Chapter 12: For My Girls
April

"In my daughter's eyes I am a hero. I am strong and wise and I know no fear, but the truth is plain to see, she was sent to rescue me."
[By: Martina McBride]

Nia: Hey Nia this is April. Hope you don't mind. I got your number from Chris. He told me you wanted to talk and I'm down for it. When are you free? I'd like to talk to you in person.

April sat in the middle of her bed and sent a text to Nia. She had actually sat down by herself and really thought about the whole Chris and Nia debacle and she was finally ready to just let it go. Chris wasn't her man anymore and the shit happened five years ago and although at the end of the day both parties involved were wrong it was no use to continue holding grudges. In the long run she was happy with her life so maybe it was time to let bygones be bygones and call it a wrap. With the way Royalty and Kairi was and add the way the two little girls were about their little sister April knew that once again no matter how the little red devil sat on her shoulder whispering in her ear telling her to molly wop a bitch that little angel with the halo had won. But although she was going in with positive vibes her guard was still up and she was still down for the fucks just in case shit went left.

973-515-5555: Hey thanks for reaching out. I'd love to talk to you in person as well. I'm free this Friday and anytime is good.

Nia: Friday is good. I was thinking we could meet up at Chris's place and talk there.

973-515-5555: That'll work

Nia: Cool so I'll see you Friday afternoon.

973-515-5555: Ok cool

Nia replied and April put down her phone and picked up her journal. She felt the need to write just to clear her head and get in the right frame of mind because Friday was literally two days away and she didn't want to go into the meeting without clearing her thoughts. Once she was done she called and made all the necessary arrangements letting her pilot know she needed him and making sure that Mama Faye and Senior could watch the girls. She would've called her parents to watch the girls but since they had them for Dave's album release party she wanted to make sure that both set of grandparents got their time in with the girls preferably Charlie since Kairi was either at Dave's parents or her parent's house on the weekends. She knew that most likely that her and Dave's parents would most likely be together Friday anyway. Any, who after squaring that away she phoned Dave to fill him in. She wasn't keeping shit to herself anymore. April didn't want any of those problems with Dave ever again and have him questioning her.

"Look at my wife being all grown up and shit" Dave joked as he looked at her on Facetime. She had just told him that she had set up a date to talk to Nia and it was finally going down.

"Being grown sucks Papi but I'm done holding grudges with her. It' ain't worth my mental stress and besides she ain't fuckin my nigga so it is what it is" April said and shrugged. Let her try that shit with Dave her ass would be slow singing and flower bringing but luckily April didn't have those types of problems when it came to Dave. Her Papi was a one woman man and she was that woman.

"Bet, so do what ya gotta do to check her off the list so we can move forward and see who else might be lurking in the background"

"Heard ju" they talked for a little while longer before hanging up just catching up with what was going on with each other.

Thursday Afternoon...

"Hey sis you good" Ebony scrunched her eyes, looked over, and asked April. They were on her private jet and on their way to LA along with uncle Ny-Reek. He was taking all necessary precautions to keep her safe. He would've been there anyway. He was head of her security team and when she was moving on flights flying from state to state he always made sure to be by her side. At the end of the day not only was April his niece but she was also a major client of his so he was on duty doing what he needed to do.

"Yea why" April looked over at her and got comfortable.

"You just look like you gotta lot on ya mind" Ebony answered looking over her. Ebony always picked up on shit when it came to April's emotions. It was all that time that they had been spending together and the bond that they had. They both knew when something was wrong with one another.

"Oh I do I'm trying to keep positive vibes flowing in my head but I just want to know how this shit is bout to go. Like I'm going in positive but what if she comes to me on some bullshit. I know me and my mouth and my attitude. If shit goes left I might not be able to be around or see my baby and I can't have that. I left her once and she made me promise not to leave her again but her mother has the power to fuck that up for the both of us. Then I'm wondering what is she going to say like is this all bout the girls or her rendezvous with Chris. Like she can save that shit and then I want an apology but who am I. I ain't her friend. She doesn't have to apologize for shit" April said being realistic about the situation and wrapped her arms around her legs with her knees clutched to her chest.

"Fuck her apology at the end of the day it'll most likely be a half assed one anyway. Everybody isn't like us or moves the way we do. You already know her character so don't expect much. People feed off our vibes so if you go in there positive then she will too and at the end of the day RoRo isn't going anywhere so you can forget bout that. Shit Nia would love to be cordial with you just to have some shit to talk bout and be in ya circle so ya good" Ebony said looking at her.

