Music bounced off the walls, the venue packed to capacity. The three parents had been worried it wouldn't be enough children at the function, but it ended up being more than they could count. Lucky for them, people they knew invited people they knew, who invited people they knew. So there was no shortage of children for the four birthday boys' to play with.
Jaxon, Phenix and Alix were dressed alike in denim blue jeans and red graphic t-shirts. Their hair was done in twists and all of them sported small diamond earrings in their ears. No one besides their parents could tell them apart. All of them wore cardboard crowns on their head with the string around their chins to distinguish who the birthday children were.
Gene wore light blue jeans and a green t-shirt with the words 'Happy Birthday To Me' on it; with a picture of a cartoon cake and three candles. He had neat box braids and his own cardboard crown with the string around his chin. He had one arm around his teddy bear Mr. Pickles, holding him to his chest. But of course he was glued to his dad's waist.
The music was too loud for him and the sound of the other kids laughing and running about intimidated him. If he wasn't in his daddy, mommy or big cousin Gia's arms, then he wanted no parts of what was going on today. Gene's head was on Lotus chest as Lotus moved through the crowd, thanking people for coming.
Lotus saw more than a few people he didn't care to see. White Locus, Lisa's daughter, Keshawn and Breeze and a few more. But he wouldn't dwell on it, today was about his son. He smiled, moving through the crowd as he talked to people.
Cilia and Allele were across the room, trying to calm Casi down who was throwing a tantrum because she wanted a crown too. She didn't understand why it couldn't be her birthday as well. And though they could've easily put one on her to get her to hush; they didn't want to raise a brat. They weren't gonna let her have her way, because it wasn't about her today.
"Casi, stop." Cilia said to the red faced child who was stomping and crying. Snot was hanging off her nose and she was giving herself a headache.
She looked at her mom who was sitting to her side on a foldable chair, then pointed at the top of her brothers heads. Indicating she wanted one of the things they were wearing.
"No."
The word came from her father so she turned her head in his direction. He was knelt down in front of her so they were eye-level. That only caused her to start back up, but she didn't get too far into round two because Allele gave her a look that made her fold her lips in and cry quietly.
"It's not your birthday today Casi. When it's your birthday you can wear a crown. So stop all the screaming. If you don't stop you won't get any cake today. Okay? Stop. C'mere." Allele opened his arms and she flew into him.
Cilia watched as he picked her up and walked off to calm her down. The music was loud so he was probably finding a more quiet space. Cilia couldn't deny Allele was a great father. She might get mad and say some cruel things to him; which is something she was trying to work on. But one thing she couldn't deny was how much he loved and looked after his kids.
Phenix, Jaxon and Alix stood not too far away from their parents. They were just as quiet as Gene as if it wasn't their party. Honestly, they didn't like playing with other kids so they didn't care for the crowd. So they just stared at everyone else. Other children were staring and pointing at them and none of the newly turned five-year-olds could figure out why. Though it was just because the other kids were fascinated they were identical triplets.
Cilia looked up and saw White Locus coming in her direction, with Mark and Roselyn in tow. Mark held Roselyn's hand as they walked behind Locus who of course was turning heads. She wore a long form fitting nude caramel colored dress that blended in with her skin tone. Her caramel toned passion twists hung down to her shoulders and she wore big hoop earrings made of real gold. Black slippers were on her feet and some kind of Chanel perfume on her neck.
"Look at you," Cilia stood, kissing both sides of her sister's cheek. "Looking all cute."
Cilia was dressed more causally in a yellow Summer dress with a messy bun and a denim jacket over it since the hall was a little chilly. Cilia then gave Mark a hug then gave Roselyn a big smile which caused Roselyn to smile back. Cilia waved and cooed at her and the little girl was blushing at the attention.
"Hi mama, look at you looking pretty like your mommy." Cilia said complimenting the bubbles in her hair.
"Where's your husband?" Mark questioned just to be polite.
Cilia pointed somewhere in the crowd. "Took baby girl somewhere to cool off. She's upset because she doesn't understand today is not her birthday."
"Ah." Mark said nodding his head in understanding.
Cilia and White Locus talked for a while until Allele returned with a now calm, but sniffling Casi. Casi picked her head up not able to hold her excitement when she saw Roselyn. Roselyn kept her head on Mark's shoulder but her eyes lit up as well. The two recognized each other and usually played together whenever they saw each other.
"Whassup." Allele said, shaking hands with Mark. Then he turned to White Locus and gave her a polite kiss on the cheek. He smiled at Roselyn and waved who waved back shyly. She remembered him playing that hand game with him when he moved his hand when she tried to hit it.
Allele put Casi to stand up and Mark did the same so the two cousins could keep each other company. The sisters were catching up leaving Allele and Mark to talk. It was clear they were like oil and water. Two different backgrounds, upbringings and personalities. And both men were naturally quiet so it made it even more difficult for them to find something to talk about.
At the front entrance, Lisa and Egypt walked inside and Egypt's main concern was looking for her friends. She wanted to see if Rome, Richard, Chyna, Star or Kemani had showed. They told her they would, but not having any way of communicating, she wouldn't know if any of them cancelled or forgot the address of the place. Still, she would have Gia, but it would be better to have her other friends too. It would be the first time she was seeing them since the bank robbery. She wanted to hear their opinions, see what they had to say.
Lisa was looking around for Cilia, the only person she was here to see and support. She did invite Yana who was looking for parking outside. She brought her as a plus one so she wouldn't be alone. Because she knew Cilia would be doing a lot of running around and moving all day since it was her kids party. Lisa took out her phone and called Cilia, not about to search for her in the big crowd.
Cilia answered on the fourth ring. "Hey babes."
"Hey, I'm here. I'm standing by the entrance, can you come get me? This place is huge."
