Please excuse ANY grammatical errors.

September 14, 1996

~Daryl's P.O.V~

"What you think he wants?" Yasir asked me.

"I got a clue but I'm not sure. They have been together for like a year now. Read between the lines son." I told him.

"I'm reading between the line but ain't shi- nothin' between them lines," Yasir said confused.

"How you dumb as hell at thirty-two?" I asked grabbing my grandson from his car seat. He had just woken up. "Boahhhh, you got a head like yo daddy  but mostly yo auntie!" I said laughing. "I'm glad he holdin' his head up on his own now."

"Look at yo head. Over there shaped like a hotlink." Yasir said laughing. "Leave my son alone."

"Y'all got him on hard bottom shoes when his lazy ass ain't even walking. Take them shoes off that baby." LaZardia said walking into the room; my wife and Yasir's mother.

"That's gon' make it even harder for him to walk. Y'all young kids..." I said shaking my head.

"As long as he looks fly." Yasir shrugged. "He tryin' to though."

"He would try harder if y'all ain't have these hard bottoms on him." LaZardia took the shoes off Masir.

He wiggled his little body down my legs, onto the floor, and started crawling. "Walk." I picked him up and made him stand up. He stared at my with his big eyeballs then plopped his ass right back down on the floor.

"Lazy ass," LaZardia said laughing. "Lookin' like yo auntie."

"I had to ask my girl did she sleep with my sister. I was a bit skeptical because he look more like her than anyone else." Yasir said laughing.

"He's the closest thing imma get to your sister since she hardly EVER comes here to see me." LaZardia rolled her eyes.

"You know that girl busy. When is she EVER at home?" I asked her.

"YOU be quiet." She said with a chuckle.

"That's how I know that you know I'm tellin' the truth." I chuckled. "Yeah..." I said looking at her. "You can also go with me when I do go to see her."

"That's not how it's supposed to be. You're supposed to make time for your mother. Does she? No..." She said as a response. "She barely even calls me."

"Again, you KNOW that girl busy and you could ALWAYS come with me when I go to visit her." I visit her but not as much as I should since she lives far out in a different suburb.

"She probably doesn't call because you just talk about the same things. You repeat yourself about the same topics all day. Don't nobody want to keep hearing the same things as always." Yasir added.

"I know what y'all sayin' but that's my daughter. I thought I'd be closest to her and that's not the case." LaZardia said in defense. "She can be close to that nigga but not her mama? That don't sound right AT ALL."

Yasir shook his head at her. "She has every right." He shrugged.

"Aye!" I said pointing at him warningly.

"All I'm sayin' is do what she does and see how much time you have. She's constantly traveling, writing, going to functions, and to top it off, she's in college. You don't do anything." Yasir corrected.

"As she shouldn't. I'm taking care of her as a man- as her husband." I told Yasir.

"I don't care. I took care of y'all by MYSELF with minimum help from others. I think I deserve a visit every week and for her to call me at least four to five times a week or every other day. Tia don't talk much of any of us. How would I know that she's okay if the last time I heard from her was last month? If something were to happen and they ask us when's the last time we seen or heard from her, then what? We last saw her on TV? She talks to Daryl more than her own mother." LaZardia rolled her eyes at us.

I frowned at her words. "I'm her parent too."

"Not by blood." She told me. "That's my child and I need her to get her shit together. You always taking up for her."

"Excuse me? Not by blood? I treat her like blood more than her own biological father. I've been around since she was a teenager. Where was her father through it all? Nowhere in sight even though he lived in close proximity. I have known that girl since she was a teenager! That's MY daughter too. Sometimes blood don't mean shit. She calls me daddy and calls him her sperm donor." I emphasized my words for her understanding. I know I repeated myself just now but that's how frustrated I am.

"That's not what I meant. Like, I said before, she doesn't call me much or come to see me much. I'M her mother who took care of her for the MAJORITY of her life. BY MYSELF."

"Maybe because I actually listen to what she has to say? I'm willing to just sit there and listen. I don't go back on my word and tell everybody her business. Ever thought of that? You and Yasir, both have a hard time doin' that shit. All y'all need to fix this ongoing thing." I told them truthfully. "You said it yourself that she's been like this for a while, since she was a kid. All closed off. Nahh, she even SAID a couple of reasons why she does it. She even-" I was cut off my LaZardia.

"What you mean a couple? What you know more than me?" She asked with raised brows.