She continued. "Besides between RoRo and Chris that shit ain't going down her lil ass would throw a fit and you already know how Chris is so you'll be good either way. Y'all will have to be around each other anyway. Y'all children are siblings so it's already written" Ebony said as a matter of fact.

"True shit" April nodded.

"Exactly so what else do we gotta handle while we're out there" she asked changing the subject.

"I'm gonna take you to the building so you can pick out ya office and I need to stop by the new house to see how shit is going with the closets. They said they were done and sent pics but I want to see them in person and we have to stop by and see lil sis and lil big bruh because they'd both have a fit if we didn't" April replied. "Is there anything you want to do while we're there" she asked.

Ebony laughed. "Yea I ain't got time for lil sis to be sending me all those gifs and crying emojis so I'm up for that. But bet I wasn't even expecting to stop by the building so with that in mind maybe we can hit up some stores and do some window shopping"

"Bet, I'm down. I need to do some window shopping myself"

"Heard ju but um are you still down for that popup" Ebony asked with a mischievous look in her eyes.

April looked at her and devilishly smirked. "Absolutely I wanted to surprise Papi for his last show anyway and now I just want to see who these fuck niggas are that ain't on the home team"

"Say less" Ebony smirked herself while Ny-Reek looked at them and shook his head. They were just like him and Ian and with Alaina it just topped them off but they were born that way. It was in their blood. April and Ebony continued talking trying to make the five hour flight go by faster. By the time the flight was over and they were at April's house it was well past 11 o'clock and they were both dead tired so they hit the shower and headed to bed.

*******

"Hey Papi just letting you know that I just made it to bestie's house" April said as she looked at him and rubbed her freehand over her face. Today was the day to get everything said, over and done with, and pray for a good outcome.

"Ma take a deep breath you act like you bout to go in there and all hell is gonna break loose. That ain't happening and Breezy wouldn't even let that shit go down. Ya going in there for one reason and one reason only...our lil girls" Dave said looking at her trying to calm her down. It wasn't the fact that she thought Nia would jump stupid. It was more so of her not dragging a bitch and being petty that April was worried about.

"You know me and my mouth Papi. You know my ass is super petty" she said and pouted as she leaned her head against the headrest of the car. At the moment she was by herself. She didn't want Ebony to be there because she knew if shit went left not only would she be whooping ass but Ebony wouldn't give two fucks she would be ready to get in a round right after her. So for now she was a few blocks away on her stay ready shit with uncle Ny-Reek. They were on watch.

Dave laughed. "Ma calm ya ass down we really know what it is. You had my baby and ya ready to release all that damn smoke you've been holding in. When ya ass gets back home go in our gym and hit the bag. You got all that hostility still built up. I don't know ole girl but I doubt she'd call you out of all people to start some shit. Starting with you right now would just be asking for punishment so put the gloves and glocks down"

"True, true I just want my round especially after the Hazel shit" she nodded agreeing with him.

She had been keeping all this shit built up while she was pregnant so it had nowhere to go but to just fester. She couldn't whoop Millie's ass or Hazel's when she wanted them the most. Then for Hazel to pop up and she still couldn't do anything all that hostility was just building up more and more. Poor Millie it looked like she'd be getting an ass whooping dedicated to all of them because she knew that was one fight that was going down without a doubt.

"Listen, don't take all that shit out on her she ain't ya friend so fuck her loyalty to you. She's ya baby's mother and we want for our girls to be able to have that sisterly bond that they already have without any drama so go do what you gotta do. Put those big girl panties on" he said keeping it real with her as always.

April nodded. "Agreed"

"Is she there yet" Dave asked.

"Nah I told her twelve so she should be here any minute" she replied.

"Bet so talk some good shit in my ear" he looked at her and licked his lips before putting a fresh blunt to his lips. He was in his hotel room chilling at the moment.

She looked at him and smirked. "Give em a taste of the goods and they don't know how to act" she chuckled.

Dave looked at her and laughed. "Who is they and who are you talking bout me or you. Papi gave you the dick you've been begging for and you've been hooked ever since" he shot back.

"We're talking bout you right now and the way ya licking ya lips at me"

"I'm not even gonna entertain you right now and have you sitting there leaking and wasting my juices"

"Ya juices" she raised her brow and laughed.

"Now we both know what it is so I ain't even gonna hold you. You know all that shit belongs to me. It was mines since day one and when ya ass said yes you solidified that shit" he said that shit and he meant that shit.

