Everything I Expected

Chapter 23

Dinah POV

My eyes flutter open due to the sunlight hitting my eyelids. Once my eyes adjust, I lift my head up off of Y/N's bare chest. I look up at her to see her already looking at me. "Why must you be a creep and stare at me in the morning?" I let out. "I just woke up with you. I let the cleaners in and and told Theo to let them out. I took my ass right back to sleep." She says and I let out a giggle. "You wore me out. Remind me not to get you high. Shit, I probably beat Sean last night. I think I made you cum 12 times." She says and I laugh. I start to draw circles and shapes on her skin. "Hmm. I guess that's what happens when you haven't had good sex in a minute. Once you get it, you don't want to stop." I say and she lets out a chuckle. "I definitely know what you mean." She picks up her phone and looks at the time. "Ugh I gotta get up for this interview. I'd rather just stay here with you." She says as she rolls her eyes.
"I have to get up anyways. I have to get Lia and pack her bag for Nicki's." I tell her as I sit up and she sits up too. "Nicki done went shopping for a whole room for that child. She doesn't need to bring nothing. Just have her here and Nicki will just pick her up." She says as she gets up. I glance over her body as she stretches. "Uh uh you had enough last night. My shit is sore Dinah." She complains and I laugh. "I wasn't even thinking about any of that. You just look good naked." I say as I slowly try to get out of bed. I move my legs to the side of the bed and I instantly feel pain shoot up between my legs. I let out a groan and Y/N comes over to me and helps me up. "You look good naked too." She says with a chuckle. "Can you set me up for a bath? I can't stand to take a shower." I say. "I can do that. Just sit back down. I'll come get you when it's ready." She says as she sits me back down and walks into the bathroom. Not before placing a kiss on my cheek.
I hear a phone ring and I see that it's hers. I try my best to reach over and get it. To my luck, I succeed. I see Benny's name across the screen and I answer it. "Hello?" I say. "Hey sis, is she ready?" He asks. "She's setting up my bath and then she's getting in the shower. She should be ready within the next 20 minutes or so." I tell him. "Alright. I have to get Yon breakfast anyways. Her hungover ass wants a burger." He says and let's out a chuckle. "She should be done when you guys get here." I say. "Aight bet. I'll see you guys in a few." He says before he hangs up. "Who was that?" Y/N says as she comes out of the bathroom. I look at her, "Benny. He was asking if you was ready. I told him you'd be ready by the time he gets here. He went to get Yonni a burger since she's hungover." I say as she walks over to me. She picks me up bridal style and walks to the bathroom. I peck her lips. "Mmm give me another one." She mumbles and I giggle and peck her lips again. She places me down into the tub and pecks my forehead before hopping in the shower.
"I put epsom salt in there. I remember you used to put that in there to help your pain." She yells from the shower. "Thank you. Is the interview the only thing that you're doing today?" I ask her. "Honestly, I don't know. I gotta meet up with somebody though." She says. "Who?" "Just somebody." She says back. "You can't tell me who?" I ask with an eyebrow raised. "No because if I tell you then it won't be kept secret." She says. "Is it somebody I know?" I ask as I start to feel the soreness go away and I get up and remove the stopper from the tub allowing it to drain. I get up and grab my towel drying myself off a little before getting out the tub. I walk over to the shower and get in. She watches me as I open the door and close it and stand in front of her. "You kind of know them. Not all the way. I'm grabbing Ashley from your moms though. She's coming with me and I'll bring her back." She says as she starts to wash me up.
"Why is it such a secret?" "I honestly don't want to go, but I have to. You'll be mad at me. It's for healing purposes. I'll tell you how it went when I get back. And if you see any headlines with Jhené just know she's coming with me." She says. "Okay." I let out softly. I feel her finger lift my chin up and I look her in the eyes. "I ain't cheating. What I'm doing is far from it. I ain't like him, you know that." She says. I nod my head. "What are you doing today?" "After getting Lia, I'm going to get Viv and going to the studio." She nods her head. "Come on." She says once we both rinse off. She turns off the water and I get out holding the door open for her. I grab my towel and hand her hers. We walk into the closet. She goes to her side and I go to mine.
I pick out a simple business casual outfit and turn around to look over her outfit. "Where are you going dressed like that?" I ask her. "Girl this is a simple ass outfit. What are you talking about? Ain't nothing special about it. You look good as hell right now." She says as she looks over my outfit. "It's not fair. Anything you wear it looks good." I whine. "Me? You don't see yourself? I'm bringing you to the office more. Especially dressed like that." She say as she walks over and hooks her fingers on my belt loops and pulls me closer to her. She pulls me into a kiss and I kiss her back. Before she can deepen it I hear a horn go off twice. She pulls away and pecks my lips once more.
"I gotta go. Call me before you leave? If Saweetie texts me about her car, I'll call you to see where you at." She says and I nod my head. "I love you mama." She says. "I love you too papi." I say back as she leaves out the closet and into the room. I follow her and watch her as she grabs everything she needs before she leaves out the room. I sigh and head to the bathroom to start on my hair. I hear my phone ring and I run to the room to grab it off the nightstand and I see Melanie FaceTiming me. I answer as I walk back into the bathroom and set my phone up on the counter. "Hey Melanie." "Hey Dinah, quick question. Are you around Y/N?" She asks. "No, she just left out the house. What's wrong?" "I have to go back to Chicago." "I thought Y/N and Jared handled everything?" I ask her. "They did. Sort of. He still wants me to come out there. Just for two months." "Mel.." I see tears threatening to fall down her face. "I know. I know. I thought it was going to work. He's threatening to kill Y/N and Chey. I can't risk that. You can't lose Y/N. Neither can I, no matter what we argue about or disagree on. I can't lose my princess. I'll never forgive myself. I haven't even told Richard yet." She says.
I look at the screen to see her looking at me with hope, yet broken. "I'll deal with her. You just make it the quickest two months ever. What are you going to tell Chey?" I ask. She shrugs her shoulders. "I'll probably tell her that her grandmother is sick and I have to take care of her. She can't come because she's in school." She says and I nod my head. "I still think you should tell Y/N, but I won't tell her because you held mine." I say. "Thank you Dinah. I know we weren't seeing eye to eye before but I appreciate this." She says. "Melanie to be honest, I'm over the whole thing. We're both mothers. I understand where you're coming from. You was just worried about your child. If it was vice versa I would've been the same way." I tell her.
Truthfully, I was over it. I did understand where Melanie was coming from. If Richard was doing what Odell did and knowing that I let my kids stay over there, I would've been worried too. It was just the way that she went about the whole thing that was wrong. "I have to go get Lia so she can go with Nicki, I'll talk to you later." She wipes her face and nods her head. "I have to go bring Chey to sign up for gymnastics. She told me Ashley wanted to do it too. I'll text you the information for it so you guys can sign her up." "Okay, thank you." I say before she hangs up. I straighten my hair and that takes about 30 minutes. I do a light make up and clean up my vanity. I get up and go into the room and put on my sandals. I go to the closet and grab by brown Louis Vuitton bag. I walk back in the room and grab everything that I need for the day. I pick up my bag and make my way downstairs and to the garage. I look on the wall for the keys to the Jeep and I don't see them. I look up and don't see the Jeep either. I pull out my phone and FaceTime Y/N.
She answers on the first ring. "Hey baby." "Babe where's the Jeep and my car?" "Oh that? I gave it to Jared and I think Sammie took the G-Wagon. She said something about going out with Antonio. I didn't read the text thoroughly." "Why would you give the Jeep to Jared if that's your only child safe car?" I ask her. "Babe you can put the kids in the lambo. You don't drive fast anyways." "Y/N! That's not the point. The kids car seats are in there. All three of them at that." I say. "We didn't have space for all those cars in the garage. Ayana didn't leave hers?" "No I think she took it or Ana took it." "So you're not going to drive the Lambo? I can have Jared drop off the car seats." I give her a glare through the phone. "Alright, I'll tell Jared to drop off the Jeep." She says. "Just tell him to drop the car seats off. You're getting a car for these kids by the end of the day. You better schedule that into your day." I hang up the phone giving her no room to disagree. I grab the keys to the lambo I bought her and unlock the doors. I get in and put my bag on the passenger seat.
