"Hey Rai, you have a minute? I need to meet you somewhere?" Mikey asked immediately after I answered the phone.
"Yeah, where do you want to meet? The ladies are here at the hotel getting ready."
"I'll come to you, we can catch a quick breakfast."
"Ok."
Mikey came to the hotel and scooped me up. We decided to go down the street to a diner. I was a little nervous. I wanted to apologize. He should be focused on getting down that isle not me fighting. Only a few hours left.
Seated comfortably at the small low country diner, we quickly placed our orders. Both of us settled on the French toast and fruit. I was still a little embarrassed. That was my first fight in all my years of living.
"I'm sorry Mikey." "I'm sorry for yelling at you." We reacted simultaneously. We glanced at each other and laughed. That made me relax a bit. "I can't believe that lady came all the way to Florida for A3. After thinking it over, I think you might've done yourself a favor. People like that, sometimes need their ass kicked. I just didn't want you getting into trouble and messing up your record. You work so hard. I don't want some clown messing things up for you."
"I get it, I'm hanging up my gloves." I giggled.
"Keep em' close, for when somebody try you. Then you whoop their ass like I taught you. Her coming here was disrespectful and weird. So I understand your hostility. —You're a little crazy too though." He laughed, I smiled shaking my head.
"Ha ha, not funny. You know I love that man."
"I know you do and I know A3 love you too. I'm glad you two are happy and all that. It's been a long bumpy road, but I'm here. My bestfriend is madly in love with my little sister despite all of the adversities, he still is."
"I love you despite, even after all of our adversities. Don't you forget that." I reminded him, we shared our famous winking smile, which we inherited from mama Laurie. "I love you too baby sis'."
"I wonder what mama Laurie would say, about the fight." I raised my brows. "She probably would be upset about it overall but low- key rooting and cheering you on." He chuckled, I nodded agreeing.
"I could hear her and aunt Anitah now, 'Rai beat that crazy chick up. I bet she won't try this mess again. If she do Ima' whoop her ass myself'." He tried mimicking mama Laurie and her twin sister, we continued laughing.
"Aunt Anitah probably would say all that, mama Laurie would just laugh at her." I smiled reminiscing. "Man I miss Mama Laurie. Her smile alone would make you—"
"Sorry to cut you off but I need to tell you a story. One you've been asking about since forever. And I don't want to get married today until you hear it." He got serious taking a sip of his apple juice, that was placed on the table. We were waiting on our food, the diner was packed. Our ticket finally was up next to go in. I nodded my head for him to proceed.
"I never told you about our parents. You were four when they were murdered. I was ten and I remember everything. I couldn't forget it if I tried. For years I had nightmares." He took a much needed deep breath as his energy shifted. I held my breath waiting for him to continue. This was always an off limits topic for him. Even in therapy he wouldn't talk about it, much.
"Know that they loved us Rai. They were trying to get clean. They were in too deep. Two drug addicts trying to get sober without rehab or anything was basically impossible for them." I nodded releasing my breath. I had zero emotions to display at the moment. I just wanted to finally hear from him what happened.
"Mom would lay next to you, singing you to sleep at night. I'd lay at the foot of your bed hugging at her feet. Which would result in me falling asleep and dad carrying me to my room." He lightly chuckled.
"I remember we used to go to the beach and hang out at the big pier on second ave. We stayed out there for hours. Those were the good times. They truly tried to be good parents." He continued, I straightened my poster listening attentively.
"There was a side to them I feared. They would drink and down pills all day. Snorted and did basically anything to get high. They blew through so much money. It was a prayer every day for food.
Dad started hanging with some guys who helped him get put on. He was selling and was actually good at it. He put us in a better position financially, for a little while. But they couldn't stop using." He shook his head. "Anyway, they got caught up in some bad debt with the wrong people."
"Did you see it happen?" I questioned, although it was apparent he did. His horrid expression gave me my answer. For him to live with those memories every day was unimaginable. Both of us had very traumatic things we endured at a young age.
