Haven stretched real good as she made an obnoxious sound; she looked at her face in the mirror as she did every morning because she couldn't believe it every time she looked.

Her black eye was finally in the process of healing, so most of the swelling had gone down; she iced it whenever she could and also rubbed the cream Genesis gave her. She used the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then went back to laying down.

She saw Ezra on the phone, but he was sitting up, meaning he muted her and he was playing the game.

She put him on pause to check her messages.

"You up, baby?" Ezra asked, making her chuckle; she didn't even know he was paying attention.

"Yes, just woke up."

"Merry Christmas, pretty girl."

"Merry Christmas." Haven slightly smiled.

She loved Christmas, it was her favorite holiday, but it didn't feel like this year. Her face was ugly, this would be her second year without her mom, and she just wasn't in the spirit.

"I'll be over there at six, seven at the latest," Ezra spoke, making Haven look at the time to see it was 1:15.

Ever since Ezra was a kid, he, Keygan, and Tyke came over for Christmas dinner. They missed last year because it was their first Christmas without their mother, so they thought they should enjoy it privately.

This year was going to be lit.

"Hey, E, your mom says come eat brunch." She heard Regina say, making him nod.

"Let me call you back after I eat."

"Hay, breakfast ready."

"Okay," Haven said to both Indigo and Ezra.

She stood up to stretch again then walked into her slippers. She went downstairs to see Genesis had made a big lunch, her stomach instantly growled.

"Are we waiting for Flaire?" Haven asked as they sat around the table.

"She not here," Devon spoke.

"Let's eat then," Indigo said as they did their prayer.

~

Flaire got out of the shower seeing Keygan on the game, making her roll her eyes; every morning, he was on the game yelling like he didn't have any damn sense.

"This nigga in a jet! Oh shit!" He yelled, jumping back on the bed.

"Here I come," Tyke said as they started triple-teaming another player. "Yeah pussy!"

"That's why my ancestors had y'all niggers bent over on that plantation." The little white boy yelled, making Tyke start rolling.

"That shit not gon make me mad." Keygan laughed. "I'll drag these black ass balls all on your mother's face."

"Have your father picking grass to make up for that shit," Ezra added, making all of them laugh as the white boy left the session.

"Yo, what time we going to Flaire and 'em house?" Tyke asked.

"Around like 6," Keygan said, watching Flaire as she dropped her towel.

"Y'all coming over here for breakfast?" Ezra asked.

"She almost done?" Tyke asked.

"Damn near."

"I'll let you know when I'm on my way," Keygan said, leaving the party.

He stood up, going to use the bathroom; he wiped his tip then washed his hands. He walked out to see Flaire now had on her bra and panties.

"Gimme a kiss." He said, sitting back down.

She looked up from her clothes and walked towards him, kissing him on his lips as he grabbed her waist.

"You coming wimme to E house?"

"Yeah." She put her arms around his neck. "I was wondering if you'll come with me to see my dad."

He furrowed his eyebrows in shock, with his mouth slightly ajar.

"You wanna go see your dad?"

"Yeah." She nodded her head.

"Of course, I'll come with you."

"Visiting hours are over at 3; your mom is putting some food up so I can bring it to him."

"So let's get to it."

Keygan put on his G Fazos, wiping them with his sneaker rag to make sure no scuffs were on it; he grabbed his jacket then put his hand on the back of Flaire so she could walk.

"Merry Christmas," Flaire spoke, kissing his mom's cheek as she gave her a gift. "Thank you; I have to bring your gift later."

"Merry Christmas, baby." She hugged Keygan as he kissed her cheek.

"Merry Christmas, ma, pops, ugly little dude," Keygan spoke to his family. "I'm finna run some errands with Flaire, but I'll be back at 4 to open gifts."

"Okay, we'll see you then. Here you go, baby." She handed Flaire the Tupperware bowl full of food. "Remember what we talked about."

"I'm going to."

He helped Flaire get in the car then made his way to Ezra's house, which was only a five-minute drive; she walked in the house, not bothering to knock.

"Flaire!" Ezra's little brother, Yasir, yelled as he and his little sister, Nyke, ran to her.

"Just say y'all miss me."

"We all miss you; you said fuck our family." Ezra's dad, Nygel, said, hugging her.

"I could never, y'all know I love all my blended families."

Ezra looked at her, expecting her to speak, but she walked right past him, making him suck his teeth; his feelings were hurt.

