"Oh my God, I swear if I could I would be in Chicago right now, chasing this hoe around the whole city to beat her ass ! The fuck is wrong with people ? She could have hit you on the wrong spot and got you paralyzed or worse, DEAD ! Oh, hell naw ! This bitch is dying when I'm coming in town ! Fuck she thought it was ? It ain't a fucking game ! Oh my God ! I don't want to hate anyone, but I hate her ! "

Ebony pulled the phone away from her ear when Kat started screaming out in anger on the other end of the line. "Damn..." she commented to herself, a bit surprised. She knew her best friend was going to be mad, but not this pissed off to the point where she needed to scream out loud like that. It was warming her heart though to know that she meant so much to her.

Once the scream died down, she put the phone back against her ear. "How do you feel ? And what Chresanto was doing when it was happening ? Are you pressing charges ? "

"I'm good. I was feeling a bit dizzy for the past two days, but I feel much better today. The doctor said that if she hit me closer and stronger, it could have turned worse. Those little gold balls can be very dangerous, mainly when you're hit on the head with this. And Chresanto was by my side. He was pretty upset when we got to the hospital, he wanted to beat her ass too. He's been calling me every day to check on me. And I'm not too sure. I feel like it's only gonna bring more unnecessary drama into my life. I don't know...I feel lazy to do that, " she explained with a shrug.

To her, she felt that by pressing charges it was only going to drag out the situation and make them run in an endless negative circle. And what if this girl got out of it innocently ? Ebony didn't want to waste time and money for nothing.

"I can understand...I guess," she commented, not really in the mood to argue, even though she had so much to say right now. "But uh, he's a good guy and I'm glad that you're feeling better. You told your family what happened ? I didn't see your mom on the news yet."

"Ha, ha, ha. No, I didn't tell them yet. And it's exactly for this reason. I don't need them to attempt or actually commit a murder."

On Saturday, Ebony just sent a message to her sister to let her know that she wouldn't be able to go gift shopping with her because she had a last-minute impediment. She didn't explain herself further and was thankful that Paris didn't ask her more questions.

Since then, Eb had kind of been avoiding her family because she knew that they would notice immediately that something was wrong with her, and she knew that she wouldn't have any other choice but to tell them the truth. They wouldn't leave her alone without that, and she didn't want her closest family members to ruin their lives for a scum.

"But this bitch really deserves some type of torture. We would just need five minutes."

"Kat...stop this, right now. Anyways, let's talk about you. How is Italia ? "

"Fantastic ! I have nothing to complain about, except not being able to be a real tourist, you know. I'm working every day and can't enjoy the whole scenery as I would really like to. But it's okay, I will come back later. Oh, how about we make it a girls' trip ? "

Ebony couldn't help but smile. "I'm with you on that ! Where would we go though ? Venice ? Rome ? Or more in the south side ? "

"What about a tour ? We go a bit everywhere and live that Italian life fully."

"Yes ! I like how you think, sista."

"I know. Talk to your sisters about this, so we can see when we can make it happen. I'm so excited ! " she squealed, causing Eb to laugh lightly.

Kat and Eb continued to talk for thirty more minutes before hanging up. Ebony was missing her friend a lot, and it felt good to hear her voice after what seemed to be an eternity. When they were in college, they used to spend so much time together, they were basically seeing each other every day; then they started their career a few months before graduating and once they were done with college life, real life took over and they were soon torn apart.

On one hand, they were happy to be both this busy because it meant that they were doing something out there, but the sacrifices that had to be made were so hard at times. They had plans though and had to stick to them. At the end of the day, they knew that everything will play out for the best and all those efforts were would be worth something.

As Ebony searched for the charger for her laptop, multiple notifications came all at once, getting her attention immediately as she asked herself what was going on. She prayed in her head that Jerome didn't do something stupid that would ruin her whole image. This was what she was the most worried about because it would cause considerable damage to her future.