"Yeah, I'm coming." Cilia hung up and excused herself from her sister to tell her she was going to see about Lisa for a moment.
The party was really fast paced and full of people. Although it was for much younger children like one to six; Gia had a few of her school friends and Noelle's niece Kutu as well. Kutu was only one year younger and kind of quiet. Apparently she got bullied because of her accent so she didn't like to talk. But as time went by she was coming out of her shell.
Gia, her friends and Kutu were bonding and talking. Gia saw Egypt across the room and got excited her friend was here. She left the group and told them she would be back. When she reached Egypt, her mother and Cilia, Gia stopped them.
"Hi Egypt! Hi Egypt's mom, Hi Lotus's sister."
Egypt smiled and hugged her friend and the two adults waved back with polite smiles. Egypt looked at her mom and Lisa gave her a slight head nod letting the girls go off into the crowd. This was about to be the only fun Egypt would have for a while, so Lisa would let her enjoy it while it lasted. The two ladies walked and talked, Lisa ignoring the stares from men and boys.
"This place is so beautiful." Lisa said looking around. The decor was so elegant and nice.
"Yeah Lotus picked it. He also got four different cakes, because all the boys wanted a different flavor. You know your baby daddy is extra." Cilia smiled.
Lisa wasn't bothered by the comment, but she didn't acknowledge it either.
"I brought Yana with me. She's looking for parking. And don't worry I brought a gift and she did too." Lisa dug in her purse and pulled out an envelope. It was a $500 gift card to The Children's Place.
"Thank you so much doll, you really didn't have too." Cilia said kissing her on the cheek.
"You know I got my nephews!" Lisa winked.
Yana came in shortly after and Lisa texted her in the right direction. Yana came with a big square box wrapped up in gift paper with a bow on top. But a man at the door took it and placed it in a room that had other gifts. That's how much stuff they were getting for the four boys.
Cilia spoke to the two ladies for another four minutes before she was whisked away by someone else to congratulate her on being a mom.
Somewhere in the venue, Egypt sat barely interested in the group Gia was hanging out with. There was some girls she recognized from their school and one African one she never saw before. She had a funny name though and a deep accent. Egypt was looking around bored, then happened to spot Lotus. The two made eye contact, his son's head rested on his chest while he held onto some brown teddy bear.
Lotus looked away quickly and kept it moving through the crowd. He was trying to put Gene down but the three-year-old was not having it. He was in that clingy mood where he wanted to stick to his father like glue. Lotus wanted someone to watch him for just a few seconds but it had to be Gia or Ty'kerah. Gene didn't want to go to anyone else.
Ty'kerah was still in the car in the parking lot fixing her face up and when Lotus thought about it, Gia was a child at a party. It wouldn't be right to put her to watch Gene when she wanted to enjoy being with her friends and be a kid. Besides, when he saw Egypt next to her that was not going to happen. He was keeping his son as far away from her as possible.
"Gene, can daddy put you down for a minute?" Lotus said, whispering in his ear.
He groaned, gripping his dad tighter in response.
Lotus stopped walking and pulled away to look at his face. His eyes darted around his father's face and Lotus felt so bad he couldn't see. Lotus softly wiped tears from his little cheeks. "Stop crying, Gummy Worm."
Lotus knew it was probably the noise. The loud music, the talking, the crowd, the people that kept touching him and talking to him to say happy birthday. He couldn't see, so he was timid about everything going on around him.
"Can daddy have a kiss?" Lotus asked.
Gene reached out and felt up his daddy's face with one hand since he was holding Mr. Pickles with the other. He gently squeezed Lotus's lips and smiled a bit when Lotus made his lips squirm in his grip. Gene pulled his hand back, amused.
"You trying to take my lips off?" Lotus said.
Gene put a hand on his cheek and leaned in, using his lips to feel around. His lips touched his dad's nose first, then his lips, then his cheek. He kissed his cheek for a long time then Lotus kissed him back. "I love you, Gene." Lotus said in his ear.
"I wub you daddy." Gene said back.
Lotus felt a hand on his back but before he could turn around, the person walked to the front of him. It was Noelle, her butterfly locs wrapped up in a huge bun on top her head. She had some hair decorations in them, makeup flawless and her outfit doing her figure a lot of justice. A purple blouse, ripped acid wash jeans and open toed heels with purple nail polish on her nails and toes.
"I just spoke to the chefs in the back. They're about to bring the food out."
Lotus looked at her like she was crazy, she was running around trying to make sure everything was running smoothly. Before she checked in with the cooks, she went to the DJ to remind him it was a children's party, so if he wanted to play more hardcore music like hip-hop, to make sure it was clean and kid friendly.
"Noelle, that's not your job. You're here to relax. Just enjoy yourself. Go hang out with your sister, don't leave her hanging." Lotus bent down and kissed her juicy lips.
"Jeneba will be fine, I'll go to her in a minute. I just—"
"No, go to her now. Don't worry about anything else, it's all under control." Lotus reassured. He wiped her mouth with his thumb and winked, making her stomach tickle.
Noelle smiled at him and reached for Gene. "I'm taking baby with me."
Gene went into her arms because he was too shy to say no. Lotus knew he was a little nervous but he was use to Noelle and he really had to run around for a bit.
"Daddy is coming for you just now buddy." Lotus kissed his cheek.
He mouthed a thank you to Noelle and pecked her lips a few times. Noelle took Gene over to her sister. She wanted to show off the cute little boy that belonged to the man she was so smitten with.
Across the room, Egypt's back straightened when she saw Rome, Richard, Star, Chyna and Kemani looking around by the entrance. They had come. Egypt got up and dashed in their direction, not saying a word to the people she was with.
She made her way through the crowd, meeting up with her friends. They were greeting Egypt and looking around in amazement.