"You not gon speak to E?" Tyke asked her as she hugged him.

"We don't talk anymore; you know that."

Flaire's feelings were still hurt from their argument. Ezra's opinion means the most out of everybody, and every time they got into it, he made sure to throw up her flaws. She was over it.

After eating for another forty-five minutes, Keygan and Flaire were on their way to the jail.

~

Genesis started to clean, but Devon came behind her, hugging her; he kissed her cheek multiple times and smiled.

"Indigo gon do the dishes, come on."

"Where are we going?" She asked with a smile.

"Just come on."

He held out her jacket, making her put her arms in the coat; he walked her out the door, making her chuckle as she smiled.

By the way, he took, she knew he was taking her to the cemetery.

When they pulled up, he got out, opening the back seat grabbing the purple and white lilies, which were her mom's favorite.

They walked over there as she started to walk; she wiped the dirt off her mom's grave then went to talk to her while Devon held back, letting her get time to herself.

"I know you're experiencing delayed postpartum, Gen," Devon said, making her look at him, not bothering to deny it. "You just mope around, you quit your job, you don't even take care of yourself anymore."

Genesis used to look like the most expensive bitch ever; she made everything work with whatever she got. Lately, she didn't care about anything, especially her looks, which was a red flag for Devon.

"I've been trying to go back to being happy."

"And I believe you, but now I'm going to help you."

Genesis looked at him, confused as he continued driving.

"My mother has agreed to watch Lana for the four days while we're going to Barbados."

"What?" Genesis smiled, getting excited.

"Four days of being pampered and just you and I."

"It sounds amazing." Her smile dropped. "Devon, we can't go, my sisters-"

"Are grown enough to take care of each other for four damn days."

"I don't know."

"How about we ask them if they feel comfortable and if they could control themselves for four days, then we go."

"Okay," Genesis spoke, unsure.

She knew she could trust her sisters, but she was unsure; something was telling her something would happen over the past four days.

When they got back to the house, Haven and Indigo checked on the food making sure nothing was burning as they played with Alana.

"Hi, sisters!" Flaire yelled, making everybody look towards her. "And brother."

"You finally remembered you not grown?" Devon asked.

"Please do not start with me because I'll cause a scene."

"And we don't want that," Genesis said, making them chuckle.

"So I went to see dad today." She said, making them look at her. "Keygan's mom put him some food up, and he came with me. I chickened out, so Keygan gave him the food while I waited in the waiting room."

"You think you rushed it?" Genesis asked.

"I didn't want to ruin his Christmas; I don't think it would've been a friendly visit."

"Y'all wanna play a game?" Indigo asked to get the subject changed.

"Let's play heads up!" Haven said excitedly.

~

"Y'all so damn ghetto." Devon shook his head, looking at all his sisters as the bell rang.

He got up, looking through the peephole seeing Blaire. "Wassup boy?"

"Wassgood Dev?"

"Come holla at me later; we needa talk."

"Bet bet."

Blaire walked into the living room, seeing everybody; he spoke to everybody then sat down next to Flaire, who was leaning on Keygan.

He had mixed feelings.

"So if everybody here, we'll start to open gifts," Genesis said. "Indigo, since you are the youngest, you can go first."

"As always." She smiled, rolling her eyes as she grabbed the bunch of gifts. "This a little heavy."

Opening the box, she saw a MacBook 2020 in the making her yell as she jumped on Devon and Genesis; they made her think she wasn't getting it for so long.

As everybody started to open gifts, the smiles never left everyone's face.

"I gotta go get your gift from the car; I forgot it was there," Blaire said to Flaire, walking out as everybody started paying attention to other people.

"Here's your gift." Flaire handed the box that was wrapped with a bow on top.

Ezra was utterly in shock; he figured since they weren't talking. Ezra opened the box furrowing his eyebrows as he stared at the gift; his eyes started watering a little. The gift meant so much to him.

"Let us see!" Indigo spoke.

"It's a blanket made of all his jerseys." Flaire smiled as he pulled it out of the box. "From peewee to college."

"Thank you," Ezra spoke, continuing to look at it.

He wanted to hug her so badly, but he knew not to. Although Flaire did this, that doesn't mean she forgave him.

"Merry Christmas, family!" They heard making Flaire stand up to jump on Desiree as Blaire moved out the way.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Portugal."

"Travel out the country, come celebrate Christmas with my second family," Desiree said, weighing out the options with her hands. "Of course, I was choosing my best friend!"

