Chapter Three | Back To Normal

After filling myself up at brunch, De'Andre dropped my off at home. Immediately, once I stepped out the car I was hit with the many memories I've made over the years here. The time I scraped my knee on the stone pathway and cried for hours. The time my dad and I would wash the cars outside the garage, and just end up spraying each other with the water hose. The time my mother and I sat outside on the stone steps one night and just talked about the stars. If only I had known back then that that would've been our last conversation.

After getting all my belongings inside with the help of Andre, we hugged each other goodbye, before he left.

"Make sure to tell Uncle I said wassup, okay?" He winked at me, and I smiled, nodding my head at him.

I never really knew why, but the smell of cinnamon always made my nose twist up in a way nothing else could.

I think it was because of how often the scent found its way into my nostrils, whether from the skin of my mother or our grand kitchen where my dad, constantly used it as if it were the only delightful flavor in the entire world. It stuck to my clothes, skin and hair until I gave up trying to get rid of it, instead letting it sink further into belongings. My friends would ask me why I smelt so good, or why it was always cinnamon, but instead of giving them a logical or charismatic answer, I would grimace.

And, as I slowly made my way into the foyer, I felt my nose twitching as cinnamon wrapped me in a forced hug. I paused, tried to think of something pleasant and when I fond childhood memory came to mind, I continued.

Placing my bags down in the foyer, I could hear my family's chatter before I even reached the living room area, it's becoming louder and louder with each step that I took. Just before I pressed my palm against the tall, cream colored door to the living area, I stopped dead in my tracks. Quickly straightening myself, smoothed down my clothes, and inhaled and exhaled a few breath.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale-

"Asher!" The soft voice caught me off guard, my eyes widened when a pair of fragile hands wrapped around my torso. I looked down at the dark curly hair filled with colorful beads and smiled.

"Clover!" I embraced my little sister in a hug, swiftly sweeping her off her feet, and into the air. Her loud giggles filling the room. "You've gotten big since the last time I seen you girl."

I placed her back down the ground and she grinned up at me. "Well duh, I'm six now." She playfully rolled her eyes at me, holding her four fingers. I chuckled at her, before bending down to her level and extending the other two fingers for her.

"Asher? Oh my goodness, hey!" A feminine voice sounded off catching my attention. I looked up to see Marissa, my dad's new wife standing above me.

"Marissa, hey." Jumping up from the ground, I was immediately embraced into a tight hug. She smelled of Chanel with a hint of cinnamon, and my nose twitched at the familiar scent.

Pulling apart, Marissa placed a hand over her chest, her hazel eyes taking me in, and I did the same. She looked the same as the last time I seen her. Tawny skin that seemed to glitter whenever they sunlight hit it just right, and stunning hazel eyes that were the color of milk chocolate edged with a deep forest-green. Sometimes the two colors seemed to swirl together like moss creeping over rich soil. And when she smiled both colors ignited with a glow dazzling with the warmth of the deep brown and the seductive green dancing around its edge.

Pretty was an understatement for Marissa. She's stunning, eye catching, and drop dead gorgeous, but that's to be expected from the retired pageant queen. Miss Texas two years straight, and runner up for Miss America back in 04. That being said, I don't really have any ill feelings towards Marissa. She's nice and she makes my dad happy, and honestly that's all I could ever want from him, especially with all he's been through these past few years.

"I thought you'd be coming home later on tonight," Marissa said, intertwining her hand with Clover's, before making her way towards the kitchen. "Your father isn't done cooking yet. He just put the roast in the oven."

"It's okay. I'm still full from having brunch with Andre earlier." I told, following behind her. "Where's dad and Braxton anyways?"

"Backyard on the patio. Your father decided to light the firepit even though the sun is still out." Marissa playfully rolled her eyes, before making her way through the double doors that lead to the back area of the house.

"Babe, guess who's here!" She squealed, finally letting go of Clover's hand letting her run down the stone path freely.

I could see my father and Braxton sitting in the patio chairs around the small fire flickering in the fire-pit. Braxton was the first to look up, his eyes snatching away from the fire and widening into that bright eye-smile of his I've missed so much over the years. "Ash!" He sang aloud, before making his way over to me.

"You're still the same size you were when I left. You really need to start eating your greens Brax." I teased, wrapping my arm around his shoulder, and he shoved me away playfully. 

Actually Braxton had grown, a lot actually. Of course he didn't match my 6'3 but his 5'10 was close. I guess it really hasn't hit me that he's not a little kid anymore and is actually a teenager now. We're only four years apart, but sometimes it feels like more. Or maybe that's just me not wanting him to grow up too fast, because it seems like every time I see him he beginning to looks more and more like our mom, and that always leaves me a little sad.

Out of the three of us, only Clover and I inherited our father's russet skin and spread nose, while Braxton seemed to get most of his features from our mother. They both had that brown skin that reminded you of honeycomb, and it was always blemish free. He had her well sculpted nose and almond shaped brown eyes. They even shared the same signature beauty mark; right under the corner of their right eye.

"Finally you're back. It's been way too long man." Braxton said, his arms making their way around me again, before pulling me into another welcoming hug.

"It has been too long," My dad's bass filled voice sounded off, catching my attention. "Almost six years too long."

Sean Montgomery still looked the same as he did when I left. He still had that same thick muscle build, biceps and chest exposed in the white tank top he wore which was a rarity to see him in since he mostly sported more semi-formal looks, but I guess in this summer heat even he couldn't withstand the blazing rays. He walked up to me slowly and pulled me closer to him wrapping his arms around me. His embrace was warm, and his big, strong arms seemed very protective when wrapped around my body.

"I missed you so much." He breathed.

"I missed you too. I thought about you guys everyday."

I could hear Braxton kiss his teeth from beside us. "A simple phone call every once in while would've been nice to let us know that."

"Hey, I was in a whole different country in a completely different time zone. Calling you guys whenever I wanted wasn't the easiest thing to do."

My father let out a deep chuckle, before wrapping his arms around Braxton and I shoulders and bringing us together. "I'm just glad to have all my kids back under the same roof. Things are finally starting to feel normal again." He hummed, and I felt myself shifting under his weight, my eyes darting elsewhere.

Yeah, normal again. Those words made my face grimace and my palms sweaty.

In the middle of my dad's rambling about me being back home, his phone started to ring in his pocket. He immediately cut his sentence short, and exhaled a sigh before reaching into his pockets. His dark brows furrowed as he looked at the phone, his welcoming grin replaced with something more serious.

"Conference call." He said to us, before answering and walking off by the pool to talk in private.

I raised my brow at him, my arms folding over my chest. "Conference calls? Is that what he calls them now?"

Braxton chuckled. "Yep. You missed it when we graduated from "small chitchat" to "conference calls"." Shaking his head, Braxton placed a hand on my shoulder and exhaled a low sigh. "Yep, everything is normal again."

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Excuse any mistakes or errors

Such a short chapter but the next few makes up for that