》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

"Where shall we go first?" Kallie looked around the large mall, Kaidyn in her arms looking around at the lights in awe. Kaidyn points to the big sign with corn dogs and Kallie chuckles, heading over there first. Lewis, Mari, and Taylor waited patiently as the singer bought Kaidyn the corn dog. "Can I get a phone?" Mari asked, both Lewis and Kallie looking to each other with wide eyes. "Uh, that's up to your parents. I don't wanna get in trouble," she says.

Lewis picked Kamari up, the seven year old smiling at her uncle, "how about we go build some bears? That sound fun?" He pitched. Kamari nods excitedly, "I wanna build a bear!" Taylor chuckles, taking Kaidyn from Kallie's arm, seeing the singer trying to text Kezie about the phone thing. They took the kids to Build-A-Bear, where they excitedly got to make their bears and dress them up how they wanted.

Lewis jokingly bought Taylor a bear that was based on Kezie's character in Black Panther. "Haha, very funny." She took it, hitting his arm with the bear as he laughed. Nevertheless, Taylor held the bear in her arm with a smile, no doubt people would take pictures of that and swifties would freak out.

They walked around the mall for a bit, Lewis quite literally buying everything Kamari wanted. He literally could not say no to her. If it had emotions his card would truly be sick of him. Kaidyn was just relaxing on Taylor, sipping on the apple juice that Kallie bought him. "Let's play laser tag! Please, Uncle Lew!" Kamari begged, tugging on his arm. Lewis gave in again, nodding his head, "okay, let's do it." She smiled and dragged him towards the laser tag place.

Kallie took Kaidyn and waited in the hall as Taylor, Mari, and Kamari played laser tag. "You think Uncle Lew got killed first?" She asked. Kaidyn nods his head, "sisi shoot him," he mumbles, sipping on his juice. "Are you hungry?" She asked in Xhosa, rubbing his back. "Ewe," he replied. As said before, Kezie's genes were very strong. Kamari knew three languages, Xhosa, Korean, and English. Kaidyn understood the three languages, but he still wasn't super good at speaking them. Which was understandable as he just turned three.

"We get food after this, okay," Kallie smiled, pressing a peck to his cheek, the toddler giggling in response.

"Hi, we're so sorry to bother you, is it okay if we just get a picture?" Kallie looked up at the voice, seeing three teenagers standing in front of her nervously. "Oh, yeah, sure. Of course." They all grinned excitedly, each of them sitting next to her and talking a selfie with her. "Thank you so much. So sorry for disturbing you, we're just huge fans." They all said small apologies, Kallie just waving it off, "it's okay, I'm fine with it. Come up anytime."

"Thank you. You're amazing."

Kaidyn waved goodbye at the group, all of them smiling and waving at the child. A few minutes later Lewis, Mari, and Taylor all walked out to the lobby. Lewis held a sour face as Mari looked victorious, and Taylor was just laughing at Lewis. "I won!" Mari cheered, giving her Auntie a high-five. "Good job." Kallie praised, Kaidyn reaching out to high-five his older sister.

"That was so funny. He died every round." Taylor laughed, sitting down and taking her stuffed bear. "That was unfair. I didn't see her! She's short!" Lewis scoffs, making Kamari look up at him with a glare. "You're short too. Mama says she has high heels taller than you!" She hits his arm, making him wince. "Ow! That's just rude. Your mum doesn't know she's talking about, she's like five foot!" He argued.

"Liar! Jerk face!" Kamari objects in Xhosa, hitting him with her stuffed bear.

"You better watch your language, miss girl. I'm gonna tell your mum." Lewis points an accusing finger at Kamari, the girl glaring at him. "Ha! Mama taught me!" She lifted her middle finger, Lewis gasping at the move. "You're so grounded!" He lifted her up, hoisting her over his shoulder like a sack of potatos. She laughs as he spun her around. She giggled, climbing onto his shoulders and resting her chin on his head.

"You two make up yet?" Kallie asks, walking out of the place with Taylor.

"We're best friends!" Kamari exclaimed, hugging Lewis's neck, the driver just chuckling and pushing her long locs away from his vision. "I'm hungry, can we eat food now?" She requests. "Yes, we can. Come on." They walked to the food court and Lewis and Taylor ordered the food as Kallie wiped down a table for them to sit at. "What do you want to do after this? We can go wherever you want." Kallie says, sitting Kaidyn down on the seat next to her, the boy too preoccupied with his cartoon.