Yes, I do, but I didn't tell her that. "Let it go, baby. Y'all need to go to family therapy or somethin' to fix this." I told them.

"How, when she always seem to not have time?" She asked me.

Yasir's eyes furrowed. "I did go to a therapy th-"

"I'm not talkin' 'bout that mess you call therapy. That wasn't gon' go well and I and you BOTH knew it." I told him.

"I didn't do anything to her but try to be there but the only time I do is when she comes to see him..." Yasir points to his son. "Or her and my girl hang out and go places together while I and her dude hang. We speak more than she do to mama but that's not right like mama said. I agree that we need to fix this BUT all three parties need to be involved and in communication TO fix it."

"Look just- just leave this alone. Let's see what he wants." I said getting up to open the door. "What's up, man?" I said dapping up Taimak. "Come on in," I said opening the door up to more and walked back to my seat.

"Just came to talk to you guys about something," Taimak replied.

"Excuse me? There's a lady in the room as well." LaZardia told him.

"I'm sorry. My mistake. I came here to talk to you all about something weighing heavy on my mind." Taimak corrected himself.

"Gone and take a seat young man," I told him and he did. "You been treatin' my daughter right?" I asked him.

"Of course!" Taimak said shaking his head.

"Good answer because you better." I pointed at him. "What's been weighing heavily on your mind, young man?"

"How me and him the same age but you call him young man and me everything but?" Yasir sat up frowning.

"Y'all might be the same age but his mental age capacity is higher than yours. Work on it son." I told Yasir laughing.

"You callin' me dumb?" He asked me.

"I didn't say that but you are still immature." I'm only joking. Somewhat... "Tell me what's going on young man," I said turning back to Taimak.

"Well, since you all mean so much to her-"

"She has a helluva way of showing that. Continue." LaZardia cut him off.

"Tia DOES love y'all. In fact, she talks about you all quite often. I'm coming to you all because I know, you mean so much to her. Also because as my father taught me, it's a respectful thing to do. I cam-"

"Boy, get that out yo mouth!" I said getting up and grabbing Masir off the floor. Masir started crying like somebody hit his ass.

"Boy, shut up. Ain't nobody hurt you." Yasir told Masir while grabbing him from my arms.

Masir pouted at me while reaching his arms towards me STILL crying. "You don't know what you want, do you? I picked you up and you cried. Now, you want me again." I said picking him back up.

"Thanks, I need to fix him a bottle anyways." Yasir walked in the direction of the kitchen.

"What were you sayin'?" I asked Taimak.

"I'll just wait until Yasir comes back."

Masir started wining again while wanting to go to Taimak. "You just a hopper, huh?" I asked Masir but he wasn't having it.

"I can get him," Taimak said grabbing him. "I missed you." He said holding Masir in the air. Masir rolled his eyes at Taimak. As soon as Taimak sat him down on his lap, Masir grabbed his keys and started playing with them. "You just wanted me for my keys..." Taimak laughed.

"He don't want nobody for them, only for what they got," I told him laughing.

Yasir came back with a full bottle and gave it to Masir. Masir dropped those keys with a quickness to get ahold of his bottle. He leaned back like a grown man that just got off a twelve-hour shift at work and started drinking it.

"Yasir, you raisin' a grown-ass man. The least I can say for his father..." I chuckled.

"At least I ain't old." Yasir shot back.

"Tell him, Yasir!" LaZardia said laughing.

"A'ight, so Yasir is back. What are you trying to tell us? You want to marry our daughter?" I asked Taimak.

"I do." He nodded.

"Why?" I asked him.

"Because I love her and I'm in love with her." He briefly explained.

"And?" I said waiting for him to continue.

"Dang, Daryl... You harsh as heck." Yasir said laughing.

"I'm not," I said then turned back to Taimak. "What I mean is, love don't pay the bills. Love ain't enough to sustain a marriage. There has to be more. Why are you in love with her? Can you provide? Can she stop working if she were willing to? Can she depend on you financially? Are ready to be COMPLETELY emotionally ready? What is love in your own words?" I asked him.

Taimak started to burp Masir. He may be a good son-in-law and father. "True love is when all you can do is think about that person because every aspect of your life reminds you of them. They make you feel whole, complete, like nothing else in this world matters as long as you have them. True love is when you honestly wake up and go to sleep and they are the first and last thing on your mind. It's when someone asks you how you feel about someone and you can explain every detail regardless of how long it takes. Which I will gladly do.

