"Happa birfday to you, happa birfday to you. Happa birfday dear daddy, happa birfday to you!"
Darius smiled as Ada sat in his lap, singing "Happy Birthday" to him for the 10th time that day. But, he was always happy to hear her little four-year-old voice sing to him, her little eyes shining as she happily looked up at him. He had just come home from work, still in his McDonald's uniform as Ada sat on his lap. Anari was leaning on his knee as she watched TV while eating an ice cream sandwich, licking her little hands clean as it dripped everywhere.
"Dada, happa birfday!" Ada said as she looked lovingly at her father as he chuckled, giving her cheek a pinch.
______________________________
Cameron bit his lip as he hit a one-handed freeze, causing his crew to erupt into yelps and cheers as he landed back onto his feet, continuing to break. Taj jumped in excitement as Cameron moved all around the dance mat, Tyler recording on his camera.
"Come on Truth!" Ray yelled as he nodded his head to the music, crouched down a bit because he was going to take Cameron's place as soon as he finished.
Cameron finished up with a shoulder spin, standing back on his feet before he pointed to Ray who immediately hit a tuck and roll before he began to break on the mat. Cameron nodded and smiled as he caught his breath, pulling his pants up a bit and fixing his shirt as he and Lauryn looked at each other, impressed.
Tyler walked to his tripod, which was in between Ada and Isis as they sat in the middle of the street, watching XMOB do their thing at the end of the cul-de-sac. He propped the camera onto it so that he could capture his own moves.
"Let's go!" Taj yelled as Ray windmilled to end off his take, letting Taj jump in. Immediately Taj began to break in a fast pace before he began to spin on his head, causing Cameron and Tyler to bump shoulders with each other in excitement as they cheered Taj on.
"He keep playin', he gonna snap his neck," Isis joked as Taj continued to rotate on his head before Lauryn got on the mat, causing Ada to let out a chuckle.
Ada continued to watch as the crew took turns, her knees pulled up to her chest as she slightly rocked back and forth, listening to the music playing loudly from Taj's speakers. She slightly leaned to the side as Tyler walked past her after he finished putting the camera up, walking back to the mat. She smiled a bit as Lauryn finished up, Cameron jumping in for another turn. She watched as he danced, his face in concentration as he slightly smiled, his feet moving below him as his friends cheered him on.
She felt tears pile up in her eyes, so she quickly looked at the ground as she secretly wiped them and gave a quick sniff before she looked back up, giving a small smile as Isis let out a hyped yell when Tyler began to dance.
They were over Tyler's house, breaking and having the time of their lives. Tyler's younger brother was having his 6th birthday party, and many children were inside of the house celebrating with him. So while the children's party was going on inside, Cameron and the rest of XMOB were all outside breaking. XMOB decided to have a breaking session since everyone was in L.A. at the same time, which wasn't something that happened often at that point since everyone had new jobs and different things happening in their lives as they all got older. This was also the first time Cameron was seeing his friends since he got back home from New York.
"Damn!" Taj yelled as Tyler ended with a freeze while on his head. Everyone giggled and cheered, ending their session for the day. They had been breaking for about 40 minutes at that point. Tyler ran to his camera to stop the recording as they all dapped each other up, satisfied with their session.
"Taj, when did you get so good at head spins bro?" Cameron asked as he giggled in astonishment as he pushed Taj's hat further on his head as they walked from the mat towards the tripod.
"Neck skrong as a bitch," Isis joked before she squealed and dodged out of the way as Taj tried to pluck her in the head.
"Your damn head is skrong," Taj yelled as he grabbed her arm, dragging her to him and he roughly poked her in the stomach, causing her to scream.
"I know you're not talking... lego head," Lauryn insulted before she ran behind Cameron, grabbing onto his shirt and using him as a shield from her brother as he grabbed at her. Cameron shook his head as Lauryn let go of him and began to run when Taj started chasing her.
"Taj! Leave me alone!" she screamed as Taj picked up a small rock, throwing it at her as he continued to run after her.
