Ariya

"What are you doing after work?" Khyson asked me, leaning back in the chair on the other side of my desk.

"Pick up, Rylan. Wallow in my own self pity, what do you expect me to do?" I laughed lowly while staring back at him.

"Can I come?"

Khyson and I have been talking for a while, and in my defence it can't exactly ignore him. But the good thing is I don't think he's caught onto Rylan.

"Why, you wanna see a bunch of snotty old kindergarteners with head lice and the cold?" I teased him as he retorted his face back.

"Yes, I want to embody the full experience." He pulled his hands down while taking a deep breath before I tossed a pen at his body.

"Isn't your car here?" I asked.

"No." He quickly responded. I nodded, remembering he didn't drive.

"Okay, well in exactly forty five minutes come back and we can descend together." I smiled. He nodded before making his way into his office.

-

"You know, school is not all that." I told him while parallel parking into the pick up zone of Rylan's school.

"From what I can remember it was." He winked at me and I gagged.

"So, what time do they get out?" He added while resting his chin in his hand.

"3:45." I nodded while popping my lip between my teeth. I watched him eye the doors before turning to me.

"Right when that bell goes off you better not loose my son, it gets pretty hectic." I rested my arm on the wheel. I wasn't lying either, the mass pool of children was traumatizing to one who's never seen it. The scrambling kids looking for their parents, the older kids rushing out to go hang out, the teachers frantically hanging onto the students.

"I-I won't."

"His teacher, Mrs. C she has black framed glasses and like a blonde bob, you'll see her." I could see his fidgeting fingers until the bell rang and he pulled on the door and stepped out of the car.

Frantically looking around the sea of children running from the doors.

I spotted Rylan, but could he? I watched in amusement as he scurried to the group of small children before picking up Rylan on his back. Rylan smiled as him as he smiled back. But before he could leave the teacher pulled him back.

He pointed to my car and I smiled while waving my hand at her. She nodded at him and he began to walk towards the car. As Rylans eyes met mine his face fell.

"What's wrong?" I asked Rylan as Khyson placed him in his car seat.

"Someone stole my car." He pouted.

"What?!"

"What?!"

Both of us asked at the same time.

"I spent a lot on that." Khyson complained.

"Who, who is it, show me." I got out of the car and leaned against Rylan's window.

"Him." I heard Khyson's door open before we stood side by side.

It was a short kid, red hair and freckles for days. I could see the car in his hand as he showed his mother.

"Stay here with, Rylan." I told, Khyson.

I began to walk over before I felt his presence behind me and turned to him Rylan in his arms as we walked over.

"What's his name?" I heard Khyson whisper to him.

"George."

"George! George, his name is George." Khyson told me in a yelled whisper.

My heels clicked against the concrete before the little boy and his mother looked up at me.

"I'm, Ariya.. Rylans mom." I shook his mothers hand while tucking my hair behind my ear.

"Hi." She beamed.

"Your son is a thief!"

"Khyson!" I scolded him and he dropped his head while backing away.

"Excuse me?" She began to her defensive before Khyson took a step forward and I sighed.

"George took Rylans car." I spoke softly.

"He did? Is that true, George?" His mother smiled down at him with furrowed brows.

"It's mine!" He retorted. His mother stood up and shrugged.

"You're just gonna sit there and let your four year old boss you around!?"

"Khyson stop!" I sighed.

I leaned down with smile and spoke to him.

"Give it back, George." His mother said as I nodded. I watched the small child toss the toy on the ground before storming off behind his mother. His mother went after him.

All three of us stared down at the broken car before I heard Rylans low sobs.

"George is a shit name!"

"Khyson!"

"I'm done! I'm sorry!"

"Aw, c'mere baby." I told him as Khyson handed Rylan to me and I hugged him.

"I just wanted to show him my car." He sobbed into my shoulder. I rubbed his back as his hiccups were muffled by my blouse.

"I know, I know I'm sorry." I twitched my head at Khyson as he picked up the broken car.

"Can you fix it?" I mouthed to him.

