Please excuse ANY grammatical errors.

August 19, 1997

~DeVante's P.O.V~

I looked at my wristwatch. "Oh, shit! It is!" I said surprised. "Shit, my bad, man. You go home and get some sleep." I said standing up and stretching.

"A'ight!" Unc dapped me up then left in a rush. Damn, his ass must be really tired.

We surprisingly finished the vocals for a few songs but coming from me that's being an underachiever since I've completed ALBUMS in much less time. Something else that I no longer do is allow people to live with me. I've learned my damn lesson from the past. What happens under my household now STAYS within my house. I learned to separate my work life from my personal life. I walked out of the room and into the hallway.

"DeVanté," Keyshia (Cole) called out. "Do you I'm ready to record in the studio?" She asked me.

"I think so. You've done so well with the vocal coach and you should be ready in no time." I told her. "I'm finna take my ass home though," I said walking away to check all the rooms to see who's still here.

I do have a list but again I'm not burnt out and still got energy. Then I went into the last room because I'm SURE Static is still here. Static arrived around seven at night because he's been a night owl lately. We still remained tight after everything that went down in the past. We had our little moments where he was true most of the time. It's crazy how someone younger than me had way more sense than I did. So that wisdom comes with age shit is all bullshit. Wisdom MOSTLY comes from experience. Some people just have it while others don't. I know plenty of old motherfuckers who aren't wise.

"Aye, Static?" I said coming up to him.

"Wassup, De? Finally deciding to take yo ass home for a change?" He said turning to me.

"Yeah imma head home." I laughed. "You make sure you lock up before you leave." I patted his back then turned around to go. "Catch you another time."

"See you." He told me as I closed the door.

"Hey, De, can you by any chance take me home?" Keyshia asked me.

"I don't mind but how'd you get here?" I asked her confused.

"I rode here with one of the others but they left." She shrugged.

I looked off to the side. "Ahh, okay." I nodded. "Come on." I held the door open as she walked outside. "Damn, it feels good out here," I mumbled to myself.

Some may call it heat but my building is cold since it's summer and people want to get away from the heat. To them, it feels good in there, but I feel like I'm in a damn freezer, even with my thick ass jacket! We got in the car and I drove off.

"Can you stop at McDonald's?" Keyshia asked me. "I haven't eaten since lunchtime."

"Sure." I nodded then turned on some music to fill the comfortable silence that I didn't need her to fill.

Not to be rude but I'm not exactly in a talking mood. My mind is stone set on a meal because I ain't ate shit today. Well, yesterday I ain't eat. After a while, I turned into the McDonald's drive-thru.

"Oh, you were talkin' all this time?" I asked Keyshia once I got in the drive-thru. I tuned back in.

"Yes..." She frowned at me.

"Oh..." I trailed off awkwardly. "What you want to eat? I got you." I told her.

"Big mac meal with a large fry and large Coke." She responded and I nodded repeating it in my head so I won't have to ask again.

Just as I drove up a bit, she started to speak. "You didn't hear anything I said?" She asked me.

"Yeah, I heard you..." I nodded my head, lying my ass off. I was focused on the music playing. It's too late to be having full-blown conversations.

"Thank you for this opportunity. For moving me out here and everything. I'm glad I did it." She told me and I turned to her smiling.

"You welcome." I replied briefly. "Sometimes you just gotta take risks in life." I added because I don't want her to think that I'm trying to come across as rude or anything. I'm just in a vibing type of mood at the moment. It is like one in the morning.

"Yeah, and I'm so glad that I did. Shit at home just ain't perfect and ain't ever been. If I could actually call it that." She shook her head.

"Yeah, I feel you. People shouldn't have to go through shit like that. Pac explained to me that being raised my family friends is just like being homeless. That's sad and I'm sorry you went through that." I told her being honest.

"Yeah, it wasn't easy but I sure did master in not getting too comfortable." She chuckled.

"You can get comfortable where you live at now. I mean, I'm not going to kick you out or anything unless you really do some fucked up shit. Even then, I'd give you a little time to find where you wanna go or send you back to Cali. I wouldn't just leave a young woman who traveled to a place she's never been before. It ain't me." I told her with a sigh. "Other than that, you good."

