~Aris's POV~

Holy shit. . .
As Mikayla strutted towards the door, my eyes followed her, my mouth gaping with each step she took. She was absolutely stunning in the dazzling red dress she was wearing. The slowly setting sun illuminated her dress and it glistened like the Ocean on a hot summer day. On the other hand, her hair was not her normal brown color. Instead, it was a dark oak color, which lead me to believe that she must have dyed it over the past year and a half since I had seen her.

Her hair was much longer too and waiver, but I still really approved of it. Hopefully she thought I looked just as attractive as she did tonight.

I examined her chocolaty brown eyes which were sparkling in the light of the front porch. She looked at me too, her eyes drifted up my face until they met with my soulful eyes.

"Hi, Aris, It is good to see you," Mikayla spoke as a smile appeared on her face again, almost never fading away on her lips.

"Hi Mikayla," greeted as I hugged her, making it seem a little awkward as I motioned for her to come in.

I looked behind my legs to see Cameron grasping on them for dear life. Apparently, he did not recognize his own mother.

Finally, he looked up at me with his small brown eyes and I nodded, informing him that it was okay to step out from behind me.

"Oh my god, C-Cameron?" She gasped as she saw her son for the first time in almost two years," you have grown up so much! Oh my Lord. . ." She awed as she let her finger caress Cameron's chubby cheek.

"Who are you?" Cameron suddenly gasped as he stepped back pushing his mother's hands away from him.

  It took a moment for Cameron to react, but when he did, he did not hold back.  He slowly backed away, almost tripping over the tiny table that was adjacent to the couch. His brows were raised an his eyes were as wide as a saucer. I had never seen a child look so traumatized, especially in regards to his mother's touch. A look of pain flushed to her face as his words tugged at her heart. As I glanced at Mikayla, I could almost see her heart sink as her eyes lost the sparkle they had moments ago. Knowing that her son didn't recognize her was a feeling she never wanted to have. Then again, it was her choice to give me full custody of the kids. I began to zone out for a moment as my mind registered what was occurring and replayed the past.

   I lay next to Mikayla, my arm wrapped around her body as she closed her eyes. The kids were both asleep and her parents were at work. It was just the two of us alone. We had literally placed the kids to sleep and we were both exhausted. After giving birth only a week and a half ago, Mikayla had a reason to be fatigued. I, on the other hand, had no excuse. I was simply being lazy, to say the least.

      I opened my eyes after closing them for moment and glanced at Mikayla. Her eyes were closed and her breathing had slowed. It seemed as though she had fallen asleep, but in reality, she was extremely relaxed. She opened her eyes and offered me the smallest smile. As she attempted to change her position in order to make herself comfortable, she looked up at me with a serious expression.

    "Aris, I cant keep them," Mikayla stated as she adjusted her crop top, "I have too much to deal with already."

     My eyes widened, "what?" It took me a moment to realize who she was referring to, "the kids?"

      I sat up in my position, but placed my hand underneath Mikayla's head so I would not hurt her. I rested my head awkwardly against the headboard and pondered about what she said.

       "Oh God, what the hell are we supposed to do then, Mikayla? Your parents are helping you raise them, and I come over every damn day after practice to help watch them. God, I practically raise them." I pointed out.

      "That's the point," Mikayla sighed as she removed her head from my stomach, "I want you to raise them." 

      "Like in my house? Oh hell no. Have you met my family before?" I laughed, "I would never want them to live in the same house as my family. I would rather run away."

     "Aris," she interjected, her tone carrying more force than ever, "take them." She demanded, her eyes shooting daggers into my soul.
    
     "Look, I-I gotta go," I sputtered as I slid my t-shirt back on and jumped off the bed, "I'll see you at school tomorrow."

    As I grabbed my backpack and duffel bag, I pushed the front door open and stomped out of the house without looking back.

"And then I woke up with two infants on my doorstep." I blurted absentmindedly.

    Mikayla whipped her head towards me, a florescent scent tickling my nose, "wha-what?"

     "No, nothing, sorry." I cleared my throat and stepped back in order to allow Mikayla to  speak to Cameron.

"Cameron, I'm your mom, sweetheart," Mikayla whispered as she grasped Cameron's hand into her own.

"You're my mommy?" Cameron muttered as he examined his mother's face.

Suddenly, the puzzle pieces all came together and tears slowly filled up Cameron's eyes.

"Yes," She replied with the comforting smile Aris never forgot.