My phone rings and I look at it to see Jared calling and I answer it. "Yo sis I didn't know the car seats were in the back. I should've checked before I grabbed the veh. Y/N told me that you're going to your moms, I'll meet you over there. I gotta go around there anyways. Just send me the address." He says once I answer. "It's fine Jared. It's not your fault anyways. Nobody told her to give out cars anyways. I'll send you the address." I tell him as I put my seatbelt on and start the car. "Ooooouu I like the way that shit sounds. I need one of those. Dinah, can you-" "No, Jared. I'm not getting you one too. You helped me get the car like this. Maybe for your birthday, but not Christmas like you're thinking. I still have to get everybody's Christmas gift." I tell him as I press the button to open the garage doors. "Fine Dinah Pain, but I'm holding you on that. My birthday is in February. I'll run your pockets then." "Please tell me it's not near the twins birthday?" I say as I start to drive out the garage and towards the gate. "Okay then I won't. I'll let you take an educated guess." He says with a laugh. "February 20th?" "Nah but that's very close. Literally the 21st. Two days after them." He says. I let out a groan and he laughs. "Okay I'll see what I can do. Theo, I think Y/N's family will be back later. Just let them in and unlock the door if it's Drea. She doesn't have a key. " I tell Jared then Theo. "You're the best, but let's race. The first one to your parents house gets $100." He says before he hangs up.
I zoom through the gate and start to make my way to my parents house. As I head towards the highway, I get a FaceTime call from Nicki and I answer it. "Hey Nicki." "Hey Dinah. Y/N told me that you was picking up the princess. Is Chey there too?" "No she went to her mothers house last night. She's staying there until we come back from Jamaica. Hold on, let me add Mani to the call since she's calling me." I add Mani to the call while fixing my phone on the stand. I go back to paying attention to the road. "Where are you going?" Mani says. "No Mani, the real question is who's bed are you in?" Nicki says. And I look at the screen quickly to see Mani not at her apartment. I stop at a red light and look at the camera to see Lauren is sleep on her chest. Nicki laughs loudly and it makes Lauren groan. "I thought you guys were done?" I ask her. "We are. I was drunk and she offered me a ride home after watching me like a hawk all night. Except my drunk ass told her to take me to her house. Nothing happened though. She thought we was going to." Mani says as she shrugs. I start to drive heading onto the highway. "Y'all are too much." Nick says as she laughs. "I'm behaving. I could've gotten head last night but I didn't." Mani says. "You could've gotten more than head." We hear Lauren mumble and me and Nicki laugh. "Wasn't nothing going to happen. Not with you at least. I became celibate after you. I don't even want another relationship." Mani says matter of factly. "Oop." Nicki says. "This is why you don't date other girl group members." I say.
"It's not my fault honestly. It literally just ended up happening." Mani defends herself. "So are you guys going to keep sleeping around which is going to lead to problems or are you just going to end it?" Nicki asks her. "We just ended it. Lauren is trying to keep sleeping around, and I know she hears me, but I don't want to. I think we should just stay as friends for now. It keeps all the arguments and feel of a relationship away. We know how it ended and our plans post break up. We just ended up here. This isn't good for us. Us laying here together is a problem, but me and her will have that discussion. I'm celibate though, so nobody is getting some." Mani says. "So you didn't give any to Chris?" Lauren asks. "Lauren for the last time, no! I did not. We just agree to do couple shit to get you jealous. I seen you watching me since you walked in. I knew it would get you mad. I'll call you guys later. I have to deal with Edward." Mani says before she hangs up. Nicki starts cackling and I laugh.
"Wooo, they are a mess. You know that's Y/N's cousin she acts just like her. Always want to roast somebody." "Speaking of Y/N, you know she gave the jeep with all the car seats to Jared?" "So you guys have none of the car seats?" Nicki asks and I slam on the breaks when the car in front of me stops unexpectedly. I hear tires screech behind me and I prepare for impact, but I hear a collision in the distance. I let out the breath I was holding and feel my chest get tighter. I feel my throat tightening up as it gets harder to breathe. I grab at my chest and my throat trying to breathe. "Dinah are you okay?" Nicki asks and I look at the screen to see her worried face and I shake my head. "Put the car in park! I'm going to call Y/N." She says and I just continue to gasp for air. I roll the window down to let air in and I smell smoke and roll it back up.
"Hey Nic what's up?" I hear Y/N's voice boom through the speakers. "I think Dinah is having a panic attack or an anxiety attack." Nicki says. I look over at the phone and see Y/N's face fade with color. "Babe!? Dinah!?" I hear Y/N say and I continue to breathe heavy. "Is mommy okay?" I hear Ashley in the background. "Baby follow my breathing." She says as she breathes in and out slowly. "She's on the highway and she slammed on her breaks and then she started breathing hard." Nicki says. "Yeah there's traffic on the highway I'm sitting in it right now." She says as she goes back to breathing with me. My breathing slowly starts to match hers and then I hear more screeching and collisions happening. My breathing starts to pick back up. "Shit, this isn't working. Benny what's Dinah's location?" I hear Y/N say. "We can't go anywhere, Y/N. We're in standstill traffic." Yonni says. "She's not too far from us. She's 1.5 miles behind." Benny says. "Yonni, take the wheel just in case traffic moves and call the station. Just say something happened." Y/N says before I see her get out the car and start running. "Dinah open the window to let air in." Nicki says. "Can't...... smoke..... fire." I say through breaths. I start to hear muffled sirens come from behind me as everything starts to get blurry. "Babe hold on for me okay!? Don't go to sleep! I'm coming for you okay?" I hear Y/N say.
I slowly nod my head as my eyes begin to get heavy. "Dinah follow my breathing come on!" Nicki says as she starts to do the same thing Y/N was doing. I try to start breathing like Nicki. I hear people yelling Y/N's name through the speakers.

⚠️T R I G G E R W A R N I N G ⚠️

F L A S H B A C K

"I will crash this car right now Dinah and you'll never see your kids again." "Odell, don't do that!" "Say I won't!" He slams on the brakes and I feel my body launch forward but get caught by the seatbelt. He grabs my throat and squeezes it. I grab at his hands as I gasp for air. "Don't play with me Dinah. I will real life kill you." He says to me as he looks me in my eyes and I can see the truth behind them.
I hear the screeching of tires and I prepare for impact and I hear the collision behind us. He let's go of my neck and starts to drive the car away from the accident he just created.

F L A S H B A C K O V E R

I hear a knock on my window and I turn to see Y/N. I unlock the doors and the passenger and driver doors open. I look over and see Benny putting the car in park. I feel Y/N take off my seatbelt and I get up and hold onto her. My body instantly starts to relax feeling safe.  I finally catch my breath and I let out a loud sob. She wraps one arm around my waist and the other rests behind my head that's on her shoulder. She kisses my right temple and starts to rub my back. "I'm here Dinah. I got you. I got you babe, I'm right here." She whispers in my ear as she tries to catch her breath. "He... he.... He slammed... the brakes-" "Shhhh. It's okay. Just breathe." She whispers. "Benny, see if the paramedics are here and see if someone can give her some oxygen." She pulls me away from her and move me at arms length. "Dinah, you gotta slow your breathing down for me. Can you try right here until the paramedic comes?" She asks and I nod my head. "Come on sit." She says as she directs me back into the drivers seat. I sit down as I try to slow down my breaths. She squats down in front of me and grabs my hands and holds them tight.
She starts showing me to take deep breaths and I try to follow her breathing. I hear footsteps running towards us and I go to look and she grabs my chin to make me turn towards her. "Focus on me." She says lowly. I nod my head and continue taking deep breaths. I see Benny and a paramedic coming behind her. "She slammed the brakes after the person in front of her did the same thing. She was waiting for the impact and gave herself a panic or anxiety attack. Babe, she's going to help you." Y/N says as she gets up and allows the paramedic to do her job. "Thank you for the background. I'm Lily, I'm just going to put this over your nose and mouth so we can get you some air okay?" Lily says while she places the mask over my nose and mouth. "Just try to take slow breathes okay? It's good you got her in the car. It's smokey out here. It wasn't going to do much. Can you put the a/c on so that once I'm done with this she'll be okay to breathe?" She asks and Benny nods and does as told.
"You're Dinah Jane right? You and Y/N have some beautiful kids. I love your music too. Heard It All Before is my favorite. I played it all the time after I broke up with my boyfriend." She says and Y/N let's out a laugh. "Pfft, she did too. Just singing her heart out." Y/N says and it's Lily's turn to laugh. "I would hope so. She's an amazing singer." Lily says and my breathing gets back to normal. I pull the mask down. "Thank you, I appreciate it." I say. "You guys need me to sign an NDA or something? I know how celebrities are about things getting out." Lily say as she removes the mask from my face and over my head. "Nah, you're good. It's going to get out anyways. I'm pretty sure people seen me running a mile and a half up this highway to her. And everybody around here is recording." Y/N says as she gestures around us. "You ran 1.5 miles?" Lily asks her. "Yeah, in under like what five minutes?" Y/N says as she looks at Benny. "Impressive. You got a good one Dinah." Lily says. "Yeah I'm something like her superwoman." Y/N says and Lily laughs.