"I wanna go karting. Uncle Kaylie says he used to go karting all the time in Europe." Kamari decides as Lewis and Taylor come back with the food. "Mhle, Mari wants to go karting. Is that one you took me to still open?" Kallie asked, taking the tray and cutting the food up into smaller pieces for Kaidyn to eat. "It should be, let me check." Lewis pulled out his phone, quickly checking the business hours. "It's open all day. Few minutes away, so we can there after."

"Sounds good. I can't to smoke all you," Kallie smirked.

Lewis scoffs, "you got lucky that first time."

"You're just mad she beat you," Mari rebutted. He looked at her in offense as Taylor snorts in amusement. "I thought we were best friends?" Kamari giggles, "we are, but Auntie comes first." Kallie smirked in victory as Lewis rolls his eyes. "Kaidyn, who do you like better? Me or Aunt Kallie?" Lewis questions. Kai looks up from his game, looking between his Aunt and Uncle with squinted eyes. "What do I get?"

"Smart kid," Taylor chuckles, giving him a high-five.

"I'll buy you more Legos," Lewis offered. Kai looks to Kallie for her offer and she scoffs, "really? Why is this a question?" Kaidyn huffed, rolling his eyes at his Aunt, "Uncle Lew my favorite." He mumbles, returning to his game. Lewis smirks in victory, "ha, he likes me more than you." Kallie scoffed, "no, he likes Legos. You bribed him." He held a hand over his heart, feigning offense, "I did no such thing. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Gaslighting at it's finest," Taylor smirked.

Half an hour later, they arrived to the karting place and walked inside. Luckily they had karts for parents and kids so Kaidyn could ride with Kallie. Taylor was very excited, probably more excited than the kids. Obviously three celebrities casually walking inside a karting place bought a lot of attention. But they ignored it like last time. They were just focused on giving the kids a good birthday. They walked outside, and Lewis took Kaidyn from Kallie. His wife kneeled down and grabbed a hairtye, gathering Mari's long locs and putting them into a tight bun.

They got in line, ignoring the eyes on them. "You wanna ride with me? Your Auntie's not a very good driver," Lewis suggests to the three year old. Kallie scoffs as Kaidyn nods, "little traitor." Finally they got into their karts, Kaidyn with Lewis, the driver making sure he was buckled up securely or else Kezie would literally murder him. Kamari got into her own smaller kart and Kallie kneeled down and buckled her up so it was secure. "She's good, thank you," Kallie waved off the male worker and he nods, trusting the professional driver.

Kallie got into hers last after checking if Taylor was all settled. The three adults had a non-verbal agreement that they would let Kamari win. They did few laps, Lewis winning the first one for Kaidyn and Kamari winning the last three. "Ha! I won! I beat two world champions!" She exclaimed. Kallie chuckles as she unbuckles the girl, "I'm not a world champion." Mari frowned, "you will be, duh."

"She's not wrong," Lewis inputs pulling Kaidyn out of the kart. They walked over to the gate, Taylor taking Kaidyn and spinning him around. "You two need to race next!" Kamari urges, yanking on both of their shirts. "One on one?" Kallie asked. The seven year old nods, "yes, yes! Just you two! I wanna see who's better. Mama says you is better but Lew is one of the greatest drivers ever." Lewis smiled at those words, quite flattered that Kez thought so highly of him.

"Okay, fine. Mhle, go pay for it." Kallie chuckles and he pumped his fist eagerly, running back into the building.

Kamari, Taylor, and Kaidyn all sat at the bench next to the railing, watching as Lewis and Kallie both got into the karts. "Smoke him!" Mari shouts. Lewis scoffs in betrayal, waiting for the lights to go green. They hadn't even noticed how people gathered to watch as if it was an F1 race. Lewis got ahead of Kallie, but she overtook him towards the end of the lap and won the first one. They continued to the second lap, a lap she won again.

Third lap, he overtook her and won. It was the last lap and some families starting making bets. They drove beside each other, bumping into each other on a few turns. They crossed at around the same time but Kallie barely grazed past the line before him. "Yes!" Mari cheered. Kallie chuckles, hopping out of the kart with a smirk. Lewis laughs lightly, sticking out his hand to her. She took it and pulled him closer, wrapping her arms around his neck and connecting their lips.

"Gross," Mari grimaced, Taylor snickering as she covered the girl's eyes.

"That's gonna be your reality very soon," Kallie teased as they walked towards the gate. "I would've had you at that final corner until you bumped into me," he retorts, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Just mad I'm better. Maybe you're just getting old," she nudged playfully. Lewis gaped in offense and grabbed her, hoisting her over his shoulder. "You better apologize for that. I'm not even that old."