"I'll try." He mouthed back.

"Thanks." Mouthed.

I begged Khyson to drive until he sat with Rylan in the back, consoling his low cries.

I hated seeing Rylan sad, it always made me want to cry.

I parked the car in the parking garage while looking at them through the rear view mirror. Khyson unbuckled Rylan from his car seat and had him situated on his lap, his arms protectively around his waist as they spoke.

Rylans smile etched onto his face, tears long gone.

I'd always wondered what Khyson would do, how he'd act. Would he be a good dad? Would he bond with Rylan the way I'd dreamed he would.

And this scene summed up all my dreams and nightmares.

"It's cold, we should get inside." I spoke up while they both turned their gazes to me.

"Your mom's right." Khyson spoke softly to Rylan.

We all walked up into the building before I stopped to unlock the door.

"Don't you need to get back home?" I asked while opening the door and letting us in.

"No, not particularly.. what's for dinner."

I locked the door and patted Rylan's back before he ran into the living room to play.

"How about this, you can stay if you cook dinner?" I leaned against the counter while

kicking my heels off and unbuttoning the first few buttons of my blouse.

"Deal."

-

I hope Khyson eating dinner with us wasn't going to be a regular thing. The way we all sat at the table, Khyson helping Rylan cut his chicken, a permanent smile etched on my face.

After dinner he helped me wash the dishes and put Rylan to bed.

And then there we sat on the couch.

"You know, I missed us." His words broke the silence and I nodded with a smile while looking up.

"Me too." I think I wanted to believe that was a lie when it definitely was one hundred percent true.

"So, what's it like being a mom. I cant believe you're a parent before me."

We used to talk about it when we were kids, have kids at the same time so they'd be best friends and play together. I mean half of that really happened.

"It's amazing." I ran my fingertips over the rim of the wine glass as he smiled showing off his dimples.

"It must be."

With me not knowing what to say the silence quickly engulfed us back into reality.

"You're different at work, I almost couldn't believe it was you." I chuckled lightly, licking my lips.

"It gets tiring keeping that persona up, it's refreshing to be me with you." His elbow leaned on the back of the couch with his head resting on his hand, a smile looking back at me.

"Boss Khyson scares me.. what's it like.. you know running a whole company." I brushed my hair from my face while tipping the wide mouthed glass up to my lips.

"It's really fucking scary to be completely honest."

This conversation had made me so comfortable, our words spilled out so naturally. It was like I had never left and we had always just been Khyson and Ariya. I felt so nice around him, he brought out something no one else ever could and I think a little piece of me misses that.

"You should be proud of what you've built, it's really impressive."

"You still writing?"

Writing, gosh that was such a pipe dream. I used to write back then, I wasn't good and it was just for fun.

"You know, after I had Rylan I kind of just stopped, I can't even tell you the last time I wrote something." My chuckle was dry.

"Aw, I was excited to read some Ariya originals." Back in Highschool Khyson always struggled writing his papers so I would stay up with him all night editing them.

"I don't know, it was such a pipe dream.. I don't think I would ever per-sue it, the money's not guaranteed and plus all my stuff were amateur anyways."

"Hey, don't say that. Your stuff was really good, I still remember that one story you wrote about these two kids falling in love-"

"Yeah and I remember you balling your eyes out when you read the end." We both laughed as he covered his face his shame.

"I'm better at controlling my emotions now."

"Liar, just today you screamed at a four year old and told him his name was.."

"Shit, who names their kid George, like curious George, there's so many other names you can attain. Like Rylan, which is the best name possible." He gaped as I playfully smacked his arm.

"Shut up." I chuckled.

"If I remember clearly you hated my middle name when we were kids."

"Yeah, so what." I shrugged while looking up.

"You named your son after me." He laughed.

Suddenly the aroma went silent and we had just been gazing at each other.

"You were an important piece of my life, why is that so surprising?" I mumbled with rosy cheeks and an embarrassed smile.

"I find it hard to believe I was that important to you."

"You were."

You were really important.