Okay I slipped up and made Javi's birthday the same day as the wedding and it's supposed to be 2 days after the wedding. So pretend I did that on purpose 💀... onto the story.
(Excsuse any mistakes.)
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Third person
2:49 pm
"Javi you look so cute in these pictures!"
"Aww look at his face right here in this one! Oh- he looks so much like you when you we're a baby Teddy."
"I know isn't that crazy." Tahny held her dad's camera as her and YaMina scrolled through the pictures he took as they sung happy birthday to Javi. She smiled even harder at his reaction to having cake for the first time. The picture showed him looking at Tahny with his eyes wide with gummy smile. "I cant believe he's one already." She said as she held the camera up. "Daddy I want you to blow some of these pictures up so I can hang them up at the new house. Can you do that for me, please?"
He took the camera carefully to put back into it's protective carrying case. "Anything you want baby." Theo put the strap over his shoulder as he followed behind YaMina. "Come walk us to the door."
Tahny stood up to do what was told. "Okay. Thank you so much for the gifts guys." Tahny said as she held the door open for her parents, Hayden, and Jahlia. "T, stop thanking us! You know I like spoiling my nephew. You can have whatever you want." Hayden sang tv's last part whole kissing Javier's face. She had brought in bags upon bags full of toys and clothes that he will need. She knew with Tahny's old house being ruined all of their things were gone as well. It will be hard to make up for the amount of things they lost but it was a start. Their parents had did the something so it was hard for Tahny to stop thanking them.
"Alright well, we'll be back to pick up the babies when this wedding is over. We need to go before this LA traffic kicks are asses." Mina spoke while walking out. "Sounds like a plan." Michael yelled from the kitchen, wiping off Jasmine's cake covered hands.
Hayden passed Javi back to Tahny and grabbed a sleeping Jahlia from the couch. "Oh shit- before I leave and forget... I've been meaning to give this to you." She reached in her purse the best she could with Lia laying tiredly on her chest. "Max told me to give this to you when he came by my store. It was the same night he came in freaking out." She said lowly. She handed Tahny the slightly crinkled manila envelope with care. "Teddy... Max came in there talking about you need to take the baby and leave; and never come back here. I don't know what's going on but I have a feeling you should listen to him." Tahny fixed her mouth to ask her a bunch of questions but Hayden held her hand up to silence her. "Don't question me on this NaTahnya, I'm serious. Ever since I saw him I've got this bad feeling in my stomach."
"Don't worry Hayden. We-- well, Javi and I are leaving tomorrow morning, 7 am to be exact, so don't worry."
Hayden took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll try not to." She stepped out of the apartment. "I'll be at the airport to see you guys off. I love you."
"I love you more." Tahny said as she tucked the envelope under her arm to close door. Hayden kissed her little sisters cheek before walking out completely with Tahny closing it behind her.
"You working on that hand huh?" She said as she looked down at Javi who was still suckling on his hands. She kissed his forehead softly and held him to her closely. She put the envelope in the coffee table and sighed.
"It's always something with you Max. It's always something."
Max's side of town...
"Let that bottle go man. You don't need to be fucked up before the wedding even starts." One of Max's older brothers Miguel said.
"I'm just a little nervous man, I'm just trynna relax before all the bullshit gets started." Miguel took the bottle and passed it to Daniel. "What you do that for?"
"Cause you're kinda wasted man. You need to sober the fuck up before the wedding starts. You really need to perk up before we go in this venue. You know if dad sees you like this he'll flip his shit."
"Tuh!" Max blew out a hard breath of air with an eye roll. "Who gives a fuck?" Daniel gave Max a look before climbing in the limo. They groom's party all started climbing into the the stretch limo to go to the wedding venue. But of course it couldn't be a peaceful ride there without Max starting shit first. "What you looking at me like that For?" He rolled his eyes again. "I'm over this shit man. We all sitting here unhappy asf with the people we're with... Well maybe not all of us-- but I know my ass isn't happy." He got in the last with the driver closing the door behind him. "I don't give a fuck about this wedding. And to keep it all the way real... I really don't give a fuck about Olivia's spoiled bony ass."
