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Nya POV~

Nya-
Hey are you doing anything this weekend? I'm not working and my brother has plans with the kids

Jay-
I'm free the entire day! Did you want to meet then??

Nya-
Yeah that would be good... Where did you want to meet up?

Jay-
We could meet up in Ninjago Central Park, there's a new ice-cream shop that just opened not too long ago that I've been wanting to try

Nya-
Sounds good to me :) What time?

Jay-
Does noon work?

Nya-
Yup! I'll see you then.

Jay-
👍👍

I plugged my phone in and placed it on my nightstand. Turning my body the opposite direction, I pulled the covers over my shoulder and curled my body inwards.

Why do I feel that I can trust Jay? I can tell he's a good guy, from what I know of, but there's something else about him that I can't pin-point.

Why am I about to openly talk about my past to someone I barely know? These deep feelings I've kept hidden from everyone for years about to be released to a guy I met at a café.

To me it seems crazy, but at the same time there's another deep feeling in me that I can trust Jay. That he's been my lifelong friend.

It's hard to explain, but I'm trusting my feelings this time. I didn't before, and everything turned for the worst.

👁👅👁

Grabbing the mini backpacks from the kids closet and setting it on Sam's bed, I shove in sunscreen, a few snacks, and their ipads they got last Christmas from Skylor.

"I hope you guys are actually brushing your teeth and not playing with the toothpaste!" I project.

"We are!" Sam says muffled, signaling that they're currently brushing their teeth. I smile to myself as I finish packing their bags.

The kids and I got dressed and ate an early lunch before heading over to Kai's apartment.

"How are my favorite kiddos?" Kai said as we walked through the door. He kneeled down to their level as the kids ran and jumped in his arms, causing him to lose his balance.

I sighed as I placed the kids bags on the floor near the front door.

"Nya!" I look up to see Skylor walking into the room. "I haven't seen you in forever, how have you been?" She questions as I take her embrace and sigh.

"I've been okay, nothing going on right now." We break apart.

"Really!?" Skylor sniggers, turning her head and making eye contact with Kai.

"Where are you about to go?" He looks me up and down, making me look down at my outfit. White shoes, black jeans, blue shirt, and a couple of bracelets.

"Oh! I'm um... I'm meeting up with a f-friend."

"A friend?" They both look at me smirking.

"Y-yeah?"

"And do we know this friend of yours?"

"I-I don't think so-"

"Mama is going to see Jay." Sam cuts me off, still fooling with his sister and Kai.

"Who's Jay?" Skylor smiles while creasing her eyebrows.

"He's fr'om the hot cho'colaty store." Alex tries to make out her words.

"We all met him at the cafe in mine and Kai's hometown-"

"Wait, the one on Main Street near the grocery store?" Kai queries.

"Yes! Anyways, we're going to meet at the park, grab some ice cream and talk, that's it." I said flat out.

"Talk?" Kai states. I grumble as my blood starts to boil from all their questions.

"Yes Kai, I am going to talk with Jay." I snap, crouching down to give my kids a hug. "You two behave for Uncle Kai and Auntie Skye, okay?" I say more gently than before.

"Yes mama!" They both chant.

I stood back up and was about to leave before someone grabbed my hand. My heart instantly jumped into my throat and I quickly retracted my hand. I whipped my head around to see a stunned Skylor.

"S-sorry," Skye realizes her mistake. "Do you want me to come with you? Are you going to be okay?" I close my eyes and sigh.

"Yeah, I'll be okay. If anything happens, I'll call you guys." I smiled gently before walking out, closing the door after me.

On the ride to Ninjago Central Park, my heart rate began to pace, making my body tremble and my hands sweat.

I don't know how he's going to react; I don't know what he's going to say. Why am I doing this? Will I regret it?

Deep breathe in... and out.

It's going to be okay.

I pulled up to a parking lot that was located right outside the park. I examined what was happening around me and saw lots of kids running around playing tag, couples walking their dogs, people working out, and much more.

It was a tad bit overwhelming, but I wiped my sweating palms on my jeans, grabbed my purse, and eventually left my little moving habitat.

Closing my eyes and taking a deep inhale, the fresh scent of petrichor mixed with muggy hot air filled my airways. Bringing back memories of when I was a kid, running around my backyard with Kai.

Nya-
Hey, I'm here. Do you want to meet somewhere in the park, or at the ice-cream place?

Jay-
Hey, I'll be there in a few minutes. Let's start at the ice-cream shoppe!

Nya-
Okay, see you soon

Jay-
😁😁

Nya-
🙂

Thankfully I didn't park too far from the shoppe, it only took a few minutes to get there.

I placed myself at a small and quiet booth in the corner, taking an inhale of the cloying environment that would eventually give me a headache. Light pink and red streamers and cut out hearts hung from the ceiling to support the upcoming love day.

Scrolling through photos in my gallery, just to pass time, I come across a photo of me and the kids from 2 years ago. Alex was only a year old. It looked like everything was fine in our lives, both kids smiling as bright as the sun, but you could clearly see the facade on my face, along with the bruises on my neck.