April looked at him and cheesed. "It does Papi it really does" she said then bit down on her bottom lip. He was telling nothing but the truth. She had wanted his ass, got his ass, locked him down, and now she was all his and when everybody finally saw that ring including her everybody would know exactly what it was no questions asked. She was soon to be Mrs. April Elegance Brewster and she couldn't wait. So yes those juices belonged to him.

"Stop doing all that"

"Doing all what" she asked and laughed playing dumb.

"See and that's why you was fucked up the other day but keep playing"

"Whatever" she said and smacked her lips then looked at the time. She was still pissed with him about the wheelchair shit the day after Thanksgiving. She had to walk around damn near the whole day at a snail's pace and get ganged up on by August and Shooter. Not to mention he didn't even pay Kairi for her curse word so she had to come out of pocket that day and pay up.

"Now it's whatever" he laughed and took a pull from his blunt then exhaled a cloud of smoke. "You ain't like that there did you" he asked chuckling.

"Uh huh any, who it's bout that time for me to head inside"

"Don't be brushing me off now ma" he laughed. "But nah go head and handle ya business ma and make sure you call me afterwards"

"Bet, I love you Papi"

"I love you to ma. I'll talk to you later"

"Ok" she said and hung up. April took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling of the car. "God please don't let me have to smack a bitch amen. By the way sorry for cursing" she prayed, turned off the car, opened the door, and hopped out closing and locking the door behind her making sure she checked her surroundings. Making her way to Chris's front door she turned the knob and walked smooth in. He had seen her when she had first arrived and had told her to come inside whenever she was ready so she did.

"BESTIEEEEE" she shouted as she made her way further inside his house making her way to the living room.

"YOU KNOW THEY'RE COMING RIGHT" Chris shouted back just as she heard running headed her way.

"Yup" she laughed just as his dogs came running full speed ahead to her extra excited and sniffing her like they hadn't seen her in forever. Then again she hadn't been to LA in a few months since she wasn't able to travel while carrying Charlie. April bent down and started rubbing and petting them. "Calm down I missed y'all too" she laughed just as the doorbell went off. April already knew what time it was but she wasn't about to get all serious with the dogs and brush them off.

"I GOT IT" Chris shouted. April knew damn well he had it. She knew he didn't expect her to get the door. Shit she was a guest too and she damn sure wasn't about to open his door.

"DADDY" she heard Royalty shout and she couldn't help but smile.

April hadn't seen her baby in a while and when she did she was using Chris's phone to Facetime her and the girls. As soon as the dogs heard her they bounced on April and headed right for Royalty. April took off her jacket and got comfortable just as her phone went off with an alert. She picked it up and smiled seeing it was a text from her man.

Papi🤴🏽🍆👅: Allah got you ma 😘💙

She read his text on the lock screen.

Ma👸🏾💍😛: Thanks Papi 😘💙

She replied back. A few minutes later she could hear more footsteps headed her way again.

"I'll be right back I'm a go put them up. Ro it's a surprise in the living room for you" April heard Chris tell Royalty.

"Ok" she said and all April heard were her little footsteps taking off. Royalty ran into the living room and as soon as Royalty and April's eyes met they both started cheesing. "MY APPLE" she screamed and ran to April.

"MY BABY" April said with the same excitement as she stood up and scooped Royalty in her arms and spun her around laughing.

"I missed you my Apple" Royalty said and hugged her tight.

"I missed you too my baby" she said and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Is little sis and baby sis here" she asked as April sat back down with Royalty still attached to her.

"Sorry my baby lil sis had school today and baby sis is with Papa Senior and Nana Faye" April answered.

"Aww man" she said and folded her arms pouting. April couldn't wait for her girls to be in the same state. She knew that them being states away wasn't good for them especially with how close they were. Besides April wanted to make sure that they all grew up together just like she had with her sisters.

April chuckled. "You know you can always call them and Love Bug will always answer" April said and removed a piece of hair from her face then looked over and saw Nia looking at them with a small smile on her face watching them.

"Ok"

"Ok my baby I need to talk to your mommy for a lil while" April said wanting to get this long overdue conversation out of the way.

"Ok and can y'all be friends like you and Auntie LaLa and Auntie NeNe" she asked her talking about Alaina and Ebony. April knew then that Royalty had picked up on her and her mother's nonexistent relationship and that wasn't a good look.

"I'll do what I can just for you my baby" April answered and she would.

"Ok I'm going to bother daddy" she said and hopped off April's lap. April just looked at her and laughed as she watched her walk over to Nia.

"Mommy you have to be friends with my Apple too ok" she said as she stood in front of Nia with her hands together swaying from side to side.

"That's why I'm here" Nia said and smiled at her.

