"Daddy, look!" Semaj pointed at the fishes that swam by in the aquarium. Siraj crouched down behind him, as he continued pointing at the glass, "Look, it's Dory!" he jumped up and down excitedly.

Ximena stood beside the two, grinning as she recorded them. Siraj and Ximena were both off and decided that they would have a family day before they sent Semaj off to his sleepover for the weekend.

The two were nervous, and did a discussion the night prior as to if they were really ready to let Semaj stay over someone else's house that wasn't a family member.

But again, they reached the same conclusion that it would be good for him to be around other kids. He was a shy kid, but the more he became comfortable around people, he eventually came out of his shell.

"Where's Nemo?" Semaj turned his head to look back at Siraj then up at Ximena, they both laughed as Ximena added the video to her Instagram story.

"He probably hiding, you still wanna see the sharks?" Siraj stood up straight, adjusting his shirt. Semaj nodded his head, placing his small hand in Siraj's hand as they began slowly walking further down.

As they did that, Siraj reached into his pocket to grab his phone and briefly checked it. Ximena eyed him closely, noticing it was the fourth time he did that within the hour. Each time that he did, he seemed to be a little bit annoyed.

"How's Lei?" she asked him, tucking her arms under her chest. Siraj simply shrugged his shoulders, not bothering to answer her. "You guys haven't talked lately?"

"Nah," he dryly spoke, still staring ahead as they walked, Semaj babbling on about the fishes in the background.

"Oh, well, I'm sure she just been busy."

Siraj scoffed, slightly rolling his eyes. "If you wanna call it that, I guess." he said, stopping in front of the tank where the sharks were.

Since their last little incident, Lei had returned to being distant towards him again. He texted her once afterwards and hadn't received a response from her since, he left it at that, not wanting to be the one to always initiate the conversation between the two.

It irritated him that shortly after he voiced his frustrations with her, and her promising it wouldn't happen again, she went back on her word.

He wasn't even sure if it was because of Elias or if she felt a way about the situation, either way, it annoyed him to the core.

From the corner of his eye, he could see someone leaning forward to look at him. He turned his head and seen a girl staring at him with wide eyes, making him frown a little.

"Can I help you?" he sized her, raising an eyebrow.

"You're Siraj, right? From IG? Raegan's boo?" she questioned him, a smile growing onto her face. Siraj heard as Ximena deeply sighed, making him briefly glance back at her.

"Yea' that's me, but Raega—" he started to say until the girl cut him off. A flash now beaming into his face, he held his hand up and squinted his eyes.

"Can I get a picture wit' you?" she asked, taking a step closer to him.

"Uh,"

"No, you can't. He's wit' his family right now, please be respect his boundaries and walk away." Ximena spoke up for him, glaring at the girl.

The girl seemed to be taken aback, but walked away without any further incident. Siraj let go of a deep sigh, shaking his head as he returned his attention back onto Ximena.

"People are so damn weird, what possessed her to even walk over here, and I know she saw us before she did." Ximena complained, shooting the girl a dirty look who rejoined her friends, that were now looking in their direction. "Can we go somewhere else?"

"No, Maj wanted to see the sharks. Just ignore them," he told her, gently placing his hands on Semaj's shoulders, who seemingly was too amazed by the sharks to even acknowledge the situation that unfolded.

"I thought Raegan cleared up that rumor?" Ximena leaned against the glass, staring at him.

"She did, but you know folks believe what they want to believe." he replied. Ximena slowly nodded her head, dropping her arms down to her side, as she crouched down besides Semaj, smiling as he kept pointing out the different sharks that swam by.

Saturday night finally rolled around, and Lei found herself out with Elias and Jaelyn at Marco's party. She was a little bummed out that Keia and Joziah couldn't tag along, as they did have plans of their own for the night as well.

However, after the week she had, she was more than ready to let loose and have fun.

Soleil's feet lazily glided back and forth in the water, listening to the many different conversations that took place around her. Her thumb resting on the opening of her Sangria bottle, as the corners of her mouth curled up into a small smile, watching as her friends joked around.

Her friend Marco grabbed another one of their friends, throwing her into the pool; the rest laughed as Lei shook her head. She looked past them and saw as Elias and Jaelyn walked into the house together, making her perk up a little.

She sat the sangria bottle down to her side and pulled her feet out of the now lukewarm water before; getting up from the concrete ground and started to walk towards the house. A few others outside spoke as she passed by them, slowing her down a little.

On her way into the house, another guy spoke to her, "What's up, Lei?" Kelz gently grabbed her elbow. She gave him a light-hearted smile and waved as she continued to pass by until she decided to stop him again.

"Hey, uh, Kelz." She stopped him, he paused and turned around to face her again. "You saw Elias?" she asked him; he nodded his head and pointed to where the stairs were. She thanked him before, passing through the small crowd in the living room, and made her way up the stairs.

She started to walk past one of the doors until she heard very faint voices, causing her to stop in her tracks. She pressed her ear to the door and tried to make out what was being said, but the blasting music and extra noise added on top made it extremely hard to hear what was being said. She covered her other ear and began to focus on the voices.