"Well, it was nice to meet you guys. Unfortunately, under these circumstances. I recommend for her not to drive for a couple of hours. She's probably still shaken up." Lily says as she puts the mask back into her bag. "Thank you, we greatly appreciate it. We really do." Y/N says. "Just doing my job." Lily says as she turns around to leave. "You want me to ride with y'all or do you want me to go back to Yonni?" Benny asks. "Just get in the back. I'll drive. You already drove. You can rest until we can get to meet up with Yonni. Let's get you to the passenger seat. Traffic is starting to move." Y/N says and she reaches her hand out to me. I take it and she walks me to the passenger side and open the door for me. Once I get in and settled, she closes the door and runs over to the drivers side. I put my seatbelt on as she gets in. She closes the door and puts her seatbelt on and takes the car out of park and starts driving.
"Nic, you still on the phone?" Y/N asks. "Yeah, I wasn't going to hang up until I knew she was good. I can pick Lia up from her parents house instead of her taking her back home." Nicki says. "Can you? I don't want her to drive again right away." Y/N says. "Of course. Just send the address and I'll meet you guys there." Nicki says as we see her get up from her spot. "I'll have Dinah text it to you since I'm driving." "Okay I'll see you guys in a bit." Nicki says before she hangs up. I grab my phone and quickly text Nicki my parents address. "You and Yonni got Benny lacking on his duties. He's sleep back there." Y/N says as she lets out a chuckle. "I'm sorry." I say softly and look over at her. "I'm pretty sure Benny would come save you at any time." She says as she looks at me quickly. "I know you're thinking about my interview too. I was going to be late anyways. I'll come save you a million times if I have to. I told you when you need me I'm going to be there. I wasn't lying. We can talk about it when we get home. Im not going to force you to talk about it now." She says.
I take a deep breath and nod my head. She turns the radio up and nods her head to the beat. "The tires screeching and the sound of the accidents. They caused it. It triggered me." I say. She turns the radio down. "One night, Odell was driving and I played a song for him. It was about you. He got mad. He told me that he would make it so I couldn't see the kids again. He slammed on the brakes and I launched forward but the seatbelt saved me. He reached over and choked me." I mindlessly started playing with my fingers. "After him brake checking me, I already could barely breathe. Him choking me made it harder to breathe. He did this on the highway at like two in the morning after me being in the studio. A car was speeding and was slamming on his breaks to stop behind Odell. I was expecting him to hit us. Instead the car behind him hit him. After he seen it in the rear view, he let go of me and sped off. Four people died that night. He did that, and yet I feel responsible for it. If I never showed him that song, he would've never brake checked in the first place. Those people would be alive... that baby would've been one yesterday." I say as tears roll down my cheeks and I sniffle. "I forced myself not to think about it. For a year now. Those screeching tires and accident triggered that. I could never forget that." I say the end softly. I look at her and see her grip on the wheel tighten and loosen up.
"Don't feel responsible for his wrong doings. He's the one that stopped in the middle of the highway. He's the one that sped off after he seen the accident. He's the cause of the accident. He killed those people. You was a victim in the situation just like the rest of them. If you didn't have your seatbelt on you would be dead." She takes a deep breath before continuing. "The crazy part is I would've been the one looking for answers like those other families because he probably would've sped off on your body. I would've been sick. Like literally sick. You heard the stories after the wedding about me not eating? It would've been worse than that. That boy, he's a bitch. A bitch for braking the way he did. A bitch for brake checking you in the first place. A bitch for choking you. And a bitch just to be a bitch." I let out a low chuckle. "I went to the funerals. I paid my respects. It felt like the right thing to do. These two little girls lost their parents and baby sister. A wife lost her husband. He just got a promotion at his job. It was going to help them out with bills. I gave that lady enough money to cover her rent for a year." I tell her.
"How about we make those little girls day? How about we find a way to contact them and take them to Disney? It might not be much, but it could help bring some type of happiness for the moment. We can take them when we come back. Or just invite them to the crib. Allow them to be happy for a moment. They could probably be going through hell. Tell the family the truth. It might help them with some type of closer. If someone else is in jail for this, they need to be free. It's not fair to them." Y/N says. Her phone rings and she grabs it out her pocket and answers it placing in between her head and shoulder. "Hello?" She answers as she takes her right hand and holds my hand rubbing slow circles on the back of it with her thumb. "We just passed the Anaheim exit.... Just reschedule it. With those accidents there's just going to be more traffic going towards Los Angeles. Just go to Dinah's parents house. She can't drive anyways so I have to take her there.... Dinah's okay Ashley.... Yes she's okay you will see her back at her parents house.... Okay, I love you too Leelee." She says before she hangs up.
"Ashley is stressed. I have to let her open the door for you when we get there." She says. "She's too cute." I say softly. "You know they both adore you, right? You honestly spend more time with Ashley than I do. I need to get back to our sister dates. And you let Ayana off the hook all of the time. She definitely loves you for that." She says and I giggle. "Because you be hella protective for no reason. Let them live. Allow them to make mistakes and learn from them. You get one life. Live it to its full capacity." I say. "It's funny how you say that. Let's go sky diving." She says. "I'm down. Yonni on the other hand is scary she ain't doing that." I hear Benny's deep voice say. "Bro you can't be doing that. You know your voice is deep as hell." Y/N says. "My fault fam. I heard sky diving. I'm in." He says. "Let's plan a day. We all go sky diving." I say. "We gotta get Jared to go. Matter of fact, I already know he'll be down. Let's get Chris too. August is kind of hurting so that crosses him off. Oh shit, we gotta go to Miami to ride jet skis." She thinks out loud.
"Why do we have to go to Miami? We can do that here." I say. "Miami just makes it better. I already did that out here. That's no fun." "We gotta swim with dolphins in Jamaica. I gotta get a video to make Nayeli jealous." Benny says and Y/N and I laugh. "Why you gotta do that to her?" Y/N says. "Because she drew on my all white forces. I was going to wear them on a date with Yon, and I look at them and she colored them in. She had the audacity to sign them. Dolphins are her favorite animal, so now imma be petty." He says. "I respect it. She'll be alright. I'm sure Yonni will take her one day." Y/N says while she shrugs. "Y'all are terrible." I say. "That's like when you took all of Lia's dolls for breaking your one chain. It's unfair to both of you. You have to put them at an inconvenience too. I'm not about to be the only one suffering." Y/N says.
Y/N turns onto the exit for Santa Ana and stops at the light. The car next her honks and rolls it window down and so does she. I look over and see Jared cheesing. "Oh this is going to be fun. I already bet Dinah $100 to race me to her parents." He says. "Double it?" Y/N says. "Please!" Y/N rolls her window up and revs her engine. "Benny put your seatbelt on. I know the back roads he's using the gps. He forgot he's in my territory. We ain't in the bean." She shifts the gear shift and puts the car in sport. "I'm not about to go crazy babe. It's just for this take off." She says. She sits up with her left hand on the wheel. She removes her hand from mine and fixes her arm on the middle console.
When the light turns green she speeds off down the street and turns right. She takes the car out of sport and continues her way to my parents house. "Bae, you was going to lose? I'm about to put this money towards a new bag for you." She says as she takes another turn. "He lives closer. Your old house is closer to my parents house. He probably dodged all that traffic. We live in the hills now." I tell her. "Hmm. I still make it there in under 30 minutes myself. You just drive slow and safe." She says. "You don't drive safe? With our kids in the car?" I ask while turning towards her. "I drive safe with the kids. Don't do that. I just drive reckless by myself. I'm a whole Nascar driver out here in these streets." She says and I roll my eyes. "I drive crazy with just Leo though." She mumbles. I glare at her and she looks over at me with a smile then turns back to road. "What? He likes it. It helps put him to sleep. Plus, it's not really crazy. It's really just me swerving on an empty street. I told you I'm safe with the kids. Chey was the same way as a baby. She was laughing up a storm." She says.
