Flaire walked into Indigo's room, assuming she was sleeping, but she was staring into space with tears slowly running down her face. Indigo has been doing the same thing for the past two weeks; she would either go to Sevyn's house and sleep in his bed and be in his clothes or come home and be in clothes.

She hasn't spoken in two weeks. She hasn't eaten an authentic meal in two weeks. It came to the point where she didn't even want to shower; her sisters would have to bathe her for her to wash. 

"You feel like eating, sissy?" Flaire asked, holding shrimp alfredo in her hand. "Devon cooked, so you know it's good."

Indigo didn't move or even blink, which Flaire expected.

"Everyone at school has been checking on you; your coach was here earlier."

Flaire started picking up things on the floor since Indigo also didn't clean.

Depression was kicking Indigo's ass, and nobody knew how to help. The only person that could help wasn't there, and they weren't sure if they should give her space or be overbearing. 

"I'm just going to leave the food here, sissy; I love you. I'll check back on you later." 

Flaire walked out of her room as she leaned on the door for a second, wiping the tears in her eyes. She hated she didn't know what to do; if she could take all of Indigo's pain, she would without a second thought. 

"You okay?" Devon asked, walking up the stairs.

"Seeing her like that every day breaks my heart every time," Flaire said, wiping her eyes. "She's only sixteen; she shouldn't feel so much pain in her life."

"Life unfair, man." He shook his head, walking to her to hug her. "Grief is weird. One day she'll be okay, but she's not right now, and that's okay. She needs to know she has us to depend on." 

"Wassup D?" Martin said, walking up the stairs. "She here today?"

Martin hasn't seen her since the funeral because of his work schedule, and whenever he does come, she'll be at Sevyn's house.

"Yeah, go ahead," Devon said as he and Flaire moved out of the way.

Martin walked into the room, looking at Indigo, who didn't even acknowledge him. He looked around her room, noticing it was slightly different. He walked to her bathroom, grabbed the extra tissue roll, and walked back toward her.

He took off his shoes getting in bed with her; he lifted her a little, allowing her to lie on his chest while he wiped her face.

It hurt him so much seeing his friend go through this. 

"Yaknow, the first time I met Sevyn, he made sure to tell me my place." Martin chuckled. "He was like Indi know she could have friends and shit cause I trust her, but you and your cousin better only be a friend. I respected it, though, and I respected him; he was a good dude who made a few mistakes."

He wasn't talking to expect a response; he knew she wasn't talking, but he wanted to speak.

"Your sisters and brother don't know what to do because when your mom died, you weren't like this. They were falling apart, and you were the one being there for everybody. As sisters, all of you have y'all titles. Haven is the shy, reserved one, Flaire is the mean outspoken one, Genesis is the motherly silent killer type, and you're the outgoing, cheerful one. It's hard for everyone seeing you not be okay; we all wanna take your pain away."

Indigo closed her eyes tightly as she whimpered a little, making Martin hold her tighter; he knew there wasn't a right thing to say, but he was trying. 

 "It may not seem like it at this moment, but God got you, we have you, and if you decide to sit here for months, we'll still have you."

"I'm so mad," Indigo mumbled as her voice cracked. "He told me he'll never leave me, then left a few hours later. I'm so mad he keeps finding ways to hurt me; I'm mad cause I want to be with him."

"He didn't leave you, he would never leave you, and you know that."

"Minutes before he died, he grabbed me the tightest he has ever. I should've known something was wrong; he was trying to tell me, and I ignored him."

"An infection from the bullet killed him; Indi, he was already gone before you could do anything."

Indigo didn't say anything; she just blinked as fresh tears came to her eyes. 

"I wanted to hate him, so I went through his phone, and it only made me feel worse. He was a liar and sneaky, but he never cheated. If I just let him explain everything, we would've got passed everything; he wouldn't have got shot cause he would've been with me. I hate myself because I hated him."

She began weeping, making Martin hold her tighter; he didn't say anything because he wanted to continue letting her vent. This was the most she had talked, and he didn't want to ruin it. 

"I lost my virginity to him, then he died a few hours later," Indigo said, making her cry harder. "I lost two things, and I only want one back. I miss him so much. It hurts every day; I hate his killer." 

"Aw, man," Martin said, shocked for words as his eye started to water; hearing her cry like this was breaking his heart. 

"He has more pictures of me on his phone than him. He was the best boyfriend ever with some faults, faults that we could've worked out if I didn't act like a little girl and let him explain everything." 

"Indigo, he still hung around a female he was fucking for years. He fucked Mac. He wasn't innocent; you shouldn't put yourself down because you held him up for that. He fucked up, and he knew it, and he didn't have enough time to make it up to you. Sevyn loved you; forget about the hurt y'all caused each other cause the love overrides everything."

Indigo didn't say, but she nodded; she just questioned everything because she didn't understand. She still just wanted to call his phone to hear his voice, but she couldn't.

"Let's watch his favorite movie; you said it was Gridiron, right?" 