He nodded his head slowly. A tear rolled down his face, he quickly wiped it away. "It was one night after we were already in bed. I heard some arguing. I got up and stood by my room door. I peaked down the hall noticing a light on. The yelling picked up. The next thing I heard was a slamming noise." He took a breath. "I rushed out of the room and over to yours. I closed your door and locked it. That's what dad taught me to do. He always repeated what to do if something was to ever happen. It was drill into me. —I slowly walked down the hall peeping around the corner. There were three men, two of them had guns pointed to mom and dads head."
More tears flowed down his face, this time he allowed them to fall. "Mom pleaded with them. She dropped to her knees crying, begging for them to work something out. None of that mattered, because the next moment I saw the guy smiling at dad. Without saying anything the guy pulled the trigger. Moms blood splattered everywhere, bullet to the head. Dad tried to move to see about her but they quickly shot him too." Mikey breathed out roughly but managed to use the napkins on the table to wipe his face. I was trying to control my breathing. I was feeling all types of emotions. This was something I've always wanted to know, and now I did.
"As soon as the guy killed dad I screamed. The guy who shot dad was about to walk over to me, but the guy that didn't have a gun stopped him. I ran down the hall toward my room, the men left. I slowly came out of the room once it was ok. I tip toed in to mom and dads room and dialed 911. I stayed on the phone until they arrived." He harshly wiped at his eyes with the napkins.
"I just wish you could've known them. They loved us, they were trying to be better. They were addicts. If they knew better they would've done better. It may not look like it but they did try to get better. They tried so many times. They were just in too deep." He sniffled gaining control of his emotions. I, surprisingly wasn't crying. I was more shocked to finally hear him speak on this. I was also overwhelmed with the way I felt.
"I have photos of all of us." He reached in his pocket. He pulled out a small white envelope. He placed the envelope on the table and slid it over to me. I stared at it, slowly taking a breath. "Mom was the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. Dad got lucky with her." He sniffled laughing, making me smile.
"I want you to have these. I'm sorry I waited so long. With the nightmares and everything, this was always tough. —I'm trying to open up more and speak on things that's tough. I'm trying to be like you." He chuckled, wiping his eyes once more.
Our food arrived, breaking my stare from the little white envelope on the table. Pushing my plate to the side, I went ahead and picked up the envelope. A tear finally rolled down my face. "Thank you."
I smoothed my right index finger along the edges before opening it. I was no longer hungry. I couldn't believe I was about to see pictures of my mom. I've seen pictures of my dad back in Karen. Also mama Laurie had photos of him, around the house. But they were younger photos before he left the family. Sadly I didn't remember anything about my mom and no photos of her. If it wasn't for the photos growing up and the stories. I wouldn't know a thing about my dad either.
"Wow, they are beautiful. —Mom, wow, look at her." I wiped my eyes. Mikey and I shared a laugh staring at the photos. "Yep that's our dad Mark and our mother Lorraine." Hearing him say their names gave me chills. That's the first I've ever heard my mothers name mentioned.
"Lorraine," I repeated smiling up at him. "Raina and Lorraine, then there's Markus and Michael."
"Yep, dad named us. He always called you his twin. You clung to him more. I was a mamas boy, through and through." He stated proudly.
"They look so young and in love." I traced my fingers over one of the photos of them together. "They didn't mind showing it either. He used to tap mom on her butt. I would say eww. Then he'd say, 'knock it off baby boy. Saying eww won't make me stop loving on your mama'." He deepened his voice trying to mimic him, we laughed.
"Its crazy, because A3's the same way with you, with his affection. He doesn't care who is in the room. He and dad have a lot in common. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw Adrian loving on you. It spooked me. Especially with the way he cried when you were in the hospital. I didn't know how to take any of it. I was pissed and confused at the same time."
"I get it, our secret came out and you were pissed. Then seeing his genuine love for me shook you. For one, you weren't used to seeing that side of him, and you knew the idea of a relationship was all new to me. You're human Mikey. And I'll take that as a compliment, Adrian reminding you of dad." I gleamed.
"Yeah he does." He smiled proudly at me.
