Winding Roads (BWWM)

Chapter One

When my mom found out my dad knew, she snapped. She interrogated him about a possible secret family. Mom says, birds of a feather flock together. She sounds just like Grandma Dorothy when she says that. My dad, being a very traditional Black man raised by a single mother, was very insulted by the assumption. I can't really blame her though. Dad can play the traditional Black values card all he wants; cheating knows no color. He and mom do pride themselves on being a good representation of a strong Black family. I think they watched too many Cosby and Fresh Prince episodes.

Aside from Genevieve and my ex—who are the same age—the Barretts have three more children; Declan, Dalton and Raelynn. The boys' names begin with a D because of their father Daxton Barrett and Raelynn has an R because of her mother Rosemary. You can imagine the question that came after Genevieve was brought into the mix.

Why the random G name, Rosemary?

My parents did the same thing in a way, all our names being with the letter B, but not for any specific reason. My mother's name is Vanessa and my father's name is Theodore; for my siblings there's me—Brielle—my sister Brooklyn, our brothers Bryson, 16, and Benson, 15, and then twins Braylen and Blake, 10—both girls. Most of us are near the same ages 23-18. So, there's like a core group and a sub group and even a sub group within the core group. Mostly, the friend group is based on our two families.

Myself, Genevieve, Catalina, Persia and Maya make up the core group of girls. Brooklyn, who is 19, and Raelynn, who is 18, are often included because we all grew up together, but they're a few years younger than us. They have their own lives and core friend groups. My ex, then Johnny—who is now Gen's husband— Kolton, Axel and Caden make up the core group of boys. Declan, 21, and Dalton, 20, would hang out with us a lot as children, but when Declan and Brooklyn started dating the sub group was formed. The younger ones would all just hang out together and with their other friends. The rest of us are all 23, we were in the same grade, mostly the same classes and so it was easier for us to get together as we got older.

Of all the girls, Gen, Lina and I are the closest because we've been together the longest. We just get each other. We're even closer to Brook and Rae than we are Perrie and Maya; but again, the age thing keeps us all together. We experience life similarly. Of the guys, I love them all. I connect with boys easier than with girls, but Declan and Dalton are probably my favorites of them all. My ex, being my least favorite person ever! Like in existence, which brings me back to the wedding.

"We didn't think you'd make it!" I exclaim, turning to hug her first. "Ugh, we've missed you!"

"Oui! How does it feel to earn a degree in Biochemistry from Complutense University of Madrid!" Genevieve beams at her, while simultaneously twirling in her wedding dress for Lina to see it. Catalina moved to the States with her mother and father at sixteen, because her father wanted to expend his company. While the branch company was thriving here, he had to return to Spain to restructure the company there. Always being closer to her dad than her mom, Lina went to the University of Madrid after high school. She'd visit us during breaks but, it was never the same.

"Amazing! Still not as good as seeing you two though!" By this time, the dance floor was crowded and the food was finally being served. We decided to take the conversation over to a table to hear one another better, and as usual, Lina was starving. She has such a slim figure, but she's always eating. It's obvious that she'd just landed, her dirty blonde hair pulled back in two French braids and bags threatening to emerge under her frosty blue eyes. She's wearing the NYU hoodie that I sent her freshman year, a pair of yoga pants, and Gen's favorite pair of black Ugg boots.

We sit back down at the table with our other friends, who are all happy to see her. Axel's probably the happiest besides Gen and me. He's trying his best not to show it though.

"Oh no. You two are going to steal my wife from me before we've even had the chance to celebrate, aren't you?" Johnny jokes from his spot next to my ex.

"Oh honey, please. They could never steal me" Genevieve teases

"Of course, not. We're soul mates" I join.

"She's already ours" Catalina adds. "We're just lending her to you."

"Soulmate? Interesting choice of words, Cheese" the table falls silent. It's hard to believe that silence could be heard through all this noise. I try to maintain my composer, not let him get the best of me. But did he have to call me that!

"DJ, let's not ruin a good time. 'Kay?" Raelynn jabs her big brother in my defense. The girls, ugh I love my girls, bring the laughter back in an attempt to cool things down.

I smile and wink, raising my class, "to soulmates—the right ones."

Heather, his date and ex-fling—now girlfriend, I think—comes to the table. Which I am grateful for because the attention is off of me. "Daxton, babe, can we go now?" Heather's never been one for subtlety, manners, or kindness. None of us like her, but she's an easy bone. I'm sure it makes sense to him and the rest of the guys.

"Heather, honey, it's my wedding day. Sit. Eat. Be merry." Genevieve is not very subtle either. Daxton hasn't taken his gaze off of me the entire conversation. He does now, only to give Genevieve a reassure glance. He's very much about family, and is extremely protective of the women in his life.

"Gen, dance with me, sis." Is all he says, they leave the table with his eyes still locked on mine. I hate how intense he can be.

As the night draws to an end, I dance with my girls, my siblings and Raelynn, and my parents. The person I end up dancing with before the night ends is Dalton. He looks exactly like Daxton, his brother not their father. Which is odd because they both look like their father in unique ways. I guess what separates them is that DJ and Dalton have a better heart than their selfish father. "What's up, D? How've you been?"

"You'd know if you came home more often" he goes straight for the throat. Blunt like his brother too. They have similar green eyes, DJ's being more emerald and Dalton's pale green. DJ has dark brown hair, while Dalton's hair is sandy brown. Declan and Raelynn have strawberry blonde hair, like their mother, and honey brown eyes with specs of green, a combination of both parents.

"Yeah, but if I did that, you'd miss me less" I give him a halfhearted grin. "You should be nicer to me, D. maybe then I'd come home more."

"He's hurting too, Brielle. Even if he doesn't want you to know and you refuse to see it; he is hurting." Dalton spins me around in his arms and then let's go as the song stops.

"I don't want either of us to hurt D" I admit just before we go back to the table and say our goodbyes to Genevieve and Johnny. Catalina came home at the perfect time, there's no way I could handle all this by myself.