"Anything with football is his favorite." Indigo sadly smiled. "Was."

"Then let's watch anything with football." 

~

"I feel like I haven't seen you in so long." Haven pouted, looking at Ezra wake up. 

"My prisoner." He mumbled, chuckling.

"That's why your breath stink."

"And if I were there, I would've blown it in your face."

"Cause you're dirty."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Ezra?" His dad spoke, knocking on his door. "Son, you not dress?"

"I took a lil nap; I forgot. I'm finna be ready in fifteen minutes."

"You want us to wait?"

"Nah, I'll just meet y'all there."

Ezra stood up and grabbed his phone; he slid into the bathroom, positioning it to ensure Haven could still see him. He gargled with Listerine since he was about to eat dinner. 

"Your print looks mouth-watering." Haven smiled, making him chuckle as he pulled it out of his pants, making Haven laugh. "You're always flashing me."

"You love that shit." He smirked, making her roll her eyes with the smile never leaving.

"Where are you going?" 

"Reg dinner party, remember?"

"No, I don't remember." She furrowed her eyebrows. "You never told me about this."

"How didn't I tell you about it when I invited you to it?"

Haven took a moment to think about then remembered. "I just thought if I wasn't going, you wouldn't?"

"Why would you think that?"

"Because I'm not going."

"Okay and?" He asked, confused. "You couldn't go if you wanted."

"I couldn't go because I'm on punishment because of you."

"Hollup." He picked the phone up. "You not on shit because of me. You on punishment because you wanted to swing on Indigo for some shit she didn't do, then you snuck out. Don't blame shit on me."

"I snuck out and spent the night over at your house." She rolled her eyes. "What if I asked Devon if you can come over here?" 

"Haven, you haven't suggested that shit before, so why are you doing that now? I'm not coming over there when I have somewhere to go."

"So you'll rather be with her than me?" 

"What you on?" Ezra chuckled, getting irritated. "I've been watching her stress over this dinner, so it could be perfect. She has no friends, so I'll be her only friend there; why would I do that, Haven? She even invited your ass."

"That's not my friend! Why the fuck would I celebrate that bitch birthday with her?" She got loud, making him tilt his head.

"And that's not why you are coming." He chuckled. "I'm going because there's no reason for me not to."

"How about I don't want you to?"

"And why not?" 

"Because." Haven rolled her eyes. 

"Oh, I get it. You don't want me to go cause you're not there to watch me around her." He chuckled. "You already don't like me around her but us by ourselves? That's sending you ain't it?"

"Yeah, it is." She admitted. "You shouldn't even be her friend."

"I'm not doing this with you right now, Haven. I'll send you a picture of how I look, and I'll text you when I get where I'm going, but I'm not gon keep having the same argument. I love you; see you later, pretty girl."

Before she could respond, he hung up on her; she felt stupid. She's always been insecure, but Regina created a different type of uncertainty; she hated her.

She stood up walking downstairs to see what her sisters were doing; she saw Flaire and Keygan playing with Alana while Devon was cleaning the kitchen.

"What y'all doing?" Haven plopped down on the couch.

"Watching My Big Fat Greek Wedding." Keygan smiled as Alana wrapped her arms around his neck, laying on his chest.

"Um, Ms.girl." Flaire looked at her. "This, my man, go be on your dad like that." 

"My man." She repeated, making Haven laugh.

"I will beat your ass." Devon grabbed her from Keygan. "You'll never put those words together until you sixty." 

"Yes, take your child before I show her what I do to people who try to take my man." 

"Her mother would whoop your ass," Devon said, making them laugh.

"What you making?" Haven asked Devon. 

"Short beef ribs, mac and cheese, and green beans." 

"Can I help?" 

"What you want, Haven?"

"Can I spend the night with Ezra later?" She rushed out. "I started an argument and feel bad, and I need to talk seriously with him."

"You always want some shit." He shook his head. "Why do you have to stay a night?"

"Because he's at a dinner party right now, and by the time he gets home, it's going to be late."

"I just want you to know you won't be staying at no nigga houses at 17." He looked at Alana. "Yeah, but you better come home by a reasonable time tomorrow." 

"I love you! Best big brother!" She smiled, hugged him then ran up the stairs.

"Always the best brother until I gotta be a hard ass." 

"Can y'all go away? We're having a movie date." Flaire rolled her eyes.

"Fuck outta here, go in your room." Devon waved her off. "What grown ass nigga favorite movie Big Fat Greek Wedding anyway?" 

"What do you want it to be? Fast and the Furious nigga?" Keygan asked. "If you watched the shit, you'll fuck with it."

"Imma bring my baby down here, and we finna watch this bullshit," Devon said, dropping Alana on the couch to get Genesis. 

"Nobody told you to invite nobody on our date." Flaire glared at him. 

"I wasn't inviting shit." 

"They better not talk, or Imma curse you out."

"You were going to curse me out regardless." 