"Thanks!" She said with widening eyes. "Where some of the rumors about your past artists true- IF you don't mind me asking." She said looking at me. I drove up to the speaker.

"Welcome to McDonald's, may I take your order?" The man on the other side asked me.

"Yeah, one moment please," I said getting my wallet from my back pocket while breaking my neck to look at the menu. "I want a... I want a big mac meal with large fries, and I want me a double big mac meal with a large fry."

"And what will be your drink, sir?" He asked me.

"I want a large- Large, right?" I asked Keyshia.

"Yes. "

"I want a large Coke and a large uhh..." I squinted at the menu a bit. Why the fuck did they put them so far away!? "Imma just get a large iced tea for the second meal."

"Your total is $10.57."

"Cool," I said driving forward. "To answer your question, that's not your concern. Not trying to come as a rude guy but that's just the way I feel." I told her truthfully.

"Oh." She said taken aback.

I pulled up to the window and paid for our meal. "You can park in the parking lot and we'll hand you your food there."

"Okay. Thanks." I said grabbing my receipt. "Oh, and can you add a chocolate milkshake? How much would that be?"

"Uh, the ice cream machine is down." He winced.

"It never fails, huh?" I chuckled lowly.

"I'm sorry, sir."

"It's cool," I said then rolled up my window.

I parked my car in the parking lot closest to the building. I did that because it's late as hell and it's a lot of creeps out there. I definitely don't want shit to happen to these young workers l, working the night shift.

You see, Keyshia has a thing for me, I can tell. I think she stayed later on purpose so we can have time together or whatever. This isn't the first time that she did this staying later thing. Separating personal life from home life includes not sleeping with people under my label. I've had a few people like Keyshia who are under my label trying to rub up on me and flirt. It's nothing new because I'm a good-looking motherfucker after all.

"DeVanté, you are a genius and you treat us right, I'm sorry if I came across as-"

"Don't sweat it Keyshia. Just don't ask me questions about them again. You good." I chuckled then turned back on the radio.

"What made you pick me out of all people?" She questioned.

"I see potential in you just like everybody else I chose. I'm never wrong on that type of stuff. Look at all the prior people who were under me, they're thriving in the industry right now. If you got a little something, it's work-wit-able. You feel me?"

"Yeah. I still can't believe it all. It's like a dream come true." She said staring into my eyes.

My eyebrows furrowed. "Well, you better wake yo ass up," I said laughing. "You here now so you can stop dreaming."

"I know." She smiled.

"Mhm," I mumbled then turned back up the music I had to turn down to talk to the worker.

A young female worker came up to my window with our food, so I rolled it down. "A big mac meal, and a double big mac meal with two large fries, a large Coke, and a large iced tea?"

"Yeah," I responded grabbing everything from her. "Thanks and you be careful out there. It's a bunch of creeps out here this time of night." I frowned.

"Thank you, sir. It means a lot coming from you." She cheesed about to walk away.

"Wait," I said grabbing my wallet. "Here's a tip." I only pulled out a couple of hundreds.

"No, sir, we can't accept tips here at McDonald's." She shook her head.

"Then consider it a gift. They got y'all kids working here for a couple of bucks an hour after midnight. Here, take it." I held it out to her.

"Thank you!" She said excitedly.

"You're welcome. You should pocket it before you go in just in case." I told her.

"You don't have to tell me twice." She said putting it in her pocket. "Thanks, I really appreciate it." She said then walked off.

I made sure she made it in then grabbed the bag sitting between us. "This one's mine, right?" I asked Keyshia.

"Yeah." As soon as those words left her mouth, I snatched the bag up and dug right into it. I want to eat a few bites before I drive off to drop her off. "DeVanté are you okay?" Keyshia asked me.

I looked up at her. "I'm good. Why you ask me that?"

"You just seem off today.." She told me.

I took a huge bite of my burger. "Nah, I just don't have as much energy as earlier, you know? I just want peace and qu-"

"I get it." She said cutting me off. "It's a lot." She laughed touching on me.