"It's when you can't think about being without them because it scares you. True love is when you find a friend and a significant other all in one. Tia and I have been together for almost a year but known each other going on two years. I love her compassion and how she generally cares about other people, but that she's also not spineless and stands up for herself when she needs to. I love how intelligent she is. Tia is easily the smartest woman I've ever known, and I love supporting her while she excels in her career.

"I love her sense of humor. We joke around a lot about anything and she doesn't think my dad jokes are lame, and it's a bonus that I get to see her smile and hear her laugh. She even tells lame jokes sometimes but we still enjoy and laugh at them together regardless. I love how she wants to spend time with my friends and get to know them, and when she pushes for me to open up and get to know hers. I love how she communicates, no-nonsense, no sugar coating, no bull- excuse my French- bullshit, tell it like it is.

"I love the way she tells stories. It's kind of like in a Maya Angelou manner with the emotion the topic calls for. I love that she admits when she's wrong and explains it in depth. I love that she works towards the things she has trouble with instead of sulking in her sorrow. I love how she takes the attention of the room when she walks in. I love when she smiles and her eyes do the same. I love how she smile is so bright that it resembles the sun.-" Taimak was cut off by Yasir.

"You tryna say my sister got buttery teeth?" Yasir asked Taimak with a frown.

"Yasir..." LaZardia trailed off in amusement.

Taimak laughed at Yasir's stupidity. "No, I mean that feeling when you open the blinds to let the light in and it just makes you feel a ton better and warm. I love how she pretends she doesn't know that I'm looking, continues with what she's doing then turns to me all shy. She's a beautiful woman. I can provide for her financially, even if she were to stop working. I may not be big in the industry, but my funds are. I have enough to provide for her, myself, and if we were to have a family. I'm emotionally open as she is to me. That is MY definition of love and being in love." Taimak finished.

"Damn," I said wiping my eyes. "That was beautiful. You got a grown man here crying and shit." I said laughing. "I have no problem with you marrying her," I told him truthfully.

"Daryl, you too soft..." Yasir said shaking his head. "On the other hand that is beautiful."

"I approve. Let me see the ring though." LaZardia told Taimak.

"Rings." He corrected. "I have two that I had a hard time choosing between. My sisters didn't help me since they have different tastes." He moved a sleeping Masir over to his other lap and dug into his pocket.

"Hoh, SNAP! Fugget my sister, take ME instead since you rollin' with the big dawgs!" Yasir shouted in a joking manner. The baby is used to his dad's foolishness because he's still sound asleep. "I tell you what. I'll accept it you buy me a few cars and a lifetime of baby formula and diapers. Then we can talk about it."

"A hot ass mess," I said shaking my head.

"Nahh, but for real you all our votes. When you gon' propose?" Yasir asked.

"Yes, because I want to at least be around for that," LaZardia told him.

"That's the thing, I don't exactly know when or where I'll propose. I want to propose to her while we're on vacation for our anniversary. I'm not so sure you'll be in our vicinity to see it occur." He explained. "I'm undecided on the date but I do know that I'll do it. As nervous and scared as I am I WILL do it. Trust that."

"Mmhm." I nodded. "Speaking of your family, do they approve? What would you have done if I said no? We all said no?" I asked him.

"Yes, they approve. As for 'what if's', that doesn't matter because I would have done it anyway. I'm sure I don't need to explain again but I can if you want me to." Taimak explained.

"NO, PLEASE DON'T! I get it- we all get how much you love her. No need to explain it again. I don't need to hear all that mushy stuff between you and my sister. It's cute but if you do repeat it, wait 'til I leave the h-"

"Alright, I get it, man!" Taimak told Yasir.

"Yeah, cause you gettin' on my gotdamn nerves, Yasir." LaZardia is clearly irritated.

"I'm just sayin'..." Yasir trailed off with a shrug.

"I think that boy got dropped on his damn head as a child. More than once." I added.

"I got dropped on my head but you got a reverse fade. The Uncle Phil hairstyle is the style for y'all old bucks." Yasir told me while rubbing on the top of my head. I pushed his hand off me. Yasir looked at his hand in horror and screamed. "Yo, what's this black stuff?"

"His hair." LaZardia laughed.

"Mama, you married to a dude with fake hair? I'm disappointed!" Yasir said while he and Taimak laughed together.

"Nigga, I got hair!" I told Yasir. "And YOU, don't get on my bad side," I said pointing to Taimak.

"He's right. He has hair. It's just playing hide and seek and never been found." Taimak said laughing.