"Ok" she smiled and hugged her before running off to find Chris who had fucking dipped and never came back.

April looked at Nia and gave her a small smile. "Hey" April greeted her.

"Hey do you mind" she said and asked as she motioned to the couch April was sitting on.

"I don't mind"

Nia got up and sat on the couch beside her but at the other end just to keep some space in between them. "Before we get into the matter at hand I really just want to say sorry for what I did and the part I played in you and Chris's relationship. I know you may not want to hear it especially after all this time but I am sorry. I was just out living my life not caring about nobody but me. I knew what it was and I had a chance to be with him even if it wasn't actually being with him. I ran with it without thinking twice. I never meant to cause you any pain or get in the middle of your relationship. Like I said I was just really living in the moment not caring about the consequences or how you or anyone else felt" Nia said and took a breath. April just looked at her.

"Oh so you knew you were wrong but you just didn't give a fuck" April said in her head.

"Chris Brown was paying me attention and I was excited. I felt like I had won a prize. I knew about you. Everyone knew about you but late nights and getting hit on by a celebrity you sort of blur out those lines and run with it" she said as she kept her eyes on April. Yet April didn't budge. She didn't say shit or show any emotion she just sat there and listened.

"Most of the time it was just drunk sex. I knew he wasn't into me like that. I knew what I was to him and I didn't expect anything more from it. I was comfortable with what we had going on. When I got pregnant I didn't know if Royalty was his or not. Like I said I was out there but she turned out to be his and I wasn't going to keep her away from her father. She was innocent. I knew me having her was going to cause more harm than good but I wasn't going to get rid of her" Nia said. It was as if she had mouth diarrhea because the words just kept coming and coming.

"Oh I kno you wasn't. You were looking for a pay check and you got it" April said in her head as she folded her hands together tightly. She hadn't expected her to spill but so much tea.

April nodded her head for her to continue. The bitch felt like confessing so she wanted to hear it all and see just how much she would spill. She couldn't understand women like Nia at all. How the hell do you know about a man having a woman and still let him hit on you and fuck you. Like where is your self-respect. Guess some chicks were just happy about being seen and being number two. It was like some women aspired to be side chicks like that shit was cool.

"I was absolutely wrong from jump even when I popped up on your doorstep. I was wrong but Chris needed to let it be known that he might've been the father of my child. I'm sorry for rubbing our affair and our child in your face. I'm sorry for going on line and saying all the shit I did when I knew that you were indeed taking care of my child. You could've came to me on any given day, knocked on my door, and wanted to fight but never once did you even say anything wrong to me when I knew you wanted to. If I was you I'd be trying to fight me and whoop my own ass" she said and nervously laughed but wasn't shit funny. Ole girl was a poor excuse of a woman. To April she had already known what Nia was doing from jump and now she had openly admitted that she just didn't give a fuck.

April looked at her and laughed herself. Nia didn't know just how lucky she was. She had been saved way too many damn times. "Trust I wanted to whoop ya ass and drag you all through the streets but it wasn't worth it" April admitted and kept it short. She wasn't about to go all the way there with her. It was a lot of things she could've done to Nia but she wasn't going to elaborate. Honestly the bitch could've got, got.

Nia nodded her head. "Understandable I did to you what I would never want a woman to do to me. At the end of the day I'm sorry for everything and I'm so thankful that you never once took out any of your frustrations and anger out on Royalty. You loved on her as if she was yours and took care of her just the same and I am so thankful for that. Most women wouldn't have dealt with any of what happened with the three of us and for you to step up the way you did I just can't thank you enough. When you left Chris and you weren't around anymore I had to watch my lil girl cry for you for a long while and there was nothing that I could do about it. She knew nothing of what actually happened but she cried and I was part the blame" Nia said and looked away.

April knew that shit had to hurt. Nia and Chris was so busy living their lives, fuckin her over, and never thought that April would leave such an imprint the way she had in Royalty's life. Nia had been so busy throwing stones, shooting daggers, and living her so-called best life that she had to live with the fact that the same woman she fucked over loved her daughter and her daughter loved her just as much. Karma!

"By now I'm pretty sure you know I'm not that type of person or woman. I respect that you're her mother. You know like I know that what you and Chris did was wrong on so many levels but I would never take that shit out on an innocent baby no matter how I felt. She's my son's lil sister. I would've never been able to live with myself if I'd a treated her wrong. She was a part of him and I wanted that" April looked at her and said. Nia looked at her wide eyed. People had only found out about Jr when the shit popped off online with Millie and some were still learning that she and Chris had, had a child together. If Chris had never mentioned CMB JR in his comment no one would know to this day. It would've just been between family.