"Ha, yeah..." I side-eyed her the took a deep breath. "Look, Keyshia, I been getting your little hints and everything but you gotta stop that flirting shit. You're a beautiful, YOUNG lady but what you think is happening, ain't gon' happen EVER. I'm cool on that and I have no feelings towards you. I don't mix business with pleasure anymore. You're also too young. You're eighteen so I'm almost ten years older than you. Cut it out for me." I told her.

"But what about you and Rolita? Didn't y'all have something-" She frowned.

Is Rolita really out here telling people about our business now? Telling motherfuckers we fuckin'!? I sighed in frustration. "Look, don't believe everything you hear and that's something you got to stick to when you're in this business. MY personal life isn't your business. Just KNOW that nothin' ain't gon' happen between us, but the music we create in the studio. A'ight?"

She looked hurt but I had to tell her. Keyshia nodded her head at me. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Keyshia, it's fine. Just don't let it happen again." I chuckled, stuffing my mouth with fries then pulling off.

After I dropped her off, I went home and finished eating my food. When I finished I jump into my bed then grabbed the phone on my nightstand. I dialed a number and after a couple of rings they answered.

"I knew yo ass was up," I told her.

Tia started laughing. "Why must you call so late, Donald? It's what? Like almost two there."

"Simply because I can," I replied.

Tia laughed some more. "You know what? Since you wanna be a smart Alec, I'm hangin' up. Bye."

"No, wait!" I said laughing. "I'm just playing."

"Me too. So what's on your mind this early morning in your time zone at least?"

"I can't sleep and since you're the most boring person I know, I thought talking to you would help me." I chuckled.

"Screw you!" She said laughing. "Y'all dudes always wanna call late."

"Who is y'all? Don't try to box me in with these other mothafuckas. Who the hell else be calling YOU so late?" I questioned.

"Michael..." She trailed off.

"Jackson?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Bingo. He's a cool guy but he calls late at night and after filming I'm tired."

"Damn, ain't he married or am I mistaking that?" I rose my eyebrows.

"Yeah! I said the same thing and apparently that is when he usually call people. It doesn't happen every day but still. Personally, I would mess my husband up if I found out he was speaking to people ESPECIALLY women late at night." She told me.

"Hell yeah. I would be mad as hell too if my wife was going that shit. That's fucked up, but you never know what's going on behind closed doors. Maybe she does know and don't care. Some people aren't like you and me. Have you told him?" I frowned.

"I did and as bad as I didn't want to hurt his feeling, I've been dodging his late-night phone calls and only answer if it's the middle of the day. I can't be the type of woman I hate. Who knows though? She could be hurting. Enough about them. Why did you really call me now?"

"That's right. Be the example you want others to be if you were in the same situation. I just wanted to talk to you that's all. I kinda miss yo gap-mouthed ass and the little conversations, you know?"

"Alright, Mr. I- Can't- Grow- Muttonchops, don't go throwing shots now. Alright?" She chuckled.

"Hey, that wasn't nice," I told her.

"And my slight gap between my front two teeth is, huh?" She laughed at me.

"I'm joking. I hope you didn't take offense to that shit?" I asked her.

"The frick? Why would I if I really do have a lil gap? We play like this all the time. You ask me but did you?"

"Nahh, like you said we do this shit 25/7. You know me." I told her.

"I do. How are you doing?" She asked me.

"Stressed!" I yelled out turning from off my back and onto my side.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"You know my label and shit. UNC is the main one. That nigga was bugging for a while. Telling ME to trust the process as if I ain't been doing this shit for a while. Today- yesterday I told him about himself. He straightened up though afterward. He can sing his ass off but he just have a hard time listening and got a smart ass mouth." I sighed.

"Hey, I hate to say I told you so but you got this under control now. Let's just hope it lasts... I love my uncle dearly but he got problems. You got his though!"

"Hell yeah..." I agreed. "Nah, but for real, you gon' tell me who you interviewing for that biopic you're working on?"

I heard her laugh then a click. I scoffed while laughing. I KNOW this heffa ain't just hang up on me!? Alright, but she's lucky she bored me enough to where I can sleep now. Nah, she didn't bore me but I am sleepy though. Nice little SHORT conversation.

October 14, 1997

~Yasir's P.O.V~

I sat up a bit after a winded session. I'm still a bit out of breath but I need to go.

"So when do you plan on leaving that girl?" Lila asked me, lying on her side while leaning on her hand.