"Yes, you are." She retorts.

"Why are you holding Auntie like that?" Kamari questions, walking over with Taylor behind her, holding Kaidyn in her other arm. "Cause she called me old, so she's in trouble until she apologizes." He answered, wincing slightly when Kallie hit his lower back. "I'm not sorry," she scoffed. "But you are old," Mari points out. Kallie snickers only to look to her left and see Kamari had been thrown over his other shoulder. "Lewis, put us down."

"Not until you apologize." He says in sassy tone, following Taylor towards the car. "I'm sorry, Uncle Lew," Mari quickly says, getting a glare from Kallie for giving in. "See? That was easy." Lewis chuckles, setting her down onto her feet. Mari giggles and grabs onto Kallie's foot, trying to take her off his shoulder. "Why are you trying to steal her? Give her back!" Lewis yanks her back but Mari still tugs on her Auntie's leg. "Give my Auntie back!"

"Children, we have places to be!" Taylor warns, buckling up Kaidyn into his car seat.

"All right, get in the car. Come on." Lewis chuckles, using his hand to help Mari up into the car. He set Kallie down, the singer using him to balance herself. "I hate you," she groaned, holding her head dramatically. "You're fine. Don't be dramatic." Lewis cupped her face with a smile, pressing a kiss to her lips. "Ew!" Mari grimaced, grabbing the car door and pulling it shut. "Come on, you're driving." He pulled the passenger seat door open and climbed in, not before he slid the keys in her hand.

"How dare he." Kallie scoffs, walking around the car and climbing in the driver's seat.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

"Why is your sister here again?" Lewis questions, following Kallie and Angela into the hotel elevator. Kallie shrugged lightly, "she was invited." Lewis hums in confusion, "isn't she quite literally the competition though? Why would they invite her?" Kallie shot him an annoyed look, he would not shut up about Kezie being there for the US Grand Prix. "Again, I don't know."

"Stop annoying your wife, Lewis," Angela warns before stepping out of the elevator and heading towards her room.

"Am I annoying you?" Lewis questions, a small frown on his face. Kallie glanced at him with a tired look, "kind of." They stepped out of the elevator on the next floor, Kallie pushed open the door to her room and collapsed onto the bed, too tired to change. Jet lag was a bitch. Lewis smiled and walked over, removing her shoes and tugging the covers over her. He left the AC on before walking out of the room and heading over to Kezie's which was on the next floor.

He knocked on the door and Will opened it open, letting him in. "She'll be here soon, she left to get something from the bar." He said, walking over to the sofa and sitting down. "So, she was invited here? By who?" Lewis questions, sitting at the chair by the desk. "Uh, I believe Ferrari invited her as a guest and she wanted me to tag along," Will explained. Lewis furrowed his brows, "really? They aren't scared that she'll give her team knowledge or anything? Bit bold of them."

"That, or they don't plan to reveal any," Will shrugs. Lewis pursed his lips, that could also be true. "How's Kallie doing? I heard her condition was improving." Lewis nodded in reply, "it is, yeah, it's been better. She still suffers from a few of the side effects but it's not as serious as it used to be. She'll throw up maybe once every other day, not like aggressively anymore. The training and her putting on healthy weight, has definitely helped with her energy and healing as well, so we have Kezie to thank for that."

"That's good, I'm glad she's doing better. I wish I could say the same for Kez, but it hasn't been easy. She's starting to feel more of the effects, so she's turned to marijuana and alcohol." He rubbed his head, looking quite exhausted and stressed. "I would say I'm surprised, but she's quite an aggressive drinker, not that I can blame her. She's been through it," Lewis replied. Will nods in agreement, "I don't want to cut her off, or feel like I'm controlling what she does, but her drinking is very concerning. Doctors warned her but she just blows 'em off every time."

Lewis nods slowly, rubbing his jaw with his thumb, "I can try to talk to her, if you want. I can't promise she'll listen to me, but it's worth a shot."

"That would be fantastic, actually. Thank you." Will sighs in relief. As if on cue, Kezie unlocks the door and walks in, clutching a bottle of Hennessey in her hand and her purse in the other. "Baby, can you run to the Korean market for me? I'll text you what to buy. I would do it myself but I'm too tired to drive right now." Kezie sits on the edge of the bed with an exhausted sigh.

"Of course, darling." Will smiles softly, pressing a kiss to her head before grabbing his wallet and heading out the door.

