A Missed Opportunity

12

✧𝙽𝚘𝚊𝚑✧

I've tried to gain back my sister's trust and love. I managed to somehow do it, but sometimes I can tell there are still some scars there. I hurt her, and I really didn't deserve to be let back into not just her life, but her new family's lives too.

The whole drive to her place after dinner, I try to come to terms with the fact that I'm going to get tossed back a few notches after this. Even if neither of us ever meant to hurt her, this is just one of the many scars she has from me. It'll hurt her whether she decides to accept it or not.

I haven't fully come to terms with it by the time I get up to their place with them, but I don't need to be the one comforted anyway. It's my own fault.

The worst thing though is the fact that Aaliyah's excited I came back with them. "That entire dinner was awkward." She giggles as she heads for the kitchen as soon as she's inside.

Alex watches me cautiously as I follow them in, shutting the door behind me. "Yeah." I awkwardly agree. I nod down to Elaina. He takes the silent hint and leans down to scoop her up in his arms to take her down the hall with a curious dog right behind him. Meanwhile, I wander off towards the kitchen where Aaliyah is.

Aaliyah's still talking while she stands in front of the fridge. "Mom was on your butt the entire time." She giggles, finding it funny.

"Yeah." I repeat quietly. "I'm sorry, kid. You had some great news to share, but she was on a mission this time for some reason. It shouldn't have happened that way."

Aaliyah slows down for a moment while she pulls out a premade pie that she probably just needs to stick in the oven. "Yeah...that kind of sucked." She mutters. I start towards the oven beside me to preheat it for her. "But it's okay. I was thinking about maybe calling Kiara and seeing if she wants to help me make, like...I don't know. A thing for it." She laughs because she doesn't even know what she'd like to make.

I glance to the doorway when I notice Alex walk into it, probably having put Elaina in her room with a show or a toy. Lucifer isn't with him, so he probably put him on babysitting duty. I take a deep breath as I look to Aaliyah. "Sounds like fun." I mumble.

"I don't know. I'll ask her." Aaliyah shrugs as she absently begins opening up the pie box.

I clear my throat. "Aaliyah...about Kiara." I begin slowly and reluctantly. All of the confidence I built up—which really wasn't much to begin with—starts fading the more I talk.

Aaliyah pauses what she's doing. She looks over at me with furrowed brows and a little frown. "What?" She quietly asks, unhappy with my tone already. "She's great. She's nice. She..." She slowly trials off with her defensive measures when she makes eye contact with me.

I sigh quietly and glance at Alex like he's going to help me. He clenches his jaw shut and looks away, rejecting my request for help. Coward.

Aaliyah's shoulders deflate. "Noah." She quietly calls. I shift on my feet as I reluctantly look back at her. She shakes her head softly when she sees something in my expression. Maybe something she recognizes. "You didn't..." She gives a weak smile and shrugs softly. "I mean, you haven't...with Kiara. Right?"

I glance down at the ground. "Aaliyah,"

Her face falls. "Are you..." She lets out a weak chuckle of disbelief. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Yeah." I mutter. "But just let me explain."

Her face contorts, torn between anger and betrayal. "How...Why? Why do you keep doing this to me?" She starts to shake her head at me.