I turned to her. "I- I can't do that right now, she's pregnant again and she needs me."

"Well, WHEN?" She shot up. "You been feeding me this for a while now? When Yasir!? You can't just keep treating me like I'm some hooker from off the corner!"

"I told you, baby. I'm going to do it. Trust the process." I leaned down and kissed her on her lips.

"Mm. You better." She smiled.

"I am, it's just a lot. I got Masir and the new baby and that's the only reason I can't right now." I told her then began getting dressed. "Speaking of Masir, I gotta pick him up. I told my parents that I was working a double shift." I sighed heavily. "I'll see you tomorrow. A'ight?" I asked her.

"Okay." She smiled.

"Gimme another kiss," I told her and she sat on her knees and pulled me into a deep kiss. "Mmm, don't start me up again. I need to go get my son." I chuckled pulling away. "Love you!" I said walking out of the room and into the living room.

"I love you too." She yelled back at me.

"Make sure you lock the top lock!" I said before closing the door but after locking the bottom lock.

Lila lives in an apartment and I love her but I also love Ashari. The difference is Ashari has my child and another on the way. I don't want to hurt Ashari because see she's very sweet but I also don't want to hurt my children by them growing up in a one-parent home. I know how tough that shit is to children because I've been through it.

I'm not saying that I'm going to disappear from my children's lives but if I do choose to break things off with Ashari, we won't be living together. I probably won't be able to see my kids as often as I would want to see them. I love my kids, even my unborn child. It's just a lot of shit to take into consideration. I don't want to be like my sperm donor but maybe I'm more like him than I realize.

I pulled up to my parent's house and got out of the car. Ashari is now at work, which is why Masir is at my parent's house. I knocked on the door even though I have a key. Both Tia and I have keys to their house but it's only for emergencies. My mother opened the door and I heard Masir screaming that the top of his lungs while laughing.

"Hey, mama," I said hugging her.

"Hey." She hugged me back.

I walked inside the house and into the front room and he threw a toy at Daryl. "Aye, what you doing all that cryin' for, boy? What I tell you about throwin' stuff?" I asked Masir and he automatically stopped crying. He knows I don't play that temper tantrum shit. "Get up offa the floor, boy." He wiped his face then stood up.

"What the hell was he crying so hard for?" My mama asked us.

"Terrible two's." Daryl laughed at her. "Nahh, he got mad because HE threw a toy at me. That's one LOUD little boy." He shook his head throwing one of Masir's toy up in the air then catching it.

"We don't do that and he knows that. Masir, say sorry." I pointed to Daryl. Masir looked at me silently with a frown on his face looking like his auntie. "Apologize."

"He good. He's just a baby." Daryl waved me off. I turned back to Masir.

Masir stood on his two feet and walked to Daryl. "Sahhwwy."

"Aww, it's okay. Ye pops just being a butthole." Daryl grabbed Masir and threw him up into the air.

"You got to teach them as early as possible. This my child and you don't know that because you don't have any." I told him which struck a nerve.

Daryl paused. "Boy, y'all are sure good at throwin' shit in people's faces. All three of y'all but at least MY DAUGHTER is changing and NEVER threw that shit in my face. You KNOW me not having children was out of my control. I want an apology."

"Apology?" I asked him with a confused expression. "It's not like I lied."

"You know what, Yasir? Imma say this shit and I should've been said it. You expect EVERYBODY to just get over the shit you say and do but get mad when they don't wanna talk to yo ass. You don't want nobody to tell you shit because you think you always right." He pointed to me with Masir now sitting on his lap. "You need to take accountability for EVERYTHING YOU do and stop trying to make it seem like you're the victim. Until yo ass apologize to me, as far as I'm concerned we don't have shit else to talk about." He shrugged.

"Why are you coming at him like a stranger, Daryl? You know he ain't mean that." My mama frowned at him. "What's your problem?" She folded her arms.

"What's my pro- here you are once again coming to his rescue making him think he's right all the time. If he ain't mean that shit then I should be hearing it come from HIS mouth and not from you. I wanna hear HIM say he ain't mean that shit by apologizing." He pointed at me every time he referred to me.