Gia's eyes followed Egypt and her heart sank. She remembered the group of kids as the ones that talked to her once in front her school. The ones who had been waiting for Egypt that day so they could skip school. What the hell were they doing here?
Egypt ushered them back to where she was with Gia and her friends. The kids also looked surprised but excited to see Gia. She got hugs from them.
"Hey Gia, long time no see. You look nice." Richard said, staring at her hard.
She had box braids in a ponytail, a long sleeve crème shirt and some jeans. Nothing too fancy but she still looked cute.
"Thank you." She said, her face was uncomfortable though and it showed. "Oh Egypt, I gotta tell you something."
The two girls stepped away a few feet, the noise masking what they were saying.
"What are you doing? What are they doing here?" Gia asked.
"I invited them."
Gia narrowed her eyes. "How are you inviting people to someone else's function when you were invited? They're not allowed to be here Egypt. Why would you do that?"
Egypt didn't like Gia's uppity behavior. She was so judgmental. The girls liked each other but both of them also didn't like certain things about the other.
"Why not? They're not gonna bother anyone."
There was clearly an age difference. At least most of them in that group looked much older than her and Egypt. If they broke something or started picking a fight with the other kids, Gia didn't want to get in trouble for that.
Gia looked over at them and saw them talking amongst themselves, still looking around. She saw Rome adjusting his pants and Star taking pictures of the event probably to post on social media.
"Just relax, everything will be good." Egypt said walking away.
Gia followed behind but her and her friends became more quiet, allowing Egypt and her friends to talk mostly.
Allele was on his way out the venue to make a call outside when he passed Dion and Keshawn. He made eye contact with the two brothers but quickly looked away. Ophelia was right behind them however so he was forced to stop and say hello. The two kept going inside, leaving Ophelia and Allele there.
Ophelia shook her head, "You young men are being so immature. You need to make up. I know you're upset your brother feels the way he does, but he's still your brother."
"I'm not making up with a nigga that wants to fuck my wife. I'm not doing that." Allele shrugged, dryly. He literally forgot who he was talking to and when he realized he winced in embarrassment. "Sorry, sorry. I ain't mean to say all that I just..."
"I never knew you had such a filthy mouth." Ophelia said, side eyeing him. "Respect me now, don't get beside yourself."
"My fault—I apologize." He said taking the present out her hand and giving her a kiss on the cheek. They walked inside and Allele gave the present to the man collecting the gifts and walked back out to finish his phone call.
Even though this was a time for celebration, Allele had been on full alert. The Tom situation was still at the center of his mind. He wouldn't put it past a person like Tom to attack a children's event. He had the man power to do so and the morals of Ted Bundy put in a room full of weapons and five defenseless women. Allele had scoped out the venue, studied every face he came across and constantly had his eyes on his family. He was making sure Cilia and the kids were safe.
Allele took his call and according to his contacts Tom was in Stockton, California. Apparently he was trying to set up a whorehouse out there. In New York, cops were looking for him with the blood bath that happened in his house and he had no time for the questions and the heat that was on him. So he moved out there.
As long as Allele had a location that was fine. He knew he would have to move in quick because there was a chance he wouldn't stay there for long. He was suppose to die a long time ago, but that threat to his kids and Cilia just slid him to priority number one on the list.
"Good lookin', keep me posted if you hear anything else about this nigga." Allele said.
"I got you." His contact said, ending the call.
Allele went back inside to join the party. He found Ophelia by Cilia. He could see Cilia was uncomfortable but he left her, she'd live. Now that they were back to living together they noticed a tremendous difference in the kids. They seemed more happier that their parents were back under one roof and they didn't have to go back and forth. Cilia and Allele were speaking now, no more texting. But things still weren't all there. For right now they just went day by day. The two fucked and made love a few times. It'd been a while and being under the same roof without having each other for so long, it was natural for them to scratch that itch; but the tension over their looming divorce was still in the air.
Allele kept his distance seeing Keshawn and Breeze join in with Ophelia, talking to Cilia. Allele wouldn't lie, there was something about Breeze talking to Cilia that really irked him. So he looked away and instead focused on his sons who had finally opened up to the other kids and were running around playing. Casi was playing with Roselyn nearby Cilia while she talked to the two brothers and Ophelia.
In a small narrow hall, Egypt got Rome alone, but all they could do was peck a few times. It was too crowded with people passing by every minute to make out like they wanted. Some snitching adult would go looking around for their parents if they were caught kissing, so they didn't do too much.
Egypt noticed a bulge at the side of his hip and noticed he kept fixing his pants. She didn't have to ask, she already knew what it was.
"Really Rome?" She frowned, nodding toward the strange shape at his side.
He smirked. "I gotta stay protected at all times."
Egypt rolled her eyes and dismissed his foolishness. Happy to speak to Rome alone, Egypt twirled her hair around her finger and told him how much she missed him as they kept sneaking kisses and feels when they thought no one was looking.
Meanwhile, Lotus had ran into Gia who had also been looking for him. She wanted her baby cousin and knew he had to be with him. Lotus bent down so they were eye level.
"Hey pretty girl." Lotus greeted.
"Hey, where's Gene?"
"He's with Noelle."
Gia wanted to ask if it was his girlfriend, but she thought maybe it was best to mind her business. Eventually he'd probably tell her who she was when the time was right. Gia knew they had some kind of romantic involvement; there was just no title that had been given yet but "friend". She didn't know why Lotus had to label her a friend, as if she was too young to understand what a girlfriend was. She was twelve not two.
"I want him, can I go get him? My friends want to see him." She explained.
Lotus had no problem with that, except Egypt was over there. He didn't want his son anywhere near her. "Actually...you know he's scared of large crowds and when too much is going on. Noelle is only with her sister, it's way less people. So if you wanna check on him you're more than welcome but I think it's best if he stays where it's most quiet."
