I dedicate this chapter to vibrantwrites- and chilloutjayyy! I can't thank y'all enough for your votes and comments on this story! I can tell you're enjoying it, and as a writer, that makes me so happy! Thank you so much for the love! 😩😭😍☺️
"pars una familia testimonii"
SKYLAR woke up with a smile on her face as the memories of last night flooded her mind.
"You got somethin you need to confess, sis?" Andrea asked, sitting up in her bed and crossing her arms.
Skylar sat up as well and laughed, "No, Andrea! Devin came over last night to apologize for threatening to take DJ and being such an asshole the past few days. He said he wanted to present a united front at our big family meeting today and start doing right by DJ which means doing right by me, too."
"Well isn't that sweet. Devin doing what is expected out of his grown behind," Andrea replied, rolling her eyes in an unfazed manner, "You still haven't mentioned why you're smiling like you have a real good secret or somethin."
Skylar scoffed, "I thought it was really great of him to initiate that conversation!"
"Yea, but remember, your first time getting mad at him in the history of knowing him was literally 24 hours ago, so you are always going overboard," Andrea so quickly reminded her little sister, "So, back to the issue at hand. Please don't tell me y'all had some salacious sex somewhere in this hotel."
Skylar bust out laughing, "No, we did not! But we might've almost kissed again outside the door."
Andrea rolled her eyes. Skylar was affected by the smallest of things when it came to Devin. At first she wrote Skylar's behavior off as her being young and Devin being her first. But, at this point, as long as her feelings had stayed around, she knew they were destined to be together, she just didn't know when, especially with a child already in the mix who they needed to learn how to co-parent.
"Wait, did you say again? Like, you and Devin have already kissed? Skylar Grace, what gives?!"
Skylar cursed under her breath, not realizing that she'd admitted to that with her last statement. She'd meant to keep that to herself to avoid a lecture that she knew she was about to get.
"Um, well, I told you about the night Devin came over after I ran into him with DJ, and he forced me to tell him that DJ was his..."
"Duh?! Anddd...." Andrea responded with annoyance, leaning forward with her eyebrow raised while waiting for her sister to hurry up and spill the tea already.
"I might've left out the part where we fell asleep because I cried a river in his arms for so long. Which somehow led to us sticking our tongues down each other's throats the next morning. We didn't have sex though. I stopped it before we could go all the way there."
Andrea sighed. She couldn't really understand why their chemistry was the way it was, but she wasn't doubting it. Skylar was normally the picture of self-control in every other area of her life. Devin is the only one who has seemed to challenge her in that area. Hence why her cute nugget of a nephew currently slept peacefully in bed beside his love-crazed mother.
"Look, all I know, is y'all betta tie the knot before you end up giving Devin, Jr. a sibling. And even if y'all haven't tied the knot, you betta have some birth control for your birth control. Also, one day, I wanna know what really went down between y'all at UK because I've never seen you so caught up, sis," Andrea responded.
Skylar knew Andrea was right. She was caught up. She just didn't know how she was going to be able to resist him with all the time they were going to be spending with each other in their immediate futures.
"I hear you, sis," Skylar begrudgingly replied before quickly changing the subject, "I have a favor to ask by the way."
"Alright, what is it?"
"Would you be willing to hang with DJ and Davon separately while I confess to Devin's parents that I kept their grandchild from them? Devin and I thought it would be good if that were just a conversation between us and them..."
"What?! I have to miss all the good stuff?! That ain't right, Skylar Grace!"
"Sis, I need to do this on my own. Devin even agreed that Davon shouldn't be there either. We need to be able to do this tough stuff as DJ's parents on our own. When it's time to introduce DJ, we'll text y'all about joining us. Please. I really need your help with this."
"Alright, fine. But you owe me big-time, sis. I'm talking I wanna go to a Phoenix Suns game and meet all the sexy NBA players or something. Make it happen!" Andrea demanded as she left to take a shower.
Skylar chuckled and sighed before looking up to the sky and praying that everything went smoothly.
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"Good morning, Joseph family, y'all come on in!" Devin exclaimed as he opened the door with that perfect smile on display.
He immediately stepped to the side and pulled Skylar, who was holding DJ, into a tight embrace, whispering in her ear, "Hey, pretty girl."
Skylar bit her lip, trying to hide the smile that wanted to break out on her face. She met Devin's eyes which had a glint of amusement in them, before responding back with a simple, "Hey."
Andrea's warning replayed in her head as she came to the realization that Devin wasn't going to make this whole resisting thing easy. Devin then excitedly grabbed DJ out of her arms, "My man! Daddy is so happy to see you, buddy."
DJ shyly smiled and gave his dad a high-five when Devin held his hand up.
"You must be Andrea," Devin guessed, walking over to her after he greeted Skylar's parents.
"Un-Dea!" DJ exclaimed, clapping his hands and showing his love for his auntie.