"You really not gon' speak to me because of that? We're grown men, man. That's some shit women do." I frowned at him. "What's your problem? My bad, man." I chuckled.

"Real men take responsibility for their actions," Daryl added.

My mother scoffed. "I'm not coming to his rescue. I'm just saying that you ain't have to say everything you just said to him. It was uncalled for. You're bringing other situations into this ONE."

"Once again, my bad ain't no damn apology then y'all- baby, you treat this man like a little boy and always have
Coddling his ass like he still attached to the titty! A whole manchild. Y'all-" He stopped what he was saying the sighed heavily. "Lost cause because y'all don't wanna hear me." He shook his head in defeat. Daryl then stopped paying attention to us and played with Masir.

"If that's what you wanna hear then I'm sorry man." I told him.

"No, all I wanna hear is that you're sorry. You apologized with REALLY apologizing. Don't say it because you think I just wanna hear you say it. Say that shit with ye chest and because you want to." He said looking at me with an intense stare.

"I'm sorry for throwin' that in your face and I won't do it again. A'ight?" I asked him.

"Sounds much better but I still meant all the other shit I said." Daryl laughed. "I accept your apology. Was that so hard?"

"It was..." I nodded.

"See what I mean?" Daryl said looking at my mother. "It's so hard for him to apologize because you never held him accountable. I understand it wasn't hard being a single mother to a boy but ANYBODY can hold someone responsible." He then turned back to me. "Work on that shit, Yasir or your kids might be the same way if they see you do it all their lives. I'm not trying to hurt your feeling but think about that."

"Y'all talk to Tia?" I asked them both.

"Daryl, we'll discuss this further later. To answer Yasir's question, yes I spoke to my daughter just the other day. Why?" She asked me.

"As a matter of fact, I did earlier. I also have the same question as your mother." Daryl told me.

"Nope, I guess she still mad." I shrugged. "It's whatever though."

"What now? What's the situation?" Daryl said handing a toy to Masir who was getting agitated by just sitting there listening to us adults.

"Somethin' petty like always. You know how my sister can get. Speaking of her, I been very worried about her. Idunno." I sighed then grabbed Masir.

"She a'ight." Daryl told me. "Just like everybody else, she has her days. Except her days are a little... You know?" He asked us and we sat there with a puzzled expression. "Look, what I'm trying to say is yes we know she's a little different than the next person but she's also been through a lot of shit that none of you have been through. I'm not just talking about sexual abuse here, because it goes far beyond just that. With MOST sexual abuse comes mental abuse and possibly physical. She didn't go into details when she told y'all about it and she most likely won't. All I want y'all to do is TRY to understand her."

"You said y'all. Meaning you not included. Daryl, why do you continue to keep things from me about my daughter?" Mama raised her eyebrows.

"I meant us." He threw his head back against the backrest of the couch in frustration. "You know she has a hard time opening up. It just takes time."

"Time? She's twenty-five years old, Daryl. How much more time does she needs? She's an adult who should have her shit together. I love her but pushing people away won't change the past. Life goes on." My mother scoffed at Darryl's comment.

"It doesn't work like that but like I said before if you keep that same attitude with her the way you've been doing her whole life, she has no choice but to push y'all away. You treat Yasir like he's the younger sister and Tia like she's the older brother. Somehow the roles reversed. As you previously said, life does go on. She's living her life, having fun, traveling, with a great career, trust me her life goes on and she's living her life as she should.

"Her life has gone on but that doesn't mean she exactly forgot what she went through and how people treated her. Y'all keep this up and y'all REALLY gon' be mad at her because she no longer speaks to you all. It's the God honest truth. Take my advice or leave it but don't get angry at the results. If this does get worse, it don't mean she doesn't love you either." Daryl explained to us.

My mother sat there taking it all in as the only room we heard was Masir's giggles and babbles. "You're right." She nodded. "You're right." She repeated. "Partly right though. I don't want to lose my daughter but I still don't think it's okay to push us away."

"Damn, can I ever be full-on right?" Daryl joked. "Technically, she ain't push y'all away though. Y'all were never THAT close."

"I was close to my daughter at one point." My mother replied.

"Yes, as most parents are in the beginning stages of life but what y'all are implying couldn't have been the case or else we wouldn't be in this predicament now." Daryl raised his eyebrow.

