*Aris's POV*

It had been almost a week since I had heard from Mikayla and it was making me anxious. I had known her for around half of my life and I knew that she would have texted or called me. That was very unlike her, and quite frankly, I would have never expected myself to have even thought about her being dormant on social media and other means of communication.

I decided to take the bigger step and send Mikayla a message in hopes of gaining her attention. Unfortunately, I had attempted multiple times to do so over the past week, but there was still radio silence.

Me:

hey. Is everything okay? Haven't heard from u in a while. Text me back soon, miss u.

I sighed and tossed my phone onto my bed. I ran my hand through my hair, trying to hide my frustration and anxiety. I just wanted to know if my kids were okay; at that point, I was not as focused on Mikayla as I was on the kids. I released a shaky sigh and grabbed my laptop. I pulled open the calendar that I had made early that month and glanced at my plans for this weekend. To my surprise, Sunday was open.

Maybe I can go to the house and surprise them. . .

I smiled at the thought of my amazing plan. Adrenaline rushed through my body as I imagined their reaction. I lay on my bed, a thousand scenarios taking over my negative thoughts. I closed my eyes and pulled my sheets over my arm.

As I was about to drift off into a deep sleep, I felt a slap on my arm. Instantly, I sat up in my bed, my eyes wide in shock.

"Your reaction was priceless!" Braydon laughed along with some other guys.

I turned over and saw Braydon and the others peering down at his phone watching the clip of me having a heart attack.

"Braydon, what the hell are you doing?" I asked.

Deep down inside, I was aware that what had just happened was quite hilarious, but I used every last bit of myself to maintain my seriousness.

"I just want you to know that I have wanted to do that for a really long time," He claimed, smirking at his friends.

"What are you guys even doing in my dorm at one in the morning anyway?"

"What are you doing sleeping at one in the morning?" One of the guys retorted, laughing uproariously.

I scrunched my face together to express my confusion, but I threw the covers off of me and I stood up, removing the sleep from my body.

"See, I kind of care where I go in life, but hell, who said I can't have any fun?  Who's next?"

The guys jumped up in excitement and Braydon patted my shoulder.

"Now that's what I'm talking about." He smiled, nodding his head.

~

I woke up around one in the afternoon that Sunday.

It was the only time so far in college that I pulled an all-nighter. It sounds stupid, I know. 

I do not regret it all, but it was quite a strange experience for me. Frankly, that was one of the best nights ever. I had never pulled pranks on so many people all at once before. Doing all of that was like a drug. It was so addicting. I had not laughed as much as I did that night either, but the part that confuses me the most is that I was with Braydon the entire time.

It hurt to say, but I believed he was becoming a friend of mine. It seemed cliche, but it was true. Being surrounded by Braydon for so long had caused us both to mature in some ways more than others. Now, we were not enemies, but we were friends. It even felt weird to qualify him as one  considering we were once nothing close to friends. 

I rubbed my eyes and looked over at Braydon who was still fast asleep. I slid out of bed and squeezed my feet into my one-size-too-small tennis shoes. I grabbed a pair of Adidas sweatpants along with a t-shirt and swiftly put them on. I snatched my keys off of my dresser along with my sunglasses. Before exiting the dorm, I checked my hair. I played with the loose strands and fixed them so they rested accordingly. I cracked the door open and slipped through, making sure to stay as quiet as possible. I learned my lesson not to wake him up once before.

I strolled down the hallway with an extra bounce in my steps as I tried to maneuver through the people lingering in the hallway. Majority of the people I saw were strangers, but occasionally, I ran into someone from one of my classes.

I offered them smiles, but kept my focus on getting to my car. I hoped and prayed that Mikayla and the kids were at home. I assumed they were only because Mikayla does not like to go in public with the kids for the sake of keeping our family a secret.

I finally reached the exit doors and flashed my ID to the guy at the door. He nodded in acknowledgment and let me depart. I sprinted to my truck and attempted to open the door before I unlocked it. I scoffed at my stupidity and opened the door once I had unlocked it. I started the engine and the radio turned on instantaneously. Something about being away from my dorm made me feel uneasy. I shook off the feeling and began to back out of my parking spot.

~

I was nearing the house when a song that Mikayla and I used to love came on. The song made me reminisce the times we shared together. I imagined the two of us laughing and throwing popcorn at each other while we watched Disney movies until our eyes were forced shut in result of sleep deprivation.

"Man, if I could go back to those days." I sighed as I turned the car into the next road.