Gia was disappointed but she nodded. She didn't know it was because Egypt was around. He didn't tell her that. Didn't want to drag her into adult situations.
"By the way pretty girl, those kids your friends?" Lotus asked, making a head nod toward the newer group that joined the set she'd been talking too earlier. Egypt's friends.
Gia knew he already knew her friends from school, and Kutu came in with Noelle so he obviously knew her as well. It was Chyna, Star, Richard and Kemani he was speaking about. Gia looked back and realized Rome and Egypt had disappeared. Lotus noticed some of these kids looked much older than the rest. They didn't really look like the type to hang out with Gia. One of the girls seemed a little provocatively dressed in a crop top shirt and a short black mini skirt with block heels. A little much for what was suppose to be a middle schooler. A tall, lanky Mexican boy had on a black graphic t-shirt with an enlarged middle finger big enough on the shirt for someone to see from four blocks down. So all the little kids were getting an eyeful.
Gia was nervous, they were definitely not her crowd. But she didn't want to get Egypt in trouble for inviting people when she barely got invited herself. She was already in trouble for the attempted handbag stealing thing, she didn't want to get her friend kicked out the party. Gia was mad she brought them, but she would have her back this time. She wouldn't snitch.
"Yeah. They're with me, they're my friends." Gia smiled, brightly.
A slow smile spread across Lotus's face as he didn't even bat an eye at her answer. He believed her and that was the end of the conversation. Lotus remembered growing up and how some kids did look way younger but were actually much older. Or some who were older but looked younger than they were, so it was just one of those things.
"Okay. You enjoying yourself?"
"Yeah! Kutu can sing, she has such a pretty voice. She sounds like the singer Ledisi."
Lotus rose both eyebrows, nodding. "Okay, maybe I'll hear her sing one day."
Gia smiled and nodded in agreement. Lotus brushed under her chin and let her get back to her friends.
There was so much food everywhere everyone was eating like it was a buffet. Kids and adults had smiles on their faces exchanging playful banter and stories. There were some beers here and there for the adults to enjoy, but it was light liquor. Nothing to get anyone drunk and turn the event upside down.
The triplets found some boys and girls to play with. Casi and Roselyn played with some other kids around their age as well. Cilia had eventually taken Gene from Noelle so she could hug and kiss her nephew. His actual birthday was two days ago but the celebration was today. It was her boys' whose actual birthday was today.
"Gene, do you know how old you are now?" Cilia questioned, sitting next to White Locus. She was alternating between hanging out with her and Lisa. But Lisa had Yana right now so she was good.
Gene didn't answer, playing with the ear on his teddy bear. He was cuddled up in her lap, his big brown eyes looking up at her but not knowing what she was talking about. His box braids were so cute. She didn't see him a lot but Cilia adored her nephew. She kissed him up and tickled his belly, which got a smile out of him as he curled up in her arms from the feeling.
"Say I turned three-years-old two days ago!" Cilia cooed. "Say I'm three-years-old aunty Cil."
White Locus stared at the boy like a hawk. It was the first time she was seeing him up close like this. He looked just like his father; it sort of reminded her of Fifty Cent and his son. The resemblance was strong. She looked away and searched for Mark but he was gone. Probably found someone in the crowd to talk to. He was meek but friendly.
"So how are things going with you and Allele?" White Locus asked. Her and her sister were closer so Cilia spoke to her about a lot of things.
Cilia blushed even though things weren't all good. "We've...we've had sex a few times. I guess because of hormones and it's been a long time or whatever. But it's deeper than that. I don't know how to explain it, but I can tell from his sex he's still in love with me. But he's forcing this divorce. I don't want us to end. We can get over the Richmond and dress situation. He's making it such a big deal."
White Locus shrugged. "Then make him stay."
Cilia chuckled, she had the nerve to basically tell her threaten the man when she didn't do that to Mark. Cilia picked up her plate that was next to her in an empty chair and started eating. She took out some macaroni and cheese for Gene, but he had a different fork. She took a mouthful of her food then used his fork to feed him his food.
"No, I love Allele but I'm not gonna threaten him to stay with me. He has to want to himself."
"Okay." White Locus said, letting her make her own decision.
Cilia also had discussed Journi with her sister before, but she didn't tell her about warning Allele to stay away from her. Because this time she would handle her herself if the bullshit persisted.
When her boys' passed back her way, Cilia stopped them and made them come and spend time with Gene. It was his birthday too and he'd been under adults all day. Not one child had said a word to him. Jaxon was annoyed, he was too hyped up to slow down and sit with a three year old baby. He was five now, too big for this.
"Say Happy Birthday to your cousin. It's about him today too."
"Happy Birthday!" Jaxon yelled, startling the baby.
"Aye," Cilia said looking at him like he was crazy. "He can't see, I never said he can't hear. Calm down."
Jaxon frowned and backed up. He actually didn't yell because he got it confused, it was because of the loud music. He wanted to make sure the child could hear him. Phenix snickered but stopped when Jaxon looked at him. He didn't want to get beat up.
"Happy Birthday." Alix said.
"Happy Birthday." Phenix shook his hand and then kissed his cheek so he would know he was being spoken to.
Cilia and other adults nearby who witnessed cooed at the interaction. Jaxon and Alix gave him the stink face, because he was trying to get brownie points. Phenix was smiling from ear to ear.
"Thank you baby, that was so sweet of you." Cilia said.
The kids were forced to keep Gene company, but that didn't last long as Alix and Jaxon slid away to go and play with the kids they were playing with before. Phenix stayed to keep his little cousin company. Cilia put the two next to each other in a sofa. Phenix was talking to Gene but he wasn't saying anything. Only holding his teddy bear and opening his mouth to eat when Phenix would feed him his macaroni and cheese. Once the small child finished it, Phenix handed the empty plate back to Cilia.