Why did I put myself and the kids through all that? I should have left Cole as soon as I found out I was pregnant with Alex.

I fear that Sam might have a few memories from a year ago. He was 4 at the time, so it's possible.

I can only hope though.

"Nya! I'm so sorry you had to wait," he smiled as he sat across from me. "I got held up in a lot of traffic and I just came straight from work-"

"It's okay, Jay." I giggled. "Trust me, I get it." I smiled.

"Heh yeah." He scratched the back of his head, shifting in his seat. "So, how have you been?" His tone is softer and gentler. I sighed.

"I'm holding on. It's not easy taking care of two kids by yourself." I nervously chuckled. He nodded his head, furrowing.

"...W- um...w-why do you have to care for them by yourself?" He said wearied.

Wow... we're jumping right into this, I guess.

I drop my head down, picking my fingernails underneath the table booth. Jay sighs.

"Nya, I know this is going to be hard, talking about this kinda stuff with a strange and weird looking guy you met at a café, but bottling this all up isn't good. And I'm not going to force you to tell me anything if you don't want to, but I want to help you, that's why I'm here."

I slowly bring my head up, instantly making eye contact with his gentle gaze and warm smile.

This was the reason I felt like I could trust him. Not only is he understanding, but he's a great listener (from what I know) and... I can tell he's also gone through a rough time before; this isn't his first rodeo.

Salt water started to fill and burn the two small crevices on my face, creating a feeling as if a ball were sitting in my throat, making it hard to swallow.

"Please don't hit me...!"

"You should have thought about that before you got pregnant!"

I wince, blocking my face with my arms. He tightly wraps his big, athletic hands around my thin, fragile wrists, pinning me against the wall.

My eyes widened.

He takes a few steps closer, inches away from my face. I squirmed under his touch, turning my head away from him to break eye contact.

Merging both my hands together, being held with one hand, Cole uses his now free hand to grip my jaw and turn my head forward.

"You are such a slut." He whispers threateningly before colliding his fist into my face. I fell down to the ground, smacking the cold tiled floor.

Cole eventually walked off after taking his anger out on me, leaving me to drown in my own blood.

"Momma?"

Sam...

"I'm sorry." I said in a whisper, one of my hands closing in on my lips whilst the other wraps around my torso, sinking into the booth.

Jays POV~

She sits there, wallowing in pain.

She's hurt.

She's hurt really bad.

I want to comfort her, hug her, rub her back or hand. Anything!!

"Heyy," I adjusted myself in my seat. "There is nothing to apologize for, Nya."

"It's all my fault! It's my fault my kids have a shitty dad. It's my fault they had to be put through all the traumatizing things he did. It's my fault I'm like this!" She screams in her hand. "I can't even care for them properly..." mumbling into her hands.

People around us started staring, whispering untruthful things.

"How about we go outside, get some fresh air?" I suggest standing up. Nya sniffed, taking her head out of her hands and wiped away her tears.

Keeping our distance, we walked out of the ice cream shoppe towards a wooden bench that was located not too far from everyone, but safe enough to have a personal conversation.

"So, let's restart..." I stated, both of us sitting down with a sigh. "Start from the beginning." I got comfortable, giving her a gentle smile. She stares back with fear, afraid to talk about her past.

"Okay," she sighs, closing her eyes. "I started dating my ex, Cole, around when I was a sophomore in high school..." As she continued, she kept her gaze pinned on a big oak tree in the distance, whereas mine was on her.

We sat on that small bench for hours, the blazing orb that levitated above us was now setting over the horizon, creating a pink and orange tint throughout the sky.

As she went on, I never broke eye contact. She stopped here and there to either mentally prepare, or to take a breather, but other than that, she was doing amazing.

I know how hard it is to talk to someone about all this, especially since I'm no professional. But what she's doing right now is amazing, I know that for a fact! She's talking through her pain and tears, and it takes a strong person to do that.

She's strong.

By the end of her backstory, I was speechless. I cannot believe Nya and her kids went through all that. I wouldn't even wish that upon my worst enemy.

I slouch back into the bench pondering. Thinking about what to say or do next. I look over to Nya to see her fiddling with her fingers again.

Oh, how I wish I could just hug her, but from what she went through and how she always retracts her hand whenever I touch it, might not be the greatest idea.

"Nya, I- I'm so sorry that happened, I- I don't know what to say..."

"I don't expect you to say anything, it's a harsh topic. I- I just want to get better." She sniffed.

I opened my mouth to say something before my phone rudely interrupted me. Looking down briefly, opening my phone to see new chats from my friend's group-chat.

I pondered for a moment.

"Hey Nya," Her glossy eyes turned toward me. "Do you trust me?"

She creased her eyebrows.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

Silence wandered over us like a tidal wave.

"Yeah," She breathed. "Yeah, I trust you."

Hey :) How you been??

-Meg