"I can't believe you're able to remember so much. At ten years old though." I was amazed. "I won't let myself forget. Although I used to think some of it was a dream. Some things are just pierced because a lot of my life I actually don't remember. But those times with mom and dad I remember clearly."
"Look at these. I found these too." He pulled out more photos, three of me and three of him.
"Oh no, lets put these back in the envelope. Two words, —glow up." I laughed while sorting through allof them. "We've been through it." He laughed along with me. We shared a look smiling, shaking our heads.
"You're ready for today?"
"More than ready." He replied with no hesitation. "Good, me too. You have an amazing bride and son waiting. My work is done." I playfully pretended to wipe sweat beads from my forehead. We laughed again.
"Thank you for that night you stepped in. You drove me over to Leahs after our big fight. You made us talk it out." He humbly stated. I smiled letting him know he didn't be to thank me. I knew all along they were destined.
"I guess we better pack this up to go. You need to get back to Leah and I need to get KJ squared away." He signaled for the waiter. She came over immediately giving us the ticket and to go boxes. We packed up our food, Mikey took care of the bill.
My phone sounded off. I pulled it out of my pullover sweater pocket. "Speaking of Leah." I showed him her name on my screen. He smiled at it blushing so hard his ears turned red.
"Hello," I answered. "Is everything ok, are you on your way back?" She anxiously asked. "I'm about leave now. We're not too far. It shouldn't take me long." I smiled at Mikey paying close attention to me on the phone with his wife to be.
"Ok," she took a deep breath. "How is he?"
My smile grew lighting up my entire face. Mikey was still blushing away. "He's great, He can't wait to marry you."
She squealed. "How's KJ? Did Adrian leave to get him from my aunt yet?"
"Yes, he already left. He texted me before I got to the diner, saying he was on his way there to get him from her hotel.
"Ok." She quieted.
"Everything's going to be ok, it's ok to be nervous. You got this Leah." I soothed.
"I just want everything to be perfect. Then my mom is here. I just, I'm stressed." Her voice shook a little. "Leah, you are winning. You have your career, an amazing son and you have my brother. You did all this without their help. Everything will be perfect. We are all here, the squad has your back."
"Yeah." She let out a breath.
"Let me talk to her." Mikey held his hand out to get my phone. I shooed it away.
"No, you know she said she didn't want to see or hear from you before the wedding." I held my free hand out in front of him. "Let me see the phone." He begged while reaching for it, but I leaned back.
"I'm not giving you my phone." I attempted to get up to talk to Leah in private. "Aight you don't have to leave. Just tell her to ask Sienna to give her the box." He compromised.
"What box?" I questioned plopping back down in my seat. "Just tell her what I said, nosey." He laughed. I relayed the message, Leah went ahead and spoke to Sienna. She was shifting around I guess now opening the box.
"Well, what is it?" I asked, really wanting to know. "Uh— Rai," she blurted out with laughter. She then spoke with caution. "I'm good now. See you when you get here. Love you bye." She hurried ending the call. I stared at my phone, I was lost. What hell just happened?
Mikey laugh shaking his head. I examined his face, waiting to see if he was going to tell me or not. "What was in the box?"
"Rai, trust me you don't want to know. Something for when we get to Anguilla." He scratched the back of his head.
"Let's go." I got up with a deadpanned expression grabbing my Togo box. He continued laughing. "I love you."
"I love you too." We hugged it out before heading toward the exit.
"You two are so nasty. Whatever it is, thank you for sparing me. I don't even want to know." I mumbled allowing the door to swing shut behind us. He laughed again.
****
The wedding was absolutely beautiful, wasn't a dry eye in sight. What did it for me was when KJ walked Leah down the isle. He stood with them as a part of their union. I tried to keep it together, me being the maid of honor and all.
We were at the reception. Leah had the winter wonderland theme she always wanted. She swayed down the aisle in a beautiful princess styled dress. A diamond-laced veil at about ten feet long. She was absolutely stunning.
All the women wore Smokey grey off-the-shoulder long tulle-styled dresses. The guy's tuxedos were navy blue with a Smokey grey shirt and tie. KJs favorite colors.
