Every time Isaiah looked at himself in the mirror, he was constantly reminded of the most traumatic moment of his life. He grew to hate himself until Namiko randomly waltzed into his life one day and began teaching him how to love himself again. It...
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Isaiah raised his black Stanley cup up from the holder of his car and placed the straw to his mouth to drink the last bit of water he had left while turning his steering wheel towards the right to pull into the gated community.
He always loved the drive home, mostly because it was just that—home. A place where he was creating core memories with the people he loved the most and raising his family with his woman. It was such a rewarding experience.
When he got out of the car, it automatically locked once he walked away and he stopped at the mailbox to see if Namiko had checked it already. The neon colored handprints of Naia, Nonna Mae and Namiko's next to his bigger one that was painted on the left side of it made his heart warm. There was also a print of the locket around his neck because Namiko wanted to make sure Aaliyah was included, too.
He was loving all of the little touches they were adding to their house. This was just one of many.
"Daddy!" Naia hopped off of the couch before he could even open the door all the way, and he leaned over to pick her up from the ground in a hug.
"Hi daddy. Miss you." She breathed heavily as if the distance from the couch to the door was far, making him smile.
"I missed you too baby. Did you poop in the pot today?" A weird way to start the conversation, but she hadn't had any bowel movement in a few days now and he was so close to setting an appointment with her pediatrician.
All she did was hum in response and press her face against the side of his to give him a kiss, and he chuckled, returning the kiss on her forehead. He closed and locked the door with his free hand, holding the mail in the same hand that held Naia.
"Where mommy?" He asked her, and she pointed over to the couch where she'd just come from.
He walked over there and sat her down near her iPad, seeing Namiko asleep on the longer side of the sofa with her head propped up in her hand, facing the TV. A few cherries were spilled out of their container in front of her and her phone was playing a short TikTok over and over again.
"You sleep Nami?" Isaiah squatted in front of her and pressed his lips against hers when she didn't answer.
"Mmm.. I was not sleeping so don't ask." It took her a few moments to open her eyes after kissing him back, and he immediately noticed how red they were when she did.
"Take a nap. I'll wake you up in ah' hour. Get some rest mama." He picked up the small mess of fruit and cut her phone off, standing back upright.
"I'm not tired. Did you find a gym?" She sat up while rubbing her eye, just for him to lay her back down.
"Go to sleep Namiko." He said again, watching her eyes slowly lift to meet his at the tone he held. She puckered her lips out for another kiss, and once she got it, she turned around to tuck her face into the crease of the couch and lowered herself under the throw blanket.
