𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐎𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐑𝚰𝐄𝐒

ʜɪɢʜ ᴛᴇᴍᴘᴇʀ

SIENNA

"Well, Sienna, you in?" Ron asks.

I'm torn.

On one hand, there's Zach, but on the hand, there's Adonis.

"Is this what you want?" I ask Adonis, and he nods.

Who am I to stand in the way of his dreams?

Just as I was about to answer, I heard the shutting of a car door. Kaia and Zach.

How do you explain to a child that her father is back from the dead?

I ran outside before they could come in.

"Hey Kaia, did you have fun?" I asked.

"It was okay. Can I go watch TV now?" She asked.

"Um yeah, but there's something I need to talk to you about first."

"Sienna, I don't think you should." Zach said.

"I have to." I said to him and got down on Kaia's level.

"I'm confused." Kaia said.

I let out a soft sigh and kissed her forehead. "There's someone you should meet."

"Who?" She asks, tilting her head slightly.

"Someone very important," I say to her, and she shrugs.

"Okay, Mommy."

I took a deep breath and stood up. Kaia holds my hand, and I give it a little squeeze before opening the door. We head to the living room, and as soon as Adonis sees her, he stands up.

The room is silent. I've shown Kaia videos and pictures of her dad, but does she recognize him?

She releases my hand, and she and Adonis keep staring at each other. Finally, he sinks to his knees, opening his arms, and Kaia runs into them.

ADONIS

I wrap my arms around my beautiful daughter, and she begins to cry.

"Shhhh, it's okay, baby girl. I got you. Daddy's here." I whispered and kissed her head.

She smells in cinnamon rolls, and her hair smells like cherries.

Kaia pulls away from me, and she can barely talk because she's sobbing.

"Y-y-y-you." She says, trying to talk through the tears.

"Yeah. It's me." I said, wiping her wet cheeks.

She's so perfect.

"So it wasn't a dream?" She asked me.

"What was a dream?" I ask.

"In.. my room... last night. I dreamt you were there. And then I opened my eyes and you left. I thought it was a dream."

She saw that.

"I'm sorry. I'm here. For good." I say to her, and she starts crying again.

My heart is breaking.

"Pinky promise?" She says, giving me her pinky.

"Pinky promise." I said, hooking my pinky finger with hers.

Just then, Sienna's phone rings, and she excuses herself.

"Can you guys excuse us?" I said to Ron and Zach.

Zach frowned and shook his head before leaving.

"I'll be in touch." Ron said as he left.

"How are you here?" Kaia asked.