"Mommy," He mumbled as he hugged his mother as tight as his petite body could handle.

I decided to let the two have a moment so I went to wake up Rose and bring her out to see her mother. I was almost positive that Rose would have no recollection of her mother since she was not even a month old when I began to care for them by myself.

When I returned, Mikayla was sitting on the couch looking at her phone with Cameron. Cameron seemed amused, so I assume she was showing him a game of some sort.

"Mommy, look! Baby Rose is awake now!" Cameron exclaimed as he clapped his hands and raced over to me," hi Rose, look who is here!" He gestured towards Mikayla as she stood up slowly proceeding to her baby.

"My little Rose, sweet and so much more at the same time. . . can I hold her?" She asked as she gazed into my eyes.

"Of course." I replied as I let Mikayla grasp Rose's teeny tiny body into her arms. As she did so, she began to rock her back and fourth.

"Hi Rose, it is me, your mommy! It is okay if you don't remember me. . ." She whispered at Rose.

     Rose stared at her with big brown eyes but did not respond at all. Did I expect her too? She was only ten months old.

I offered Mikayla a smile as she looked up at me, not feeling regretful at all anymore for having kids.

"Oh Aris, it is so nice to see you and the kids again-" She paused for a moment, sniffing the air in the kitchen," oh my God, you did not make cheesecake for tonight, did you?" She paused, her eyes floating over the plethora of food on the counter.

I smiled a tiny bit as I thought of cute and flirty response, but I couldn't," Yes, I did, actually." I admitted as I ran a hand through my thick brown hair again.

"Ugh, Aris, you are way too nice to me." She laughed as she walked over to the table to examine the cheesecake and the food for dinner.

     "Haha, I know, I know." I replied with a laugh as we sat down in our chairs and said grace.

     When Cameron saw his favorite food placed in front of him, which is spaghetti, he immediately shoved his face into the bowl causing spaghetti sauce to splatter all across his tuxedo.

      "Oh no! my tix-i-do!" Cameron shrieked as he raced to the sink, ripping off his shirt and tuxedo with it.

     "Okay. . time for bed, Cam." I excused as I pushed my chair and stood up, wiping the crumbs off of my black jeans.

     "But Aris-" Mikayla started as she held her hand out in the air in sadness.

     "I will be back, I should probably put Rose to bed also." I finalized as he rubbed his head.

     "Alright, here," Mikayla muttered as she stood up herself, pushing her chair in," I will help you. I will put Rose to bed for you." She stated grasping Rose and taking her from Aris.

     "Um, okay, thanks." I replied as contentedly as I could.

       An odd feeling surged through me as Mikayla picked up Rose. A ping of jealousy and quite possibly anger flooded through me, but I tried to ignore although it gnawed at me for the rest of the evening.

     ~

     "Goodnight, Rose, I love you, sweetheart," Mikayla whispered into Rose's ear as she lay down Rose into her crib.

"Mommy?" Cameron's little voice echoed throughout the hallway and Rose's bedroom.

"I'm coming buddy, give me a few more minutes." Mikayla clarified as I watched her kiss Rose on the forehead.

Mikayla stood up and offered me a smile; her lips were a piercing and vibrant shade of red. As she strolled past me, her arm brushed up against my arm and we exchanged a quick glance at each other before she proceeded to Cameron's room. His room was Paw Patrol themed and embellished with drawings that he had made and Paw Patrol character decals aligning his wall.

"Mommy, do you really love me?" Cameron whispered as he looked into his mother's soulful brown eyes.

"Of course I love you, Cameron, why wouldn't I?" Mikayla replied, her voice steady and calm as she spoke to him.

"Then why are you not here with me?" Cameron inquired, his eyebrows drawn in confusion.

      Mikayla paused and bit her lower lip.

"That would be a story for another time. Go to sleep now, Cameron. " She demanded, her tone becoming more demanding as she spoke.

     "But-" Cameron was cut off by the sound of his door closing. His loud groan was heard from the hallway as Mikayla and I strolled back to the kitchen table.

     ~

      "Mmm, this cheesecake is extremely delicious," Mikayla commented," did you make it yourself or did you buy it?" She questioned as she wiped her mouth off with her napkin, smearing a small amount of lipstick on the napkin.

        " I made it myself, actually." I admitted proudly with a mouthful of cheesecake as I spoke.

"I did not know you could bake!" She stated with a small laugh as she shoved a forkful of cheesecake in her mouth.