"His hair is in the inside of his head," Yasir added.

"It's too bad to face is on the outside of yours!" I said laughing.

"Aye, my baby looks nice. Don't talk about mines." LaZardia told me.

See, that's why he is how he is. That's the problem. You treated and still do treat him like your baby and treated your daughter like a grown woman even when she wasn't. I love my wife but their lack in a father figure switched the roles. It's not her fault that that nigga wasn't around, so I'm not blaming her for that part. She's too hard on her.

"I like the two-toned ring," LaZardia spoke to Taimak. "But I think she'll choose the other one."

"Thanks, it is nice but I'll let her choose," Taimak replied.

"I wanted to see my daughter get proposed to. This is a big moment in her life and now I can't even witness that." Her eyes are now all teary.

I went to comfort her. "Could you at least record it or take a picture of her reaction?" I asked him

"I can't propose and record or take a picture. I only have two hands but I'll TRY to get it done." He told us.

"You live in New York and she lives in Atlanta. How would marriage work out?" LaZardia asked Taimak.

"I plan on moving here next year. At the beginning of next year. By then, I'll have someone renting my place out back home." He told us.

Author's Note: This is going to be the first time that I write in third person. I may do it a few more times by it won't be common.

~Third Person's P.O.V~

"Pac, why the heck did you come so early? I'm not even dressed yet." Tia said opening the front door.

"I'm not that early," Tupac said walking into the foyer.

"Why'd you bring him?" Tia asked pointing to DeVanté. "This is about business..."

"HIM has a name," DeVanté replied.

"Right, what's the big deal?" Tupac asked Tia. "I don't see a problem if y'all cool again."

"Look, if you want me to go, I would gladly do so. I don't wanna stay in a place where I ain't welcomed." DeVanté said turning around.

"You can stay, DeVanté," Tia said letting him in then turned to Tupac. "The problem is you bringing people over to my house when you didn't ask. But since you're here, you're welcomed inside."

"Thank you," DeVanté said walking in. "I didn't know you moved again."

"Yeah, I was tired of renting so I decided to get buy land and build," Tia told him.

"That's the businesswoman in you." DeVanté joked.

"The reason this nigga here is because he bought me over. I still have an expired license that I will soon fix." Tupac told Tia. "I'm also not that early."

"You're early as crap! Two whole hours! That's two hours I could've still been asleep. Only got like three hours and if that... I'm still tired with crust and gunk in my eyes." She said wiping her eyes.

"It's like the middle of the day," Tupac told his taking off his shoes. "You already know how she is man. Take those shoes off." Tupac told DeVanté.

"My bad, I forgot," DeVanté told Tia.

"Thank you." She replied.

Tupac looked at Tia. "You ain't wash yo ass yet?" He said looking at her crusty face and her long shirt that she turned into a nightgown.

"Don't play with me. I took a bath before I went to bed this morning." Tia said rolling her eyes. "It's just that my eyes crusty because I JUST woke up when gatekeepers alerted me. Did you not just hear me?"

"I'm still stuck on this morning part. Yo ass went to sleep in the morning? Ain't that when you should be waking up?" Tupac asked Tia with a look.

"I'm sorry but I don't run on prison time. My schedule is compromised every day so I sleep whenever I can." Tia told him.

"Damn, yo mouth been wreckless lately..." DeVanté said laughing.

"That's what I said last night!" Pac said laughing.

"Don't play with me, boy. I'm not the one or the two. Baby, this mouth was NOWHERE near yo ass." Tia moved her head side to side sassily as she spoke.

"She told yo ass off." DeVanté butted in.

Tupac blank-faced them both."She told yo ass off." He mocked. "Y'all not as funny as y'all think."

"I know I ain't but you are. Every time I take a look at you I wanna laugh but I hold it in because I just don't wanna hurt your wittle feelings." Tia pouted and pinched Tupac's cheeks. DeVanté just stood there laughing and Tupac moved Tia's hands from his face. "Follow me."

"DeVanté⁉️" Elijah screamed out and came running towards him.

"Get yo friend!" DeVanté screamed dodging him just in time making Elijah run into a wall. DeVanté is caught off guard.

"Ahh, fuck! That shit hurt!" Elijah said from the floor.

"Break my wall and imma break my foot off in yo-"

"That's what yo dumb ass get!" Tupac said hurled over laughing.

"Ain't shit funny wit' yo bald-headed ass!" Elijah rolled his eyes and stood up.

