After last month's incident, Aris was terrified to go out in public for at least a good week. Aris stayed in his dorm during his free time and did not socialize as much. Aris's father was not even aware that he had kids and if he were to find out, he would be in quite a predicament. Word was out and in this small town, things spread pretty damn fast.

I had become extremely protective of the kids. I began to fear that someone was going to come to the house and take them, so I installed security cameras around the home. In a way, it was nice knowing I would not have to carry that secret on my shoulders for a long time. Still, knowing that everyone in the city was aware of my life terrified me.

Today was Cameron's parent teacher conference and Aris and I were shaken up by the idea of being surrounded by other adults. Personally, I feared being judged by them and building poor relationships with Cameron's friends' parents.

I needed a sitter for the night so I decided to call my older sister, Lucille. I grabbed my phone and dialed her number.

"Hello?" She chirped happily.

      "Hey, Luce, are you free tonight?" I questioned bluntly.

       "Uhm," Lucille took a deep breath, "I mean, I think so. Why?"

       "Cam has parent teacher conferences and I need a sitter to watch them."

      "Oh! I completely forgot you were nannying the kids. You'll have to tell me all about it." She exclaimed.

   "I will, I will. Does 6:15 work for you?"

    "Yep. I'll try to leave campus early to get there on time."

      Lucille and I talked for a decent amount of time before we hung up. I had not talked to her in months because she was off at college just like Aris. I hated bothering people. If they did not make time for me, why would I make time for them? I was extremely petty, but I could not help it; I had always been that way.

      "Cameron!" I shouted down the hallway in hopes that he would come out of his bedroom.

      "Is it time for school, mommy?" He frowned, cracking the door open slightly.

      "You know it. I have your snack here on the counter. Can you put it in your backpack, please?"

     "Yes, mommy," Cameron obliged as he skipped to the kitchen.

       I picked up Rose from the floor and slid on her shoes.

       "Are you going to walk for mommy today?" I questioned Rose with a beaming smile.

     Rose simply stared into my eyes like she did when she was a baby.

      "Yah!" She tweeted happily, grinning toothlessly.

    "I love you Rose." I stated as I pecked her cheek.

     My baby was just days away from walking, and I was ready to have two kids who were constantly on the move.

      I lead the kids to the car and got them seated. I drove down to Cameron's school and unlocked the car door.

     "Have a good day, Cam. I'll see you at 1:00." I commented with a smile.

      I maintained eye contact with Cameron for quite a while. He looked devastated and tired, but I was clueless on why. He offered me a weak smile and exited the car.

"Cameron seems so sad," I mumbled to myself as I began to inch away from the curb.

     His teacher kindly grabbed his hand and led him to the line of other students waiting to enter the building. What boggled my mind the most was the fact that Cameron never looked back.

         ~

       The doorbell echoed throughout the house, Cameron's eyes lighting up with curiosity. Rose giggles to herself and patted the tray in front of her.

"Do you guys know who it is?" I asked before making my way to the door.

"Auntie Lucy!" Cameron squealed as he slipped out of his chair.

"Aga aga!" Rose exclaimed, mimicking her brother.

Cameron's petite body slid right under the table. He crawled on the unkempt floor and instantaneously stood up after he crawled out. He glanced over at me with his father's eyes. Those big mesmerizing blue eyes. His smile nearly reached his ears and he could barely stand still as he waited for my word.

"Go ahead, you can get the door," I nodded, giving him my consent.

Cameron sprinted over to the door and fidgeted with the lock. Eventually, he unlocked it and pried the door open. Lucille's face lit up with pure joy once she saw him standing there. Cameron was emitting with excitement and happiness and clearly it was a drug.

"Cam!" She cried, engulfing him.

Cameron glanced over at me with an almost sheepish-like kind of smile. His arms remained straight as a stick against his torso as Lucy nearly sucked the life out of the poor kid.

"Cameron, my God, you are so big," She awed as she looked him up and down, "He looks just like Aris. Purely a spitting image of him, damn!"

I laughed and strolled over to them. Cameron's cheeks were pink from being held so tightly against my sister. I smiled at Lucille and wrapped my arms around her.

"I missed you." I stated.

It had been almost three years since I had seen her in person. She was busy with studying so much she rarely came and visited family. It was difficult for us to be separated like that knowing that we practically grew up as best friends.

As I hugged her, I reminisced about those times when I would fall and injure myself. I would cry and she would comfort me by rocking me in her arms. I was practically her baby and having that relationship helped me significantly. My mother always told me that she was like my second mom. After all, she was the first person I ran to when I needed help. When hugging her, memories like the ones I had flooded into my brain. Despite her busy schedule, I was fortunate to have picked the perfect day for conferences.

