Noelle.

SEVEN.

Noelle.

I woke up the next morning after pretending not to know the father of my child, eyes feeling heavy, but I was able to remember everything from the night before, which meant I didn't get drunk.

Today was the day that I introduced Leilani to my family. She'd already met my few friends and Aria's parents, but I was having anxiety about her meeting mine. My family had no idea that I was in town, lucky enough for me, my brother and Aria were keeping my multitude of secrets, mostly Aria. Mrs. Patterson was beyond excited to meet Leilani and told me that when she woke up last night, she only asked about me once.

For the rest of the night, they watched movies and colored together before Lani was ready to go back to bed at around midnight. Arias mom congratulated me on taking such good care of Leilani and bragged on how smart she was for her age. Honestly, I was hoping and literally praying that my family would be as accepting to her as Aria's was.

When rolling out of Aria's bed, it was empty, which meant Aria was already awake. She's always been more of an early bird than me, which explains why Leilani throws a fit when it's time to get up early. I went down the hall to check on Lani when the scent of sausage, he sounds of music & Leilani's laugh hit me one by one.

I smiled to myself then backtracked into Aria's room again to grab my toothbrush. I went to the bathroom and brushed my teeth then made my way down the stairs and the sight of my best friend and my daughter sitting on the kitchen island next to each other was a sight for sore eyes.

My body slouched over a little, a soft smile on my face as I immediately pulled out my phone to take a picture of them together, "What are you guys making?" I asked, my voice startling my daughter, her tiny body convulsing in shock as she turned around and giggled at me, "You scared me" she spoke, hopping off the island with the help of Aria to make her way to me.

I got in a squat position and held my arms out to her, Aria and I laughing at her as Leilani wrapped me in a good morning hug. "TT Aria made you a breakfast sandwich like you make on Sundays before church" Leilani spoke happily, taking my hand to lead me over to where her and Aria were.

I picked her up and sat her back where she was and joined her and Aria, Lani in the middle. Aria broke open a layered biscuit, handing Nani a thick layer then me as we all ate it in silence. I lived for these moments with my two favorite people in the world. Seeing the relationship that my best friend has with my daughter will always make me feel an overwhelming sense of thankfulness for her simply being in my life.

If it weren't for her, I don't know how I would have made it though the past few years. "What's the plan for today?" Aria asked, crossing her legs at the ankles, her feet still dangling from the kitchen island. "I planned on calling my family and making my rounds. I figured I'd give them today and tomorrow to get a feel for me and Leilani before we leave to go back to San Francisco" I spoke, a piece of the biscuit that my friend handed me resting in my hand, inches from my mouth. "Am I gonna meet GG, Papa, and Auntie Ayva?" Lani asked, looking up at me with big gleeful eyes.

"Yeah...yeah, do you wanna do that today?" I beamed back. She nodded her head vigorously at me, excitement on her tiny face. "Okay, we can do that, let's go get ready" I added, hopping off the counter, helping my tiny human down with me and grabbing my plate with my breakfast sandwich on it. "I'll come with...just in case I have to put someone in a headlock" Aria chimed in, whispering the part about the headlock to me alone. Aria has never been a huge fan of Ayva nor my parents, but she did absolutely adores my grandparents, and them, her.

I was glad that she offered to come, I was definitely gonna need a buffer. My parents were drunks, very opinionated and strict; but only with me. I could never understand why when all I wanted when I was little was their approval. I wasn't allowed to do this and that, that's why I was so sneaky growing up, but I wasn't doing nearly as much as I could have been.