She picked up her phone and swiped a notification on the screen that directed her to Instagram. She instantly rolled her eyes when she saw Christee's post that she had put up not even five minutes ago.

She was lying on her bed, wearing a white tank top that showed her cleavage as she displayed a devilish smirk on her face. Her hair was in a messy bun, her face was bare of makeup, showing her flawless skin and she had a bandage on her nose.

The caption read: @Melanin_Goddess I will always conquer, you can't put me down 💪🏽 Stay jealous boo 😘 #IWinYouLose #YouGonPayThoseHospitalBillsThoHoe #BestRevengeIsYourPaper💰

Ebony laughed, not believing it. "How old are we supposed to be again ? And I didn't hit that hard. If I really wanted to break your nose bitch, that's exactly what I would have done." Her hands were itching to respond, but she kept repeating to herself that it wasn't worth it and that she was higher than that. "Don't step down on their level, you're better than this," she told herself, taking deep breaths.

She couldn't get why this girl had such a big issue with her, as if she'd actually done something to her but it wasn't the case. All of this for Chresanto though ? Was he the owner of the magic wand ? Like, why was she so obsessed ? Why was she such a bitter ex ?

"She better get herself together before I do that for her." She sighed in irritation and decided to check the comments out of curiosity. She thought that despite all the stupid stuff people say, a lot of times they could be very funny. She began scrolling down before shaking her head when she saw both of her sisters in there.

you don't want these problems honey boo, take this shit down !!!! I don't mind paying your hospital bills after I'm done with you #BrokeAssBitch

You win where boo boo kitty ? The only thing you're conquering is d!cks and I wouldn't be too proud if I were you, but I guess to each their own 🤷🏽‍♀️ Stay in your lane cutie, keep entertaining your pay checkS and leave my sis the fuck alone she ain't worried bout you, so stop worrying bout her !

She sent them a message in their group chat, telling them to stop entertaining this bullshit. The message was read, but nobody was answering, which made her roll her eyes as she decided to call them. She first tried with Paris since Lyona was still overseas and she wasn't sure of her schedule.

"I saw your message."

"Hello to you too. Delete your comment on IG, you don't need to mix yourself in that shit. You're a model and have a certain image to maintain, you can't be wilding out on social media because people can use that shit against you. In today's generation it has a lot of importance in careers, don't ruin yours."

"It's unnecessary, I'm sure some people already screenshot it. You know how that goes. What I look like if I'm now deleting it. And I don't care what people say, nobody attacks my family. Period. I don't care where it's happening, I'm biting and clapping back for my loved ones. By the way, I found this bitch's address, so--"

"You're not on your way there ? Tell me you're not ! " Since she was met with silence, she started panicking. "Paris ! Drive back home ! Right now ! "

"It's just a little visit, nothing less nothing more. We're just gonna say hello. Right, Dee-Dee ? "

"Oh my God, Deka is with you ? "

"She's driving, " she answered with a shrug that Ebony couldn't see.

"Hey, cousin ! " Deka then greeted in the background.

"We're not about to do this, y'all go back home ! If you go to jail today, y'all better not come out cause both of our mothers will kill you with their own hands ! "

"Not if we have time to tell them what happened."

"Yeah, if ! C'mon, stop. I'm gonna take care of it myself, don't worry about this."

"You sure ? "

"Yes, send me the address, " she said, wondering how her sister even found it that fast. The post was up for only less than fifteen minutes.

"Done." As she said that, her phone beeped.

"Thanks, now y'all go back home or to the mall. Do something productive today."

"Well, we were about to but you stopped us," Deka commented, causing Eb to smack her lips.

"We need to go back to Church, " she mumbled to herself, scratching her forehead and forgetting that she was on the phone for a few seconds. She gasped quickly too at her own reaction because years ago she wouldn't be acting like this.

Paris kissed her lips, scrunching up her face as if something was smelling bad in the car. "Nah, that hoe needs to be saved, not us. She's lucky we are changed young women now, cause a few years ago it wouldn't be like that," Paris said, reminding her of the past.

