Chalynn laid in the bed next to her sisters frail body, even though it had only been a day, her sister still wasn't progressing like the doctors wanted her to so they placed her under a medicated coma so her body can try to make up for the oxygen and blood that was lost.

"Marlee, you better the hell not die on me sis. Who's gonna watch my kids dude? Who's going to be my made of honor? Who's going to yell at me when I mess up my relationships?" She asked tearfully, but a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"Chalynn? It's King and Ronny.." Lay perked up at the sound of that, she was going crazy with no human interaction.

"Come in." She spoke softly, trying not to disturb her sisters heavily medicated sleep.

Ronny opened the door and stuck her head through the it, "Hey love."

"Hey, thank you so much for coming." Lay got out of the bed as King came in and sat some flowers down along with tying the balloons to the chair.

"Of course, how could we not?" Ronny walked over to hug Chalynn and she hugged her back with a faint smile. She was trying not to cry, usually Marlee would be so excited to see Marlee but now, her sister couldn't even open her eyes.

"Come here sis." King said motioning for Chalynn to bring it in for a hug, she loved Kings hugs, they were always so comforting and big brother like.

"Hey King. It means so much that y'all are here, thing about my sister. She did not like people but you two are easily her favorites. I just don't know what would make her do this." Lays words made them both smile because she loved her some King and Ronny.

Ronny turned and looked at Marlee's body, with all of the machines hooked up to her it almost overwhelmed her.

"This is her, huh?" Ronny asked causing Chalynn to look at her again.

"This is my lil firecracker. Marlee is a fighter, literally. Always fighting me or for me. I'm grateful she hasn't gave up yet." Lay sat back on the bed and rubbed her sisters warm hand.

"Damn Marlee." King sighed, it was weird seeing her so quiet when she normally would have something to say. It broke his heart, Marlee and Lay had become family to him.

King walked to the other side and held her hand. He was fighting the small urge to cry because he wanted to be strong for Ronny and Chalynn.

Ronny sniffling made the other two whip their heads in her direction. "I feel like I failed her." She admitted, she was the only one who knew what was going on with her and she stayed quiet under the wishes of Marlee.

"Noo, Ronny. Please do not feel that way. Depression is ugly and has a way of getting to us in ways we can never understand. I don't think anything, any of us would've said would have made a difference. This was well thought out, she left letters dating back to before we met Key. As sad as it is, it needed to happen. It was an eye opener for us and hopefully for Marlee when she wakes up." Lay stood up and comforted Marlee.

"You're right, I'm sorry I'm so emotional. You're the one that should be crying right now, not me." Ronny wiped her tears.

Lay chuckled, "I've had my share of crying, believe you me."

"Where Key ass? Been tryna reach him since yesterday, he coo?" King was concerned about his brother.

"He took a mental health trip out of the country. I'm not sure how long he'll be gone but you know he needs that shit." Him being gone was good for her but she also needed a support system.

King sighed with relief, "Shit, I'm proud of him. He finally trynna get that shit under control, bout time."

"Can I have a minute alone with her?" Ronny asked, "Of course, King? Join me for some fresh air, please?" Lay was more than happy to get out of the room. She'd been in there since last night.

"Fasho." He stood up and gently placed Marlee's hand down. He kissed her forehead before getting ready to leave the room.

"We'll be back Ronny. Say what you gotta say to her okay?" He told her, walking over to her. King hugged her and kissed the side of Ronny's face.

"I will." She said wiping her tears.

"Come on lil Lay." He called her by the nickname that he gave her causing her to laugh and walk out the room shutting it gently.

*

Marlee heard the door shut gently and there was a long silence before she heard Ronny's voice. Marlee knew this was probably hitting Ronny the hardest and that when she woke up Ronny would probably kill her ass for real. The sounds of machines filled the room.