"Don't do that to my son." I say flatly. She turns left and I see a Jeep speed past us. "Oh hell no." She mumbles and speeds down the street after him. Once she reaches the light she stops next to him and rolls her window down. "How the hell you get over here so fast?" She yells. "Now you know just because we ain't the bean doesn't mean I don't know how to swerve in these streets. Tell Herb, I'm Swervo." He yells back and rolls his window up and so does she. She puts the car back in sport. "I ain't losing so he better be able to run me my money." She mumbles. "Y'all are too much. Argue like brother and sister." Benny says. "That is my brother. Blood couldn't make us any closer. He just going to get left in the dust in two seconds. He's in that weak ass Jeep." She says. The light turns green and she speeds past him again. She turns right then left then right again. "I should've never got you this car." I mumble. "I don't see why not. I'm loving the hell out of it. I'm mad you got to really drive it first. If the highway was clear.... Yeah now I understand why you said that. Think of it as now I have to get you something better. This Christmas is for the kids, but your birthday? I'm going broke because you're getting the world." She says as she turns onto my parents street. "Because of one car?" "If Yonni bought me this car, I wouldn't tell her no for nothing. You got custom everything in here. From the sound system to the lining of the seats and rims. You could get whatever you want when you ask for it." Benny comments. "D, this the best present I've ever got. I mean besides my family, but like gift gift wise this is the best. This beats the Jeep by a long shot." She says as she pulls up in front of my parents house. "I'm not surprised we beat Yonni. She was going the opposite direction." Y/N says as she takes off her seat belt. "You hopped over the barrier?" I ask her. "Yes my Queen was in danger. Gotta get to her however. Girl I don't care if I had to swim through an ocean. I going to make it to you. I ain't breaking my promise." She says as she turns to me. "I told you she don't play about you." Benny says and I see Jared pull up in front of her car. He turns the car off and gets out. "Yooo I need one of those. That take off is crazy." He says as he walks up to the window.
"That engine rev once I put this shit in sport was crazy. We gotta get you one." Y/N says as she turns the car off. "I mean I drove it to the crib, but I didn't drive crazy because it wasn't my whip. Dinah said she'd get me one. Well, a Trackhawk. She look like she's about to kill me." He comments as I glare at him. "I was going to say that, that wasn't what we discussed." "In all reality Jare, you can buy your own Trackhawk. You got the money for it." Y/N says. "It's better when it's free. That means I don't have to pay for it." Jared whines. A car pulls up behind Jared's and I hear the front door open. I look at the house and see my dad. "Ashley you're back already? You missed me that bad?" My dad asks as he walk up to her. "Hold on pop pop Gordon. I have to check on mommy." Ashley says as he runs down the sidewalk to the car. I take off my seatbelt as she gets closer. When she reaches the car, she opens the door and hugs me. I pull her onto my lap and hug her back. Her body starts to shake and I feel my shirt start to get wet. I rub her back as she cries.
"Leelee I told you she was okay." Y/N says softly. She lifts her head up and wipes her face. "Yeah, but I had to see for myself. I can't lose another mommy." Ash says. I hold her head against my chest with a pout on my face. "Awe Ash, I'm not going nowhere no time soon. I promise. I just got scared baby." I tell her. "Okay. Pop pop Gordon I did miss you. We came back because we had to make sure mommy was okay." Ash says as she gets off of my lap and runs to him. "What happened to mommy?" He asks her as he walks over to the car. "Dinah, that's your dad? I don't know how Y/N or homeboy got a chance. I would've just said no." Jared says and we laugh. "You did something to my daughter?"my dad says as he bends down to look through the window at Y/N. "Dad, she didn't do nothing to me. If anything she saved me. Don't give her a hard time because of him." I tell him. "Nah, it's cool Dinah. I understand where he's coming from. I'd be like that too. What's Lia up to?" She asks him. "Milika is getting her ready. I think she's just doing her hair. She's still going to Nicki's?" I nod my head.
"Yeah, Nicki is just going to pick her up from here. I can't be driving right now because of what happened. Dad, that's Jared, Y/N's best friend. Jared this is my dad, Gordon." I say as I point between the two. Jared walks around the car and walks over to my dad. "I seen you last night, but I didn't know who you were. Y/N acts like she don't have manners and I know Dinah has some, she just chose not to use them. I'm Jared Simmons." Jared says and everybody snickers as my dad looks at him. "You're the one that got shot?" My dad says. "A good three times. It didn't hurt that much honestly. Before you start thinking, I'm not in that life no more. My momma made me get out." Jared says and Benny starts laughing. My dad starts laughing as well and puts his hand out. "It's nice to meet you Jared. I see why you and Y/N are friends. You guys can come inside instead of sitting outside." My dad says as he shakes Jared's hand. "Oh, I came to drop off car seats. But if you got food, I'm all in. Dinah got us all sitting outside posted like we're in the projects. This is a whole suburban neighborhood." Jared says. Y/N, Benny, and my dad laugh. "We just got here. You just pulled up and so did Yonni." "Me, Ash, Yonni, and security have to go though. I do have something to go do still. Ashley is going to help pick out the next colors of the sweatsuits after we finish doing what we have to do. Oh Benny, Jhené can't make it, so you don't have to worry about picking her up." Y/N says as she gets out a black G-Wagon pulls up behind us.
"Who is that?" My dad asks. "Just Nicki's short self. I don't know why she got that big car and she's like four feet." Y/N says as she fixes her clothes. "Always talking smack. Just shut up some times." Nicki says as she walks over to us. "She do look like one of Santa's helpers. Matter of fact she look like the teapot from Beauty and the Beast. Where Belle at?" Jared says. Y/N and Benny laughs. "Jared, I know your not talking. With your fresh out of jail braids looking like Riley from Boondocks." Yonni says and Nicki and I laugh. "Yonni, don't get me started on you. You can't put on a platinum wig and call it a hair do. Especially with the all black jumpsuit. You look like the girl from Monsters vs Aliens." Jared says with a stank face and Y/N bursts out laughing along with Benny. "Stop, you're going to get her mad and I have to get in the car with her." Y/N says once her laughing calms down. "It's the fact that you really went in on each of them." Benny says.
"Jared Anthony Simmons! Bring your ass back home now! You were supposed to be dropping off car seats not Akiking with your friends." I hear a voice say and I see Yonni holding up the phone and Sierra on the screen. "Yon, in real life, you're a whole snitch. You didn't even have to call her. You really got that mad. Y/N come get your damn car seats." Jared says as he walks back to the Jeep and Y/N walks with him. "Come on Ashley. Let's get back in the car." Yonni says. "Can mommy come?" She asks as she looks at me from my dads arms. "I can't baby. Im sorry but I have to work today. When we both get back to the house I promise we can spend time together." I say. "But I don't want to go see daddy without you. He'll try to take me." She says. "Shit." I hear Y/N let out.
"Y/N!" I see her carrying all the car seats to the car. "What's up babe?" She says as she looks at me scared. "Can you pop the trunk? Matter of fact, I'll just throw them in the back seat." She says as she opens the back door. "Your father!? You're taking her to go see your father? The same man that she's scared of? What sense does that make Y/N?" I yell at her as I turn around and look at her. "Listen, I thought it was a good idea." She says. "If you're going to see him that's fine that's your decision. I know she's your sister, I'm stopping this. She's not going. That's that. Leave her here at my parents. Should've left her here in the first place. Why would you lie to me about this?" I ask her. "I didn't lie, I just didn't tell you. I knew you were going to react like this. Which is why I didn't say anything." Y/N says. "Because it doesn't make any sense on why your going in the first place. See the man that hurt you, Chey, Ayana, Ashley, and your mother? Which logic book are you getting this from?" I say. "The healing book I'm reading. If I want to heal I have to go see and talk to him. Ask him why he did what he did. It's not like I'm putting money on his books or putting money on the phone. I'm just seeing him. It's whatever though. She doesn't have to go. She can stay here. I'll go by myself if that makes you more comfortable." She says as she slams the car door shut and walks over to Yonni's car. "I'm ready when y'all are. We have to be there at 3:30." She yells as she goes and gets in the car.
"Ashley, how about we go get Lia for Nicki?" "Can I come Nicki?" Ashley asks her. "Of course baby. Go get your niece so we can go have fun." Nicki says and my dad walks back into the house with Ashley in his arms. "Dinah,-" "No, Benny. She had nightmares about this man. Regardless if he's in jail or not, it's not good for her. She's seven and watched her mom get beat in front of her by the same man she wants to take her to see. She can do that now, but Ashley isn't ready for that." I say. "I agree with Dinah. It's not good for her. That's bringing back her trauma." Nicki says. "Just go bring her. Bring her to do whatever she wants." I say as I wave them off already feeling aggravated.