The outdoor tent was set up nicely, with dim lighting and crystal jewels hanging from the ceilings. Everything was winter white and gold with beautiful white lilies all over the room.
She ended up getting three cakes, she couldn't choose a design so Mikey went back and told the decorator he wanted all three. They took up an entire large table. Everything was absolutely amazing, all the way down to the menu and the ice sculptured Martini chiller.
Leah, Mikey and KJ deserves every bit of this. He finally had his Queen.
My man however looked sexy as hell, the way that navy blue complimented his then grey eyes. He was too fresh and I couldn't wait for the night to end.
We've been at the reception for a while having a blast. The guys did a "Do You Remember The Time" dance challenge. My brother thinks just because his name is Michael Jackson he could dance like him, not.
Next it was toast time. Leah's aunt spoke as well as just about everyone in the squad. Adrian was finishing up his toast to the bride and groom. Which borderline had me in tears. The bromance was too real. "You're my brother, and I love you. That won't ever change. —So again congratulations, you both deserve this happiness." He raised his glass to Leah and Mikey. Everyone around the room followed suit, sealing the toast.
"Ok, now I'm going to pass the torch over to the love of my life. Y'all give it up for my baby, Rai." Adrian announced and everyone started clapping. I stood up slowly. I was a little nervous. Not because I was speaking, but because I knew I would get emotional.
"Thank you Punkin." I praised into the microphone making everyone laugh. I took a deep breath bringing my attention over to Leah. She stood beside my brother behind the long table where they sat for the evening.
"Leah, you've been nothing short of amazing since the first time I met you. —In the grocery store that day. Our lives have been greatly impacted since. I thank you for blessing us with our KJ. And yes I said our because he's that. He's loved by so many, his village is so big." I smiled, taking a moment to stare at all the people here showing love and support.
"Over the years you've been there for me, in ways I'll never forget. I'm so grateful to have a sister like you, I love you. —Thank you for giving my brother a chance to win you over. You've overcame so much. I'm proud of you. Seeing you hit that runway walking down that aisle today filled my heart." We stared at each other briefly full of emotions, both wiping our tears.
She smiled mouthing, "I love you too."
"Mikey." My voice cracked a little, grabbing his full attention. I was almost breathless, with a fresh set of tears forming in my eyes. He stared at me barely keeping it together himself. Adrian quickly handed me tissues before rubbing small circles on my lower back.
"I want to start by saying thank you. —Thank you for finding it within yourself to live out your dreams. I say that because a major part of our lives together was spent with me as your only focus." I paused needing a moment to breathe. "This is all I have ever wanted for you, for you to find your own happiness. Something just for you."
"I can't give you back your youth. I can only appreciate our growth and how much we've overcome. You're a husband and a father now, officially. My advice to you is to continue being the great man you already are. I love you always." I smiled big wiping my eyes, making him laugh a little.
" —And please, please hurry up and give KJ some siblings. I'll babysit. Congratulations to you both." I ended my speech making everyone laugh through their tears.
I walked over to where Mikey stood, handed him the microphone then wrapped my arms around him. We held on to each other. He spoke softly, "I love you too and I'm so proud of you."
I hugged Leah and KJ then quickly made my way back to my seat. Not wanting to take up more time. "Aight, I guess it's my turn." Mikey said into the microphone.
"Thank you all for coming out and celebrating with us. I love you all." He smiled around the room. He then turned to his wife and son. "I love you both, you know that. Thank you for making me a husband and a father, I'm complete. Thank you for putting up with my bullshit. It took a lot of loss arguments and tears to get to this point." He laughed, she tapped his arm laughing as well. The three of them embraced each other. He whispered something in Leah's ear making her blush.
"I have a little something for you both to show my appreciation." He reached down in both his pockets pulling out two boxes. He gave Leah a small box from Tiffany's and KJ a rectangular box from Cartier. The three of them embraced each other once more. KJ smiled a little while holding the box. Mr. Xan, his dog of course was seated right beside him. He was also apart of the wedding.
Everyone smiled gazing at them.
"Now— I have a surprise for my baby sis." Mikey gestured for me to come back over to him, so I did. It was unexpected so I eyed him a bit.