Devin smiled and looked at his son, "Oh yea? You love auntie, I see."
DJ giggled and put his head down on Devin's shoulder as his cheeks went pink with embarrassment.
"That's right! My little munchkin knows what's up!" Andrea replied with glee, giving DJ a few tickles to continue his laughter, "And you must be Devin. The one whose got my sister all messed up in the head."
It was Devin's turn for his cheeks to go pink, not expecting Andrea to drop such a comment so early.
He nervously chuckled as he stuck his arm out for a side hug, "I guess that's me...although not my intention."
"Lies, but ok, Mr. Booker. I'm watching you," Andrea stated looking him in the eye after leaning in for the hug.
"Yes ma'am, I hear you loud and clear," he responded, knowing there was nothing he could say.
"Un-Dea!" DJ said again, reaching for his auntie.
"Come on, munchkin, your crazy parents are sending us away anyway, so we're going to get our breakfast and go!" she loudly whispered to him, making sure that Devin would hear.
Devin laughed, as Skylar joined him on their way to the kitchen, "Yea, don't mind her. She's crazy and super protective when you first meet her."
Before Devin could respond, Davon came over, "Well if it isn't the beauty I've heard so much about!"
Skylar giggled, feeling flattered as Davon gave her a hug, "Hey Davon! It's so nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you as well. Which reminds me, thank you for all your help with all of this!"
"You're welcome! Uncle D is always here to serve!"
Skylar laughed, "Omg you've already given yourself a nickname?"
Devin rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Yea, he's so lame."
"Man, shut up, you just wait. DJ and I are going to be best friends!"
"Well, you can go compete with my sister, Andrea, for that title," Skylar responded with a warm smile, her nerves beginning to settle as everyone had met each other and things were going smoothly so far.
"Don't worry, she's already let me know that I'm not in first place," Davon jokingly growled.
Skylar couldn't stop laughing at Davon, "I have no doubt that you'll make your own place in DJ's heart. By the way, I also need to thank you for whatever you said to Devin. He's seemed to do a 360 in the past day or so, and he said you had a lot to do with it," Skylar said, whispering in Davon's ear.
Davon smiled and nodded, glad that his brother had taken his advice. After meeting Skylar he understood why Devin could be all over the place. She was a sexy and sweet woman, and he was sure that Devin probably had issues keeping his thoughts unscrambled when it came to her. He'd noticed that Devin's eyes never left her for long and with good reason.
"I'm just glad I could help. I know this is a tough situation for you both, but I just want what's best for everyone, so if I need to play peacemaker and voice of reason, I will do that. But right now, I need to get my Uncle D on, so I'll see y'all in a few. Good luck with all the grandparents."
Skylar nodded, speechless at Davon's selflessness and generosity. No wonder Devin had been so successful as an NBA player at such a young age. His brother was definitely keeping him on the right track.
"Thank you again," she whispered.
"You're very welcome, Miss Joseph," Davon replied, giving her a kiss on the cheek before grabbing his plate of breakfast and leading Andrea and DJ through the living room and down a hallway.
Skylar craned her neck, wondering where they were going. She'd been so caught up in introductions that she hadn't even thought about the fact that she was in Devin's place. It was very bachelor-esque with the blacks and creams of the furniture and walls and the sectional in the living room. As she observed, she felt a presence behind her, causing a sharp intake of breath.
"I'll give you a tour later, Sky, lemme go ahead and get you a plate. My parents will be here any minute to join us," Devin said in her ear, his hand brushing her waist and nudging her towards the food.
Skylar's parents watched the two, noticing how Devin's entire demeanor had changed from the apologetic and apprehensive stance he had in their home. He hadn't shown the care and attention for Skylar that he was showing now. It was too apparent to ignore.
"He loves her, Ben," Grace Joseph whispered to her husband.
"Grace, let's not do that right now," Benjamin Joseph quickly responded, not wanting to think about his baby girl having another man in her life.
"You can avoid it all you want. But, I know a man who follows me around and gives me the same looks all the time just like Devin is doing with our daughter," Grace added, wanting her husband to go ahead and accept what they were seeing.
"Who? I'll kill him right now," Benjamin questioned with fake shock on his face, causing Grace to laugh and slap his shoulder.
"I love you, baby," Grace said giving him a peck on the lips, "Let's help these two lovebirds out when his parents get here. Between them trying to figure out their feelings and this parenting stuff, it's no wonder they're so all over the place."
"You're right, as always. I love you, too," Benjamin answered right as a knock at the door came.
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Melvin Booker and Veronica Gutierrez had been as polite and respectful as you could expect as they both walked into a situation completely blind. They were very skeptical of what they were willfully walking into seeing as they hadn't heard anything about this Skylar girl in over two years.
Melvin knew it could only be one of two things — Devin was in some sort of trouble with this girl, or he got her pregnant. Either way, he was concerned about this whole situation being a distraction. He and Devin had worked too hard for all this focus to be cast to the side over a girl who might not even be around forever.
