Naala sat in the backseat of the escalade, watching the streets pass her by. Her phone sat in her lap, buzzing frequently from all the instagram follow requests. She had recently made her instagram private due to the amount of random followers she was gaining. One request made her laugh out loud; it was Millie. She was clearly trying to gain her attention because she had followed her and unfollowed her twice. Naala accepted the request and viewed her story. It was random clips of her at a hookah lounge but there was one thing that stood out to her. It was a picture of her and Dave, with the caption: 'These bitches don't do it like me 😝'.

She hadn't tagged him but could see people @ing him in the comments. A few people had actually tagged her in as well but she hadn't seen that. Naala knew it was old photo as Dave had recently gotten Sinai's name tattooed on his knuckles which wasn't in the photo. Naala shook her head and commented, 'cute 🥺' before liking the photo and closing the app. She knew what she was doing at it was hilarious to her.

Naala screenshotted the post and sent it to the group text chain she had with her girls.

: 🤢 what was Dave thinking?

: She cute but my bitch is finerrrr

: Do I bug out or nah?

: is this the same chick from the club?

: no way this hoe is still going

: Yes! She be calling him all times of the day swell, I'm finna bug out y'all

: she's not worth it Lala

: You're right, she's got one more time tho

: I'm always ready!!

: Sit your pregnant ass down lmao

: LMAO, before Ace kill me.

: Oh yh, I'm engaged,

: stop fucking lying

: show the ring then bitch

: Mia! hurry upppp

: 1 attachment

: bitchhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

: 🥳 🥳 🥳

: that pussy 🔥

: omg baby I'm cryingggg🥺

: y'all im in shock, im really about to be someone's wife

: Jamaica for the wedding?

: you know itttt!

Naala laughed and set her phone down. She was ecstatic for Mia, marriage and a family was always something she wanted - now she was about to have both. Naala decided she was gonna leave Millie for now, she wasn't threatened by her at all but one she was not, is a fool. There was no way Naala was gonna let Millie clown her. She decided to post a picture of her own,

: Alexa play, 'All mine' 🥰

: We love a petty Queen! 🤣

: 💙 my whole heart

: My God baby so cute!

Even though her and Dave were not on good terms, that was still her baby. He was one of the first people to like the post. Millie followed soon after, liking the post to be petty when inside she was fuming.

Bully drove at a fast pace, trying to get her to Sonia's house quickly. Unbeknownst to her, Dave had already picked Sinai up and they were already at home. Naala and Azure had a great lunch, it helped Naala take her mind off her argument with Dave.

The car came to an abrupt stop, Naala looked up and then were in the driveway of Mama Sonia's home. Naala picked up her purse and proceeded to exit the vehicle.

"I'll be right back," Naala muttered before getting out of the car. Bully nodded his head and turned off the engine.

Naala walked up the drive way, pulling her sunglasses off, revealing her round brown eyes. She knocked on the door and took a step back, taking in the fresh pink flowers growing.

Sonia pulled open the door, a confused smile planted on her lips. "Naala, what did I do to deserve this surprise," she said whilst stepping to the side to allow Naala access to the house.

Naala politely smiled and stepped in to the warm home, "I'm here to pick up my baby," she said looking around at the spotless living area.

Sonia raised an eyebrow, "baby, Sinai left with her daddy a few hours ago," Naala looked confused. She knows that Dave hadn't spoken to her all day so she assumed she would be picking up Sinai. Now there she was, standing in Sonia's house looking dumb as hell.

"She did?" Naala questioned, checking her phone for any messages from Dave and saw he hadn't even opened the message she sent him earlier. Naala was pissed. Sonia picked on Naala's expression and parted her lips to speak,

"What's going on with you two?" Sonia asked genuinely concerned, Dave and Naala had been to see her countless of times and their love radiated off of them.

"I don't know Mama," Naala said honestly,

"Y'all seemed fine yesterday, what happened?" Sonia asked.

"We had an argument last night about my ex, he didn't take it very well and now I feel like I'm losing him," Naala said softly, withholding the majority of the details.

"You're not losing him Lala, that boy is in love with you," Sonia reassured her as she saw tears gathering in Naala's eyes.

"I am, he looked at me so differently last night Mama, you should have seen him -- he doesn't want this," Naala said, a few tears falling down her cheeks.

"Look baby --" Sonia said guiding Naala over to a sofa,

"You've got to stop this, has he told you he doesn't want to be with you?" Sonia questioned, knowing fully well that Dave was not ready to leave Naala alone.

"Not exactly-," Naala said, running her fingers through her hair. She was starting to see where Ms Sonia was going with that question.

"Then go home and talk to him. Y'all have too much love to let it go to waste over miscommunication. Do you love him?"

"Of course, " Naala stated, she didn't even have to think about it - she had been in love with Dave since she was 18 years old.

Sonia smiled and pulled Naala into a hug, "Then go and fix your family," She said softly, planting a kiss on her head. Naala sighed and hugged Sonia back before getting up and fixing her purse on her shoulder.