"Dinah, I didn't want her to bring her." Yonni says. "Yet you were still going to bring her. Just go. Like we didn't have enough trauma for the day." I say as I grab the keys to the car and get out locking the doors. I watch as Benny and Yonni get in their car. I watch as they drive down the street. "She just dumb sometimes, I swear." I mumble as I walk towards the house. I hear footsteps behind me as I open the door and hold it open for Nicki. "Welcome to my parents house. Fair warning, everybody in here is a fan of yours." I tell her. "Dinah, can you take me- Nicki Minaj!?" Regina yells as she comes into the living room. "You can call me Nicki." Nicki says to her. "I'm Regina. I'm your biggest fan." Regina says. "Regina, why are you yelling?" Kamila says as she comes downstairs with Sala. "You're Nicki Minaj." Kamila says shocked. Nicki giggles and smiles. "Yeah I think I am. You girls can give me a hug if you want." Nicki says and all three of them run to give her a hug. "Mami!" I hear Lia yell as my mom comes downstairs. When my mom reaches the bottom of the stairs, she puts Kalia down and Kalia runs to me. I pick her up and kiss all over her face. "Hi ofa. I missed you." "I miss you mami. I come home?" She asks as she places her hands on my face to keep me still. "No not today. You're going to go with gma today with titi Ashley." I tell her as I point to Nicki. "G Ma!" Kalia let's out once she sees her. Nicki grabs Lia from my arms and Lia hugs her tight. "Mine." She says looking at her aunts. "You can share Lia." I tell her. "Only wif bro bro. They have get own. She mine." Lia says. "Awe princess. You can share. Just for five minutes." Nicki says then kisses the top of her head. "Uh uh." Lia lets out.
"Your dad told me something about Ashley said something about making sure you were okay?" My mom asks. "I had a triggering moment. I tell you details later." I explain and she nods her head. "Are you staying here? Leo went with the boys to their practice with your cousin." My mom explains. "I have to wait for Viv so she can drive to the studio since I can't. Also I have to wait to hear from Saweetie so she can get her car from the house. I can't have any of the guards delivery it because they would have no way back. And Y/N just pissed me the hell off." I say as I let out a sigh. "Mami?" I look over to Lia and she reaches out to me and I grab her and she wraps her legs around my torso and her arms around my neck as she rests her head on my chest. I rub her back softly as I kiss the top of her head. "She knows your upset." My mom says and I look up at her. "I know. She would do this when I was with Odell. Her and Leo. I'd hold both of them at once. Sing to them and they'd fall asleep. I used to think of it as a way to make sure I got away from him." I say softly as I rock back and forth slowly. "Have you gone to therapy?" My mom asks. I shake my head. "I talked to her for a quick moment when I took Ashley to her appointment. She wanted to know why I wasn't going. She understood that I didn't want or wasn't comfortable talking about it yet. I started talking about it with her. I have an appointment before we go to Jamaica." I tell her.
"You need to start going. The longer you wait the longer this case goes on for and if it takes long enough they might just let him go. Just for those charges and you won't get justice. These kids won't get justice." My mom stresses. "Mom, I know. Between you, Yonni, Y/N, Mani, Jhené, hell everybody! You've all been telling me to get into therapy. When I just got out of the relationship! Maybe I need time. Maybe I need to think about how I'm blessed not to be dead. The fact that I'm alive and with my kids! It's only been six months! I've been getting beaten, choked, slapped, and kicked for a year! By someone I thought loved me, like I loved them! Getting pregnant and miscarrying because he beaten me so bad I had to lie to the doctors and told them I fell down some stairs!" I say while I wipe some the tears that started to fall. "So I'm sorry if I'm not ready to talk. I just can't relive it." I say lowly as I hand Lia over to Nicki and walk out of the house. I pull the car keys out and unlock the doors. I get in turning on the car while putting on my seatbelt.
I look over at the door and and see my mom walking outside and I pull off. No destination. No purpose. Just driving. As I head onto the highway I see my phone ringing. I look over at it and see my mom calling. I grab it and power it off. They don't understand. That's all I keep saying in my head. Because they don't. I understand the fact they want him in jail. I do too. In reality, I just want him to stay far away from me and my kids forever. He already played his part in our lives. Never once was it good. As long as he stays away from me, I will be good. As long as he can't be near my kids, I'll be fine. He's done his damage to me. He's done his damage to my kids. My family. My career. My relationship. My life. I don't want to worry about it anymore. I don't want to worry about him. It's hard to relive trauma like that. Talking about it doesn't make it any better than the flashbacks that come back to me.
The only person that understands where I'm coming from is Sammie. Sometimes if I don't have to work and we're home with the kids, we talk. She told me about how she went through the same thing with Analisa's father. How everything Odell did to me was only a little bit of what he did to her. She's shown me all the scars that he left her. She even showed me the 'C' on her left upper thigh that stood for Carlos from when he branded her. She would tell me all the times how he would lock her and Analisa, as baby, in a room while he cheated on her in the next room. I knew Odell was cheating on me, but he never took it to that extreme.
Sammie knew more about what happened with me and Odell more than Y/N. It's just more comfortable talking to Sammie about it because she went through it. Sometimes, I'm scared to talk to Y/N about it because she'll act on impulse sometimes. Odell used to too, so I'm just scared she'd do the same thing he did. I know she isn't the type to hit her partner, but Odell said the same thing and look at where that got me.
I take the next exit to the closest beach and drive there. When I get to a red light, I power my phone back up and see a ton of missed phone calls. I go through my contacts and click on the name while I wait for the phone to ring.

Y/N POV

I make my way to the booth that they send me to and sit down in front of the glass. I hear a buzzer and I hear the clinging of the cuffs come closer and I see him sit down in front of me. He looks the same way he did when he got sent here two years ago just more buff. He looks at me with a sly smirk and picks up the phone and I do the same. "You finally come see your papi?" He says. I roll my eyes. "If I didn't need to come talk to you to move on with my life I wouldn't be here." I say. "How's my precious granddaughter?" "She's doing great actually. Better than when you took her and after the pain you inflicted on her." I say matter of factly. "Good. I see I made her stronger. She was always crying when she was with me." He taunts. "That means she didn't like you and didn't want to be with you. How do you feel knowing you caused pain physically and sexually to your own granddaughter?" I ask him. "Sexually? That's not me. I don't touch little kids like that. That was your brother. He's a little tapped." He says as he lets out a deep chuckle.
"You're not? You kidnapped kids!" I say. "I was looking for someone else to be my daughter. I had three and now I only have one." He says. "Ashley isn't yours either. Raping my mother to make another kid?" "It wasn't rape if she liked it." He comments. "She didn't! You forced her like any other thing she did with her life. Kicking me and Ayana out. Beating on her!" "How's your mother by the way?" He says disregarding everything I said. "She's dead. She died in Texas two years ago. It's not like you would care." I say. "I hope I don't turn out like you." I say and he laughs. "You couldn't. You're too soft. You cry about everything. Always have and always will. You could never be me. I met your homeboy. You beat his ass something crazy. Worse than what you and Mani did to me. He didn't come out of his cell for a couple of weeks. He seen me and got happy as hell. He wants to take you down though. I guess he stole your girl or something like that?" He says. "I'm not working with someone to take my seed down. I can do that on my own." I shake my head trying to understand what he's saying. "He's here?" I ask him. "Yup. Bragging about how he got Dinah. I don't believe it because we read his paperwork. You can't beat on a woman with kids and her ex comes back to save her and you think that you still have her. Plus there's restraining orders against him for all three of them. Niño es loco." "You got a nerve." I scoff out. "I know I do, but your mom was my wife. Not my girlfriend, that's the difference. His paperwork is crazy. He got beat up like a good seven times. The bloods are on his ass." He says.
He let's out a deep breath and shakes his head. "Look, I know what I did to your mom was messed up. Beyond that. What I did to you and your sister was fucked up. I know an apology will not fix the pain I caused you kids. The two years I've been here, I did some thinking. Hardcore thinking. I'm taking whatever help I can get in here since I'm not getting out. I love you hija. I know I got a weird twisted way of showing it, but I do. I love you and your sisters. Your brother is a suck up to say the least." He let's out a low chuckle. "You'll always be mi princesa. You and Yaya. Im sorry. I just want you to know that I'm proud of you. You've taken on a lot because of me. And I'm so sorry you had to grow up fast. I want you to know that I accept you. Everything that comes with you. I'm not saying this hoping you'll forgive me. I know it's going to take some time. I just want you to know I'm one of those people that beat his ass. Whatever personal things I have with you that's fine. You're my daughter. My child. But for him trying to get me to set you up any type of way or form is something I don't do. He tried to get you set up out there. So watch your back. Some of your people really ain't your people. Oh and tell Jared I'm glad he's home and out the streets." My dad says before he hangs up the phone and gets up leaving out the room.
I get up and follow the officer out the door. I walk down the hallway where I see Benny and Yonni sitting by the door. I go back through security and grab my things and make my way to the door. I walk out with the both of them and make my way to the car. I wait for Benny to unlock the doors and get in. "You wanna talk about it?" Yonni asks once they get in the car. I shake my head. "Well, I know you're in a mood right now, but we have a problem." Yonni says. "What is it?" "Dinah's missing. Her mom said they were having a conversation about her going to therapy and she went off and then just left the house. We've been trying to reach her since her mom called and her phone is going straight to voicemail. Her location is off too." Yonni says. "She's not even supposed to be driving. I don't even have the energy to even go crazy right now because it's no use. And knowing Dinah she's going somewhere far to clear her mind. I just don't want her to do something crazy like killing herself." I say as I cover my face with my hands.