Lewis stood up from his chair and walked over to the bed, sitting on it and leaning up against the headboard. Kezie sat in the spot next to him and opened the bottle, taking a large gulp of it. "How's Kaikara?" He asked. Kezie sighs, "doing better, she's getting on planes by herself now, still refuses to fly commercial but I don't blame her. I can hardly fly commercial cause if I do, paparazzi find me and weirdos show up at the airports for autographs that they can resell on eBay."

"Well, it's progress," Lewis shrugs.

Kez nods, picking up her phone to text the small list to her boyfriend. She glanced at Lewis, noticing the ring on his left ring finger, the rest of his fingers not containing any like that one. "Nice ring," she mumbles. Lewis looked down at it and tensed for a few seconds, "oh uh, yeah, thanks. Kallie got it for me." Kez chuckles under her breath, glancing up at him, "so, why are you in my room instead of yours with my sister?"

Lewis scoffed lightly, "I can't check in on you?"

She sighed deeply, taking a sip of the alcohol, "What do you want, Lewis?"

"I'm worried about you." He confessed, gesturing to the bottle of alcohol in her hand. Kez chuckled, shaking her head and taking another sip. "What for? I'm fine." Lewis glanced over to her, seeing her take another drink. He huffed, grabbing the bottle out of her hands. "Give it back," she demands, reaching over to grab it until he stood up and went into the bathroom, dumping it into the sink.

"Are you fucking kidding me?! What's wrong with you?!" She exclaimed in anger, hitting his arm. "What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?! You're drinking yourself to death. What happened to you? You have no hope for yourself? You think you're not going to survive this? You have two amazing children, Keziyah. I love them, I do, but I do not want to have to raise them because you gave up on yourself. You think your father would support this? The same man who fought for every second of his life to be on this planet? Look in the mirror, Kez. Get ahold of yourself."

Silence fell upon them at his words, maybe they were a bit harsh, but they were completely true. Tears rolled down her cheeks, she looked to her right, facing the mirror. "You are the same woman who told Kallie to have faith, to have hope. She listened, and now she's healing, and she's going to be cancer free by the end of the year. What is happening to you, Kez? Why don't you think you can survive this?"

"Get out," she turned away from him.

"You've lost your faith, haven't you? You don't believe in God, do you? Not anymore?" He queried, making her freeze in her steps. Kez turned around, a confused expression on her face, "why should I believe in someone who's given me nothing but pain?" She scoffs, leaning against the table. "God never gives us more than we can handle, Keziyah. And you've proven that, cause you're still here, after everything, you are still here."

"What about my mother? She's dying. Is that God's plan, too?" Kez questioned, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

"Tell Will that we'll be late. You're coming with me." Lewis grabs her hand, not giving her time to object. They went downstairs, and to the parking lot, both of them getting into the Mercedes. She stared straight ahead, not even questioning where he was taking her but her frustration was evident. They got there after fifteen minutes of driving. Lewis stopped the car, Kez pulled on her glasses, her face dropping at the sight of a church.

"I'm not going in there, Lewis." She objected, staying in her place.

"Yes, you are. Come on. I don't want to have to throw you over my shoulder." Lewis says, getting out and walking around the car, pulling open the door for her. "I'm not exactly dressed in churchy clothes," she muttered, stepping out of the car, gesturing to her platforms and crop top. "It's fine. Clothes don't define who you are as a person." He set a hand on her back as they walked towards the church.

Everyone's eyes fell on them, some gaping in shock at the two celebrities. Lewis brought her to the front, "you might if we sit here?" He asked to the elderly couple. The woman nods with a warm smile, the two making room for them. They both sat down, the pastor welcoming them before continuing with his words. Lewis took Kezie's hand in his, feeling her start to untense as she listened to the pastor speak.

"If you still want to leave, let me know," he whispered, getting a small nod in return but she didn't make an objections to leave.

After the service was over, the pastor came to sit by them. "Welcome to my church. What can I do for you?" He asked. "Well, my sister here is having some trouble with her faith. She's lost touch with God. I've brought her here to see if I could help mend that bond." Lewis says, giving her hand a squeeze. "That's very interesting. May I ask why you've lost touch with God?" He questioned, showing signs of concern.

Kez took a deep breath, trying to gather her words. "I've been diagnosed with cancer, for the fourth time in my life. I just don't understand why I should have faith if it's clearly not working." She shrugs.

The pastor looks to Lewis, "you mind if we talk, just us?"

