Noel
Thursday, December 24
"Mommy! Can you plug the lights up?" I asked my momma as I stepped back from the Christmas tree, now fully decorated in time for Christmas. She slowly shuffled her way to the outlet and plugged the tree lights up which immediately caught Kaleb's attention, who was sitting back in the chair beside Dana. His eyes lit up and he dropped the bottle from his hands, clapping while drool poured from his mouth
"Somebody fell in love with the lights" momma said with a laugh and I walked over to Kaleb, picking him up
"Aunties baby in love with the lights?"
I walked him closer to the tree and he started grabbing for ornaments so I pulled him back
"Noel, when you gotta tattoo?" Dana asked while she looked up from her phone and my momma arched up her eyebrow
"YOUUU gotta tattoo?"
"Yeah. Kentrell and I went for his birthday" I answered while I turned to show her the tattoo on my back which was exposed through the pajama tank top I was wearing. I could feel her warm hand on my back as she looked at it and she made a noise
"I'm surprised you outta all people gotta tattoo"
"Kentrell talked me into getting it. He sat there and got two so I knew I could sit through one"
"Kentrell got so many damn tattoos you can't tell if he gotta new one" Dana muttered
"What did he get" my momma asked and I shrugged
"He added onto his sleeve and he got another one on his chest with my name on it"
They both stopped what they were doing to look at me
"Kentrell got your name tattooed on him?" Dana asked and I nodded, making her laugh "gotta be in love"
"Forreal" My momma agreed as she took kaleb from me "I love Derek but there's no way in hell im tattooing him on me"
"We leave stupid decisions like that to people like Kentrell momma" Dana said with a laugh but I didn't laugh. Instead I frowned
"Kentrell is not stupid"
"Well Whatchu call it?"
Just as Dana responded with that, the door opened and Kentrell walked in with Elena and Kd behind him. While it sounded like Elena and KD were arguing like usual, Kentrell seemed annoyed
"Don't EVER make me ride in a car with them two again" Kentrell said while he shook his head and threw a bag on the chair but it ended up hitting Dana
"Oww you asshole"
"You saw the bag coming. Should've moved"
She held a mean look on her face then looked inside the bag while my momma laughed and hugged Kentrell
"Ma, you gotta send me some more baby pictures. Noel deleted the ones you sent me"
Momma looked at me and frowned
"Why did you do that?"
"Why would you send him those pictures?"
"Cause they're cute"
"They're embarrassing"
"Child please. I got some real embarrassing ones if you want me to send those to him. Ain't that right kaleb" she said while looking at Kaleb who was busy smiling at Kentrell.
"Whatchu smiling at me for?" Kentrell asked kaleb and he started smiling even harder, bouncing up and down while kicking his legs before reaching to go to Kentrell
"Ion know why my child likes you so much" Dana said to Kentrell and he grabbed Kaleb from my momma
"Especially as much as he bullies my nephew" Elena joined in and Kentrell looked at her
"Don't worry bout me and kaleb. Stay over there with Kd"
Kd muttered something and I guess Elena heard it because she looked at him and rolled her eyes before standing up and walked off to the room. I looked at Kd and he just pulled out his phone, acting as if he didn't care that she walked off
"What they got going on?"
Kentrell shrugged and my momma looked back towards the hall once she heard the door close
"Them two right there just as crazy as they come"
I laughed and shook my head "let me go talk to Elena"
I headed down the hall to the room and opened the door slowly as I walked in. Elena was laid back on the bed on her phone. She looked up at me and then back down at the phone
"What you and Kd got going on?" I asked with a laugh and she shook her head
"Nothing. He just aggravating and I'm not in the mood right now"
"When is Kd not aggravating Lena?" I asked and she shrugged before sighing. I looked on the bed and laughed once I saw the pain relievers beside her
"It's that time of the month?"
"Hell Yeah"
"Sucks, especially since it's Christmas Eve"
"Well not everybody can be like you were last year. Waking the whole damn house up"
I rolled my eyes and punched her arm
"Shut up. At least y'all ain't gotta worry about that this year"
"Cause y'all got y'all own place now"
The sound of more voices filled the living room so I knew everybody else was now here.
"Let me go back in this living room. You coming?"