I pull my hands off of my face and pull out my phone. I call Dinah and it rings. She answers on the third ring and doesn't say anything. "Baby, are you okay? Everyone's worried about you. Are you safe?" I ask her softly. "Yeah, I'm fine- No, I'm not- I don't know. I'm safe though." She says and I hear waves crashing in the background. "Be careful, okay? Just make sure you don't stay out there too late. You just clear your mind." I tell her. "Don't wait for me." She says softly and sniffles. "Dinah what are you talking about? What do you mean don't wait?" I hear her sniffle and let out a deep breath. "Don't wait up for me. I'm not coming home. I'll see you in the morning. I still have to go to the studio." She says. "I need you Dinah." I say thinking about the visit with my dad. "I'm so sorry, but I can't come home babe. I have to go. I missed my session coming here. They rescheduled it and I have to go this time." She's. "Okay." I say. "I love you, Y/N." Dinah says. "I love you too ofa." I say then hang up.
Ding

Tía 💋
I'm with Dinah. I'm going to stay with her the whole time. We'll see you in the morning.

"Is she good?" Yonni asks. "Yeah she's at the beach with Sammie. She has to work. Can you drop me off at the office? Benny please drop Saweetie's car off to her." "Why are you going to the office?" Yonni asks. "Yon, I'm really not up for the questions. I have some things to finish up so just drop me off please?" I ask and Benny nods his head. My phone rings and it's a FaceTime call from Nicki. I answer it and Lia's face pops up. "Hi princess." I say as I smile at the camera. If there's one thing that puts a smile on my face, it's going to be my kids. "Mama, mami cry. She need you." Lia says while pouting. "Mami is fine baby. Fix your face. I talked to mami. She's okay. She just going to go to work." "You tell mami I love her? I call she no answer." Lia says. "Yeah, mommy didn't answer the phone. Did we do something to her? We didn't mean to." I hear Ashley say. "They've been worried about her since she ran out the house. She was holding Lia when she was going off." Nicki says as she takes the phone. " I just got Lia to calm down before I called you. I know you and Dinah both are singers, but that little girl got some lungs on her." Nicki says. "Yeah I just got off the phone with her a minute ago. She's at a beach. Probably an hour away from her house. She's with my aunt, so I'm not worried. Can I come talk to you?" I ask her. "I literally just left my house. Can I meet you somewhere?" "Yeah just meet me at my office. Just take the girls out and then go there. I have some things I have to take care of. I got like two contracts to write up. I need Ashley to help pick out these colors for merchandise. I promised her she can help." I tell her. "Well, I'm going to take the girls to the aquarium because Lia wants to go see the penguins and then we'll be on our way. Im going to see if I can grab Leo too. The princess keeps asking for her twin." She says.
"She hates when he leaves her to go watch football with their uncles. She stay wanting to be around her brother." I tell her. "Y/N, they said they could interview if you're still willing." Yonni says and I nod my head. "I'm about to go to an interview, so I'll see y'all at the office. But definitely try to grab him. I know he'll want to go." I say. "Alright, I'll see you later." "Bye mama!" Lia yells. "I'll see you later princess." "I'm sorry I got you in trouble sissy." Ashley says. "There's no need to be sorry bebe. It's my fault. I should've never tried to take you to see daddy. He misses you and he's says he's sorry." "Is he being good?" She asks. "I think he is baby. He's getting help for his mind like you are. He's seeing a therapist." I say. "If he's good can he come home? I don't want him to stay there forever. He doesn't deserve to be there if he's good." Ashley comments. "That's not how it works Leelee. He did some pretty bad stuff for a long time. He has to stay there for a long time. How about we talk about this when you see me?" I explain. "Okay. See you later. I love you." "I love you too bebes. Love you Nicki see you soon." "See you soon twin." Nicki says before she hangs up. "You guys never told her about how long he's in there, did you?" Yonni asks and I look up and see her looking at me and I shake my head.
"She thinks he's in there for just hitting my mom and that's not even the case. She doesn't really know much about the Cheylise thing. My mom kept that from her, which I understand. She doesn't know the real reason he's there. She don't even care about Gabriel. She don't even ask about him. I guess they never really had the jail talk because it wasn't needed." I say and she nods her head. "Is it bad that I accept his apology?" I ask her. "What do you mean?" "He apologized to me and told me he accepted who I am. He also told me that he loves me and that he's proud of me. He hasn't told me that in years. He said he's getting all the help he could get while he's in there. I can't help but think he's telling the truth." I explain. "Only you can determine if he's telling you the truth. And only you can determine if your crazy to accept his apology. Take your time. You don't have to rush. He did some harsh shit to you. I wouldn't be mad at you if you took a minute. Only you'll know if you forgive him. The way you're growing as a person and learning how to let go of pain, I wouldn't be surprised. I can't be mad at you if you did either. Its your life. Only you can allow who comes in and out of your life." She comments and I nod my head.
"The Breakfast Club wants to know if you want to do an interview. They understand what happened the last time and Charlamegne wants to apologize." "Everybody want to apologize I swear. I'll do it though. You can schedule it, just make sure it's not on Ashley's party. That girl will throw a fit if I wasn't there." I say and she laughs. "Oh I make sure. She told me that you can't have performances on Christmas Eve because you almost missed the party last year." Yonni says. "You spoil her so damn much." "That's the princess. She gets what she wants. She got a couple of gigs lined up for her. They're all modeling too. Louis and Fendi want to send her mad stuff since Ayana keeps dressing her up. She made her a whole Instagram account. She got a good following. Can you look into frenchies by the way? She wants a dog and that's the type she wants." I ask tell her. "I got that. I already have to get Nayeli one. She's been talking about a dog for forever." Benny says. "So you're taking care of it?" Yonni asks. "Me and Yeli will be taking care of it. She wants it, she can take care of it. I'm only walking it and picking up the poop. She can feed, play, dress, and wash the dog herself." He says.
"As long as it doesn't poop in my house we are good." Yonni says. "It's a puppy, Yon. It's going to poop in the house. I just don't understand why she doesn't want a pit." I say. "Pit bulls are aggressive." "You can train it not to be. They're just natural guard dogs." I say. "Before we go inside, I already told them that your mom was off limits. Odell is off limits when it comes to timing and specific detail. Just state your feelings. I can't have you jeopardizing winning this case. It's already in Dinah and the kids favor." I nod my head listening to her. "You know you don't have to keep my mom off limits. It's been two years. Yon you'd be the best manager if you got me on Wildin' Out." I tell her. "DC had told me that he was going to see if Nick could make you a guest next season." "I just know I got special requests. I need DC, Justina, Karlous, and Chico on my team. Maybe I can see if Jared can come too. We definitely winning at that point." I say. "Alright well when Nick lets me know I'll ask him if he could come on the show too." Yonni says and I nod my head sitting back.
Benny pulls into the parking lot of the building and there already paps outside. Benny parks in front of the side door and gets out. He walks around the car telling the paps to back up and opens Yonni's door first. He helps her out the car and then he opens my door and the flashes start going crazy. "Y/N! Is it true you have a kid with DaniLeigh?!" "Is it true that you didn't invite Cardi B to your party, but invited Offset?!" "Is it true that you're cheating on Dinah with Saweetie?!" These were just the few that were shouted out that I could understand. I make my way into the building following behind Benny and Yonni. "Y/N! What's good? I'm sorry about that family emergency earlier. Everybody good?" Justin, the host, asks. "Yeah everybody is good. Thanks for asking and sorry we had to reschedule." I tell him as I shake his hand. "It's no problem. We've been trying to get you here for a couple of years. Your manager informed me about your mother. Im sorry for your lost." He says. "Thank you. As long as my sisters are good, I'm straight." I say. "Okay let's get in there. Yonni and your security guard can watch from the window if they want." I nod my head and follow him into the station room and dap up DJ Sourmilk. "What's up?" I ask him. "Glad to have you here. Everything good from earlier?" He asks and I nod my head. "Everything's good, just a small problem." I say. "Good. How about we get started?" He states and I nod my head. I sit in the seat they appoint me to. "What's up? It's your boy Justin and DJ Sourmilk and you're listening to Liftoff on Power 1.06. Today we got a special guest, she was supposed to be here earlier but she still made it." Justin says into the mic. "What's up, it's your girl Y/N in the building." "So you were supposed to be here earlier but you got into something. What I don't think you know is that it's already out there what happened. You want to talk about it?" Justin asks. "I'm an open book for y'all right now so let's get into it." I say. "Well, many videos have surfaced of you running or should I say sprinting down the highway today looking for a certain somebody." Justin says as he shows me one of the videos. "We hopping over the highway divider now?" He exclaims.