Cameron gave a small smile as he watched Ada get up from the ground before she bent back over to tie her shoes. He looked around at the sky as the sun was beginning to set. The birthday party was beginning to end, most of the guests backing out of the driveway. Cameron waved at one of the little kids as they got into the car with their parents. He had taken pictures with some of them earlier.
Ada quickly swiped at her eye as she pretended to tie her shoe before she stood up again, coming face to face with Cameron. He gave her a smile and gave her a quick rub on the cheek before he turned away from her when Ray called his name.
"Cam! Cam, your phone!" Ray yelled as he was picking up the dance mat, pointing to Cameron's phone that he had left on the ground. Cameron jogged toward him to retrieve his phone, leaving Ada to watch as Tyler folded up his tripod.
"Taj, I'm not playing!" Isis yelled as Taj picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. "Put me the hell down!"
"Nah, you was talking all that shit. Since I couldn't catch Lauryn noodle bodied ass, you the capture!" Taj playfully yelled as Lauryn stuck her tongue out as she walked backwards away from him.
"Why me?!" Isis yelled as she smacked his butt, trying to get down.
"Don't be smacking my ass now!" Taj yelled back, causing them to argue as he pretended to drop her. "Imma get Ada too, then you won't be lonely. Come here lil thug!"
Ada shook her head and backed up from him, only to be stopped as she ran into something. She looked up, seeing Cameron.
"Aht! Nope don't even," Cameron said as he grabbed her arm, putting her behind him, playfully puffing his chest out.
"Nigga, get out my way before I throw you over my shoulder too, half pint," Taj replied, wincing as Isis dug her nails into his back, causing him to put her down. "Ow! Damn Isis!"
"I told you to put me down! Looking like a damn nightlight, bright ass," she yelled as she ran away as he began to chase her again. "Lauryn! Lo get your brother!"
Cameron grabbed Ada's hand as he began to follow Ray and Tyler into the house, Lauryn, Isis and Taj following suit as they jokingly argued with each other.
It was around the time where the party turned from being for the children to being for the adults. Tyler's relatives broke out the card table, and the wine coolers came out. The music changed from "Baby Shark" to Wale. The only children that were left were some of Tyler's younger cousins and his brother, and they were all in his bedroom playing with some of his new gifts he got.
XMOB and some of Tyler's older cousins all sat in the living room, talking and listening to the music as the happy shouts from the older adults came from the kitchen as they played cards. Cameron sat with his friends, catching up and joking with them as they watched Tyler and one of his cousins play Grand Theft Auto.
Ada was sitting on the other side of the living room, wedged between Isis and Lauryn as they talked to a group of about five other girls that were most likely related to Tyler. She did nothing but stare at the TV, also watching the game as she tried to clear her mind as she blocked out the girls' loud chatter as they gossiped and sipped on wine coolers. She was feeling anxious from how many people were around her at the moment, but she didn't want to disturb Cameron as he hung out with his boys, so she sucked it up and sat with Lauryn and Isis.
It was her father's birthday, and she had spent the entire day trying to keep her emotions down. This day, as well as the day her father and sister passed, was the hardest days for her to get through every year. Thankfully this year she was able to grieve away from everyone when it was the anniversary of her family's death. She had spent the day in Cameron's room alone while he was away for a photoshoot for most of that day.
But at that moment she had no choice but to be around him, along with many other people. She tried her absolute best to keep a straight face around everyone, and so far she was doing great. She would let a few tears slip here and there, but she had been able to mask it.
That is until she heard the song "Izzo" by Jay Z begin to play on the speaker. That was one of the songs her and her father loved, and immediately his face popped into her mind.
"H to the Izz-o, V to the Izz-a!" Ada rapped along to the song playing from her dad's stereo as she swayed side to side, smiling wide as her dad put on his sunglasses, mimicking Jay Z's signature hand movements.
"Not guilty, he who does not feel me is not real to me," Darius rapped, crouching down to his daughter's level as he also swayed side to side.
"Therefore he doesn't exist. So poof, vamoose, son of a bit-" Ada rapped before abruptly covering her mouth, almost saying the word "bitch".