"I'll be out there in a minute"
I nodded and walked out of the room to go back into the living room.
"NO-ELLL WADDUP GIRL!" Ben greeted me enthusiastically as he flopped down on the chair beside Dana. He then looked at her and smirked "Waddup Babymomma"
"Ben...." Dana said as she looked at him and I laughed. Kentrell sat on the other chair playing with kaleb and I couldn't help but smile.
"Look at you on uncle duties" I smiled and he looked up at me with a smile and the door opened again. This time Makayla, her son and boomer walked in
"Noellllll" boomer called out my name and Makayla's son laughed
"noelllllll" he mocked boomer and everybody laughed
"Kayla you staying over here for Christmas Eve?" Ben asked her and she shook her head
"No, I'm just stopping by. I had boomer come with me to go deliver a nice Christmas present next door so I figured why not come speak"
"A Christmas present next door?" I asked suspiciously and she nodded
"Yeah. Since he wanted a DNA test on a child that he knows is his, I decided to put the test results in a pretty gift box along with some child support papers"
"Damn" Kd said out loud as he started cracking up "I know he feel shamed"
"He was pissed. Especially since I gave it to him in front of his corny ass friends. Especially Eric, that's the one he always trying act hard in front of"
"Eric?" Kentrell instantly asked
"Yeah, he practically lives over there"
I looked at Kentrell and saw he now had a more serious look on his face.
"Noel Whatchu got my boy for Christmas this year?" Ben asked me and I shrugged
"Ion know. Whatchu got him?"
"Not a damn thing. I got something for yo sister though. And it can come wrapped or unwrapped, her choice" he responded while looking at Dana with a smile and she rolled her eyes
"You got 5 seconds to move away from me.. where yo baby at lil boy?"
"With his momma. I been took him home, why? Kaleb wanna see his brother?"
"Boy...."
Everybody burst out laughing again and my eyes shifted to Kentrell yet again. He was typing on his phone while Kaleb stood up on his lap slapping down on the top of his head
"Kaleb, stop before you give my man brain damage"
"Forreal. Brain already damaged enough" Dana added and Kentrell looked at her while I grabbed Kaleb from him
"Dana... go catch something"
"All she gotta do is give ben a chance and that ain't gone be no problem" Kd joined in which made Ben look at him some type of way
"Go check on yo girlfriend"
"I'm good. She need her space"
"Kd shut up. Stupid ass nigga" Elena mumbled while she walked into the living room. Kaleb laid his head on my shoulder so I sat down beside Kentrell and he grabbed my hand to play with the ring Kentrell got me last year for Christmas
"Aye, you can't take this off" Kentrell told kaleb as he grabbed my hand "yo auntie lose that ring and she lose her life"
I looked at him some type of way and dropped my mouth open
"Y'all We bout to head out" Boomer said as he dapped the boys up. He slapped me upside the forehead and I frowned
"Aye, y'all be safe out there" Kentrell told them and Ben agreed
"I ain lying. You know don't nobody like us cause of Yb potato head ass"
"Nigga fuck you"
Boomer and Makayla both laughed as they left. Once they were gone we carried on with conversation and Kaleb eventually fell asleep in my arms
"That was crazy. Everybody kept tellin Jamie that baby wasn't Ben's and now look" Elena said and Kentrell nodded
"The lil mufucka is his. Ben was at the house crying like a bitch too"
"Ain nobody was cryin. Fuck you" Ben replied to Kentrell
"Nigga you had tears in yo eyes. Stop lying"
Ben muttered something while everybody laughed at him. Next thing I know the sounds of gunshots went off causing everybody to duck.
"What the hell" Dana yelled and I held kaleb close to me. Once the shots stopped my momma ran out of the kitchen
"Is everybody okay?!"
"Yeah, we good" Elena answered as everybody got up and Kentrell looked at her
"She talking to the people that matters"
Elena frowned and rolled her eyes.
"What was that?" Dana asked and Kentrell walked outside with everybody else followed behind him. It was over at Judah's house. I could see a group of boys crowded around somebody as a a girl let out a cry
"Eric! No no no, get upppp!!"
I looked at Kentrell and he just nonchalantly shook his head
"Tough" he muttered before going back into the house