"Alright, so I was on my way here right. I got a call from my good sis Nicki, she was telling me that something happened and it had to do with Dinah. I made a promise to Dinah since we got back together. I was just keeping my promise. It honestly was an emergency though, it wasn't something like she was just messing around. We was on FaceTime and Dinah was on the call. I could just see it in her face that she wasn't joking and that it was as real as it gets. I had my security Benny, which is like family, check her location. She was like a mile and a half away from me going the other way. I didn't even think about, I took Benny and left my manager and my sister in the car and ran towards her." "A mile and a half?! You were sprinting! How long did it take you to get there?" "Probably like three to four minutes. I just know that it was under five. And you know it was standstill traffic. I heard people calling my name so I knew there was going to be videos. My main focus was making sure my girl was straight. That's all that mattered to me." I finish explaining. "There was also some videos of Dinah getting air?" Sourmilk questions and I nod my head. "On her side, the person in front of her slammed on her breaks in which caused the accidents that happened on that side. She thought she was going to be part of it and had a minor panic attack. To her fans, I want y'all to know that she is okay." I say and Justin and Sourmilk nod their heads. "We're glad that she's okay. I know that was scary for you. Both of you." Justin says. "More so for her. Me as well, of course, but I would say my sister Ashley was more scared than I was." I say. "Forreal?" I nod my head. "She heard the call. She was sitting next to me when I got the call. Her and Dinah are very close. I probably shouldn't say this because the internet always has their own opinions thinking I actually care." Justin and Sourmilk laugh. "Ashley sees Dinah as a parent in her life, so now she's more drawn to call her mommy now. I know Ashley doesn't mean any harm by it. She's only 7 and innocent to a lot of things especially with the amount of things that's happened around her. I know she's not trying to replace our mother, she's said that. If it makes her and Dinah comfortable, which it does, it works for me. I'm not going to get in the way of that."
"I honestly respect it. I know it makes you feel good that Dinah has that type of relationship with your sisters." Sourmilk comments and I nod my head. "Most definitely. They've always been close since they met. I would just say that them living with us just amplified it more." I explain. "So you have sole custody of your sisters?" I nod my head. "Guardian, parent, legal care taker, money spender, mobile bank account, and the ATM. All in one. Ashley doesn't ask for much, but Ayana that's different. She's always asking for something." They both laugh. "It's always the girls." "It's always the girls, but don't put it past my son. He's always asking for money. The only person I would say doesn't, would be Cheylise. I think it's because it's different for her. Her mother was a stripper and now she's not so Melanie doesn't spoil her as much. Chey knows the value of the word 'no'. The twins not so much. I'm not saying that because me and Dinah are very successful artist, I mean yeah that plays part to it, but it's not significant. They're different ages so Chey obviously knows more than them." They both nod. "So you have three kids right? Cheylise, Kaleo, and Kalia?" Justin asks and I nod my head. "Okay, so I understand the similarities for the twins names. Where did Cheylise's name come from?" Sourmilk asks.
       "I think you're the first person to ask me that. Chey is named after Melanie's cousin. Her cousin was obsessed with Chey before she was born. She actually her first godmother. She happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time in Chicago and got killed by a stray bullet. Me and Melanie agreed to name her after her. We just changed the spelling." I explain. "We're sorry to hear about that." Justin says. "Since we're still on the topic of kids.." Sourmilk drags out the 's'. "There's two things on that topic but I'm going ask one. Now that you and Dinah are back together are you planning on having more kids?" He ask. "Honestly, we've talked about it, we did. Right now, just isn't the right time with everything going on. We have family stuff going on. Personal stuff with the both of us. The case, my label, my music, her music, the kids getting into things, it's all just too much to add another child to the picture." I say.
"Okay so no for you and Dinah. But you had a birthday party last night. Everyone was basically there. I'm mad I didn't get an invite." Justin says and chuckle. "My fault bro. I had it at my house. I don't like a lot of people knowing where I stay. It's not even for me. It's protection for my kids. If everybody knows where I live then the address might get leaked and I love my fans, I know Dinah does too, but there's limits on where I want them at. My house isn't one of them. But nah, my birthday isn't until the 8th. I'm going on a trip for my birthday and the kids wanted to party with me for it since they can't go. So we threw a party." I explain. "So you're a Sagittarius?" I nod my head. "Me and Ashley." I say with a smile. "Your sister?" I nod my head. "She's born on the 14th. Her party is literally the day after I come back." "How old will she be?" "Eight." "Your group of friends really like her from the live you was on with Quavo." I let out a light chuckle.
"It's crazy because she was so skeptical of everyone when she first met them. I think the only friend that didn't have no types of problems at the start with Ash would be Jhené." I say. "I mean have you met Jhené? She's so nice and pure." Justin points out. "She is. She's an amazing friend. She just gives off so much positive energy. I love being around her. She really got me out here reading books and meditating. I don't like books nor reading. I don't even know how I'm running a label!" I exclaim as they both laugh. "I'm literally reading contracts and paperwork all day. I'm just sitting there bored. But nah Forreal, Jhené is really one of the realest female friends I have. She's always so honest. That's Kaleo's girlfriend right there." I say with a smile and they laugh. "So what happened to Sean?" Sour asks. "Listen, when Sean and Jhené come over, Sean is competing for Jhené's attention. Kaleo is all on her." "I can imagine it. That little boy probably has her wrapped his finger." Justin's comments. "Whatever he asks her for he gets." I say.
"Back to this party though because I heard it got crashed. Not just by anyone either." Sour says. "Man, word travels around fast. For real though, that shìt is dead. It could be true, but it ain't mine. I'll tell you that." I say dismissing him talking about Dani. "You sure it ain't yours?" Sour asks. I look at him with my head tilted and straight face and Justin laughs. I point my finger at Sour. "See, stop trying to believe everything on the internet. Especially when it comes out about me. Nine times out of ten that shit ain't true. Now, I want you to think about the timeline of this pregnancy." I say putting air quotes over pregnancy. "Had that child had been mine it would've been born already. That child ain't mine. I stopped dating Dani at the beginning of the year. It is now the end. Make it make sense." I say while shrugging. "She got a point Sour. That ain't her kid." Justin says.
"Okay, well answer me this, would you have wanted a kid with her?" Sour asks and I immediately shake my head. "No. I'm not trying to be petty. I'm truly being honest. I wouldn't want a kid with Dani out of the respect of her. I didn't see our relationship as a long term thing. She knew that. She was the one that suggested that. The relationship at that. A kid is a lifetime commitment. If I can't see being with you long term then I don't feel the need to have a kid with you." I say. "I feel like what you just said contradicts your first child. I say that because your first kid is with a stripper." Justin says.
"Truth is I didn't want a kid at the time. My career just started literally. August took me out to celebrate and I got drunk. When Melanie told me that she was pregnant, at first I was skeptical because I had that idea that strippers slept with anybody. Melanie obviously wasn't like that. I had told Melanie that I wasn't ready for a kid, but Melanie told me that she was having the kid regardless. Instead of me getting mad about it, I just made sure I went harder. After we confirmed Chey was mine, we built a friendship. Yeah we have rocky moments but at the end of the day that's always going to be my friend. If it wasn't for Melanie I wouldn't be where I am. She gave me that extra push really by having Chey. I'll forever have a friend in Melanie. So long term with her really isn't relationship wise, its more so friendship. I obviously can't have that with Dani. That's what threw that out the window." I explain. "I respect it. There's not many people like you. You know that step up even after knowing the woman wouldn't abort the kid." Sour says. "I mean at the end of the day it was my fault. I should've wore a condom or pulled out. Kids don't ask to be here. I just feel like if you can lay down and make one, you can take care of one. My kids are the best thing that happened to me. I get happy when I see their faces or hear their voice just like they do with me or their mother. I can have a bad day, but when I look at my kids I automatically get happy because they're all I need." I say.
