This Changes Everything • JIARA •

chapter 9

Kie's POV:

I blinked and Sophia was now a year old. We had a huge party for her. The morning of her birthday, JJ was super sweet and he bought me flowers and said happy birth giving anniversary. It was so sweet of him. JJ had made huge progress on the house and I figured out how to balance things better in my life.

JJ was super sweet and once a month he would take me out on what he called crazy stupid teenage nights. It was basically a date.

We'd just go out and be teenagers for one night and my parents would watch the baby. The things we did varied and they were pretty simple some days and fancy others. There were times when we'd just surf, or go get ice cream, got to dinner, or just anything. Tonight, JJ and I were getting takeout and going for a drive to the lighthouse.

I was done breastfeeding and I haven't smoked weed in almost two years. We were eating and watching the sunset and JJ pulled a joint out of his pocket and he lit it and gave it to me. I passed it back to JJ and I only took a few hits and he said, "I can't believe Sophia is already a year old"

"She's growing up so fast. The new born phase was probably the hardest but I miss those days. I want her to stay little forever"

"Same, and just so you know she's not allowed to date until she's thirty" JJ said obviously joking

"What if she brings home a boy from the cut in high school, you know blonde hair, surfer, a bit of a bad boy but he has a soft spot for her"

"There is no way in hell I'm letting him anywhere near Sophia"

"Oh and why is that?"

"I just happen to know she's a bit like her mom and we all know what happened between her mom and her blonde boy from the cut" JJ said playing along

"Hey, whatever happens with her in the future happens. Look at my parents, they were ready to kill you when I first got pregnant. Now, you're like a son to them"

"I'm so grateful to them but there's a part of me that wished my mom and dad were normal and around for this. You know to meet their granddaughter"

"What happened to your mom?" I asked as JJ has never talked about her

"She died when I was kid. One day she was here and the next she wasn't. My dad never said much about it but shortly after her death is when the abuse started. I found this picture when you found my baby pictures"

JJ took apart his phone case and handed me a picture that had been folded. The creases on the picture said it has been folded up like this many times before.

It was a picture of his mom holding him. He was still a baby and his mom had the biggest smile on her face. She was beautiful, JJ looked just like her. The blonde hair, blue eyes, her smile.

"It's the only picture I have of her. She took all the pictures" JJ admitted

"She looks so happy. You look just like her" I said admiring the picture

"Really?" He asked and I showed him how similar she looked and then I asked, "What's her name?"

"Courtney Elizabeth Maybank" He said and we continued to talk about his mom for a while and then the conversation shifted naturally

The sun had completely set and we were leaving to head back home. JJ parked the car in front of my parents house and he turned to look at me and I said, "Thank you for these nights once a month. It's nice just to get away from Sophia for the night and be young. It helps me to appreciate being a mom so much more"

"I know, it does the same for me"

We went back inside and went to bed. We continued with our normal routine. JJ was still super busy with the house.

"Hey, Kie" He said coming into my room late at night

"Can we talk?" He asked

"Yeah" I said half asleep

"I can't sleep..." He said standing in the door

I lifted up the covers as a signal for him to come lay in bed with me. He happily crawled into my bed and I asked, "What's wrong?"

"I got a call earlier today from my dad. He was calling from prison. He wants me to come see him"

"Are you going to se him?"

"I don't know... He left me. He never gave a shit about me. I don't know how he ended up in jail. I just feel like he only wants to see me because he needs something" JJ said clearly upset

"It's your decision. If you don't want to see him, you don't have to"

"The thing is, he's my dad and he's done a lot of shitty things but I still care about him"

"Then go see him. There's nothing wrong wanting to see him. He's your dad, I completely understand"

"Will you come with me?"JJ asked

"Of course"

"He can't know about Sophia... I don't want her to know about Luke. I'd rather her think he's dead because I couldn't live with myself if he hurt my baby girl"

"I promise nothing about Sophia. You call all the shots with anything that has to do with your dad. Always..." I said never wanting him to do something he wasn't comfortable with

"Thank you, Kie" He said pulling me closer to him and I knew he had no plans of leaving my bed and I was just fine with that

"Goodnight, J" I whispered as I drifted off to sleep