As Khari helped clean up dinner with Courtney and his dad, he always watched as Nyla and Nevaeh played with the new stuff they got for Christmas.

"So what are you doing for New Years? Going back to Atlanta or you staying up here?" Jean asked Khari.

"Nothing, might just chill with some friends. Why what's up?" He asked as he opened the fridge, putting the small container of banana pudding inside, he made sure he hid it behind everything so that no one else could take it, he loved banana pudding and there was no way in hell he wasn't gonna be the person to eat the last of it.

"I was wondering if you could watch Nyla. Neveaeh is going to some sleepover with one of her friends from school."

"Yeah, what y'all doing?" Khari asked.

"One if my colleagues and his wife are having a white party, so we're going. You can bring your friends over here, don't fuck up my house, not too many people."Jean told his son. He knew his son was a party animal and any chance Khari could get to throw a huge party he would.

"I wasn't gon do all that if I'm watching Ny. Probably just gon be me, Langston and 5 of my friends. We'll just be chilling." Khari assured his father. He wasn't gonna do nothing crazy if he was babysitting his sister. The most he'd do is pregame before hand and then go through the motions as the night went on.

As he finished with his parents in the kitchen he headed upstairs with Langston. Langston was quiet all day and Khari knew why, it was odd for Langston to be without their mom, Khari tried to understand and comfort him as best as he could but it was difficult due to Khari not having the same relationship with his mother as Langston did.

"Yo bro, you good?" Khari asked as Langston sat up in bed playing his game.

"Yeah I'm chilling. It's anymore pudding left?" Langston asked.

"Naw, Ny just had the rest of it." Khari lies knowing once everyone went to bed he'd roll a spliff and sit outside in his car as eat the rest.

"Pop said him and Courtney going out on New Year's Eve so we gotta watch Nyla, but I was gon have a lil kickback with some friends, if you wanna invite some of yours you can." Khari inquired.

"Ard, I'll watch Ny. You can go have fun." Langston told Khari.

Khari wasn't sure what exactly was going on with his brother, he didn't know if it if he was still mourning their mother or if it was just if Langston felt weird being around Khari and his dad and the rest of the family.

"Yo bro, you good? You've been kinda stand-off-ish ever since pop said you can stay with us for the holiday." Khari said sitting beside his brother on the bed.

"It's just, I'm chillin here with y'all and I'm still mourning and I look at you and see you just living ya best life, you seem happy."

"Happy? Man I'm not happy, Langston I lost my mother. Yeah I wasn't on good terms with her but I lost the women who birthed me. Whatever you see or think of me right now, that shit is cap. I'm hurting still too. I just know how to hide my emotions. I got you, if you need anything you know I got ya back. And don't think just because you're not Jean's biological son, that your not family here. Everybody in this damn household loves you and I dare them to not because I'll be on they ass." Khari reassured his brother. Langston nodded before the two gave each other a brotherly hug and then then parting ways.

As Khari went to his room and flopping down onto his bed an incoming call from Kiara appeared.

"Yo ugly." He joked with a smile across his lips.

"Boy bye. I'm cute, stop playing with me. You the ugly one." Kiara joked back.

"Yeah Ard, wasn't saying that a couple months back when you was drooling over me." Khari spat back next hearing a laughter in the background, immediately he knew it was Armani. He looked at Kiara's face and saw her eyes roll. "But what's up? You good?" Khari asked sitting up.

"Nothing much, how was your holiday?" Kiara asked.

"It was pretty good. How about you?"

"Good. I enjoyed myself. Mani burnt the cookies we made earlier but other than that it was a good day."

"I told you to not let her ass bake nothing, she always burning shit." Khari laughed. "But I was gonna throw a lil kickback for New Years. You wanna come?" Khari asked as he pouted his lips.

"Yeah, you don't have to beg Khari." Kiara laughed.

"Just had to male sure." Khari said.

"Mhm." Kiara hummed.

The two continued their nightly talk. Khari just listened to Kiara ramble on about her holiday and how she still wasn't sure about her mother and honestly Khari could understand why. It's sort of like his situation with his mom. Just out of no where they both reappeared. Khari was happy that his mom came back but he wasn't because he never got reassurance on why she treated him like she did. But he was happy that they were getting to a good place before she did go. The phone got silent after a while and for some reason Khari asked the question he's been wanting to ask for the past week.

"Where Darien? Why you never talk to him about stuff like this?" Khari asked next seeing Kiara's face go from calm to shocked.

"Because you understand.." Kiara told Khari.

"What you mean?" Khari asked.

"You and me-." She began speaking softly making it difficult for Khari to hear her.

"Speak up mama's. Tell me what's wrong." Khari said, he didn't like when Kiara would bottle her feelings up because he wanted to actually be there for her. He wanted her to speak her mind, if she couldn't to anyone else at least it could be him.

"Khari we both grew up motherless, we both fight the same battles with finding ourselves. Darien has his mind set, he has his mother and father. He has his grandmother. He doesn't understand my pain. Our pain." Kiara bluntly said, she fought back her tears as best as she could she refused to cry in front of Khari but she couldn't help it. She was still healing and it didn't help that she was getting closer to another man when she should be doing so with her boyfriend. She felt bad about it, she felt as if she was cheating because she wasn't the way she is with Khari with Darien.

"It's okay. We gon get through it together. I got you." Khari said. "Try to talk to em. Let me know what happens." Khari told her. He quickly changed the topic to uplift her and get her mind off of things and he felt kind of bad for asking. He didn't mean to cause her to cry.

As Kiara began to wake she heard a bathroom toilet and shuffling. She quickly rose from her sleep and looked around and not seeing anyone in her bedroom. She looked down at her phone seeing that the FaceTime call with Khari was still going.

"Khari?" She asked.

"Hm?" He hummed as he began to fall back asleep.

"We fell asleep on the phone." She laughed.

"Yeah we did mama's." He said tiredly. His voice was sexy as hell and it honestly melted Kiara inside. "We some damn 6th graders." He joked as he stretched, beginning to wake up.

"For real." Kiara said as she yawned.

"Put ya face in the camera. I wanna see your ugly face." Khari grinned.

"First of all, Ik beautiful. Stop playing with me." Kiara spat.

"I know. Ima call you when I'm up and mire alert, okay?"

"K. Bye." Kiara said in a baby voice. She began to say bye in a baby-ish tone when her and Khari were having a debate and she realized she was wrong and she began to apologize but she said it in a baby voice and for some reason it made Khari smile every time.

Kiara got out of bed and walked to the conjoined bathroom and began to get ready. She was going back home tonight with Armani. The girls bonded and became way more closer ever since the learned that they were sisters. It made Kiara even more happy to know she had a little brother. Kiara was happy she came to her mothers house for the holiday. She learned so much and even though her and Shivani had more talking to do, Kiara was happy she at least got to know her biological mother for once. All she need to know was her father and she'd be set in her mind.