"Max you maybe it's time for you to stop talking." Daniel said lowly. Since he was wildly confessing his truth, he didn't need any mention of Tahny or Javier to come out.
"No, I'm not about stop doing shit. I'm not about to sit here and pretend like I'm happy when I'm not. We need to rush through this whole "I do" shit and get it over with. So you might as well give me the bottle back so I can get through this shit." Miguel shook his head. "Fuck it then-- keep it! That shit don't even get me drunk like it used to anyways."
All eyes were on him as the space became quite and the driver pulled out the lot. Max smacked his lips and crossed his arms. "What y'all looking at me like you gotta problem-"
"Because you have a problem, man." Brandon, one of the twins cut in. "You need to leave that drinking shit alone. I thought you quit a long time ago."
He was quite for a second. "I did but a lot of shit been stressing me out lately." Max twisted a curl in the front of his hair as he slouched in the limos seat; clearly over the conversation already.
His drinking habits were never a topic of discussion. His father is Emiliano Thompson, owner of the biggest stock market in the country. He couldn't have the son that was an alcoholic. It would ruin their families perfect image.
Max's problem started in his late teens. The stresses of becoming the head of his families billion dollar business was to much at times. His father was constantly jumping down his throat, trying to be perfect at everything his father trained him to do or say, having endless nights of memorizing the companies history, and all the information he needed to know about each and every client. He had to attend his father's long meetings, have meetings himself, he had to go to public events, business parties, contact signings, deal with Olivia, plan a wedding, and four days out of each week he was traveling state to state for work... It drained him... He needed an escape from the hectic life he was brought into. Max couldn't express his concerns to anyone since he was supposed to be taking pride in his new position. He was tired of his demanding life and wanted to feel different. It started with taking a few sips from a bottle in his parents liquor cabinet to help him unwind. They were never home so how would they notice some was missing? When that wasn't enough, he'd find a way to take an older brothers I.D. and buy it himself. He'd take the bottles to his room and hide them in various spots thinking no one would find them.
His father found out like he always does. A maid found Max passed out on the floor in his room with a bottle in room. Of course she told. Emiliano makes him go to a 30 day rehab to help him quit. It did help. He'd still have some every now but never a much as before. The 30 day rehab helped up until he had that argument with Tahny. The realization that what they had was mostly based on sex. The realization he knew nothing about the woman he had been sleeping with, and more importantly he didn't know anything about his son. Her saying she was with Michael now added to it. But seeing all those boxes packed up and she saying She's moving hurt even worse. He had lost the little family he had left. But, his father saying he'd do something to them if Max didn't make them disappear drove him over the edge. It almost seems like every single one of his problems always leads back Emiliano...
"So drinking helps?" Isaac asked as he looked at his brother in confusion.
Max snapped from his thought at the sound of a voice. "What?"
"I asked if drinking helps?"
He sat up in his seat. "No, it actually doesn't. I just relaxes me-- it keeps me calm. It makes me feel like I'm not about to snap off on somebody."
"So if that's the case why don't you just take up boxing like I do, or do something that's gonna relieve actual stress? All drinking is gonna do is make you keep that shit bottled up and fuck up your liver while doing it." Ivan butted in.
"Foreal cause all you're doing is hurting yourself. That's why dad-"
"Look!" Max said loudly cutting Miguel off. "I'm not trynna talk about this shit right now, all y'all not about jump on me. Besides when do any of you give a fuck about me and what I got going on? When dad needed someone to take over the business with his old ass; y'all stayed quite and let aaallll that shit fall on me. Ever since I been running shit y'all been living in the shadows of my hard work. None of y'all check up on me except for Daniel. So stop trynna act like y'all give of a fuck now. It's been nice having you guys in town for these past few days... But I know when this wedding is over, you all are gonna go back to living your normal lives, and I won't speak to most of you until its time for someone else to get married. With that being said..."