"Hey Marlee pooh. My God, I can't believe I'm talking to you and you can't respond back. I wore those jeans that you like and I know if you were awake you would be touching and feeling on me. You always knew how to make me feel beautiful, like no other." She joked, making herself laugh. Marlee laughed mentally with her and she so badly wanted to close her eyes but it just wasn't working.

"I'm so sorry this happened to you Marlee ... I'm so sorry. I should've told Key or Lay what was going on with you. Now you have to go through this and I hate it. I love you so much and I don't know how you did it. I'll be here with you every step of your journey, I'll never leave your side. I won't fail you anymore ... I'll never overlook your feelings again. I honestly need you to pull through for me Marlee .. I can't do this life shit with out you by my side. Please pull through pretty. I know you can." Marlee felt Ronny grab her hand and hold it in hers. Marlee would have to go through physical therapy to be able to move her hands again because she damaged her tendons.

"I know you can't say anything, but just know I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." She kissed Marlee's cheek and rested her head on her shoulder. Marlee wanted to badly to kiss Ronny back and tell her it wasn't her fault but for some reason she just couldn't move.

***

"Here Lay." King tapped Chalynn's shoulder and handed her a bottle of water from the front desk. She was lost in thought staring at the water fountain outside the hospital.

"Thank you King." Since Key had his own thing going on, it was really important to him that he be there for Lay and Marlee. They were definitely family now.

King sat down next to Lay on the bench, "You welcome. How my niece doing? I miss her lil ass."

"She's good. I don't know if Key told you or not but we enrolled her into Stacey's daycare ... the bartender that works for you?" Lay responded thinking about how sweet Stacey was.

"Word? Thats wassup. Eli like it?" Lay laughed at that remark, "Forget like, she see's Stacey and forget that I'm her mama. Stacey got a way with them kids."

"Don't I know it. That's all she talk about when she come into work." Stacey was a good one, even though Lay had Eli and was carrying another, she couldn't imagine taking care of somebody else kids. The two talked more about Elianna, and how smart she was getting.

"How you doing with all this shit going on? How you feeling?" King asked, he knew taking on all this shit was going to be hard for her.

Lay's smile faded as she started thinking about her emotions that she was trying to mask for the sake of her children. "I really don't know King, I feel like I haven't processed the fact that my sister tried to leave me. I didn't know her life was that bad you know? I'm so numb that I can't even cry anymore. Every time I turn around shit just keeps happening. I'm doing everything by myself. I'm happy Key left because at least I don't have to take care of him too. I'm ready for this lil rough patch to be over because I don't know how much longer I can do it." She sighed, she was really hurting and felt like nobody was there for her. Her support system was laid up in the hospital bed.

"Damn girl, I'm sorry you going through this. You know you and Marlee mean as much to me as Key does and I hate that yall are going through this. But I promise you, I'll be here even more since Key gone. You have my word." King wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

Lay sniffled, "I appreciate you King, thank you. You're really like the big brother I never had." Lay meant it, she loved King like a brother, he never did any wrong by her. She knew it meant something to him to hear her say those words.

"Of course lil Lay, always. If you ever need company, me or Ronny will come up here and keep you company. We gotchu or even if you need help with Eli or anything else, promise me you'll let me know?" King and Lay had that in common, taking care of and handling shit all by themselves he knew how stressful that could be.

Chalynn wiped her face and laid her head on his shoulder. "I will, you know I will. Thank you for being here while Key can't, you don't know how much this means to me and Marlee. She can't express her gratitude but I know she was happy hearing you and Ronny's voices."

"Fasho, mane I hope so. Starting this new chapter in my life I'm just trying to do right. Making sure all the people I love most are taken care of is step two."

"Aw look at you King. I love that for you. How about this, in a few days I'll bring Elianna over for a few hours and you can spend some time with her. Is that cool?" Chalynn suggested.

King nodded his head, "Yes ma'am, just let me know when. If you ever need somebody to vent to or to just talk, I'm here." Lay was definitely going to hold him to that, she could see why Key was ten toes behind him and she was going to make sure she told Key how well his brother held down the fort.