It took a while but eventually Phenix got Gene to start talking. He couldn't understand much because the boy was quiet when he talked and his words were incoherent. He was only three so it wasn't like he had a strong vocabulary, but Phenix was smart enough to play along and just answer.
He only understood a few things. Something about Mr. Pickles, someone named Gee-Gee, he seemed to complain about his daddy's kisses and he mentioned his mom. But he wasn't catching everything.
Lotus came to check on Gene and was touched at what he was seeing. He came and stooped between the two kids, a warm smile on his face.
"Hi." Lotus said. He was surprised Gene didn't try to leap into his arms hearing his voice.
"Daddy..." He said some incoherent things. "Mr. Pickle sad."
"He's sad? Why?"
Gene went into a whole story so Lotus turned to Phenix and winked. Phenix smiled at Gene complaining something about the music.
"Thank you for keeping him company." Lotus said. The father noticed he was the only child who did since the party started. "Do you remember who I am?"
Phenix looked at his mom shyly, who was smiling at the uncle and nephew. She didn't say anything, letting Phenix talk for himself.
Phenix pointed at Cilia. "Mommy's brother."
"Yeah, that's right. So what does that make me to you?"
He got confused, he didn't remember.
"Your uncle." Lotus clarified. Gene was still over there nagging about how loud everything was.
"Thank you for keeping him company, but if you want to go play, go play."
Phenix was shy, he didn't know what to do. He didn't want to be rude and leave, but he did kind of want to go where his brothers were.
"His mom is here for him, so it's okay." Lotus told the child.
Ty'kerah had finally made it inside the venue ten minutes ago. Her face covered again. She made sure only her eyes were showing, but this time it didn't look as bad because she was wearing clothes and not a bathing suit. Still, some people stared. She stood at a distance seeing where Gene was, not comfortable going over there because of the people surrounding him.
Lotus looked at Cilia and touched her arm lightly as a 'hello' but ignored Locus. He wouldn't give her any animosity. She was dying at least in the next three days, so he didn't have any energy to pay her any mind. Lotus walked off to give Gene to Ty'kerah.
After about three hours it was time to make speeches so the cake could be cut. Everyone gathered around, some stayed where they were and watched. The environment was so happy and light hearted. All the parents were called up to say something and the first to speak was Allele.
"Um...Happy Birthday to the kids and to my wife's brother's child. And thank you to everyone for coming." Allele said.
Everyone laughed, some people cooing as they realized he was shy and not big on speaking. Mark came up and said some nice things, followed by Cilia, Ember and some family friends. White Locus opted not to speak. Lotus spoke and he wished his nephews a Happy Birthday and many more great ones to come. Then he focused on Gene.
"Thank you to everyone for coming out to support my son on his birthday, it means a lot. I know some of you came for Cilia and her kids. But I'm still grateful for everyone here and I hope to see all of you for Gene's fourth birthday. He's the light of my life, just an amazing son. He's like a flame on a candle. Just bright, orange and glowing. And I know he'll continue to be that flame, burning strong and strong year after year. I love you Gene!" Lotus hollered loudly on the last part, looking across the room at Ty'kerah who had him.
The room was dead silent as he made his speech, so people heard Gene when he mumbled back an 'I wub you daddy'. Everyone "aww'ed" loudly, Lotus beaming with love over his little munchkin. He chuckled and faced the crowd again.
"And as some of you may or may not know, I also have a daughter."
Egypt tensed from the crowd, thinking he was talking about her. He better not be, she hated him. Her heart was racing and she was ready to expose him as the worst person ever.
"I want to introduce my baby girl, Gia Hunter-Daniels."
Egypt's friends stood to look, trying to see who Gia's father was. They remembered the luxury Bentleys that came to get her and wanted to see what her dad was like.
Gia was super shy, she was shocked too, not expecting him to do that. She wasn't prepared. Heart hammering, she went up to Lotus. He put his hand around her shoulder and looked out to the crowd.
"This little ray of sunshine is my everything. She brings me so much happiness and I can't wait until she grows into the smart, beautiful, intelligent young lady I know she'll be one day." Lotus spoke.
Egypt sat on the green circle couch she was on. She wanted to go home, she was tired of looking at blindly and Gia's weird ass who seemed to be obsessed with her reject wannabe father.
"I love you Gee-Gee." Lotus said.
Gia bursted into tears. She covered her face and started crying. Everyone clapped at the moment, some others crying along with the little girl.
Soon the four boys were gathered at the front in front their cakes. Everyone sang happy birthday and there were flashing pictures everywhere. They had the boys blow the candles and make a wish. Gene was too small to understand the concept or blow his candles so his cousins had to help him.
There was red velvet cake, chocolate cake, ice cream cake and strawberry cake. There was also still more than enough food for everyone in attendance to pack and take home.
Lotus was standing at a distance, seeing Gene finally look comfortable. He was standing amongst his three big cousins, the smallest one in the group. But he wasn't crying and looking for him, Gia or his mother. He stood still and smiled when people told him to 'say cheese' for pictures.
Across the room, Gia, Kutu and her school friends had kind of moved away from Egypt and her crew. Not for any particular reason. Just that they been in that same one spot since the party started and Gia and her friends wanted to move around. Egypt and her people must've moved maybe twice to go get food and cake and came right back.
Gia hoped when her birthday came around, it was this nice. She noticed the DJ played nice music without the cursing, no adults were fighting and turning things sour and everyone was getting along. Gia finally came to sit down with her friends after taking a few pictures.