"You do not know me." Flaire mushed his head, making him smile as he restarted the movie. "Thank you for staying a night with me again; I can't wait to get answers tomorrow finally."

"Me either; I want it to give you more answers instead of questions." 

"I have a feeling I'll leave more confused."

Devon returned downstairs with Genesis in his arms while she ate fruit snacks; he put her on the couch and then walked to the kitchen to get more snacks.

"Ma apples," Alana said. 

"Get her apple slices!" Genesis yelled as Alana crawled on her lap, laying on her stomach gently. 

"Oh, you gon leave me, Lan?" Keygan said as she put her foot in her mouth, smiling. 

"My baby got a crush." Genesis chuckled.

"No, the fuck, she doesn't." Devon handed her the bag of apple slices.

"Um, tomorrow I'm going to see dad," Flaire said, making Genesis look at her. "He told me there are some things only y'all three know, and he's finally telling me."

"You're going to one hundred percent be mad at us after your visit," Devon said. "But Genesis thought it was the best thing for y'all at the moment, she was going to tell y'all soon, but maybe it's best it's coming from him anyway." 

"We were already grieving, and I didn't think it would help the grieving process. If you have questions for me afterward, I have no problems answering anything."

Flaire nodded, more confused as someone knocked on the door. Devon walked to the door. Seeing Milly, he moved out the way allowing him to go upstairs. 

"Let's start our movie."

~

Haven gathered everything in her bag as she watched Ezra's location; he was on his way home. She called a uber so they would pull up around the same time; as she was gathering her toothbrush, Milly walked into the bathroom.

"Oh my bad, I ain't know you were in here." 

"You're fine." She smiled. "I'm just leaving anyway." 

She walked past him to go to Indigo's room; she saw her lying on Martin while watching a movie.

"I'm going to Ezra's house; I love you. I'll see you later." Haven kissed her forehead, not expecting a response as she walked back into the hallway to her room. 

She saw the Uber was outside, so she grabbed her bag, turning off her light. She walked into the living room, saying goodnight as she got in the car. She smiled, greeted the driver then sat back, enjoying the seven-minute ride.

She saw Ezra was a minute away; she just leaned against his gate. She heard his truck before he pulled up, making her position herself right. She smiled, watching him park in the driveway; he got out of the car looking so handsome, making her smile harder.

"You snuck out again?" He asked, making her chuckle.

"I got permission this time to spend the night."

"Oh aight, don't wanna get blamed for some shit again." He pettily remarked, making her smile drop as he grabbed her bag off her shoulder, holding the door open for her. 

"Thank you." She smiled, walking to his house. "Hi, Es and Ny." 

"Oh, Haven, baby." Esha smiled, going to hug her. "How everybody? You didn't sneak out, did you?" 

"Indigo is finally eating now, and Genesis can now exceed her time of being active since the tear is starting to heal itself. Flaire is fine, and I did not sneak out."

"Good. Goodnight." Ezra's father, Ny, kissed her forehead as they walked out. 

"Goodnight." She called out after them. "You look handsome." 

"Thank you," Ezra said, walking away from her to go to his room; he glanced back to make sure she was following, and when he saw she was, he slowed down. "I'm finna take a shower." 

"Okay, I just took one. I'll put on a movie for us to watch." 

"Bet."

Haven turned on the TV taking off her clothes since she sat in a uber; she grabbed his phone and bit her lip, deciding if she wanted to do what she was about to do but did it anyway. 

She was going to figure out why they had such a hold on each other. 

She clicked on the thread of Regina's messages, scrolling until she saw something interesting. 

She knew what she was doing was wrong, but she felt she needed something against Regina; she hated her and wanted to hurt her worse than ever. 

While scrolling, she found a lot of information about both of them. It was fascinating. 

She heard the water cut off, but she knew she could continue going because Ezra wouldn't care if she had his phone. 

Ezra walked out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist; he glanced at Haven with his phone, then went back to picking out some boxers.

"What are we watching?" 

"Space Jam," Haven said the first thing she saw.

"No problem, press play." 

Haven excited out the thread, swiping up so the messages wouldn't show; she put his phone down, grabbed the remote, but didn't press play.

"I'm here because I don't like us not talking to each other, and I was feeling a bit jealous because I only see you in school now. I apologize, Ezra." 

"You cool, don't sweat it. I got over it an hour ago." 

"I love you." She smiled, standing on her knees as he walked toward her. 

"I love you more, pretty girl." He hugged her and then kissed her. "C'mon so that I can go to sleep on you." 

"You're always going to sleep on me." She rolled her eyes as he laid on her. 

"Cause I sleep better when you here." He licked her nipple through her bra. 

"Same." She smiled, hugging his head.

She felt him start doing circles on her waist, letting her know he'll be sleeping in the next five minutes. 

She knew her relationship was strong, but something inside told her everything was too true to be good. 

She didn't know that she was slowly sacrificing her relationship. 

____

Short, simple filler chapter; the next chapter will be a flashback, so don't be confused.