     "I used to make you a cake every year for your birthday, remember?" I answered, slightly offended.

      "Oh, well, this tastes really luscious." Mikayla replied as she gazed deeply into my sky blue eyes.

"Thank you," I replied as I glanced at the couch and then back at Mikayla," well, should we go on the couch and just talk for awhile?" I offered as he motioned to the new leather couch.

"Um, sure." Mikayla replied, immediately standing up. As she walked ahead of me,I noticed her dress was kind of clingy. To be honest, I did like it though.

We sat down on either side of the couch, equally spread apart from each other. It was silent for a few moments until I finally began to speak about babysitting Cameron and Rose.

"So, are you positive you want to babysit the kids? I mean, it is a very huge responsibility, you know." I spoke as I set my hand down on the smooth black leather couch.

"Yes, Aris, why are you so worried, anyway?" Mikayla replied with a small and lovable laugh.

      "You do realize you were the one who practically gave up on the kids. You couldn't even wait to talk it over with me the next day. I don't even know how long the kids were sitting in my damn porch for."

     "You would avoid the subject at school, let's be real. Besides, you wouldn't have what you have now if you did not have the kids." She reasoned with a shrug.

"Whatever, that day just really screws me up. Anyway, I've been with the kids only for the past two years, just me, them, and no one else. It-It will just be really hard to not see them everyday like I am used to. I mean, I won't see them a lot." I frowned as I repositioned my tie and tuxedo.

"I know, Aris, but it is time for you to move on in life, I mean, College is super important. You deserve to go to college, so go! I am able to watch the kids, it is fine, you can trust me. . . right?"

"Well. . .that is the point. See, since we are not really a couple anymore, I do not really know if I can trust you." I admitted, feeling my cheeks start to burn again as I spoke to her.

She bit her lower lip again and looked at the fireplace before responding to the comment I made," Look, I get it but we just need to build some trust. . you know?" She stated, a smirk playing on her lips.

"Oh no. God no. Mikayla, not now, we are not married, okay? Look, I have changed since that night-okay-those nights." I responded, becoming slightly annoyed, "Plus now is not the time."

Mikayla was now leaning up against my arm while her hand was resting up against my stomach. I did not like this feeling because it didn't feel right; I didn't deserve Mikayla back again.

"Look, I love you, Aris, and I always have, you know. I was stupid to fall for another man anyway. You are perfect, just the way you are." Mikayla cooed as she scooted even closer, almost on top of my left leg now.

"No, Mikayla, I asked you because the kids needed a babysitter, I never said anything about needing another girlfriend. Or technically, if that is too hard for you to grasp on, I really am not ready for another relationship. Please understand, okay? Besides, we are done, we were done and have been done for a long time. I'm sorry, but I hope you understand." I responded calmly as I looked at Mikayla's matching red heels.

" Fine, just. . . how about you think about it. I love you and you should love me back. I just wish you would get the memo through your thick fat head." Mikayla replied, slightly irritated, but still speaking confidently.

" Alright, fine, fine, I will think about it alright?" I responded, suddenly feeling a sense of regret as I said so.

Maybe I did still love Mikayla, but I just did not want to admit it. Ah, screw it, I should just give her another chance.

No.

She was mean to me and she broke up with me, we would not be here if it was not for her.

Wait, yes!

She is so hot and amazing, I cannot just let her off the hook like that, Geez, Aris, think, think!

"Screw it!" I whisper-shouted as I slammed my fist forcefully on the table in front of us.

Mikayla turned her head, a look of shock and confusion on her face as she examined my postured and facial expression, "What is wrong?" She inquired, putting a hand on my shoulder and looking at me with her signature look, which lured me to her in the first place three years ago.

"It is just-" I licked my lips and looked down at my feet," I am willing to give you another chance, Mikayla." I muttered, trying to sound as meaningful as I could.

"Really?" Mikayla shrilled as she looked at me with hope and determination flickering in her eyes.

"Yes." I replied as I let her pull me into a huge and meaningful hug, "thank you, thank you, thank you."

"You're welcome, Mikayla." I smirked, feeling the spark, slowly begin to form between us again.

" Kiss me." Mikayla demanded as she set her genteel and nimble finger underneath my chin, pulling me closer to her.

I could smell her minty breath as her mouth touched mine, my hand caressing her soft cheek.

I knew that this was only the beginning of an amazing friendship, maybe even stronger than it was three years ago.