"I missed you too. It has been way too long since I have seen you and the kids," She sighed, "Hey, where is my favorite niece?"

A smile came to my face and I led her to the kitchen.

"Hi, Rose!" She cooed, gently kissing her forehead.

"Hi Momma." She replied in her soft voice.

"I'm not your momma! That's your momma!" Lucille answered motioning towards me.

Rose turned to me and waved, "hi, momma."

"Hi, Rosie." I answered sweetly.

I let out another sigh and stood up from my kneeling position. I looked over at Cameron who was already showing off his miscellaneous figurines. This was the perfect time for me to leave. I tapped Lucille's shoulder and bid her goodbye.

"Cam, give me a kiss." I said, puckering my lips.

Cameron gave me a swift kiss and then giggled.

"You be good for Auntie, okay?" I reminded, sending him the classic mom glance.

He smiled sheepishly and sprinted back to his room to hide. I shook my head with a laugh and then kissed Rose before heading out the door. 

Once I had left, I felt a sense of sadness rush over me as I thought about why I should not have let the kids stay home without me. It was hard to trust someone- even my own sister- with my kids after the incident. Despite my feelings, I opened the car door and slid onto the seat. I shut the door and put the keys into the ignition as normal. Before pulling out of the garage, I sat and stared off into the distance thinking about whether or not I should run back inside. I decided against it and made my way to Cameron's school.

~

    "Hi, excuse me, are you in line to see Mrs. Schultz?" I asked a couple standing behind two classroom doors.

     They nodded so I stood behind them patiently waiting for my turn. Feeling lonely and desperate, I pulled out my phone and texted Lucille to check up on everything. 

      It had only been twenty minutes.

    Me:
    Hey Luce, just got to Cam's school. How's everything at the house? Miss them. See u and the kids soon.

    To my surprise, Lucille replied immediately, causing a sense of relief to flood through my veins.

    Lucille:
    All is well, don't worry Mikayla🙂

     I sighed and rested my head against the wall. Waiting was something I was not a huge fan of and clearly, the teacher was behind on conferences.

    "Hi, I'm sorry I should've introduced myself. I'm Mikayla, Cameron Collins's mom." I greeted with a warm smile and a handshake.

     "Nice to meet you," The mom answered, "I'm Rosa and this is my husband Zach. Our son, Jacob is in class with Cameron. I should ask if they talk at all. If so, I see a play date in the near future." She stated with a laugh.

     I smiled warmly, "Definitely, Cam would love that."

     I was glad to be making progress. Thankfully, they had not brought up anything regarding me being a young parent and hiding the fact that I had kids for four years.

 "So. . ." She peered over my shoulder as if she expected someone to be hiding behind me," husband working late?" Rosa questioned, her eyes firm on me.

    "Oh," I muttered," he should actually be here any moment. I would love for you to meet him."

    "Mrs. and Mr. Krueger, you're up." Mrs. Schultz announced as she motioned for the couple to enter.

       "That's us. Nice meeting you Mikayla and hopefully we can meet that mystery man of yours." Rosa wiggled her eyebrows and winked at me.

     Her actions made me slightly uncomfortable, but I was not going to allow a slight bit of a discomfort ruin my progress.

     "Same to you," I responded with another forced smile.

     I was awestruck at how I had made friends with a parent. To me, it sounded so strange to be friends with a parent, but after thinking about it for a moment, I realized that I was a parent too. I was not just a nineteen year old girl, I was a parent, a mom, a role model, and so much more.

Moments later, Aris strolled in, his fluffy hair bouncing with each stride he took. He looked extra handsome today and younger.

"Hey, Aris." I greeted with a wave.

"Hey, is it almost our turn? I told the guys I'd go out with them tonight after this. They weren't too happy that they'd have to wait." He laughed, revealing his hearty laugh.

"The couple before us just went in." I informed.

"Good," he sighed as he pulled out his phone.
~

    "Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Collins," She started, causing me to cringe at her misconception of our relationship status, "your son is an excellent student. He is always engaging with the other classmates and in class discussions. He definitely demonstrates a love for animals and especially..." She paused and reached down towards the floor where piles of paper were present. She pulled out a specific sheet of paper and slid it towards me, "his family." 

