Invisible String

Chapter 2

"I will never leave this family, Novah. I promise," she smiled at her, and for the first time, even behind the mask, she could see that the tough young woman smiled back at her.

April took a deep breath after the memory flashed through her mind. She looked at Novah who was now helping Bleach prepare the food the girls brought. She caught the young woman stealing glances at her, but no emotions were on her face.

"So whenever Bleach went out of the city, he was with you?" Ray clarified after April told them most of what happened in her life over the past 3 years.

April nodded, "He only knew where I was three months ago after I received the email from Autumn."

"And you were the redhead that Randy and Ramee saw that got into Bleach's car earlier?" Penny asked, confirming her suspicions after she heard everything.

She nodded and shrugged. "I didn't know they were there. And what are they doing spying on my son?" she chuckled.

"Ramee has been paranoid, he thought Bleach is in trouble," Autumn responded, "But glad to know he wasn't in trouble!"

"And he was not having mommy issues," Mari added which made everyone laugh, even gaining a chuckle from Novah.

"I brought you girls gifts!" she said, changing the topic. She wasn't ready to talk about his son's father yet.

She stood up and started marching to her room to get the presents she bought for the girls.

While April was getting the gifts, Ray stood up and sat beside her sister, Novah, who has been quiet the whole time. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, not trying to push her.

Novah nodded and sighed, but didn't say anything. Ray knew that it wasn't the right time to bug her with questions, so she patted her head and gave her a tight hug from the side. She felt how her younger sister relaxed and held her arm.

April started handing out the gifts she had for the girls— custom-made bracelets which had the girls' names spelled out in diamonds, they were the same as what she had.

"You really are the sugar mama now!" CJ exclaimed while they were all in awe at how beautiful the bracelets were.

After admiring the bracelets, they moved on to the juicier questions for April.

"So how many dicks fell for the siren?" Penny asked, earning a groan from Lil Bleach who just came out of the kitchen to say goodbye to his mom.

They all laughed at his reaction while April stood up and kissed the boy's forehead before letting him go.

"Hmm," April hummed while smirking, ready to answer the question. "Just five."

The girls cheered and laughed together, including Novah who had just removed her mask.

"Did you date any of those?" Mari asked then added, "I heard the dicks in Liberty City are better than in Los Santos."

April chuckled and shook her head. "Just a few flings, but nothing serious. I was busy with work, especially after I built my business, so I didn't have the time to mingle."

"How about now? Are you ready to mingle?" CJ asked, moving her eyebrows up and down while smirking.

The redhead shrugged. "I'm not staying here long, so that wouldn't be a good idea."

"Come on, April, at least just have fun while you're here," Penny said while pulling out her phone. "I have rich men on speed dial for you."

She laughed at what Penny said, but was shocked at how she was beginning to get interested when her friend mentioned the latter part.

Something's never changed. She told herself.

The night was filled with laughter and giggles until Ray got a call. The girls looked at each other when Ray mentioned his name and started talking through their eyes. They watched as the woman stormed out of the penthouse after the phone call.

"Are they still on the 'just friends' stage?" April asked the girls after Ray left.

The girls shrugged. "They tried talking about it, but decided that they're better off as friends," Novah, being Ray's sister, answered her question.

"And Violet is still living with Randy," Mari added.

"So was that a booty call?" April asked, curious about what was going on with the Mundos.

Penny shrugged, "Don't know. Ray never opened up about it. We just hear them talking sometimes, yelling at each other one day, and the next day, they look like they're glued to each other."

"They're the most confusing people in the city, I swear," Autumn said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes I just wished that they would just fuck and get it over with."

Mari laughed, "What made you think they haven't done it yet?"

April's eyes widened, "Stop. Did they?"

CJ chuckled, "I heard about that! Taco told me that they heard them in Randy's apartment at the cubby."

"If they did it, they'd be smart enough to not do it in the cubby, especially with Violet having keys to Randy's apartment," Novah explained. "So I call bullshit on that one."

The girls agreed and the topic changed again to Penny and Curtis' sexual adventures, then to Mari and Jaylen's recent argument, CJ and K's stable relationship, and Autumn and Garrett's wedding plans. Novah didn't wanna talk about Julio so the girls didn't force her to.