"I love you so much!" Flaire hugged her tighter.

"I love you more." Desiree squeezed her. "And I bought gifts."

After spending more time opening gifts, everyone started to drink and eat. They began playing games as they usually did when they gathered around because it made it more fun.

"You happy twin?" Blaire asked as she leaned back on the couch, feeling a little buzzed from the wine.

"Not completely, but I'll be there soon."

"You and Key back together?"

"No." She answered.

"So Ra still has a chance?"

"I don't know."

"You need to get right on all accords, you got him in the house tripping over you while you hugged up with Key." He said making her feel bad. "If it's Key or him, you gotta let him know so he could move on."

Flaire didn't say anything but she listened to what he was saying.

"Are you going to be faithful to my best friend?" Flaire asked trying to change the subject.

"Absolutely," Blaire answered without a thought.

Brat made him feel things he didn't know he could; he obviously couldn't let her make another nigga think like that. He wasn't mentally stable.

"I love that for her," Flaire spoke drinking some more of her wine.

She watched Keygan as he danced with Indigo spinning her while she had the biggest smile on her face, she smirked loving her family loved Keygan.

"Is Ra in the house?" Blaire asked.

"Yeah, he supposed to be driving down to Connecticut in a few though."

"I'll be back."

Flaire walked upstairs to get the gift she got for Ra then walked back downstairs without telling anyone where she was going. She grabbed Devon's car keys, walked to the car heading to Ra's house.

It only took her five minutes; she saw him standing outside his car, strapping his daughter into her booster seat.

He looked up, making her breath go hitched, her heart starting to palpitate as she made eye contact with him. He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, but he smiled nonetheless; he was always happy to see her.

"Hi, Ramier," Flaire spoke looking him up and down feeling a bit nervous.

"Stop standing there like you a stranger, c'mere." He told her making her go into his arms.

He hugged her real tight making her hold him equally as tighter, it's as if Ra knew what she was coming to say.

"What you doing here? I was just bout to hit the road."

"I know Blaire told me, along with some other things." She said. "I don't mean to make it seem like I'm playing with your feelings because it's the last thing I'm doing. Ra I liked you so much, like you so much but you have too much going on right now. You just became a full-time dad, you going back and forth to court and everything is just too much for me."

"Flaire-"

"Please let me finish."

"Go ahead."

"I could've grown to love you, I think you would've been so good for me based off the things I wanted to change just by the conversations we had. Once I graduate we're going to be further apart and it already seems like we're two worlds apart and I hate that. I think it's best not to go further before our hearts get too involved."

"Damn Flaire, you just gon ruin my Christmas like this?" He asked with a smile on his face chuckling.

"Stop before you make me feel worse." Flaire playfully pouted.

"Nah real talk though, I appreciate you coming to be a truthful mama. My life is hectic and yours seems to be nothing short either. Plus, I heard you back with your ol boy."

"Keygan and I aren't together," Flaire spoke honestly.

"I want nothing but happiness for you, I hope we are still friends after this."

"Of course Ra, I said we couldn't be together not I wanted you out my life."

"C'mere, mama." He said holding his arms out to hold her again. "I wish we could've had our shot."

"We both can't tell the future," Flaire mumbled.

"You right about that," Ra said kissing her forehead to let her go.

"Daddy, it's getting hot in here." He heard Rylee say making both of them chuckle.

"I'll text you, be safe Ra." Flaire smiled about to leave but stopped. "I almost forgot, here you go."

"What's this?"

"Something for you and baby girl."

"Thank you Flaire."

She nodded getting back to the car, she started her drive back to the house with the feeling of being relieved. She felt like she could finally breathe.

"Now I just gotta have the same mature talk with Key." She mumbled.

~

"He keeps texting me," Indigo told Haven showing her the messages of Sevyn begging for another chance.

"Why didn't you block his number?"

"I did and he just texted me from multiple numbers, I'm going to get my number changed."

"Y'all saw y'all sister?" Keygan asked looking over the living room.

"No." Indigo and Haven spoke in unison.

"Sissy, you look so pretty," Indigo told her Haven.

Although Haven didn't feel pretty, she always was.

"Thank you." They said as they watched Flaire come through the door.

"Key was just looking for you."

"He'll find me." She waved him off. "I just told Ra we can't be together."

"How do you feel?" Haven asked.

"That means you and Keygan going to be together?"