"I remember when a video of you and your kids surfaced. I think this was at the twins first birthday party. You were carrying both babies and still was dancing with Chey. I'm just like damn she got this parenting thing down pack." Justin says and I laugh. "I'll do anything to keep a smile on their face. I remember what you're talking about too. The twins were so spoiled so they liked to be held all the time. Chey wanted to dance because her favorite song came on. I can't turn down the oldest because I didn't want her to feel left out so I compromised. But once I gained custody of my sisters I think that tested my real level of being a parent. Ayana is damn near grown. Ashley is about to be double digits in a couple of years, so I've learned to deal with attitudes more. While Ashley's is just sass right now, Ayana is straight attitude. If anything Ayana really be testing my gangster." I say and they laugh. "Speaking of Ayana, I heard she's starting a music career. Is the little sister following her big sisters footsteps?" Justin asks. "She is. To start off, I want to say I never knew she could sing." I say. "Never?" Sour asks with wide eyes. "Never. I never knew. She never sung around me. She has an amazing voice though. It's not forced or even trained. It's just natural. I think that's what's going to make her different in this industry. Her lyrics are raw. Her creativity is crazy wild. I can say as a proud sister that she will make her mark. I can guarantee that." I say. "When is she releasing music?" Sour asks. "Well just because she's my sister and signed to me doesn't mean that she get special treatment. She still has to go through the same process as everyone else." I explain. "So you're not going to give her no special treatment at all?" Justin asks. "I probably will, just not now. I want her to work for her spot in the industry rather than me being able to just hand it to her. She's around celebrities everyday. She should be using that time to network. That's why I made her get a job. She chose singing so that's her job." I explain. "Has she ever asked you for a verse yet?" Justin asks.
I nod my head. "Yeah. The day she showed me her first track she told me to hop on it. Instead I told her to add whatever she wants because she said she had a verse she didn't think she could sing it. Like it's her song, do what you want." "Will you to ever collab?" Sour asks. "Of course. I think that would be dope." "Will you and Dinah collab? I think that's the one everyone is waiting for." "Most likely. We have definitely talked about it before when we were younger. Just never got to it." I say. "If you could collab with anyone who would it be?" Sour asks. "Oouuu that's tough. Let's see Ella Mai definitely. Nicki Minaj. Nicki I'm still waiting for you to hit me up for it even though you're with my child every weekend. Justin Bieber, Moneybagg, and Normani." I say. "Normani as in your cousin?" Justin says and I nod my head. "You never made a song with your cousin?" I shake my head. "We've sang together when we were younger but never made a song together." "Why is she one of your dream collabs?" "Because Normani's voice is very unique. And Normani honestly makes some good ass songs. That girl can write her ass off." I say talking up my cousin. "And she's like my first best friend ever, no disrespect to Jared. And I'm so proud of her as a cousin and an artist. She's amazing." I say. "Now I just gotta ask you because she's your sister and all. I think all guys and girls want to know if she's single." Sour asks and I laugh.
"What's crazy is that y'all want to date her. Let me tell y'all something about my sister." I say and Justin snickers. "Y'all really shouldn't want her. She farts in her sleep. She's extra and Boujie for no reason. She burps like a man. Lastly, her breath is hot." I say with all seriousness and they start laughing. And I mean full on laughing, slapping on the table and everything. "Nah for real though, she ain't looking for no man. She's occupied. She don't want y'all boys. She's happy where she's at. She's crazy, but her boo or whatever calms her down. But she really do everything that I said. I ain't lying. She burp like a grown ass man that drinks coke all day." I say as I let out a chuckle. "She has a man?" Sour asks and I nod my head. "So what would happen if Ashley came home with a boyfriend?" Justin asks. "World War III." I simply as I shrug my shoulders. "Y'all gotta understand, Ashley really is the baby sister. Me and Ayana are on whoever she decides to be with. Me and the gang went in on Ayana's little boo too. Don't no one get to date my sisters without being grilled. That goes with my kids too. Dinah and Melanie are going to hate me for it, but I want my kids to be happy. You can't sue me for that." "I respect it. I would grill every person my daughter brings home. I have to make sure they're the best for them." Justin says.
"Now I want go to a totally different direction. You mentioned Nicki Minaj earlier, I want your opinion or what you know because you and Nicki are close, on what happened at the Met Gala." Sour says and I chuckle and shake my head and cross my arms. "I don't care what happened. I wasn't invited to the damn thing. That's my take on what happened, I wasn't there." I exclaim and they laugh. "It's okay though. They didn't want me show everyone out so I understand. Seriously though I don't know what happened. I know as much as you know. When me and Nicki get together we talk about real life. Like real life problems with my kids, my family, her family, our relationships, stuff like that. It don't ever be about drama. I don't like blogs, tea pages, none of that and neither does she. I don't know why what happened happened. I don't care enough to ask. As long as there's no jumping, we good. My hands are bisexual so don't let the unnecessary occur." I end with a shrug. I don't care when it comes to the people I love, no one better put a hand on them.
"So you didn't know they had beef?" Sour asks. "I mean of course. I went on theshaderoom every night after I put my kids to bed. I just ain't think they was gonna scrap." "I was going to say because in videos we can tell Nicki was in attendance yesterday and so was Offset but Cardi wasn't there." Sour points out. "Ain't no one scrapping at my crib!" I exclaim and they laugh. "Like I said my kids lay their heads there. If I can prevent that from happening Imma make sure it don't happen. Plus I don't want my twin uncomfortable." "But Jordyn Woods and Kylie were there." Justin says and the room goes silent. I put my hands over my face and they laugh. "It wasn't supposed to happen. I became friends with the KarJenners and Dinah invited them. I met Jordyn at a shoot and invited her. I did that before I knew the KarJenners were coming. We kept them separate though. I told you I don't do scrapping at my house." I say. "So only at Chris'?" Justin says as he smirks.
"Y'all ain't going to ask me about my music? Just drama? That's crazy." I say while scratching the back of my head. They start laughing. Like it ain't that funny, y'all trying to stir up some shit. "Okay okay, I think we got enough bs today. So you're dropping a mixtape on your birthday. You just dropped an album at the beginning of the year. Why again on your birthday?" Sour asks. "Honestly, I just wanted to. Like these songs been recorded for a year. After my run away bride situation, I was just down bad. Like I didn't leave my room not even for food. I lost a lot of weight during that time too. After Mani and Lauren came over and made me realize that I still had three kids to take care of, I started eating and going to the gym, I've been slacking though. I was just always in my studio when I didn't have my kids. On FaceTime with Jared just playing around and he'd be like 'record that.' I'll do it and then hit up the artist who's song it was and they was willing to do it once I sent them the demo. That's the real reason why I didn't name older artist. I've already worked with majority of the people I wanted to on this mixtape. Like who gets to say they have a song with Jagged Edged, or Mya, or Ludacris, or Mario, or Lil Wayne! Not everybody. All on one album!? Not everybody." I exclaim while sitting back with my arms crossed. "That's true. Those are some big names in the R&B world. Now, on your live you said that you had a song with your best friend Chris Brown, how did that come about?" Sour asks.
"We're always making songs together to be honest. With this song, I was at my crib and I only had Chey so he usually brings Royalty over so they could play together. So we were in the studio and I had already recorded my version of his song and I showed it to him. He was like 'you can't show me out on my song. Pull it up and record me.' That's where that song came from." I say using my hands to help explain. "Can you sing the part that you sang on live?" "I want to put you in seven positions for 70 minutes, you get it babe? You got a lot on your mind, and I wanna ease it up and lick it and slip it in." I sing. Everybody in the room claps their hands. "I don't know if you've been paying a lot of attention to the blogs or media lately, but there is talk that you're quitting R&B. Is that true? People are basing this off of you just dropping a rap album." Justin says.
I bite my lip and look over at Yonni. She starts shooing me telling me to go on and answer. "I wouldn't say quit." I say as I twist around in the chair mindlessly. "I've made plenty of R&B albums into my career. I came in the industry as an R&B artist, so I'll always be one. I just feel like every artist has many different eras. I've done clean R&B. I've also done explicit. I've even done the pop like R&B. When I put out 'Please excuse me, I'm antisocial' that was a teaser to see if you guys would like it. And y'all fucked with it. 'The Box' stayed #1 for weeks. I feel like now I want to break into different era now and that's rap." I explain. "What does your rap era look like to you?" Sour asks. "Successful." I say with a shrug. Justin nods his head after he makes a face. "What?" I ask taken back. "Nothing. It's just most singers try to rap and it's not successful." He says uneasy. "But I'm not those other singers. I'm me." I say making a confused face. "It's alright though, I don't have to sit here and explain to some radio host that ASKED ME to come on here. I definitely don't need this interview to elevate my career nor my character. I'm going to let the numbers show themselves. That's the explanation. Just to prove my point, I'm going to release my new song tomorrow. I'm sure you'll get a good explanation when the numbers show." I say as I push the chair away from the table. "I'm not going to wish nothing bad on you like you just did me, but respectfully, fuck you." I say before I walk out the room and walk towards Yonni. "This is why I don't like doing interviews." I mumble as I follow Benny through the building to the exit.