for each other."

"Since we have so many of the same interests, I feel like I'll be even closer to you. We're like long-lost sisters." The corners of her mouth turned into a smile.

"Me too. You'll be like the little sister I never had."