"You play too damn much! Don't do that man." DeVanté told Elijah, shaking his head at him. "Fuck you thought I was gon' catch you? 'Cause if yo ass thought that, you thought wrong as hell. Don't do that shit no more and I'm not playing. On some real shit." DeVanté had a frown on his face.

"The ladies love you!" Tupac laughed. "Ain't that what you said⁉️" He said still laughing.

"Don't do that, Tupac..." Tia told him.

"Period! I'm still a man and stand in that shit ten toes. I'm just a gay one." Elijah told Tupac. "Don't be homophobic, nigga. Especially with you hangin' 'round the people you do..." Elijah trailed off. "But THAT'S none of my business!"

Elijah, Tia, and Donald all looked at each other with a knowing look. Tupac looked at us. "Fuck you mean, the people I hang out with?" Tupac answered.

"A bunch of people yo ass hang with or did because of what happened. There are still some hiding though. Ain't none of my business though." DeVanté told Tupac. "I don't give a fuck. I just don't want people to try me." He looked directly at Elijah. "You cool but don't do that shit no mo'. I'm serious."

"Puh-lease, you should be flattered that a fine bitch like me is giving you ANY attention." Elijah joked. He always joked around with DeVanté when he was around but it was mostly one-sided. Sometimes people just get tired.

"Come on y'all." Tia shook her head, leading them to a room. "Y'all can wait here while I go upstairs and come back more presentable."

"You better. Yo ass lookin' like Frankenstein comin' to life." Tupac said turning to Tia. "She's ALIVE!" He said grabbing her shoulders like Frankenstein.

That small gesture triggered something within Tia that caused her to pause and breath shallowly. It wasn't anything too bad but it gave her a flashback which made her closed her eyes trying to look calm but also trying not to appear shaken up. She took a deep breath, then opened her eyes. DeVanté caught on to her reactions due to her doing this a while back before they fell out.

"Come on man. Sit yo bald-headed ass down." DeVanté said grabbing Tupac's shoulder and pulling him.

Once his hands left her shoulder, Tia finally spoke. "Right, sit yo lil bald-headed behind down," Tia said laughing. "I'm going to go upstairs and get dressed."

"And brush ya teeth!" DeVanté yelled at her once she left the room. Tia laughed and made her way to her bedroom. 

"I thought you told her that I was bringing you? That I was yo ride?" DeVanté asked Tupac.

"Shit, I forgot. She doesn't mind though." Tupac shrugged.

"She probably doesn't but that's not the point. She's right, you don't bring guests to somebody else's house uninvited man. You KNOW better than this. Shit, ion even like when people do that to me. If you wasn't invited, then you ain't comin' in. Period." DeVanté said to Tupac.

"Can't dwell on the past." Tupac shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah? Well, something you do in your past comes to haunt you in the present or your future. I learned from experience and I'm pretty sure you know that as well. With you having to suffer the consequences of being in jail all that time." DeVanté explained to Tupac.

"Yeah, this shit is hard but I'm gon' bounce back on this shit. Mark my works." Tupac pointed at him.

DeVanté took a look at Tupac. "You marked yo own words by sayin' it out loud. ANYWAYS, I ain't know she lived all the way this way."

"Yeah."

"So what happened to you and Keisha? You said she left but I never saw her come back." DeVanté asked Tupac.

"Just bein' a bitter bitch that's all. I'm through with her ass." Tupac said laughing.

"Damn, what she do? You callin' her a bitch. Why she gotta be a bitch, Pac?"

"She ain't shit. Just can't take rejection."

"Rejection? How? Wasn't she down for you throughout yo whole prison stay? Now you discard her like she's trash as if she didn't do what she did for you. I wouldn't be able to take that rejection either and would be as bitter as you claim she is. You basically used her and when you found no more use, you discard her." DeVanté sat up on the couch with his head racing Tupac as he spoke.

"She is bitter as fuck. I didn't use her. Matter of fact, I ain't ever slept with the girl." Tupac responded.

"But you did use her to take care of YOUR business while you was locked up though, right? That's the definition of using my brotha." DeVanté changed his voice to match one of a Hotep. "You can't use your sistas for personal gain my brotha. No! The white man already does that!" DeVanté held up a finger as he spoke. 

"The white man WANTS us to treat our sistas this way. They're breaking the black families up piece by piece. We've been fightin' for this for years my brother!" Tupac said mimicking a hotel as well.