Ebony went through a phase in her teenage years and she was a completely different person from today, but who doesn't go through this change though ? It's just not the same for everybody.

"Right ! I'm proud of us. Say amen to the growth ! " They did a high-five as they stopped at a red light.

"You two are too much. Is everything done for mama's little day party ? "

"Oh, shit ! That damn cake ! That's why we were out in the first place, turn left."

"The light is still red ! "

"I know ! I was saying for after it turns green, idiot ! " Paris argued back, forgetting that she was still on the phone with her older sister.

"Imbecile ! " Deka insulted her back.

Ebony laughed at the two, happy that her family was the way they were because life was never boring with them. "Okay, y'all...I'm still on the phone."

"Oh, yeah. Well, bye and see you in a few."

"Byyyye ! "

"Bye, see you." And with that said, they hung up. She sighed, laughing to herself as she then dialed Lyona's number, but as she expected she wasn't answering.

She locked her screen and tossed her phone on the couch, not too far from her. When she was about to go back to searching for her laptop charger, her phone went off once again. For some reason, she thought that it could be Chresanto, but it was actually Jerome who sent her a private message on Twitter.

She hesitated to open it at first, but did it anyways just to see what it was about. You could never be too sure with this guy.

Hey, beautiful ! How are you doing today ? Can we meet up to talk ? I really need to see you and get some things out. This ain't a trap, I really wanna talk. Please, don't say no, I really really (10x) need to see you. It won't take long. Just a little talk. I let you pick up the time and place. Love you 💘

She couldn't help but laugh at that weak love you at the end. Actually, this whole message looked dumb as hell. Once her laughter died down, she locked her screen and put her phone down for the following hour, until Chresanto sent her a message to wish her a good day. This was honestly the highlight of her day. She replied, then went to get ready to go to her mother's house for the little day party they organized for her birthday.

The only people that were going to be there were Paris, Deka, her uncle and auntie, her grandma and herself. Unfortunately, none of her mother's friends could come since they were all working and couldn't take the day off, but they organized something else so they could still celebrate with her.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to youuuu..." they sang, making Sanaa smile from ear to ear.

Today was her forty-ninth birthday and she felt great about it. It was nothing like her fortieth birthday when she completely freaked out about the idea of getting old and not looking as good as she was anymore. She literally locked herself in the bathroom for hours, while the family tried to comfort her the best they could through the door.

A real mess.

Ebony and her sisters --including their cousin Deka-- will never forget this day, and each year they teased Sanaa with it, reminding her how dramatic she once was as if she didn't stay this way.

As she was about to blow her candles, the doorbell went off causing everybody to look at each other with interrogative eyes. "Now...y'all know damn well that I don't like surprises. Who did this ? Don't tell me you got me male strippers like last year."

"No, we promised you we wouldn't do that again, " Paris answered for everybody, remembering her mother's hysterical reaction. She hated that surprise and made it known very well.

To Sanaa, male strippers were disgusting. She'd rather have female strippers; she found them more interesting to watch. But in general, she wasn't a big fan of stripping and it wasn't because she found it degrading, it was just not her thing.

"Then what is it ? " she continued to ask, looking at every member of her family, "Jake ? "

He shrugged. "I only got you one gift and it's on the table with the other ones. I'm gonna answer the door." Right after he said that, he left the dining room as he jogged to the door.

"Ebony ? " She raised her right freshly waxed eyebrow suspiciously at her oldest daughter.

"Same answer as uncle Jake, I don't know what it is." She shrugged too.

"Deka ? Mabel ? "

"Not us, I promise," Deka responded for them, raising her hands up in surrender.

A minute later, uncle Jake came back with a huge bouquet of yellow roses in his hands, that he placed at the end of the black buffet behind them. He then grabbed a card and handed it to his sister-in-law before sitting back on his chair. There were so many things he wanted to say, but he didn't want to ruin her day so he contented himself by finishing his glass of champagne.