Veronica anticipated the same and had already spoken to Melvin about it on the phone before they both arrived in Phoenix. Although they were no longer together, they still kept in touch when it came to ensuring that Devin was successful. Ever since she allowed Devin to move to Mississippi with Melvin, she had made it clear that even more than she wanted to be with her son as long and as much as she could, she wanted him to realize his dreams no matter what it took.
Introductions went smoothly, and Devin and Skylar were almost forgotten while Melvin and Benjamin discussed basketball, and Veronica and Grace discussed jobs and children. After enjoying each other's company and the food for a few, Devin lightly squeezed Skylar's thigh, letting her know that it was time to get started.
"So, thank y'all for coming, we know this meeting was called on very short notice, but while I'm on break, I thought it would be best to get us all together for some important news that Skylar and I wanted to share," Devin explained opening up the conversation, "So, Skylar is going to start."
Under the table, Skylar grabbed Devin's hand that had been resting on her thigh and linked hers with it. She had begun to tremble with nervousness, and she needed Devin to be her rock. Devin rubbed the top of Skylar's hand with his thumb, trying to calm her down.
"Well, as you both know, Devin came to visit Kentucky for the game this past weekend while on break, and we happened to run into each other, which is when he also happened to meet his son for the first time. Of course, I did not mean for him to find out that way, but with me bringing DJ to the game, and us running into each other, I guess it was just meant to be."
"Oh my God!" Veronica exclaimed, her hand immediately flying over her mouth in complete shock.
"So, let me get this straight," Melvin added, his mind reeling, "You're not pregnant with my son's child, you've already had my son's child?!"
Skylar gulped, knowing good and well that this is what her decision would lead to eventually, but still not ready to accept the anger that was emanating off Melvin in waves.
"Yes sir, that is correct."
"Let her finish, Dad, please" Devin said, jumping in to attempt to keep his father from ripping Skylar to pieces before she could even explain.
Skylar nervously glanced at her parents who just nodded at her, encouraging her to continue.
"Devin and I had only been sort of dating for three weeks when I found out I was pregnant, it was the middle of March Madness, and Devin had spoken so passionately about declaring for the draft no matter how Kentucky's season ended. I panicked and decided to keep the fact that I was pregnant from Devin because I had no idea how he would react. He could've written me off as some groupie who trapped him with a kid for his future money and fame. He could've demanded that I move with him once he got drafted, which I knew I didn't want. He could've possibly not even accepted that the child was his an—,"
"Well, do we really know it's his? Whose to say you're not still lying? You did it so easily for almost three years," Melvin interrupted with a sneer.
"Your father's got a point, Devin. Why do you trust that she's telling the truth?" Veronica asked before turning her attention toward Skylar's parents, "And what parents in their right minds would allow their 19 year-old child to keep her baby from its father?!"
Devin rubbed his neck in frustration, upset that his fear had come true — his parents lashing out just like he did. He opened his mouth to jump in, but was beat by Skylar's parents.
"If my daughter says it's Devin's child, it's Devin's child," Benjamin Joseph hissed, balling his fists, "She's no hoe."
"Veronica, I know you're upset, but no need for disrespect. Why don't you get all the facts before your judgment?" Grace Joseph added, shaking her head.
"Disrespect? I have a grandchild who has been living and breathing on this earth for two years, and you want to talk about disrespect?! You saw him walk for the first time. You heard his first words. I'm sure you attended his christening ceremony all while I've been living my life as if he doesn't exist! How dare y—,"
"She might not be, Benjamin, but she's definitely a liar. I want a damn paternity test done. Today!" Melvin demanded.
At that point, Veronica and Grace and Melvin and Benjamin began to go back and forth, the volume of their voices continuing to increase at an alarming rate. Skylar and Devin looked at each other in panic. They could 't have planned for this, and now they were frozen in horror.
Once cuss words started flying, Devin knew he had to do something. He jumped to his feet and bellowed, "STOP! This is exactly what we don't need! Fighting! And if anyone should be fighting shouldn't it be me and Skylar, not y'all, our parents?"
Four pairs of eyes turned towards Devin in silence, regret joining the other emotions displayed on their faces and in their body language.
"I'm so sorry," Skylar whispered brokenly, silent tears rolling down her cheeks, "I know what I did was terribly wrong, and I hate how it has affected all of you. Please forgive me for my error in judgment."
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*pars una familia testimonii - Latin for "family meeting part one"
Anndddd the family feud is underway! 😳 Will this meeting end peacefully or in turmoil? 😶 Part Two will be posted tomorrow!
I have really enjoyed reading y'alls comments and seeing all your votes on this story, so I literally can't stop writing for it! ☺️ Felix Culpa has reached over 4k reads and almost 300 votes! 😍🙌🏾 I truly appreciate all of your support, so thank youuu! 💖❤️