🧘🏾‍♂️🧘🏾‍♂️🧘🏾‍♂️

Markyvius stepped off of his private jet and onto the island of the Aruba, instantly it felt as though a weight was off his shoulders. His mother decided she would just keep Eli until he came back to the United States, she knew how much the both of them needed their break.

It had only been a day since Marlee tried to kill herself but Lay made it extremely clear that she didn't want him around so now he's out of the country far away. Hopefully he could enjoy his time there but who knew what would happen.

Besides his body guards he came to the island alone, not looking for anything but a peace of mind.

"We'll be in the next two rooms boss man. Holla if you need sumn." His guards said as they left him in his.

Key wanted to look at his phone but, he needed to rest and relax. He had all of his calls transferred to his guards.

Wanting to unpack but he was hungry, Key walked out his room and bumped into somebody who was passing by.

"Oh shit, my fault ma." He apologized looking over the girl, she looked oddly familiar but enough apparently.

"Key Glock can run me over any day. Simone Dior." Simone stuck her hand out to shake his as she giggled. He recognized her now, she was one of the biggest porn stars out. Realizing that he had a problem with sleeping with women he was forcing himself to keep his eyes on her face.

"If I had a dolla for every time somebody said that." He chuckled shaking her hand, she was fine as hell but if he ever wanted his family back or pursue other relationships, she was off limits.

"Where you heading?" She asked him as he dropped her hand, "Finna grab some food. Enjoy." He gave her a small wave and walked away from the girl. She was stunned, but it turned her on even more that he didn't know who she was. Or so she thought, Simone followed him to the cafè.

Key who grew up in the hood already peeped game. He grabbed a plate and put Mexican food on it and grabbed a bottled water.

"Ion gotta get my security on yo lil ass do I?" He spoke as he walked back to his room.

"How'd you know I was there?" She asked hiding behind a random pole.

"You thick as hell, that pole not doing nothin for ya and I grew up in south Memphis." He chuckled swiping his key card.

"See you around." He waved bye to her and locked the door behind him. The resort was nice but he didn't care to be bothered with anybody. He came here strictly to get his mind right and that was it.

**********

Key slept the whole next day and only woke up to eat so today he decided that he was going to go and explore everything that they had to offer.

"Good morning Mr. Glock." Simone waved as Key walked into the yoga and meditation room. He was trying to be open to knew things but he didn't expect her to be there.

"Simone." He half smiled at her and continued making his way to the empty spot. He set his mat down on the floor and started thinking about his babies, he could possibly have a son on the way and that made him incredibly happy.

"What's the problem? You don't like bitches like me?" She scuffed at his dismissal, if this was Key from a year ago they would definitely have fucked by now but he wanted to be an example for his children.

"It ain't even like that. I'm not here for that." He put as simply as possible, she didn't need to know that he had somebody at home who was carrying his child and caring for the one he had with another woman. She could easily tell the press that information and he ain't have time for that.

"Mm."

Once the instructor started the meditation lesson his mind started to race to several different things. He didn't want to turn out how his dad was even though he didn't know his dad too well. His grandmother made sure to tell him stories about him though. How he felt when his dad walked out his life, is not how he wanted his children to feel. He wanted them to experience true love from their father.

"Deep breath in." The instructor spoke, Key's eyes were closed but he listened to the sound of her voice. It reminded him of Lay, a smile spread across his faced as he seen Lays smile cross his mind. Her warm hugs and her contagious laugh that he loved so much. Then he thought about all the wrong doing he did to her. He owed her a very real apology, one that needed to have emotion behind it.

"And exhale." His mind shifted to King, and how they were about to start moving weight for Draco. He was about to have wealth on top of wealth for his children and even for whomever he decided to marry one day.

"One more time, inhale." Aubree danced crossed his mind causing him to chuckle. He forgot he was supposed to have a date with her and then everything with Marlee happened so fast. He really liked Aubree, she was very fun to be around and she could cook so well. Her heart was a big as his, but he had too much going on and he couldn't drag her into his mess. Could he?