"We just need to tell her," She recognized the voice of Jaelyn say, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "We owe it to her; I can't keep going on and acting like that night didn't happen." Lei jerked her head back from the door as her mind began to wander even more as to what Jaelyn was referring to. She quickly placed her ear to the door again as she waited for the conversation to continue.

"Well, what the fuck do you want me to say? How do you think I feel having to lay wit' her at night, knowing what I did? I told you to keep yo' distance from me, but you just had to let yo' feelings get the best of you." Lei heard as Elias's voice finally spoke.

She pulled her ear away from the door again, crossing her arms over her chest, as she now began to realize what was going on. Her mind started to race with thoughts and mixed emotions. Her tear-filled eyes darted around to completely nothing in particular as she tried to grasp the new information.

"Just stay the fuck away from me," Elias harshly spat as he finally opened the door. Ready to walk out but came to a halt once he saw that Lei was standing in front of him. The two both let go of a soft gasp, their hearts dropping into their stomachs. "Ba—" he tried reaching out to grab her arm, she quickly snatched away from him, taking a step back.

"Don't," Lei warned him, trying to hold back the tears that were desperately trying to leave the brim of her eyes. She looked from him to Jaelyn, anger filling her body, her arms dropping down to her side, as her hands began to form into a fist. "I oughta beat the fuck out of you; you was pose to be my friend!" she shouted at her, taking a step closer until Elias stopped her, grabbing both of her wrists.

"Stop fuckin' touching me!" she yelled, now gaining the attention of those who were chilling nearby the stairs. Hearing the commotion that was going on, people began to ascend up the stairs, "Fuck both of y'all! I hope the dumb ass bitch gave you something too, wit' her hoe ass! Knew I should've dropped yo' ass when I found out you fucked Morgan!"

She walked off, leaving both of them standing there in shock, as well as the audience they attracted. She squeezed through the crowd and made her way down the stairs. She walked back to the pool area and grabbed a red solo cup off one of the folding tables before grabbing the Amsterdam bottle, pouring herself a drink. She turned around and instantly bumped into someone, almost causing her to spill her drink.

"Watch where the fuck you goin'," she frowned, looking up, recognizing that it was Kelz again. He was looking down at her with a puzzled expression. He opened his mouth to say something until Lei walked around him, walking back to the house. She passed through the crowd again, feeling the stares of everyone as she tried her hardest not to cry—or have an anxiety attack.

She made it out of the house and began to chug the liquor in her cup. She threw her head back and swallowed the liquor, feeling the burning sensation in her throat. Throwing the cup down in the grass, she continued to walk down the sidewalk. She didn't know where she would go, but she no longer wanted to be around people; she felt she had been hit by a bus.

Lei began to stumble around a little, her vision becoming blurry. It wasn't from the tears; she felt as if the liquor she had drank hit her all at once.

She knew she should have listened to her intuition, after what had happened the previous night at the football game.

"Are you serious bro!?" Joziah shot up from his spot in the stands, as one of the players fumbled the ball once again. "What the fuck is wrong wit' these niggas man?"

Lei, Keia and Jaelyn snickered, finding it quite humorous that Joziah became serious during any sport.

After the football game, the friends planned on going to a party. This weekend, Lei wanted nothing more than to have fun with her friends, after drowning in assignments and essays for her classes.

They heard as the ref blew his whistle, the players scrambling to the sidelines. Lei found herself eye goggling Elias, his tattooed arms glistening with sweat after playing on the field for two quarters already.

"Elias is so fine," Lei heard from behind her, breaking her out of her trance. She furrowed her eyebrows and looked behind her, seeing a group of girls sitting a few feet away from them, one girl in particular who recognized to be apart of Elias's friend circle.

"Y'all needa stop playin' and get together already," another girl spoke, scrolling through her phone as she popped her gum. "After that trip, that should've been the deal breaker."

"He doesn't want no relationship — or so he claimed, cause it's funny how he poppin' back out wit' his ex all of a sudden." she scoffed, crossing one leg over the other, flipping her hair.

Lei bit her tongue and quickly looked away, her leg beginning to bounce up and down. She got up from her spot and squeezed through her friends, as they started calling her name, asking where she was going.

She ignored them and carried on down the stairs, finding it best to leave before she found herself on the field, strangling Elias with her bare hands.

"Lei!" Keia gently grabbed her arm, as she caught up to her. "Hey, what's the matter babes?" she linked her arm with Lei's.

"I'm gonna call an uber, I don't feel too good. Y'all should still enjoy yourselves, I don't wanna ruin the night for anyone." Lei forced a smile on her face, peeking over at Keia.

Keia stopped her, placing her hand on her hip, giving her an unamused look. "Seriously? You think I'ma go out while my girl in her feels bout some? Lei, what's going on?"

Lei deeply sighed, throwing her head back as she ran her hands down her face. "You know who Morgan is, right? She be wit' Kelz, Elias and them?" Lei tried jogging her memory, Keia instantly nodded her head.

"I don't think you heard her, cause you was talkin' to Jaelyn but, she started running out the mouth about how Elias is fine and shit, her friend talkin' bout some trip they went on, she surprised they ain't together."