"When you get home, tell that big headed boy to call me," Sonia sassed, "Now go on, mama's got a hot date," She giggled fluffing out her hair.

Naala laughed and thanked her before leaving the house and walking to the car, her and Dave had a lot to talk about.

———————————————————

Dave grew alert as he heard the door unlock. He was currently watching a movie with Sinai - well she was watching the movie, he was staring hopelessly at the screen.

Sinai sat up quickly, "Mommy's home!" She said before wriggling out of her father's grip and heading towards the door.

Naala appeared in the hallway, her heels were now off and in her hand. "My baby," she sighed softly leaning down to give her a hug.

"We missed you so much Mom," Sinai said kissing her mom on the cheek. Naala giggled and returned the kiss.

Dave remained in the same position on the couch and watched them. Naala looked over and gave him a small smile which he didn't return, he was still sour.

Dave got up and spoke directly to Sinai, "Come on Nai, time for a bath, you got school in the morning." He grunted, his mood completely ruined. Naala scoffed and took Sinai's hand, "I can do it," she said before attempting to walk towards the bathroom.

Dave tutted, "You know bath time is our thing," he said giving Naala a stern look, "after all, you've had plenty bath times with her," he shot out at her.

Before Naala could even reply, Dave had scooped Sinai up and was taking her towards her room. Instead of arguing Naala let him walk off with her and proceeded to their bedroom so she could change before making dinner.

She walked into the room and straight into her closet, pulling her clothes of angrily. She knew she fucked up last night but that was no excuse for the way Dave was treating her, she should be the angry one, he picked up Sinai without saying so.

Naala put on a v-neck shirt and a pair of pyjama shorts. She put her hair into a low bun and slipped on her fluffy slippers. She walked out of the room and went into the kitchen.

Opening the fridge, she racked her brain of what she could make for them. She pulled up chicken thighs and vegetables. She settled on Stewed Chicken with some rice and vegetables - something easy.

20 minutes later, Chanel walked down the stairs and say Naala in the kitchen, she let out a small smile. "Hey Lala," She chirped, walking up to the refrigerator and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Nellyyyy," Naala sang, she was happy she had another adult in the house that was actually speaking to her.

"It smells good as shit in here," Chanel said as she sat on one of the stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

"Thank you," Naala smiled, "I forgot to ask is Stewed Chicken okay?" Naala asked concernedly.

"Girl you know I will eat whatever you make," Chanel laughed as she sent a message back to Von. Naala noticed Chanel's smirk and raised her eyebrows,

"Mmm so mystery man is back in your good books?" She questioned. Chanel had recently mentioned that her and Von were in bad terms, she failed to mention who he was.

"Not yet," Chanel mumbled, setting her phone down. "I don't get men at all, one minute he's all over me and the next he doesn't even answer my calls," She stressed looking over at Naala.

Naala set down the spoon in her hand and wiped her hands off on a dish cloth. "Men can drive anyone crazy," Naala retorted.

"Speaking from experience?" Chanel said with a small smirk, Naala parted her lips to speak and was cut off by Sinai's footsteps feeling the kitchen.

Sinai walked over to her mom and hugged her waist,

"What's wrong with Daddy," she questioned looking up at Naala. Her big brown eyes searching her mothers for answers. Naala rubbed her head lovingly,

"I was speaking to your Tete baby, what did we say about interrupting?" Naala said looking down at her.

"Sorry Tete Nelly," Sinai said looking over at her. Chanel smiled and waved her hand dismissively,

"I'm not upset with you 'Nai," Chanel said in a cheerful tone, she wasn't even concentrating, she was too busy planning her next date with Von.

Sinai turned back to her mom and pouted, "What's wrong with Daddy?" She asked again playing with the strings on Naala's shorts.

"I'm not sure baby, what makes you think there's something wrong?" Naala asked knowing that Sinai must have picked up on Dave's dry attitude towards her.

"He hasn't smiled all day mommy! Remember you told me that people only don't smile when something is wrong with them,"

"Maybe he needs you to cheer him up," Naala suggested, "Why don't you go and show him what you learned at ballet practice?"

Sinai nodded quickly and walked off to go and find Dave. Naala sighed heavily, she didn't want their relationship to ruin his relationship with Sinai.

"Y'all had a fight yesterday?" Chanel asked as she saw Naala's mood go down.

"Not a fight but we both said some things we shouldn't have," Naala said trying not to go into too much detail.

"You know how my brother is, he's a hothead," Chanel stated, talking quietly hoping he wouldn't hear her,

"I know that but he knows how to hurt me, that's what scares me 'Nel, I love him so much but it hurts me to my core when he speaks to me so badly. I know I did the worst thing by keeping Sinai from him but I can't pay for that forever, I think we moved too fast." Naala said, it felt good to get that out, these thoughts have been swimming through her head all day.

"I don't think he feels that way Naala, just talk to him." Chanel said. Naala nodded her head and went back to cooking, suddenly she didn't want to talk about this anymore.