Cilia, Lisa and Yana were in an amusing conversation. Apparently Bonnie asked Yana out and she okayed it. Lisa was arguing against it but Cilia didn't have much of an opinion not knowing Yana that well. She just listened to the two friends going back and forth.
White Locus was in the corner cuddled up under Mark while Roselyn and Casi was somewhere nearby playing together. They had travelled from Cilia to nearby Locus and Mark.
Egypt stared at Gene hard, sitting between her friends. She hated his little ugly ass. He was a disabled mistake. Lotus's dumb speech played over and over in her head about his "two kids". They were a family of losers. Every single one of them.
Egypt closed her left eye, tongue out as she raised her hand. It was warm in her hand since it'd been against Rome's leg inside his jeans. She had tunnel vision on Gene, ignoring her cousins who stood around him still by the cake table.
Even Ember and Dalton had to admit the vibe in the hall was beautiful. The two sat quiet in the back, sipping on wine and enjoying the scenery and atmosphere.
"There's gonna be so much things to open." Lotus told Bonnie. Like Noelle, he'd been running around helping to make sure everything was in tact, so the two friends hadn't seen much of each other for the day. "That back room with the gifts are damn near to the ceiling."
"Yeah I saw." Bonnie said shaking his head. "By the way, I went on my first date with shorty."
"Yeah and how'd that go?" Lotus asked.
"Good, actually. We went to Ruth Chris out in Jersey. No sex that night. She said no. Treated the shit like a real date. I wasn't even tight."
Lotus didn't mean to laugh but it was just so weird. He was happy for his boy though. He didn't see this lasting long. Not with Bonnie's personality and how he liked to rotate girls. Mainly being he didn't even like Yana.
Lotus playfully shoved his shoulder. "Okay, look at you. Being a gentlemen."
Bonnie smirked and put his hands up. He felt like he could switch it up. He wanted to prove this would be able to work if he put his mind to it. If not with Yana, then someone. Just to prove he would be able to do it.
"No more Brandy?"
"Nah. She cut your boy off. It's cool though."
BOOM!
Allele happened to be staring at his boys when he saw them all drop to the ground. Everyone else in the hall had the same reaction, dropping low and screaming, startled by the sound. It was deafening and unexpected, but in that moment it seemed like every adult knew it had been a shot that went off.
Pandemonium erupted as parents ran around confused, trying to locate their kids as kids tried to locate their parents. Allele's heart was banging against his chest as he pushed through the crowd trying to rush to his kids. He saw the top of Jaxon's head. Saw him screaming but the little boy got swallowed up by the crowd. People joined in the screaming, yelling for people to call 911.
Tom. It was the first person Allele thought of. Tom and his threat. Had he gotten into the party and happened to harm one of his children? Allele ran toward his sons praying they were okay.
Lotus, Cilia, Mark and Roselyn were also in a panic, trying to get to their kids as well. Cilia found Casi and Roselyn underneath a table, the two had crawled under there, scared. Cilia told them to stay there seeing they were okay and ran to locate her boys.
Allele approached his children feeling like a thousand bugs were crawling on his skin. He parted the circle of screaming and yelling adults and children and instantly got light headed. There was a dead child—but they weren't any of his. It was Gene.
Lotus finally made his way past the crowd and when he saw Gene face down, a river of blood flowing through the cracks of the marble tiles, he lost it. He dropped to his knees against the marble, the sound echoing like he cracked the bones in his own ligaments. Lotus shook him much rougher than he meant too.
"Gene!"
He turned him over and Lotus was devastated. He was hit near the left side of his forehead. The damage causing the top part of his head to collapse into his skull. The bullet had exited out the back of his neck. He was dead the minute he hit the floor. His eyes were closed, his body still hot from dying less than a minute ago; and from his own blood that was now leaking down his face and soaking his clothes. His bear Mr. Pickles was a few feet away where he had actually been standing before the bullet tossed him a few feet.
"Noooo! My son! My fucking son!" Lotus screamed, rocking the dead child in his arms. "Noooo!"
Egypt stood, breathing heavily as her ears rung. She could barely hear anything, everything sounded muffled. The satin nickel finish Cobra Freedom FS .380 ACP 3.5" shook uncontrollably in her hands as she held it. The bullet exiting the gun had surprised her. She didn't know the gun was loaded. When she pulled the trigger she had just been being silly. She didn't expect it to actually be loaded.
Star, Richard, Kemani and Chyna stared at her in shock. Some with hands over their mouths, others with both hands on their head, looking in the direction of the commotion. From where they were standing no one could see because there was a crowd blocking them, but they knew someone had gotten shot. Judging by the words from the screaming man, it was someone's child.
Jaxon was in a state of shock. He had seen when the bullet hit Gene, witnessed when he flew and the sound he made when he hit the floor. He'd been standing the closest.
Phenix was hollering in terror seeing all the blood. He could see the misshapen part of the three-year-old's face from where the bullet hit him.
Alix was crying as well, covering his ears. There was goosebumps all over his skin due to Lotus' agony. He never heard a man screaming this loud in his life. He was terrified.
Cilia made it over with Locus and Mark right behind. She grabbed the boys' making sure they were okay. But she quickly realized it wasn't them in trouble. When she saw her brother hollering and rocking what she assumed to be Gene, Cilia's heart sank.
They weren't aware it was Egypt that shot the gun, so they were all still unaware.
"Oh my God, what happened?!" Cilia screamed.
Ty'kerah threw herself on top of Lotus, both parents trying to wake their dead child up. They both knew he was dead but Ty'kerah still attempted CPR while Lotus checked his pulse, yelling for someone to call an ambulance. The sirens were right outside as people had called the minute they heard the gunshot.
"That girl shot him!"
"She has a gun!"
People were yelling and pointing out the alleged culprit. Egypt stood in the middle of the room, holding the weapon. It was like slow motion as ambulance ran past her and cops flooded the building.