"Ah! You almost said it!" Darius laughed as he poked at her stomach as Ada's face turned red, giggling as began to tickle her.
Ada couldn't help the tears that began running down her cheeks, causing her to quickly try and wipe them off of her face. But it was too late, Isis caught her before she could get rid of them.
"What's wrong?" Isis asked, causing all of the girls to look toward her. Ada's face began to heat up in embarrassment as she shook her head as more tears flew out.
"Aw, what's wrong Ada?" Lauryn asked as she furrowed her eyebrows, watching Ada wipe her face as she silently cried.
"What's wrong?" one of the other girls that was sitting there also asked, causing a chorus of "what's wrong's" from all of the girls as they tried to comfort her. This just made it worse for Ada, feeling anxious and embarrassed from all of the sudden attention she was receiving.
Cameron could hear them, causing him to look over toward them only to see Ada's face filled with tears as she wiped her eyes with her sleeves, Lauryn rubbing her shoulder. He furrowed his eyebrows in concern as he got up, beginning to make his way to them.
"'Scuse me," he muttered as he squeezed past one of the girls before standing over Ada. "What's the matter?" he asked her as she shook her head.
"Nothing," she mumbled.
"What?" he asked as he bent down, putting his ear closer to her so that he could hear over the music.
"Nothing," she mumbled again, causing him to look at her eyes, seeing them red as they watered.
"No, why are you crying?" he firmly asked, causing her to shake her head again.
He grabbed her hand, gently pulling her up from the couch, the two girls that were sitting on the floor moving over so that they could get past them. He took her down the hall away from everyone and where the music wasn't blasting as loud.
"What's wrong? Why are you crying?" he asked her as she kept her wrist up at her face, letting her tears go into her sleeve.
"Did someone say something to you...? What happened?" he asked. He suspected that maybe one of the girls said something mean to her. He couldn't think of any other reason of why she would just spontaneously start crying. He continued to watch as she wiped her eyes, which was useless because more tears just kept coming. He shook his head as he tried to figure out what was wrong with her.
"Ada, what is the matter?" he asked in a softer tone, pulling her into a hug. "Please, just tell me what's wrong. Did one of them say something to you?" he asked. He was honestly ready to fight someone, knowing that one of the girls over there was known for being mean to people and making slick comments. But his heart sank as she let out a cry as she answered his question.
"It's my dad's birthday," she cried into his chest. He hugged her tighter as she silently sobbed. He was taken aback, rubbing her back as she tried to calm herself down. Cameron didn't know much about Ada's relationship with her father, but he had come to learn that she seemed to have a soft spot for him, never really wanting to talk about him.
"Don't cry baby," he whispered as he ran his fingers through her hair, trying to get her to calm down. "Come on, we gonna go home."
"I'm okay," she muttered as she tried to suck her tears up, taking her face from his chest. She knew he was having fun with all of his friends, and she didn't want to be the reason that he left early.
"Come on, it's okay. Come here," he said as he backed up a bit before opening a door which revealed a bathroom. He took her inside, flipping the light switch on. He let go of her as he ripped some paper towels off of the roll, running it under some water in the sink and getting it damp.
"C'mon, wipe your face... Calm down," he said softly as he wiped her red and tear-stained face for her. She sniffed as she tried to stop herself from crying more. He threw the paper away before grabbing her hand. He turned the light back off before leading her back into the hall and to the living room again.
Ada stared at the floor, unable to look people in the face as she held onto Cameron's hand as he walked over to his boys. Ada felt so embarrassed, crying in front of all of those girls and now crying to Cameron while he should be in there with his friends. This is exactly what she was trying to avoid the whole day.
"Aight y'all, I'm heading out," he announced over the music, holding his hand out for Tyler to dap him up. Tyler furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he slowly accepted in.
"Where you going?" Taj asked as he threw his hands up.
"Yeah, where you going?" Ray asked as well.
"I'm heading home," Cameron said as he discretely nodded his head toward Ada. His friends all looked at her, watching as she stared at the floor, her eyes puffy and the tip of her nose red and they could tell she had been crying.