Naala continued cooking, frequently tasting it to ensure she had everything right. When she was done she turned off the stove and set out to go and find Dave and Sinai.

"I'm gonna go get them, help yourself Nel," Naala said to Chanel who was quick to grab a plate.

She followed the sound of Dave's gruff voice and found them in Sinai's room. She was showing him her plie that she had recently perfected in her ballet lessons. Dave was watching her with such adoration in his eyes,

"Sinai come on, the food's done," Naala said purposely ignoring Dave sitting right in front of her. Sinai huffed and walked out of her room towards the kitchen. Naala turned around and was about to follow her before she felt something grab her wrist. She turned around and was met with Dave's tall stature towing over her 5'4 figure.

"Can I talk to you quickly?" Dave grumbled, his signature mug as clear as day. Naala scoffed and pulled her hand back,

"There's nothing to speak about," She sassed, she was very upset by the way he had spoken to her when she got home.

"Please -" He was cut off by his phone loudly ringing. Both him and Naala looked at the phone sitting in his hand. The name Millie shined brightly on the screen, Naala wasn't dumb she had seen him cancel calls from Millie for weeks now and enough was enough.

"Answer the phone," Naala said, holding her hand out, her anger had now been diverted to Millie.

"Man --" Dave started,

"I said answer it," Naala said before snatching it out of his hand and answering it.

"Finally, I've been calling you Dave, you forgot about me." Millie's shrill voice rang through the phone. Naala chuckled at the excitement in her voice,

"Molly! What a nice surprise," Naala shouted out before Dave grabbed his phone back and put it to his ear. Naala scoffed and watched him speak to Millie in a hushed tone. Deciding that she didn't want to watch him anymore, she stormed out of Sinai's room and back to the kitchen.

Chanel was busy fixing Sinai a plate whilst Sinai sat patiently at the dining table. Naala walked in, anger radiating of her body. She walked past Chanel and straight to the refrigerator, pulling out an unopened bottle of wine. Chanel watched her and kept quiet, the look on Naala's face was enough to silence anybody.

Naala popped the bottle open and grabbed a huge wine glass, filling it up with the dark red wine. She took a massive gulp and set the glass down. She put a smile on her face and took the plate from Chanel, setting in front of Sinai.

"Eat up baby," She said before turning back and grabbing her own plate. Chanel was now seated at the table with Sinai waiting for Naala to join them. Dave walked back into the room, an apologetic look on his face. He walked over to the kitchen and slide behind Naala. He leaned down and whispered into her ear,

"Keep this attitude up and see if I don't fuck it out of you," He grunted, reaching over to serve his own food. Naala's mouth went dry, even though she was angry that made her soaked. Naala simply ignored him and took her plate and wine over to the table.

"Mmm," Chanel chuckled as Naala sat down. She wasn't blind, she saw Dave and Naala's exchange and also noticed Naala's flustered look as she joined them at the table.

"Daddy quick, we need to say grace," Dave took a small amount of food and joined them at the table. They all joined hands and bowed their heads as Dave led the prayer.

"Heavenly Father, bless the food we about to eat and bless the hands that made this wonderful meal, Amen." He said looking directly at Naala who's head was still bowed. They all said amen and began to eat.

"Bubby?" Chanel said breaking the silence at the table. Dave looked at her and raised his eyebrows, she only called him that when she wanted something.

"Yea?" Dave questioned whilst picking up a piece of chicken.

"I was wondering when I could get my car back?" She spoke sweetly.

"You're not getting your car back, you don't know how to use it properly so you don't have that privilege anymore," Chanel had her car taken away because she tended to stay out at all hours of the night and not mention to anyone where she was. Dave had made the decision to take it after she went missing for almost 2 days and her excuse was that she 'lost track of time'.

"That's bullshit!" She shouted, causing Sinai to jump and Naala's head to pop up from her plate.

"Language please 'Nel," Naala said softly signalling to a very impressionable Sinai sitting at the table.

"You definitely not getting it back now," Dave muttered, pouring himself a bit of Naala's wine. Naala cut her eyes towards him and cleared her throat,

"What if she uses mine? It can be a trial run, she's only allowed it during the day and she has to have a reason to use it," Chanel looked over at Naala with thankful eyes.

"What does she need a car for?" Dave questioned Naala, this was the first time their eyes had met the entire night.

"What did we speak about yesterday Amir? You gotta trust her," Naala spoke firmly, she knew how protective Dave could be, it was one of his characteristics that she both loved and hated.

"We gon' test this out," He said pointing at Chanel, he couldn't say no to Naala.

"Thanks Lala," Chanel cheesed, picking up her phone to text her girls the good news.

Naala didn't reply, she took another big gulp of her wine almost finishing it. Dave looked at her, they both knew that her and alcohol were not a good mix but she needed it.

"Tete 'Nel I have my recital tomorrow, are you coming?" Sinai asked Chanel.

"I'll see if I can baby," Chanel said softly, getting up to put her plate up - she was so hungry that she had already finished.

Sinai nodded and turned to her mom, "I'm finished now mommy, can we play with my dolls?"