"Dad, what's wrong ? " Deka asked, immediately feeling the change in his mood.

"Oh, nothing," he nonchalantly answered, now crossing his hands on the table. "Hurry up and blow the candles, so we can eat some cake."

Sanaa narrowed her eyes, getting confused with his sudden cold behavior. She blew her candles, then proceeded to read the card to know who sent the flowers. The whole table watched her carefully, not really caring about the cake at that moment.

She turned the envelope to open it and when she saw the address, everything made sense to her. "This is from Earnest," she said out loud to answer everybody's silent question. Once the name escaped her lips, it felt as if winter itself came into the room, taking away all the joy and warmth.

Ebony quickly rolled her eyes, reaching for the knife to cut the cake. "Who wants some ? " she asked, brushing off the whole situation.

She was still surprised at the amount of resentment that she felt for the man that raised her. Every time she thought it was gone, something would then happen to remind her of the disappointment and pain that she was feeling.

"I would like two big pieces, please," Paris said, holding her plate out towards her.

"Excuse me." Sanaa stood up and left to retract herself in her room. She didn't expect this at all, mainly because of how things had ended with her ex-husband. They weren't on speaking terms, at all.

They couldn't be in a room together without arguing about the past and things were always escalating. To talk about the girls, they needed a mediator to make the communication work. Since now the girls were young adults, they didn't have to stay in contact. Lyona was now twenty-two, so it'd been four years since they last saw each other.

They forgave one another for the wrongs they did in their relationship, but things were done and couldn't be forgotten, leaving bad emotions behind which were hard to get rid of. Simply seeing someone that hurt you a lot can be enough to wake so many different emotions, good and bad, and it's not always easy to control all of them.

"Who else ? " Ebony looked around.

"Me, please." Deka gave her her plate.

"I'm gonna talk to her, excuse me." Mabel got off her chair and went to check on her big sister.

"I want some too, please." Uncle Jake broke the little moment of silence, then he stood up to put some music on to ease the sudden tension in the room. Seconds later, Janet Jackson's That's The Way Love Goes started playing softly in the background, causing everybody to move their head in rhythm with the beat.

They didn't say much while they ate the cake, until Grandma Abi made her entrance. She couldn't be here sooner since she had to take care of some things back at her flowers shop. She wanted to make sure that her employees had everything under control for the time she wouldn't be with them.

She couldn't help but notice how dead the party was. Knowing how her family was, she was expecting them to act like the damn fools they were, and not be this calm. "Okay...what's wrong ? Somebody died ? "

"Why you always have to think about the worst ? Nobody died, grandma." Deka was the first one to talk, as she shook her head.

"Well, excuse me, but y'all are acting like it happened. What's going on and where is the birthday girl at ? "

When Ebony opened her mouth to answer her questions, her phone started ringing on the table, interrupting her before she could even say something. She picked it up and answered it without looking at the caller ID. "Hello ? "

"Hey, sister ! How's the little party going ? " Lyona asked with a lot of enthusiasm in her tone.

"Hey, baby girl. The party is going..."

"Okay...what that means ? "

"Your father sent flowers, " she said, to be met with silence. "Are you still here ? Are you alright ? " she questioned after a minute.

Lyona cleared her throat. "Uh, yes. How is mama ? "

Eb sighed loudly, not knowing what to say. Their mother looked shocked and confused, but mainly in conflict with her own emotions. She didn't know how to really describe the expression on her face.

"Alright, you don't need to say much, I got it. I'll ask him what his intentions were behind this though. They haven't had a proper conversation for so many years and they didn't go their separate ways in the best condition." She sighed tiredly. "I hate what our family became. Things were so good when we were younger, " she then blurted out, not able to keep it to herself anymore.

Eb said nothing to that, not wanting to talk about their dysfunctional family. It wasn't a conversation she wanted to have today. "Do you want me to get mama for you ? "

"I'll call her later. I'm coming back on the twenty-eighth, can you come to pick me up ? "