"Oh, aight," Taj nodded as he dapped Cameron up.
"Aight y'all," Cameron said goodbye as he waved his hand at all of the girls and he and Ada headed out of the living room. They all gave a wave, many of them looking sympathetically at Ada as they left.
They walked into the night, the sun officially set. Cameron was thankful that most of the guests had already left, so his car wasn't blocked in the driveway anymore. He led Ada to the passenger side, opening the door for her and letting her get in before he went to the drivers' side. He put on his seatbelt, glancing over at her as she wiped her eyes some more.
"...You okay baby?" he asked her, pushing the button on his car to start it up. Ada nodded, giving a small sniff.
"You wanna talk about him?" Cameron asked before he reached over, putting his hand under her chin and making her face in. "...You wanna talk about him?" he repeated. Cameron's eyes widened a bit as Ada frowned, beginning to sob.
"Oh baby, I'm sorry, don't cry. It's okay, we don't have to talk. It's okay," he hurriedly said as he reached over the center console, hugging her. He felt bad, not knowing how to comfort her at the moment. He sighed sadly as he rubbed her back, letting her cry into his shoulder.
"Come on, we going home. Don't cry," he tried to shush her as he let go of her. He sat back in his seat as she sat in hers as she tried to recollect herself again.
Cameron backed out of the driveway before he made his way out of Tyler's neighborhood. He held Ada's hand as he drove, glancing periodically over at her to check on her. But, she did nothing but stare out of the window the entire time. They pulled up to the townhouse, and Cameron made sure he had his housekey, seeing that neither Karan or Sophie's cars were in their parking spaces.
As they got into the house, Cameron hung his keys up on the key holder by the fridge. He watched as Ada stood by the kitchen island, sniffling as she tried to keep herself from crying. He stood in front of her, putting his hands on her hips.
"You want some cookies?" he asked. She shook her head, bringing her hand to her face to wipe her eyes. "...cake? Ice cream?... Ice cream and cakey-cake?" he playfully asked, trying to cheer her up. He smile as she let out a soft chuckle.
"Well... I'm making cookies," he teased, pinching her cheek, trying desperately to make her smile. But her face was still somber. "Here, you go upstairs, and Imma put them in the oven and then I'll be up there, okay?"
Ada gave a small nod as she began to walk away, shaking her head a bit as Cameron gave her ass a smack. Once she made it to their bedroom, she took off her jeans and shirt before throwing on some leggings and a pajama shirt. She sighed as she went and got on the bed, thinking about what had just happened at Tyler's house. How everyone looked at her as she cried. And how Cameron was pulled away from hanging with his friends, something he was excited and looking forward to doing all week since he hadn't seen them in a while.
She just felt... bad.
She heard Cameron coming up the stairs, and she looked over at him as he came into the bedroom, taking off his shirt in one quick movement and throwing it into the dirty clothes basket. He took off his jeans, leaving him in his boxers as he got some sweatpants out of his drawer and threw them on.
He got onto the bed with her, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. "What you wanna watch? We can watch what you want tonight... No, you know what, actually we gonna finish watching that episode of Big Mouth since you wouldn't let me finish," he playfully chuckled as he went to Netflix. When she didn't answer, he glanced over at her, seeing her begin to silently cry again.
He gave a small sigh as he got closer to her, pulling her into his arms. "...We don't have to watch Big Mouth, I was kidding. I know cartoon pussy can be scary, you don't have to cry about it though," he chuckled, making Ada let out something that sounded like a laugh mixed with a cry.
"It's funny, I promise," he chuckled as he went to put the episode on. He looked down as she peeked up from his chest, watching on the TV as he scrolled through Netflix.
The episode started, and immediately Cameron laughed when it started on where they last left off, a big talking vagina showing up on the screen. Ada shook her head as she held back a laugh, her voice a bit shaky from crying as she unwillingly giggled.
They sat watching the TV, but Cameron could see her going back to being emotional as she wiped her eyes. He didn't know how else to bring her out of her funk. He rubbed the side of her cheek as he kept glancing down, checking on her.