"I have someone here I think you will appreciate very much. I reached out to them and they were more than excited to make this trip." He continued, I looked around puzzled. The room was full to capacity. We had; Leah's coworkers, friends, people from the dance studios and our family from Nairobi here. Even Mikeys coworkers came. Everyone was in attendance. I didn't know who it could be. I waited for him to go on.
"A lot of y'all know my sister is a survivor, that's no longer a secret. Recently back in DC, she's been speaking out and talking to a lot of young kids and adults. Sharing her story and raising awareness. My message to everyone in this room." He looked around. "—If you've ever witnessed someone close to you battling past trauma, my advice to you is for you to get help as well. And be receptive to it. You alone won't have all the tools you need to help that person. You have to start there, —trust me I know firsthand."
He shook his head. "I wish I had that advice growing up with my sister. So please, if you don't leave with anything else leave with that." Everyone clapped and cheered. I was grinning hard. He was right, and that goes both ways, because both of us dealt with a lot. We were young, we did what we knew how to do. I agree if outside help is available to you then don't take it for granted.
I smiled proudly as Mikey continued to speak. "Now back to my surprise." He peered at me cheesing from ear to ear. "May I have Mr. Daniel Tomsin and his son DJ come up here please?"
I gasped holding my mouth, in shock. I lost the last bit of control I had left. Searching around the room my eyes landed on Mr. Tomsin and DJ walking towards me.
I ran into their arms meeting them half way. It felt like one of those scenes in a movie, where everything was happening in slow motion. I held on to the both of them swaying from side to side. "I know some of you are wondering who these two people are but-" Mikey cleared his throat trying to hold back his tears. I held on to Mr. Tomsin and DJ as tight as I could while we listened.
"This is the man who saved my sister's life. This was her childhood neighbor and his son. My sister and I were separated at an early age. He made sure my letters got to her, he let her use his phone. He even made a call to CPS, because he had suspected something wasn't right but all he had was his gut feeling. He had no proof of any wrongdoings, but he stayed on CPS and the police ass about it." He cleared his throat again.
"He reached out to me trying to help figure out how to get her out of there.— I would talk to Rai and she would always deny anything was going on. So it wasn't easy. A few months later in the middle of the night Rai came crawling to his doorstep. Her weak ten year old body with blood everywhere, banged on his door. That was all the proof he needed.
He called the police, they came shortly after. When she was in the ambulance, the officers asked him some questions. When he got a moment he called notifying me." He continued as tears rolled down his face.
"I wasn't able to get to her when she was in the hospital, but I knew she was safe. Mr. Tomsin stayed with her as long as he could. I was running around trying to figure out how to get her permanently with me. I was sixteen years old and kept getting the run around about our case. I was coming up empty. I didn't want my sister in the system anymore. It failed her." He sniffled, Leah comforted him while he went on.
"Mr. Tomsin helped me to locate our grandmother, who y'all know as mama Laurie. He hired a retired investigator, who started a business helping people locate family members. It surprisingly didn't take long.
Mr. Tomsin also put me in contact with some lawyers he knew. They got a head start on getting everything sorted out. —Mama Laurie didn't even know her son had kids. He never wanted the family to find him, he was battling with his addiction. She didn't even know he passsed away until after we found her."
"Anyway, I can go on all day talking about Mr. Tomsin, but I don't want to keep y'all. I just want to say thank you for being our angel. You could've looked the other way but you didn't. I owe you everything." Mikey looked over to the three of us, me still an emotional wreck.
"Nonsense, being here is more than enough. You don't owe me a thing. I did what I was supposed to do." Mr. Tomsin finally was able to speak. They shared a genuine heartfelt smile.
I wanted to reach out to Mr. Tomsin but I was always afraid of revisiting. I felt like it would be too real, to even get close to that part of my life.
"I have my own little family now and we're looking to expand." Mikey looked down at Leah and kissed her. "Adrian, my best man —take care of Rai. And thank you for being respectful, patient and kind to her. My sister's my heart." Mikey and Adrian shared a look smiling at each other.
"Always." He agreed.