Hearing the accusations, Cilia looked in the direction and saw Lisa screaming, shaking Egypt like she was an infant she was trying to give Shaken Baby Syndrome too. Lisa was yelling 'what did you do' over and over again while Yana tried to hold the mother back. But Cilia's gaze stuck to Egypt. Seeing her be the one with the gun stunned her.
Cilia turned back to Lotus who was now drenched in blood, his adopted daughter Gia had joined him and Ty'kerah in mourning. Bonnie, Noelle, Mark, Allele, Breeze and even Keshawn had joined in trying to console and help them. All the children were in a corner crying, facing away from the madness.
EMT's pulled out their equipment, attempting to work on the three-year-old.
Cilia could feel the grief and pain in the room. Cilia turned back to Egypt one more time as cops swarmed her. She had finally dropped the gun. Whether by their command or from the shock of it all. Cilia watched it hit the ground in what felt like slow motion then watched it come up in the air before it hit the floor again.
Only minutes later EMT's pronounced Gene Hunter dead at the scene.
Cilia's heart was sliced into several fractions. She had begged this man to let this girl come. And in return she had killed his child. She had snuffed out that bright, burning flame.
*****
6 hours later...
Six hours later and nothing had slowed. It was now 3:30am in the morning and Mount Sinai hospital was full with support for Lotus and Ty'kerah. When EMT's pronounced Gene dead, Lotus had blacked and lost it. He already knew in his mind he was gone when he saw him laying there, but it was different when a professional confirmed it.
Medical personnel and cops had to hold him down and sedate him heavily at the scene before rushing him to the hospital. Now the drugs were wearing off and Lotus was ready to go, he sat up ripping IV's out his arms.
Egypt was in police custody and it hadn't taken long for police to locate all her friends. Before police and the emergency teams had arrived, they had all long gone, leaving her to deal with the aftermath on her own. But police had easily located all of them within the first forty minutes. Even the ones who thought they were being smart by not going home. And once all of them were brought to the station, within those six hours the full story was given.
Lotus learned those kids were actually Egypt's friends who she invited, not Gia's. The gun came from a boy in the group named Rome Mclaine, who took it from his uncle's room. And Egypt was the one who shot the gun. The boy claimed he took the gun with him places sometimes to look cool. He explained he didn't have any beef with anyone there and didn't plan on using it. That Egypt had asked to see it and he gave it to her without thinking anything of it. He let a lot of his friends see and touch the gun before. So he hadn't expected her to pull the trigger.
Lotus felt like everything was so surreal. His deceased child's blood he was drenched in, now a reddish-brown, half-way dried.
There was a television above his head playing the news segment for the millionth time tonight. Lotus lost count of how many times he watched the video.
The hall they were at had cameras from a lot of different angles. So in every video it showed Egypt sitting on a circle chair with a bunch of teenage kids. It showed her saying something to Rome and him slyly passing her his gun. He gave it to her and turned his back to continue his conversation with his other friends. People were too busy laughing and having a good time to notice the kids and their weapon. A minute later it showed Egypt pointing the gun and Rome and his friends jumping up like they had a spring under their ass. Which seemed to back up Rome's story about him not knowing she was going to shoot the gun. Because he wasn't facing her to notice what she was doing. He genuinely seemed scared himself when he heard the blast.
Right as the gun went off the news would stop the video there. They couldn't show Gene getting shot, that would be too graphic. Lotus was sure at a later date he would get to see the uncut version from police.
Ty'kerah was in one of the chairs in his room, head in her lap, crying. She'd been crying the whole six hours. She'd lost her face covering back at the venue when she was hysterical about Gene, but she didn't give a damn. She had dry blood all over her as well.
Lotus was almost done getting IV's out his arm, causing Noelle to speak out. When he heard her voice his head jerked over his shoulder not knowing she was in the room.
"Lotus please don't do that." She whispered. Noelle was still processing everything. She didn't even know he had a biological daughter. He's never mentioned her. But right now was obviously not the time to ask questions.
He ignored her and pulled the last one out, stalking toward the door. Just then a nurse entered with Gia. Children were not allowed in this area but they made a special exception knowing the circumstances.
Gia's heart was broken, her face soaking wet. She saw Ty, but her guilt took her to Lotus first. "Daddy..."
Lotus looked at her and stopped walking, dark brown eyes scaring her. They were so full of hatred. "Get the fuck away from me." He snarled.
Noelle and the guard got defensive, getting between the two. His reaction scared and hurt Gia. She cried, backing up. Ty'kerah was so deep in her grief she didn't care what was going on.
"Lotus." Noelle pleaded.
Lotus pointed at the little girl as fresh tears streamed down his face. It wasn't hatred in his eyes, but devastation. It was heartbreak and betrayal. He had asked her if she knew those kids and she told him they were her friends. He had trusted her, not expecting them to be bad people if they were people she knew. Had she been honest and said they were with Egypt, they would've been escorted out with that gun hours ago and there would be no tragedy right now.
"I asked you! I asked you about those same fucking kids and you told me they were your friends! I trusted you and you lied to me. Now my son is dead!" His voice cracked.
Noelle covered her mouth with two hands, tears clouding her vision. She understood how he felt and she felt so bad for him.
Lotus crumbled to the ground, holding his head as he cried. Gia ran over before she could be stopped and hugged him. She cried her heart out telling him she was sorry and begging him not to hate her.
"Why'd you lie to me Gia? Why?!" He cried. Gia hugged him as she cried with him. He was vibrating so hard he was making her shake involuntarily as well. The emotions in the room were thick.
Gia and Noelle stayed for at least an hour more comforting Lotus and Ty'kerah before they left the room. They would have to give other people a chance to come in and console the grieving parents. Gia would stay with a relative for a few days as neither was in the right mindset to care for her right now.