     I flip the sheet over and see a vibrantly colored image. I am on the left hand side as a scrawny stick figure with one pink shoe on and a lopsided smile. Next to me was Rose. He drew a pink triangle and an oval. Rose's pink cheeks and blue eyes were scribbled graciously yet carelessly in the oval. Beside Rose was Cameron who was holding her hand. Cameron was drawn with a smile that reached nearly the side of the circle and tiny eyes that were barely distinguishable. Then, Aris was rigorously drawn next to him; His dark hair and blue eyes were prominent in the drawing and he was drawn the most human-like out of the four of us.

     "This is so sweet," I gushed," I mean I believe all kids should feel this way towards their family-and probably do-but this is just adorable. Am I able to bring this home?" I asked, keeping my eyes on the drawing.

      "Of course, Mikayla." She nodded, "beside the drawing, I have been noticing a bit of an odd pivot in his behavior recently. Is there anything going on at home that would cause him to feel some form of neglect or sadness? Don't take this the wrong way, I am just worried about your son. I want to make sure everything is okay. After all, it is clear to see how much family means to him and to you."

"She's a softie if you couldn't tell." Aris blurted in a higher voice  as he gazed into my eyes.

     I was silent for a moment in order to process everything. I could tell  Cameron was going through some phase of being sad, but I did not know why. I thought about everything that was happening at the house, but nothing stood out significantly.

    "Honestly, I can't think of anything that would be making him act like that. He got out of his cast recently, but you'd think any kid would be excited about that. He's very quiet at the house, but I'm going to try to fish more details out of him." I offered.

     "Alright," Mrs. Schultz acknowledged, "Well, that's about all I have to say and have time for. It was nice meeting you. Your son is a pleasure to have in class." She concluded with a handshake.

     "Thank you so much, I'm glad he's doing so well."

     Once we had stepped out of the room, I bid goodbye to Aris and strolled out of the school feeling more proud than I ever have before.

~

After I had successfully put the kids to bed, the doorbell rang. I groaned and glanced at the couch and back at the door. In result of my strange mentality, I could not let the door be unanswered. Reluctantly, I strolled over to the door and unlocked it. To my surprise, a tall buff man stood there. He appeared to be in his mid fifties. He wore a menacing look on his face and his eyebrows thick with pure disgust. I was intimidated and took a step back.

"I'm looking for Aris. Who the hell are you?" He scowled, sizing me up.

My eyes widened and my limbs went stiff once I realized who it was.

       "Are- are you Aris's father?" I asked, my voice trembling.

       "Yeah, who the hell are you?" He bellowed, his voice echoing throughout the house.

    I flinched at the thought of the kids waking up. In this moment, I do not think I could manage two frightened young kids and an intimidating man at my door.

      "I am Mikayla, Aris's, um, friend."

       "You're the one he knocked up." He stated bluntly.

      I swallowed at his comment, but brushed it off.

     "How do you know where Aris lives?" I challenged.

       "I picked up a damn address book." He retorted with a straight face.

     The man showed no emotion whatsoever; the blue in his eyes was diminished completely and all I could see was black. 

       "Look, why are you here?" I inquired, trying to maintain my focus on his face and not his clenched fists.

          "My son. My damn son who had the brightest fucking idea to have kids. He was eighteen goddammit." He sighed, rubbing his temples, "He is such an idiot. Where are you, you son of a bitch?" He shouted.

      "You know what? I would really love if you did not shout or use such profanity in my house, thank you very much." I blurted.

       He squinted his eyes at me, suddenly appearing to see me at a lower standard than he was.

     "Shit! Damn!" He shouted attempted.

     I grabbed his wrist and opened the door. I forcefully shoved him out onto the porch and followed behind him closing the door. He was clearly drunk and yet he was able to drive himself over to his son's house.

    "I may be a girl, but that sure as hell does not mean you can disobey me like that. You walk into my house drunk and you reek of booze. Don't play this game, and show some damn respect." I scolded.

     The adrenaline rushed inside of me as I let temptation get a hold of me. I was exploding with confidence and I felt as though I was in charge. It was a feeling I did not have very often.

     "I'm sorry, but I haven't seen my damn son in over twelve years. He had started a completely new life without me. Hell, he even has his own house."

       "Well, the house is actually Aris's grandparent's extra home..." I started, "but anyway, Aris isn't here okay? He's off at college."

     "College?" He repeated, making it sound like a surprise, "What the hell is he doing in college?"

       "He wants to be an engineer."

        "Engineer? Damn, kid is smart. Like his mother."

      I bit my lip and let out a sigh, "sit." I urged, pointing to the step by the door.

        He sat down with a grunt and I sat down next to him.

         "You realize you were the one who made the decision to walk out on Aris and the rest of your family," I began.

          "Yeah, I'm aware and that was a pretty shitty decision on my part."