After Mikeys speech leaving everyone in tears, Leah said a few words keeping it short. We had a moment of silence for Mama Laurie. Shortly after that the DJ dropped the beat. Everyone got up heading back to the dance floor, joining in on the electric slide.
I introduce Mr. Tomsin and his son DJ to Adrian and everyone else. This time I wouldn't lose contact. Adrian and I made plans to do brunch with them soon. "I can't believe it's been nine years since we've seen you. We missed you Raina, but was happy to see you start a new life." Mr. Tomsin finally got a chance to speak to me.
"Same here, I missed you guys too." I smiled at him and DJ standing in front of me.
"Such an honor to meet you both. You played a major part in her life." Adrian smiles at me and I did the same. "I'm just glad she's safe and doing well. And same here nice to meet you." They all shook hands, then pulled each other in for a hug.
"You remember when we dyed all of my dads white socks." DJ spoke making us both laugh, remembering that day. "We wanted to use them to make puppets.
"Yes, we had all of his socks in the backyard. He came out yelling and almost fell down the step. He couldn't do anything but laugh." I added, reminiscing about my time living in South Carolina. It made me smile to have those happy memories. Especially after all that happened. "Then we finally had our puppet show up and running. Dad realized you were actually good at it." DJ replied still chuckling.
"See, you were destined to do plays and shows. I bet she was bossing you around too." Adrian laughed with DJ. "Yep." They all laughed.
"Only because I'm older, and you needed my guidance little one." I pointed at DJ jokingly. He and Adrian shared a humorous expression then shook their heads. Mr. Tomsin laughed at them.
"Whatever."
"Aww, it's nothing wrong with that babe. You just like structure and order. You've always been like that and it's ok." He kissed the top of my head. I playfully glared at all three of them.
We stood laughing and sharing more stories just catching up. They recently moved to Connecticut. DJ started his freshman year of college. So they weren't going to be too far from us when we move to New York.
Cyrene caught the bouquet. I was hoping I did. It landed perfectly in her hands. She wasn't even trying to catch it, like I was. Thankfully Troy came to my rescue and snatched it away from her then handed the flowers to me. He shook his head talking about, "Hell naw, here you go Rai." We busted out laughing.
Trey caught the garter, everyone cheered him on. My best friend Sienna and I shared a silly face with our tongues hanging out, doing a little dance chanting. "We're getting married."
The night was coming to an end. Leah and Mikey were saying goodbye, making their way towards the exit. They had a flight to catch to Anguilla. She kept her word, not acknowledging her mom and cousins. Leah did get her mother's number from her aunt. She said she would be in touch.
KJ and his Aunt Dawn were heading back to Atlanta the next morning. As for me and my man, we were heading back in two days. Spending a little more time in Miami.
"Babe, guess what." He sung into my ear as he held me from behind. We were still on the dance floor, along with a few others.
"What?" I smiled leaning my head back against his chest closing my eyes.
"The wedding's over."
"Yes, it is." I nodded slowly feeling him pressed against my backside. "Can we leave now?" He pouted.
"Yes my whining baby, we can leave." I bit my lip. Before I could say anything else. He pulled us away rushing out the door. I laughed uncontrollably.
{Song in M/M: "Beauty Marks" By Ciara (her wedding song/visual)}
{New photo: Milo Ventimiglia Ansel Elgort, Jurnee Smollet-Bell, Aldis Hodge}
{🚨Doing a 2 part epilogue then that will be a wrap for this book guys!!!🚨}
{Thank you! My first book on Wattpad! It's been an awesome 2 months.}
{I didn't think it was necessary to do a full wedding ceremony. This book isn't based on Mike and Leah's story. They are important. All of the characters are. So no detailed wedding, just the reception. I hope you guys were ok with that decision.}
{We already know how Mike feel about Leah and the same with her.}
{The epilogue will be a 5 year time skip. Hints why they did the little game at the bachelorette party. You never know what the future holds.😉}
{...Don't worry guys this is still a love story.}
{Thoughts?}
{Stay tuned for an update. Please vote 🗳, Comment 💬, and Share 📪. Send me some 💜💜💜 or something.}
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