Lewis looked to Kez, the singer just sighing and nodding. "Alright, I'll be outside. Let me know if you need me." He stood up, giving her hand a squeeze before heading outside and standing by the car. His phone buzzed in his pocket and he quickly reached for it, answering the call from his wife. "Hello, my love." He smiled. "Hey mhle. Where are you? I woke up and you weren't here. Are you gonna be back for dinner?" She asked, her voice a bit deeper, so it was obvious she just woke up.

"I will be there as soon as I can. I'm with your sister right now, I took her to church. She's having some troubles, so I thought this might help her out." Lewis says, giving a small wave to the small boy who was tugging on his mum's shirt with an excited look. "Really? That's very sweet of you. I'm glad you did, I was concerned about her. She hasn't been to church in years, it got concerning."

"I figured. Kai told me when she went home to pick her up, she was at church and Kezie refused to go in so she waited at home. I really hope this helps her cause I don't know what else to do." He said, messing with the bracelet on his wrist, Mari had made it for him and he wore it anytime he could. "It'll help her. Trust me, she just needs a little guiding. I went through this same thing and if I got through it, so can she." Kallie assured, a small smile on her face, she truly loved how Lewis cared for Kezie like she was his own sister.

"So, what are you wearing right now?" He smirked, climbing into the driver's seat as it was boiling outside.

"Are you joking me? You're at a church!" Kallie exclaimed, chuckling lightly in amusement.

"You're no fun." He huffed, glancing through the window to see Kez walking out of the church. "Baby, I'll gotta go, your sister's coming back. I'll be there soon. I love you." He says, unlocking the doors. "Okay. I love you too. Bye." She hung up and he set the phone back down as Keziyah pulled open the door and climbed in. They sat in silence for a few seconds, Lewis waiting for her to speak first.

"I will stop drinking so much." She stated.

Lewis smiled softly and nods, turning on the car and driving off. They got back to the hotel and Kez walked past the bar, not even giving it a second look. Stepping into the elevator, his floor was closer, hers just one more above him. Just as the doors opened, he went to step out but she grabbed his hand. "Thank you." She spoke, giving his hand a small squeeze.

"You know you can come to me anytime, okay? I'm always here for you. We're family." He pulled her into a gentle embrace before she pushed him along with a chuckle, "hurry up to my sister before she thinks I killed you." He chuckles, stepping out of the elevator and walking down the hall. He unlocked the door and pushed it open, kicking off his shoes. He heard the shower running as expected. "I'm in the shower, I'll be out soon," Kallie shouts from inside.

Lewis pursed his lips, walking into the bathroom and tugging off his shirt. "How is Kezie doing?" Kallie asked, noticing him getting undressed to join her. "She's better. I think she'll be going to church more often now." Lewis answer, sliding the door open and stepping inside. "That's good. I should probably visit church more too. I haven't been in a while." Kallie mumbled, grabbing the body wash and rubbing it on him.

Lewis yawned, pulling the hairtye to let his braids fall down to frame his face. "What do you think of skipping dinner? I was thinking we just pickup some food and spend time with your sister and Will. I think they need some company." Kallie smiled and nodded, loving how much he cared for her sister. "That sounds great. We can do a movie night." She pitched.

"As long as you don't make me rewatch Black Panther," Lewis compromised.

"Of course not. We'll watch Avengers: Infinity War." She said. Lewis glared down at her, "I swear if I'm forced to sit through another movie with your sister, I will projectile vomit." Kallie laughs, hitting his arm playfully. "Fine, fine. No movies with Kezie. What about MacGyver?" She smirked. His face fell, "that's a show with Kezie. No way." He scoffs.

"You act like rewatching things is so bad. But I swear, you've replayed my music videos a million times!" Kallie jokes, although she was very serious, cause he was constantly rewatching them and admiring her. He was admiring her that very second, "that's because you're captivating, and I like watching it over and over again to admire your beauty. Is admiring my stunning wife a crime?" He smirked, brushing her hair before her ear.

Kallie smiled, looking away to avoid him seeing how flustered she was getting. He two fingers reached up, and lifted her jaw to look back up at him. "Don't look away. I like how flustered you get for me, darling."

"I-I don't get flustered," she objects, stammering over her words.

"Oh yeah? Why are you stuttering, darling?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

a/n: love the brother sister relationship between lew and kez 🥲 its so cute

if you're an atheist, that's completely fine, just know in this book, all of my characters are very religious 🙏

anyways, im gonna skip over the grand prixs that aren't very interesting so i can get closer to the abu dhabi one (💔) and finally get to kallies return to f1 bc i don't wanna go over 80 somethin chapters 😭

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《