Tia came back into the room as DeVanté spoke. She stood at the doorway with her arms folded. "As long as the black man who leaves a black woman to raise a man on her own. Or the black man who breaks up his family for the white woman when they get ahead and then divorce them and take half or all. BUT we don't talk about that enough, huh? Can't blame the white man for everything if the black man ain't doin' right himself. Also, says the men who've dated racist white women. Yeah, Tupac... Your girl that doesn't like you for you but for what's between your legs has a big mouth and has been running it to many. But baby, you aren't the only one, nor are you the first. You didn't care about your wife's feelings though..."

"Damn, okay..." DeVanté said frowning.

"Right. How you know about me and Madonna?" Tupac asked Tia.

"That just proves to me you know EXACTLY who I'm talking about but just don't care about what she wants. I never mentioned that girl name. That girl is the devil and that's coming from hierarchy Hollywood stars. I just won't say who. Let's get to business though." Tia smiled.

"Yo ass ain't even change. You just put a belt around to shirt tryna turn it into a dress." DeVanté said chuckling.

"Sho'll did." Tia snapped her fingers laughing. 

"First it was a shirt, then a nigh gown, now a dress. What's next? A skirt? Pants?" DeVanté asked Tia.

"That's not a bad idea with this material," Tia replied with her hand on her hin. "DeVanté, if you want, you can go down to the basement to the game room if you get bored or something. We're going to my office." Tia told him as she and Tupac exited the room. Tia wants to keep rooms how they are supposed to be used. She doesn't like to be in work mode in any other place of the house because it'd cause a distraction.

"Like I'm supposed to know where the basement is..." DeVanté shook his head and turned on the television.

Tupac is writing a children's book and knows that Tia has some type of experience in that field. Not children's books per day but books nevertheless. Tupac wants to try something different this time that surprises people.

"Have a seat..." Tia gestured to the chair on the other side of her desk. "So about this book, do you have a complete copy of the story?"

"Here." He slid it across her desk. "I have an idea of what my illustration should be. I don't want it to come out all wrong and shit. You know I'll get a bunch of flack if it did. I want this to be as big as Dr. Seuss." Tupac explained to Tia. "I know your vision on a screen is equivalent on paper. I need some illustration ideas."

"The Rose That Grew from Concrete." Tia read aloud, looking through her glasses. She read the actual poem in silence.:

Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?
It had no water to drink
Proving nature's laws wrong it learned 2 walk without having feet.

Every stem for every time something tried to keep it from growing.
That rose grew from the concrete without even knowing.

Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams
It learned 2 breathe fresh air.
People walked all over it but that rose grew from the concrete so it knew it was rare.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared!

(Yes, I added more for the sake of the type of book in this story.)

"This can also be a mini animation with the story being told in the background." Tia nodded in approval. "I like it. It gives hope for the kids who don't have it like that."

"Good and here's a sketch of my idea of a cover photo." He slid it across the table. "Tell me what you think of it. What I should add or take away?"

"You can draw but this wilted flower ain't it if you're talking about it growing. I know it had a hard time but it being wilted doesn't fit. Picture this: a split road with a young black girl on one side and a young black boy on the other. Between them is a rose that's growing from the concrete. They are walking on urban communities, but their body has shadows of them getting older as they're walking. The streets merge and the older them are standing on each side of the rose. It's one of those lenticular covers. It's nice."

"I can see that BUT you gon' have to show me what you mean on paper. I can't see what you see unless you physically show me." Tupac told her.

"Deal, I can definitely do that for you, but it will take me some time. I want it to be precise as I visualize it." Tia told him then they shook hands. "I'll be through in two days."

"Okay." Tupac stood up after Tia did. "What you got in that game room?"

"I'll show you. Come." Tia replied and walked out the door with Tupac on her tracks.

DeVanté, Tia, and Tupac are all in the game room playing around with each other and the games. Tia was too busy playing that she didn't hear the alert from the gatekeepers saying someone was here to see her but Elijah did and let this person through.

"They should be in the basement still so she probably can't hear nothing," Elijah told Taimak as soon as he opened the door. Elijah walked off somewhere.

They?" Taimak whispered to himself.

Author's Note: All I'll say is, prepare yourself for the next chapter. The buildup... Most importantly, THE DRAMA is nearing!

Word Count: 5,685
Please feel free to like and comment. Feedback gives motivation, and motivation urges me to continue to write.

Thank you all for taking the time out of your day to read another chapter of this story. Thank you for staying despite the slacking.💚🖤❤💜💙💛