"Baby?" he called her, causing her to look up at him with swollen eyes. "...You wanna play 21 questions?" He watched as she squinted her eyes.
"You know what that is?... It's... so basically I ask you a question, and then you and I both answer the question. And then you ask me a question, and we both answer it," he tried to explain. Ada slightly nodded, not really understanding his explanation but agreeing anyway.
"Okay, I'll start. Uh... what's you favorite color?" he asked. She thought for a second, sniffing before answering.
"Blue," she answered quietly.
"Blue? What kind of blue. Navy or like... the color of the sky?"
"...like baby blue."
"Oh baby blue. That's specific. Okay, well my favorite color is... red? I guess?" he chuckled as she nodded. "Okay, now it's your turn."
Ada sat quietly for a second, causing Cameron to look down at her before she finally said something. "...What's your... favorite food?"
"Cereal," he immediately answered, causing her to look at him with her face scrunched up.
"Cereal?" she repeated in disbelief.
"Yes, cereal. Cinnamon Life cereal? Woo, girl you missing out," Cameron chuckled as Ada continued to side eye him. "Aight, what's yours?"
"...Goldfish crackers."
"Goldfish crack-... your favorite food is CRACKERS?" Cameron asked in confusion. Ada nodded, making it Cameron's turn to side eye her. "You mean to tell me that you would go into a pantry and your heart would skip a beat for CRACKERS?! You act like we don't feed you," he began to laugh, causing her to also laugh.
"I like the pizza kind," she giggled, trying to justify her reasoning.
"Bye, next question," he laughed as he tried to think of a question. "Um... what was your favorite toy as a kid?"
"Bratz... Bratz dolls."
"My mom called them whore dolls," Cameron laughed as Ada's mouth opened as she laughed. "Uh, mine was wrestling men. Like the WWE figurines? Fun times."
Ada thought for a second before she asked another question. "...What's your middle name?"
"Mica," they both said at the same time. Ada giggled as Cameron furrowed his eyebrows as he looked down at her.
"How did you know that?" he asked in a bit of shock. She shrugged, a small smile dancing on her face as he made a fake angry face. "Stop googling me Ada!"
"I didn't, it was on your picture in your mom's room," she laughed. Cameron nodded, realizing she was talking about his first headshot that he taken when he was five that was hanging up in his parent's room, and his full name was in print at the bottom of it.
"Well, I know yours is Sierra. Uh... what is your ethnicity?"
"...Black?" Ada replied, a "duh" look on her face causing Cameron to let out a laugh.
"Okay, yeah, but like ethnicity... are you African American, are you-... like what are you?" he asked.
"I guess... African American?" she answered, a bit unsure. "You knew that."
"I might not have, you don't tell me anything," Cameron giggled.
"What's yours?"
"Uh... okay so I'm Bajan, African American, and Ashkenazi Jewish," Cameron answered, trying to to make sure he didn't miss anything. "And that's it... I think."
"Bajan?" Ada asked, never having heard that word before.
"Yeah, my grandpa is from Barbados, which is an island in the Caribbean," Cameron explained.
"Oh, my mom's from Trinidad."
"So you're Trinidadian? I just asked you what you were?!" Cameron began to laugh as Ada shrugged.
"I forgot!" she giggled. "She came to California when she was like... six. I think?" she said, trying to remember what her father had told her about her mother.
"Ooo, so you're a little Trini girl?" he joked as rubbed on her ass as she rolled her eyes.
"Not really, I guess," she giggled.
They kept going back and forth, asking questions and laughing and poking fun at each other. Cameron was happy that Ada was talking as much as she was at the moment. He liked this Ada, and he wished she'd come around more.
And he felt accomplished by helping distract her from her sadness. This is why he wouldn't let his parents get into his head. He felt like he would always be the one to get her to feel better, so there was no need for her to have to go and live with them. They had a special connection. As they sat in the bed, eating cookies and laughing and talking, he had no worries about her mental health. He was sure that all she needed was him to make her happy.
He thought he was her medicine.