Max crouched across the limo and snatched the bottle of Hennessey out of Daniel's hands.
"Anybody else like to comments or express your concerns?" The sound of the limo tires on the highway was the only sound filling the space the 10 of them sat in. "Cool now somebody turn some music on and cut all this awkward silence shit out." He tossed the cap to the bottle on the floor and took a large gulp.
Michael
"Sooo?... How'd it go with my dad?" Tahny asked as she came into the kitchen with Javi.
"Uh, it was good actually." I wet the washcloth again and wiped Jasmine's mouth. I knew giving her that big of a piece was a bad idea. "Your dad is pretty cool. He just was talking to me that's all."
She nodded. "That's good. He can be pretty intense some times I hope he wasn't to crazy with you."
"No not at all. He was pretty chill. After talking to him for a while I'm kinda mad at myself for being nervous in the first place."
"See, wasn't so bad huh?"
I shook my head. "No not at all."
I looked down at my watch and the time caught my attention. "Oh shit."
"What's wrong?"
"I forgot I had something to do today. Can you watch Jas real quick?" Tahny turned her head to the side. "I know it's supposed to be all about Javi and I shouldn't be leaving but I got some shit to do right quick and I can't be late." I handed Jas to her and ran out the kitchen to my bedroom and grabbed my wallet of the dresser. I slipped some shoes on and rushed to the door.
"What do you have to do all of a sudden?"
"I got to meet with a couple people this is real important. I'll be back in two hours tops." I kissed her forehead before I left out.
I ran down the steps all the way to the first level and sprinted to my car. I looked at my watch to see a few minutes had passed. "Shit I'm bout to be late." Starting my car I peeled out and headed straight to the rental office as my first stop.
Olivias side of town...
"Everyone needs to be doing something productive. If you're not getting your makeup or your hair done, you need to be helping each other into foundation garments and dresses. We are a few short hours away from the wedding ladies!" The wedding coordinator, Yalonda, shouted throughout the hotel suite. She walked through the sea of people to one of the bedrooms where Olivia is.
"I don't want a crazy amount of volume, just give my hair a good bounce, you know?" Olivia said to to hair dresser while she laid on a massage table getting pampered. She had two nail techs, one at each hand, a face covered in a 24 karat gold mask, and someone laying her hair out.
"How's my bride doing?"
Olivia scuffed. "She's doing just fine at the moment. How's everything going out there?"
Yalonda sat on the edge of the bed with a dramatic eye roll. "You have twelve hungover bridesmaids trying their best to function. How do you think it's going?"
Olivia cracked a smile. "I guess we went a little two hard last night, huh?"
"You think so?"
The sound of a knock at the door made them snap from their conversation.
"Knock knock." Amelia walked through the bedroom without permission to enter with a cheesy grin plastered on her face. "Can I speak to my future daughter in-law for a second."
"Give them some room guys. Come back in fifteen." Yolanda said fanning all the people out the room including herself.
Once the door closed Olivia sat up on the message table. "What's do I owe the pleasure?"
"Oh nothing. I just came to see how you were doing."
"I've been better." Olivia mumbled as she played with the fuzz of her bathrobe. Amelia stood in front of her with her arms folded. "You don't sound so happy. What's wrong with you?"
"Actually... I've been- I'm just having second thoughts about all this." Amelia frowned. "And why is that?" She dropped her arms to her side. "Max and I have been arguing a lot. He doesn't want to speak to me and I haven't been feeling like myself lately. I don't know if us getting married right now is a good-" Amelia grabbed Olivia's face with a good squeeze.
"Don't finish that sentence." She squeezed tighter till the face mask cracked. "You need to get it together. You are marrying Maxwell at five o'clock as planned. Now is not the time to all of sudden think "right now isn't the best time to get married." You shoulda said something months ago. The money is already spent and the guest are on their way. Don't make me send my husband in here to change your mind, you and I both don't want that. You fucked this up and we'll all be in trouble with him." She let her face go before straightening out her outfit.