As I proceeded towards my house, I spotted a vehicle. I squinted in order to see it better, but it still looked unfamiliar. I knew Mikayla's car; She had a white Jeep Rubicon. The car I saw was nothing close to that.

Is it some guy?

Something inside me stirred, causing me to think. I did not want her to date other guys, but what could I do? I told her we were taking a break from each other, but I just could not imagine her with another guy. Honestly, it kind of hurt.

I pulled into the driveway and parked the truck adjacently to the obscure vehicle. I opened the door- the cold air surrounded me as I got out.

The frigid air caused my senses to awaken significantly. I crossed my arms over my chest and marched up the driveway. Once I reached the door, I knocked.

The door creaked open and Mikayla's face appeared.

"Aris?" She asked, her eyes wide in shock, "What are you doing here? You told me that you were not going to be back in town for another month and a half!"

I shoved my hands into my pockets and peered down at my feet.

"I know, I just. . ." I itched my head and looked into her eyes, "I wanted to surprise you and the kids."

Mikayla's eyes softened at my words, "Oh, Aris," She awed, "that's so sweet."

I smiled and stepped inside the house. It felt nice to set foot in my own home again.

I craned my neck over the railing dividing the hallway and the playroom and spotted Cameron and Rose playing. All of a sudden, Cameron turned towards me, his eyes lighting up.

"Daddy!" He exclaimed, his smile extended to his ears.

Cameron sprinted towards me with full force, his toys still in hand. His little arms wrapped around my legs, which brought a smile to my face.

I turned to Mikayla who seemed nervous. She kept fiddling with her hair and biting her lip. Something was definitely wrong.

"Hey, bud! I missed you!"

I grabbed Cameron and lifted him up in the air. I spun him around and then tossed him onto the couch playfully.

I placed a hand on Mikayla's shoulder, resulting her to whip her head towards me.

"What?" She mumbled, avoiding my stare.

"We need to talk. You are not okay right now." I stated bluntly.

"I am perfectly fine." She replied, taken aback by my statement.

"The hell you aren't." I replied sternly, causing her to take a step back.

"Look, I don't want to talk about it right now. That's irrelevant. All that matters is that you are here now with the kids."

"Is this because of our awkward relationship or something? We just really needed to have some space from ourselves."

"No, it's just-"

"Hey, Mikayla where is your...." A voice trailed off behind us as Mikayla and I locked eyes.

In front of me stood Mikayla's high school best friend, Ashlyn.

"Aris," I said, holding out a hand for her to shake.

"I'm quite aware." She answered, shaking my hand lightly.

Jesus christ, she is still as snotty as she was in high school. Why the hell is she in my house?

I offered Mikayla a strange glance and she stood up.

"Would you mind giving Aris and I a moment please?"

Ashlyn obliged and shuffled away into the other room.

"What is going on? You have not talked to Ashlyn in years. Is she aware of the fact that we have kids?"

Mikayla swallowed and took a deep breath before speaking.

"Yes, she knows. I saw her at the park the other day and it kind of came out eventually." Mikayla explained while speaking rapidly.

"So you're saying that you just told her that?"

"No, no. Cameron accidentally called me mom in front of her and things just went off the charts from there." She sighed, rubbing her temples.

"Oh, um, okay." I answered, "Why is she here though? I'm not sure if I approve of you having random people in my house."

"First off, she's not even close to random.  You've known her since we were in high school."

"Okay, okay, you know what I mean," I laughed, "but what are we going to do? She knows and it's Ashlyn. Miss I-promise-I-won't-tell-your-secrets, but then the next day everyone is somehow aware of it."

Mikayla raised an eyebrow signaling her confusion.

"My point is that we can't trust her, Mikayla." I muttered, placing my hand on her knee.

Tears began to fill her eyes as she looked me up and down, "I don't know what to do, Aris. I just can't tell her to not say anything! It doesn't work like that unfortunately."

"I know, I know. There's got to be something we can do. We could pay her."

"Aris, you can barely pay rent." Mikayla pointed out softly.

I groaned and rubbed my face forcefully. This was not what I wanted to be dealing with on my Sunday.

"Let's get Ashlyn in here. We need to talk to her." I urged.

"I know, that's why she's here. I just was trying to hold off the conversation until I absolutely had to talk to her." Mikayla stood up, "I'll go talk to her."

I sat on the floor all alone. I could not believe someone was aware of my deepest secret. All my life, my one and only goal was to keep the kids a secret from the public. Of course when they were old enough to attend school, like Cameron, things were destined to become much more difficult, and they had. I knew that from here, everything was going to be even more difficult, but it was something that I was going to have to accommodate to.