Soft.

e l e v e n

Again, excuse the mistakes ❤

Two weeks later...
Friday afternoon

Houston, Texas

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IT SMELLED FRESH AND FULL of memories. Coming home for Naomi was bittersweet. She got to see old friends and family, especially her mother, but it reminded her of the dark past. There were still scars, bruises, and wounds that still hadn't healed. That's why she rarely made the trip home. Sometimes she didn't like running from it, but it proved to be the easiest thing to do.

           The home in which she was raised didn't ease the pain, either. There were some painful memories that she experienced there as well. But, like every time she went home, she just brushed it under the rug and sucked it up.

Amir pulled into the driveway of their childhood home. It was a medium sized, three bedroom house that needed obvious repairs. However, it was something that held dear to their mother's heart. She wasn't going to give up on the house that easy. That was her reason for not moving to Seattle with them.

        It was strange for her, being here again after so long. Despite how long she'd been away, she still remembered everything about the place; the pink hydrangeas planted in the front yard, the soft tinkling of the wind chimes that reminded her of the summer afternoons. The beige paint had faded since she'd had last seen it. It looked like the color of the sky before a bad storm.

"You gonna get out?" Amir's deep voice snapped her out of her trance, and she looked over at him. Eventually, she opened the door and immediately went to get a sleeping Nia from out of the backseat. Naomi carefully unbuckled Nia out of her car seat before picking her up.

     Nia shifted in her sleep a couple of times before finding the peaceful sleep again. Resting her head on Naomi's shoulder, she unconsciously, and securely wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. Naomi closed the door, and followed Amir to the doorstep. Her loud yellow heels sounded against the concrete, and Amir looked down, shaking his head.

"How y'all do that?" He pointed towards her shoes as he walked up the brief steps.

         "I'm superwoman." She said simply.

Amir rolled his eyes before beating on the door. They could hear conversations, and the smell of cigarettes made Naomi scrunch her nose up. She was almost certain that it was their old, nosey neighbor: Mrs. Duncan. Seconds later, the door swung open and their mother stood there with a growing smile.

The 50 year old Caty Cartier still looked really good despite her growing age and obvious limp. She was shorter than her children with them gaining their obvious height from their father. Overtime, she'd put on some weight, but she was naturally small. Her dark skin was still clear with a few stress marks under her dark brown eyes. She wore her long, and light brown with gray peaking hair down her back.

"My babies!" She exclaimed, pulling Amir in for a loving hug. She allowed Naomi to go in the house to put her grandbaby in one of the empty rooms. Amir walked in behind the two, and closed the door.

   "Mm, you got it smellin' good up in hea ma." Amir stated, kissing the top of his mother's head. It was their way of greeting one another. They were never the hi and bye type.