"And exhale. Alright, we're going to go around the room and share our mental health 'issues'. Any volunteers?" Key wanted to shrink in his seat, he was not looking forward to this part of the retreat. He wasn't shy but, he wasn't the type of nigga to openly state what he was going through to a bunch of strangers.

"I'll go first, my name is Simone and I suffer from a depressive disorder and body dysmorphia. I've gotten my body done several times because I don't like the way that I look especially in the videos that I make. I always feel as though I am too thin or too fat but my therapist said that I need to stop going under the knife until I know that I am beautiful the way that I am. As far as my depressive disorder, I can't sleep at night, I have no interest in the things that I love to do and I isolate myself from everything and everybody. Except for my dog Coco." Key listened intuitively, a lot of sex workers that he knew had these problems, he felt bad for writing her off almost immediately.

"Thank you for sharing Simone, we hope that you find peace and joy here at this retreat. You deserve that. Welcome, welcome. Markeyvius would you like to go next?" The blonde haired white woman smiled genuinely at him, he sighed before going.

"I'm Key and imma be a hunnit, I'm glad y'all signed NDA's so y'all can't go tellin my bidness." The small crowd laughed and it definitely lightened the mood in the room.

"I have bipolar one disorder and I have currently been manic for longer than seven days. Whenever I go manic and I realize that I'm doin it. I'll come here. It's coo here. I feel safe, at peace. I'm doin this because I've hurt someone who always breakin her back fa me and I have to do the same. I can't rely on my girl no mo, I have to be the change." Simone's eyes went soft for Key, he has a girl and here she was trying to throw herself at him.

"Thank you for sharing that, Key. It's always nice to have reoccurring guests. You will overcome your mania again and you'll leave with some tools on how to calm yourself by yourself." Key nodded his head and drank some of his water. Simone brushed her hands crossed his and smiled sweetly at him when he looked at her. He removed her hand politely and returned the smile.

Simone might not be as bad as he thought.

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Coming back from his evening jog Key walked up to his room, the sun was barely setting so he had time to shower and check his phone before he went to get dinner. He was hella hungry and craving a blunt but this detox was nice for him, he thought about giving up weed and liquor altogether.

"You enjoy your walk?" Simone asked him standing outside his room, he sighed looking at her.

"Yes."

"Well, if you want company for dinner. My room is 7b." She waltzed off hoping he would watch her walk away but by the time she turned around he was long gone.

For the first time since he's been gone for four days he was going to check his phone, he saw hella missed calls from King and a few texts from his baby mom but nothing else.

He sent a quick text to King letting him know what was going on and apologizing for just up and leaving with out notice.

Lay left him a few messages about Marlee and how King stopped by and has been checking on them and for that reason alone he owed his brother the everything.

Bby Moms🤰🏽: I miss you.

Bby Moms🤰🏽: ignore that last message. I was just horny.

Bby Moms🤰🏽: Fuck Markey, why you couldn't just treat me right so we could be together? I hope you getting better out there though. I'm holding shit down here but it's hard.

Markey❤️‍🩹; You free? Call me.

Key hearted all three of her messages and smiled when 30 seconds later a chubby baby face along with Lays popped up on the face time screen.

Key walked to the bathroom and started doing his nighttime face routine.

"Hey mamas." He smiled as he ran the water, Elianna clapped her hands, "Hi dada." She waved in the camera.

"Hey Key, how's it going?" Lay asked through the phone as the little girl started to get antsy. Lay let her down and she began to crawl off.

"It's going really well, I can't lie. I'm starting to get back to my normal self already. How's lil bit doing?" He asked her rubbing his face mask on his face and turning off the water.

"She's doing good, tomorrow they're going to take her off of the heavy sedation." She smiled, this would see if she could wake up by herself or not.

"I'm sorry I can't be there." Key spoke walking through the villa with his face mask.