"I feel sad, I really liked Ra. I still like Ra." Flaire emphasized. "But as I said he has too much going on, I always told myself I can't picture myself being a mom right now so why would I settle for a nigga with a kid? It hurts but I have to be honest with myself."

Flaire honestly had no problem with Ra being a dad, it was the fact that he was now a full-time dad. She could selfishly say she didn't want to share.

"As far as being with Keygan, I don't know. I mean we broke up for a reason, right? What's changed."

"You." They both said in unison then looked at each other.

"You owe me a soda." Indigo knocked on wood.

"You talk to us now and you stopped blowing up over small things," Haven told her. "You still have more things to change but you want to change and that's something you never wanted to do back then."

"Maybe you and Keygan had to break up to find y'all way back to each other." Indigo shrugged. "I mean look at the facts, the nine months y'all haven't been together he tried to get into a relationship, that failed-"

"Tremendously," Haven added making them chuckle.

"Then he continued fucking with other bitches as for you, you turned down so many niggas until Ra but you see the ending to that."

"So what if maybe the one you're supposed to be with is Keygan?"

Flaire leaned back in deep thought, maybe liquor would help her decide more.

"Can I steal you real quick?" Ezra asked looking at Haven.

"Of course." She smiled. "I'll be back."

They walked upstairs to Haven's room, he closed the door then looked at her with a smile as she smiled back in confusion.

"I know I gave you all your gifts but it was one more thing I wanted to give you."

"Ezra." She looked at him confused as he went into the bathroom that was in her room. "Ezra!"

In his hand was a six-year-old cat he rescued from the shelter. Haven is always on TikTok seeing cat videos and crying over animals, she expressed many times that she wanted to rescue a cat.

"This is Echo, she has been in the shelter for two years and returned twice. She's perfectly healthy and she just wants to be loved."

"Ezra." Haven covered her mouth with her eyes watering as she reached out for her. "She's so perfect, hi."

Echo started purring into her arms making her get more excited.

"I'm probably going to have to hide her until I get Genesis and Devon-"

"They know she here Hay." Ezra chuckled. "Why wouldn't I ask permission first before I bring an animal into their home?"

"I would've."

"Ooh, you becoming bad." Ezra smiled grabbing her to kiss her as she smiled.

"Can we stay up here for a minute?"

"What's wrong pretty girl?"

"There's nothing wrong, I would just rather be with you right now."

"I have no problem with that."

They laid down with Echo on the side of them, Ezra looked at her while being in his own thoughts.

"You think Flaire done with me?"

"Y'all could never be done with each other." She said truthfully.

"This the longest she ever been mad at me, I know how Christmas is a hard time for y'all and I can't even be there for my best friend."

"Well, did you try apologizing?"

"Not yet because I don't know how it's going to turn out."

"How about try?" Haven suggested. "I know you were defending me but Flaire had all right to be mad, I lied about it knowing how she is."

"Are you scared of her?"

"I'm not scared of anyone," Haven spoke honestly. "I just don't like to be yelled at. My anxiety doesn't allow me to defend myself as much as I should."

"That shit just made me mad seeing you on the verge of tears while she just yelling, ever since I made you my girlfriend I'm extra protective over you."

"And I appreciate it, I swear I do but Flaire is probably one person you won't ever have to defend me over. We're sisters, we say things to each other, we even fight. I don't ever want you to choose me over her, that's your best friend."

Ezra nodded his head in deep thought, he had been thinking about his hurt feelings but what if her feelings were also hurt. He did throw some things up in her face.

"I'm kind of scared about next year." Haven spoke taking him out his thoughts.

"How come?"

"You will be off to college and I'll just be here." She innocently mumbled.

"Anywhere I go you'll be with me because that's where I want you to be pretty girl." He told her touching her face to soothe her. "I'll turn that forty five minute drive to fifteen minutes just to get to you."

"You mean that?"

"Pinky promise?" He suggested with his pinky out making her smile as she latched her finger along with his.

That put Haven's mind at ease but something told her she had something to worry about but she was going to let it go because it hasn't happened yet.

"Wanna go back downstairs or watch a movie?" Haven asked.

Ezra took off his shoes preparing to take a nap, he had the itis from all the food he consumed today. "Shit, we could watch a movie."

"You're going to sleep, aren't you?"

"Nah." He lied making her put her lips to the side.

She knew he would be sleeping ten minutes in so she played something she wanted to watch because she knew once he was asleep she was bound to take a nap with him.

"Cars it is." Since it was their favorite movie.

_________