Cilia sat anxiously in the waiting room, but the next set that went in was Bonnie, Ember and Dalton. She herself was postponing because she was nervous. It was her pressure to invite Egypt that caused all of this. She wanted to see him, but she didn't know what to say when she saw him.
Allele was outside in the parking lot with the kids in the car. He didn't want them inside the hospital. He could've taken them home but he wouldn't leave Cilia to deal with this alone, she needed support. The parents didn't want to drop the kids off at Ophelia either because they needed to be with their parents right now.
So Allele just sat with the kids in the car, engine off as they all hung on to him. Egypt had done a lot of damage, she had ruined many lives. Some people would need therapy after. Not knowing how to explain to kids what they witnessed, Allele just consoled them as they cried, telling them everything would be okay.
Another hour rolled around and when Bonnie, Ember and Dalton emerged out the room, Cilia finally went to the receptionist and gave her name to be let in the room next. She was swiftly denied entry. She was told Lotus did not want to see her. That he didn't want her within a mile of where he was.
*****
Cilia was as quiet as a mouse. After a two hour wait, her brother had denied wanting to see her. When the Hunter-Coleman's pulled up back home, it was nearing five something in the morning. The adults showered the kids then they showered themselves. Then the kids and Allele got in Allele's king sized bed.
Although the sun was getting ready to rise and all the lights in the bedroom were on, the boys were scared shitless to sleep. Casi had managed to fall asleep eventually, not being as affected as her brothers. Her and Roselyn hadn't actually seen anything. They heard the shot, but they were more scared of everyone else's reaction. So neither really knew what was going on. It was the three brothers who were affected.
Phenix was the only child that took the time to talk to and spend time with Gene at the party. To see him dead only minutes after just talking to him had ripped away the young child's innocence. He was speechless by the events. How did someone he was just smiling and talking to minutes before end up dead?
Jaxon was equally as traumatized because even though they all saw Gene dead; he was the one who was physically standing the closest to him when it happened. He'd actually seen when the body propelled from the force of the bullet, saw when the white band had snapped from under his chin separating him from his birthday crown and the teddy bear in his hand.
Alix was more affected by Lotus's reaction. He'd never seen raw emotion like that. Watching him hold his dead child—the gut wrenching screams that came from him had disturbed the child.
Cilia stood by the window in the bedroom, looking out as she secretly wiped her eyes. Allele laid on the bed with the kids, all of them wide awake.
"Cil." Allele called softly.
She glanced at him. She was wearing a hoodie that was open exposing the tank top underneath and nothing on her bottom half but a pair of panties. Allele saw her feelings were extremely hurt, she lost her nephew and Lotus not wanting to see her burned her deeply. Cilia looked right back out the window, her hands trembling as she bit her nails.
Allele left her alone.
Around 10am in the morning the kids had finally closed their eyes. Allele knew their sleep wouldn't last long though. Not with the trauma they witnessed. Their brains were on high alert and they would be awake from any little sound they heard. Cilia had long ago exited the room. Allele managed to luckily slip away without disturbing the kids and found her downstairs in the living room.
Her eyes were puffy, dry tears on her face. She was still trembling, sitting on the sofa looking weighed down by emotion. Allele sat next to her so she stood, moving away. She felt disgusted with herself. Allele watched as she went into the kitchen to make coffee. She wasn't a big coffee drinker but she needed it right now.
Allele followed behind and closed the cabinet before she could get a mug. He didn't have ingredients for coffee anyway, he didn't drink that so none of that was in his house. He lifted her chin, but didn't bother to wipe her tears. "You don't have to take it to heart, ma. I know it hurts he doesn't want to see you, but he just lost his child. His own daughter just killed his son. He's angry, everyone grieves differently. I'm sure while you were waiting you overheard mad people getting denied to see him."
Cilia slowly shook her head from side to side. "No..." She whispered, hot chunky tears rolling down her cheeks. "Just me...he hates me. He told me multiple times he didn't want Egypt there. I begged, you hear me?" Her bottom lip was quivering, tears running nonstop. "Allele I begged that man to let her come. He told me no over and over again and I wouldn't leave it alone. He finally relented just for me. I put my reputation on the line for her and she killed that man's child."
Allele's eyebrows met the middle of his forehead. He hadn't known that piece of information. Now it made sense why Lotus didn't want to see her and why Cilia's reaction was so personal to him denying wanting to see her. It was guilt.
"I only wanted the boys' to be happy." She said, her voice rising. Allele wanted to quiet her, the kids. But honestly how could he? Everyone was hurt and shocked. She had every right to express herself however she wanted right now. "I didn't know things were that bad between them. I thought he was being dramatic. I asked for her to come because she's still my niece and she's the only child I know. The kids don't have any friends, so I wanted her there to support them. I just wanted them to be happy for their birthday and she killed that boy!"
Cilia slapped her chest a few times like the pain was too great. She let out a wail of despair and collapsed but Allele was quick, catching her. He pulled her into him and held her protectively, softly rocking them back and forth. His eyes watered, imagining if this were one of their children. He understood her pain, Lotus's pain, Gene's mother's pain, Lisa's pain for being on the opposite end having her child as the killer, his kids pain who witnessed it all and the pain of everyone else who was there.
"Sshh, it's not your fault. You didn't know that would happen." Allele said, gently kissing her head as he rubbed her back. "Egypt pulled the gun out and she pulled the trigger, not you. So don't do that, don't put that on yourself."
Cilia's hands gripped the back of his shirt as she wailed into his chest. She was hearing him but she didn't believe this wasn't because of her. She wished she could go back in time and change everything. But she knew this was the new reality. A reality that would probably involve her death as well. Because she knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time before Lotus killed her too.