"Yeah..." My mother trailed off.

Most of what he said went into one in and out the other. He's ALWAYS taking up for Tia's actions when me or mama have anything to do with the situation. I love Tia but wrong is wrong and she's done a lot of wrongs. If what Daryl says is the case, then she needs to stop letting her past affect the present.

"Well, I think Masir and I are going to head home. I gotta make dinner and it's getting late." I chuckled putting some of Masir's things into his baby bag.

"Alright, what you makin'?" My mother asked me.

"Some baked chicken, rice, rolls, and probably some vegetables," I responded.

"Will your rice by any chance look like mashed potatoes?" Daryl asked me.

"Nope, I got a rice cooker!" I laughed.

I can cook but it doesn't mean it'll always taste good. Cooking is one thing that I will give to my sister. Tia's good at it and me not so much. My specialty is breakfast foods like pancakes, sausage, eggs, and stuff like that. I can also throw some frozen stuff in the oven. Ashari is like me too. She can cook certain things and we jokingly talk about each other's food all the time.

"Hey, I'm not knocking your cooking or anything because you like what you like and you eat any and everything," Daryl said laughing.

"He ain't lying!" My mother said agreeing with Daryl. "Fish always overly oily, rice and pasta overcooked, and by adding the wrong seasonings. Everything doesn't go on everything, Yasir." My mother said laughing. "It NEVER fails."

"Hey, Masir like it," I told them making a point.

"Only because it resembles baby food due to it being overcooked..." Daryl chuckled.

I had no comeback. "Okay, I'm going to go!" I said laughing. "That's not fair."

"You're right, that baby or Ashari shouldn't have to suffer from your cooking." Daryl pointed out.

"Ashari ain't that good of a cook either," I told him.

"Imma tell her that the next time y'all argue on who cooking dinner. Yasir, Ashari may not be as good as your sister but she can cook. She's 99.9% better than you are and you're the rest." My mother said laughing.

"BURN!" Daryl yelled out wiping his eyes of tears from laughing. "She said y'all basically like hand sanitizer and you're the germ that can't be killed." He laughed even harder.

"Y'all wrong. Let's go Masir." I said picking him up.

"Bye!" Daryl said still laughing.

"Bye, baby." My mother gave Masir a kiss then pinched his cheeks.

"I thought I was your baby?" I asked her.

"You still are but you're my big baby." My mother said still pinching his chubby cheeks.

"Wow..." I joked. "Thanks for watching him y'all. I appreciate it." I hugged her then dapped Daryl up and was out the door. Masir waved up until we got into the car.

When I made it home I took the chicken out of the freezer, seasoned it, and put it in the oven. After that, I sat down to spend some time with my son. I love being a dad and I don't understand how people can just not be in their children's lives. It's sickening and I can't see my life without my kids in it. I LOVE this little boy no matter how bad he is sometimes. I love this little boy. The doorbell rang and I stood up irritated because I'm not expecting anybody. I opened the door.

"Hi!" Lila shouted.

"What are you doing at my house right now? You know my son is here..." I said confused and surprised.

"Well, he might as well get used to me if I'm going to be in his life someday." She frowned. "Do you not want me to be here?"

"No, not with my son here. I don't want to confuse him about your position or start saying your name around his mother. I told you I'd see you tomorrow and I meant it." I muttered harshly.

"It ain't like I haven't been here before. I don't see why that's a problem."

"I just explained the problem. I established when you could and couldn't come over here before."

She sighed heavily. "I'm sorry. Promise I'll see you tomorrow?" She cheesed.

"I do," I answered briefly. "Now go."

"Okay, bye. I love you." She said waiting for me to respond.

"Love you too," I said about to close the door but I saw my nosey neighbor paying attention to us. "Boo?" I yelled.

They went back to doing what they were doing then I closed my door chuckling. What the hell is Lila's problem? Talking about he might as well get used to her. He'll get used to her when he actually has to. I then went back to wrestle with my son, since that is his favorite thing to do besides looking at anything that has big trucks.

Author's Note: Yes, Yasir is a two-timer! UGHH! Why must people cheat!?

Word Count: 5,480
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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.💚🖤❤💜💙💛