"Bitch...what? What trip? Where she at?" Keia turned around, starting to walk back to the stands until Lei stopped her.

"Just forget it Keia, cause the bitch is tryin' to get a rise outta me. She knew what she was doing because I know for a fact she saw me sitting below her. I'm just gonna go home, cause I'm irritated now," Leis shook her head, not wanting to make a big scene, especially knowing how protective Keia was over her.

"You want me to go—" Keia abruptly stopped, beginning to mug someone behind Lei. She turned around and saw the football players walking their way to head to the locker room, amongst those, was Elias who was holding his helmet in his hand.

"What y'all doing down here? What's wrong ma?" Elias placed his hand around Lei's waist, she removed his hand and backed away.

"Why don't you go ask, Morgan." Lei said before walking away from the pair. Elias raised his eyebrows in shock, his mouth falling agape a little.

The walls vibrated from the loud music blasting through the two-story house, making Soleil stir around in her sleep. She groaned, shifting her position in the bed. She paused once she felt the heavyweight of someone's arm wrapped around her waist. Slowly opening her eyes, the dim light that was barely illuminating the room she didn't recognize. She groggily pushed herself up off the bed and glanced around the room in confusion.

As soon as she sat up, she felt the pounding of a headache coming on. She placed her hand on her head and groaned in pain. Sluggishly getting out of the bed, she felt the cool air brush against her bare skin. She looked down and saw that she was completely naked. She saw a guy—whom she recognized as Kelz in the bed, passed out, clutching an empty Hennessey bottle in his other hand.

"What?" Soleil muttered, furrowing her eyebrows. She mentally cursed herself for getting too drunk. She was now unable to remember anything within the last couple of hours. She searched around on the floor for her clothes and her clutch.

Getting on her knees, she felt around under the bed and felt the snakeskin of her purse, pulling it out; she opened it and reached in to grab her phone. She went to dial one of the recent numbers in her call log while getting dressed.

The line ringed a few times before he finally picked up. "Hello?" she heard his groggy voice answer.

"Hey, um, were you asleep?" Soleil asked Siraj, she heard him deeply sigh.

"Whatchu' think Lei? It's four in the morning man, what do you want?" Siraj caught an attitude, quickly peeking at the time on his phone. After closing shop late, Siraj wanted nothing more than to just get his rest before it was time for him to get back up for a shoot later on.

"I—um, c-can you come get me?" Lei asked him, slurring her words a little. She hoped she wouldn't have to catch an Uber back to her house. She hated that she was even bothering Raj, especially after going MIA again, but she trusted that he would get her home safely.

"Whatchu' doing?" Lei was startled by Kelz's voice from behind her. She turned around and saw him now sitting up in the bed. He grabbed her wrist, trying to pull her back into the bed. Lei tried to snatch away from him but failed miserably from him having a tight grip on her. "What's wrong? Why you trying to leave, I thought we were having a good time." he groggily slurred.

"Who is that?" Siraj questioned her, hearing the voice in the background. He sat up a little, becoming alert to the situation that was unfolding. "Send me your location Lei," he flipped the covers off of him,

"Please let go of me, Kelz," Lei begged him, still trying to pull away from his grip. He tried getting up out of bed but stumbled a little as his foot got tangled in the sheets. Lei hit him a couple of times with her purse before he finally let go.

She rushed out of the room, almost bumping into someone in the hallway. She took a step back and seen that it was Jaelyn. Her eyes darted from Lei to Kelz, who was stumbling out of bed in the room. She opened her mouth to speak, but Lei quickly brushed past her down the stairs.

She carried her sandals, her purse, and her phone in her hand as she walked down the sidewalk. She wiped away her teary eyes, sending her location to Raj like he told her to. She glanced behind her every few minutes to make sure she wasn't being followed by Kelz or anyone else.

Meanwhile, Raj rushed to put clothes on. Ximena watched him with her eyebrow raised, her arms over her chest. "Where are you going?" She questioned him, her eyes following as he paced back and forth between the room and the closet.

"I gotta go get Lei," He said, grabbing his keys off of the nightstand.

"From where Raj? It's four in the morning,"

"I don't know, but she was slurring her words, and I heard someone in the background tryin' to grab her." He slipped on his shoes. Ximena deeply sighed and got out of the bed, slipping her feet into her slides.

"Well, I'm coming with you."

Raj ignored her, as he didn't have the energy or time to argue with her. The two walked out of his apartment and got onto the elevator to go down to the car garage. As the pair got settled into the car, Raj heard as his phone dinged, indicating that he had a text message.

It was Lei, texting him her location. He checked in maps how far she was, seeing that she was merely thirty minutes away from his apartment. Without another thought, Raj pulled out of the garage and onto the street.

"You can't keep doing this, Siraj," Ximena said, "She needs to be a little more responsible,"

"She's just going through a tough time Mena, she's grieving." Siraj defended, glancing over at her, who was pouting with her arms crossed over her chest. She gazed over at him and slightly rolled her eyes. "Stop actin' like that."

"Well, she needs to find an alternative way to grieve because this isn't it. She's going to end up just like her mama." Ximena argued.