April nodded. "Yup I was pregnant when you showed up on my doorstep but that's neither here or there. Like I was saying Royalty is a piece of my baby boy so I loved and treated her as if she was mines because I felt connected to her. She was the cutest lil thing ever. She looked just like her father and a few sprinkles of her brother so I was drawn to her" April said. She wasn't about to even go into her feelings about how she showed up on her doorstep on the very same day she planned to tell Chris about their baby. She was going to leave it right where it was...in the past.

"I'm sorry for ya loss" Nia looked at her.

April knew she didn't know what else to say after that. Besides she wanted that shit to soak in. April wanted to be petty just for a few minutes but it really wasn't worth it. All she wanted to blurt out was yea I know you was fuckin Chris when I was in the hospital giving birth to my dead son and I know that while his phone was ringing y'all were ignoring my calls but she didn't she kept it cute. April just knew as soon as she stopped breast feeding Charlie she was going to roll the fastest blunt ever and drift away far from her thoughts. Shit had her feeling like she was a recently saved Christian and she was letting everybody slide on by with their bullshit. She wished that for once in her life that she didn't give a fuck about hurting people's feelings, the consequences, and anything morally correct. But then again if she didn't care she wouldn't be her and she wasn't going to change her character over fuck niggas and bitches.

"Thank you"

"When you popped back up and you and Chris got back tight I knew it would be a matter of time before you would be back in Royalty's life. Trust me I don't mind. I'm happy that you're back in her life. She loves you and from what I just witnessed you still love her just the same. When she talks about you, her sisters, grandparents, aunts, and uncles she lights up and gets excited. I don't want to take that from her and I wouldn't take that away from her. I think it's good for her and from what I can tell your family loves her too" Nia continued.

April smiled. She always smiled when her girls were mentioned. "Everyone loves her. She's one of us. She's a part of our family and we treat her as such. Just because I left doesn't mean that I stopped loving her or that I stopped caring and that I didn't miss her. I never stopped. She made me promise not to leave her ever again and that's a promise I don't tend on breaking. That lil girl was my first child" April said and she didn't care how Nia felt about her calling Royalty hers. She did everything a mother was supposed to do for that child and she did it without ever complaining.

"And this is why she loves you the way she does. Look I know I was in the wrong and my apology is five years too late and then some but I want for her to be able to call you guys and come around when she feels like it. I don't want her to feel like she has to choose between the two of us and our families when she has a family with the both of us. When she has events I would like for all of us to be able to sit in a room together and cheer her on. Let's face it your daughter and mines are sisters and they're going to be around each other regardless and Chris will make sure of that but we as their mothers need to be on the same page" Nia said and continued.

"We don't have to be besties or friends at all but I would like for us to be cordial. I would like for Royalty to look at us and know that we get along instead of being enemies. I don't want to be your enemy. Chris doesn't have to be the mediator we're grown enough to do it ourselves. I don't mind you coming to get her or her staying the night at your place but we have to work together. I would like to be able to call you and be like hey April Royalty is having a party or a play or whatever can you and your family come and celebrate or whatever the case maybe"

April nodded. She was here for Nia being on her grown woman shit and thinking about their children. It was a very mature move and April was here for it especially if it worked out for the betterment of their children.

"Agreed we're grown enough to communicate between each other and at the end of the day I do this shit for my girls. We both know that I didn't give birth to Royalty but I consider her mines. I treat her as if she's mines. I always have and I always will. That's never going to change she is mines. Besides she just asked for us to be friends like I am with my sisters. We both know that, that is a lil farfetched for us but I'm willing to be cool and cordial for her sake" April said. Shit she knew just like Nia knew that they would never be actual friends but they could be cool enough to make sure that Royalty was straight.

"Same here I don't expect much but for my daughter I can be the bigger person and do what I have to do to make things right"

"So this is it huh" April chuckled.

___________________________________
-Hey guys happy reading I hope you all enjoyed. Stay tuned there will be a part 2 😊
-April & Nia...it has finally gone down. I don't even know what to say about it. I wanted to be super petty but I wanted this chapter to be a little on the mature side. I snuck a pinch of pettiness in but y'all know how petty April really is 😂
-How do you guys feel about the talk so far 🤔
-Do you think Nia should've said all of what she did or just a simple apology would've sufficed 🤔
-Any, who sharing is caring so tell a friend to tell a friend. Don't forget to comment, vote, & add to your libraries 🥰
-If you are reading & not commenting no problem just make sure you color the ⭐️ please & thank you 🥰