"Now I'll ask you again-- how are you feeling?" Tears welled in Olivia's eyes till they blurred. "I can't hear you! And put a smile on your face when you say it."
She gave a quivering half Smile. "I-I'm nervous but... I'm... I'm happy."
"And will you be walking down the isle at promptly 5:30, after your wedding party has successfully made it down, correct?"
"Y-yes."
Amelia smiled back. "Very good." She patted Olivia's shoulder. "I don't want to be the enemy here. But my husband is on my back about making sure nothing goes wrong. Max is on board and I had to make sure you were too." She adjusted her purse on her shoulder and headed towards the door. "I'll see you at the wedding." With a flash of smile she was gone out the door.
Olivia fanned her eyes making sure her tears wouldn't ruin the mask. Yalonda came back in the room checking off things on her list with the beauty team right behind her.
"Half of bridesmaids are done with hair and make up. You're hair and nails need finished. Also..." She looked over the checklist then her watch. "We gotta get you out of here in a hour, maybe less. I want you to get there after the groom so there is no chance you two bump into each other." She looked up for a split second before doing a double take. "You alright? Why are you crying?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just having some pre wedding jitters that's all." Olivia said through a chuckle as the hairstylist started from where she stopped.
"You're not having cold feet are you?" Yolanda gave a worried face.
"No, even if I did... I made it this far I can't turn back now. I just need to take a few breaths and relax."
"Breathing won't help you need something stronger." The makeup artist said as he started setting up his station. "You can't be crying on your wedding day. Get her a drink Yalonda she needs to calm her nerves."
"You're right. I'll be right back."
Olivia began to protest since she was already hungover from the night before but she was already out of ear shot. She closed her eyes and tried to relax.
"Deep breaths. Deep, deep, breaths." She mumbled to herself.
Max
"You keep on sweating and shit you gone be funky before we even walk out the room." Antonio shouted as we all got ready in one of the dressing rooms at the wedding venue.
"Someone needs to open a window or something all you in here talking all loud and shit got it hot as fuck in here."
I shouldn't have drunk so much now I can't stop sweating. I'm surprised I'm even standing up straight the way I was sippin before I got in here. Shit, I should be dead the way I been drinking, especially last night. There was bottles on top of bottles just kept coming at me. Did I drink em? Of course I did. Who was I to turn down free bottles at the club?
"Fuck." I loosened up the bow again and took the fabric from under the collar on my dress shirt. If my hands would stop shaking I could actually tie this shit right.
"You'd think after all the fancy parties you've been to with your father... Or maybe being head of a major company you'd know how to tie a tie by now." I turned around at the familiar voice. My mom stood there watching me. She reached for the tie and moved her hands in seconds tying it effortlessly.
"There you go. You look so handsome Maxwell."
I took a look in the mirror to see her work. "Thanks."
She go Close to me and took a few sniffs. "Why do you smell-" she grabbed my face. "Have you been drinking?" I snatched her hand away from me. "Barely, don't act surprised." She rubbed her hand across her forehead like she's stressed out. What she gotta be stressed for? "No more alcohol until the reception. In fact..." She grabbed the trash can by the door and started dropping every bottle in sight in the trash.
"What are you doing?"
"Removing any distractions. You all need to be focused. Especially you Max. Besides your father will be here any minute. I don't need him thinking I can't keep this wedding together cause you're all drunk before guest even show up."
I shook my head and started fixing my hair in the mirror. "It's not that deep mom. If I'm drunk, I'm drunk, it doesn't matter. I just need to repeat what the pastor says and then say I do, kiss Olivia, smile in some pictures, and go home. I'm not here to have a good time. I'm just here so your husband will leave me the fuck alone." I looked for my mom in the mirror to see her out of sight. "You're not ever listening." I turned around to see her opening the door.
"I can never leave you alone Max."
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