My Convict

16 - Day Two

+Brandy

It was a rainy day today. 

You'd think since it rained all day yesterday, Mother Nature would take a break and give us a chance to recover. But nope, she came back again. This time with full force. According to the news, there was a hurricane quickly approaching us. They weren't too sure on what day it would hit Georgia but if they had to estimate, hurricane Michael would be here five days from now, coming in at a category three... maybe even a four.

We were prepared for everything... but a hurricane. It never even occurred to us that a hurricane could screw up our whole plan.

Elijah has been on edge ever since he got the news. "Maybe we could just do it the week after the hurricane hits," I suggest. "I'm sure there will be ten times the people at the bank if we do it then." 

Savannah shakes her head. "No, way too risky. Plus natural disasters are when people really need money. I don't know about you guys, but I don't feel like shitting on anyone when they're in need. That's bad karma."

Mia rolls her eyes. "It doesn't matter what event that takes place Savannah, people are always gonna be in the need of money. I say we stick to the original day though. It's more convenient."

Michelle nods. "It really is, seeing as it's Andreas's birthday and he won't be there on that day. And you guys are really stupid if you believe that we're robbing innocent people. The money that's in the vault belongs to the government, not them. Their personal funds aren't in the branch that's going to be robbed, nor any of the other branches. Their money is changed from paper to electronic form and it's apart of the giant reserve of funds that the bank keeps on deposit. Therefore the people will be fine." The girls look at her strangely and she only shrugs. "What? It's basic economics." 

"You seriously need to go to college when you get your money," Elijah says, finally looking up from his phone. His phone has been pinging nonstop, since last night. I'm sure it was because of Kelly. "You're way too smart." 

Michelle blushes a bit. "College is stupid. It's just another way to make the government money. I'd rather just keep my money and just save." She says, before averting her gaze back on her notepad. 

Elijah nods. "I see your point, but still. College is always an option." He picks up a Chinese calendar from his takeout bag. "We'll continue on with the original date... even if the hurricane hits. As of right now, we're getting new things. Michelle check to see if you can get a truck, one that has plenty of room and does great in the rain. Savannah, see if you can get into the systems of all of the police precincts that's near the bank. Brandy and Mia, you guys are on grocery duties. Get only hurricane food and enough to last us a couple of weeks." He says, before handing us separate envelopes with money. "If you need more, just ask." 

"Oh, he got money, money!" Savannah says, smiling at Elijah.

My eyebrows raise. "Where'd you get this from?" 

He sighs. "It doesn't matter. Just know that it's clean." I opened my mouth to ask him more questions but then decide against it. It wasn't any of my business. "Also, I've got some news." 

"What is it?" Mia asks. "Is it good news? Because if it isn't, I don't want to hear about it. I don't have room in my life for any more negativity." 

Elijah chuckles. "It's good news... well at least it's good news for me."

"Well, what is it?" I ask. 

"Yeah, spit it out already. The suspense is killing me." Michelle says, giving us her undivided attention. 

"Alright, well... as you all may know I got in contact with Kelly. And she has agreed to meet with us tonight at eight. Majority of everyone who's in the Italian mafia will be there, including Marc, which gives me a chance to finally explain things to him." 

"And he's not going to kill you right?" I question, worriedly. 

"No, I'm one hundred percent sure of it. Kelly gave me her word." 

Nodding, I give in. "Okay, cool we'll be there. I just have to find someone to watch Elliot." 

"That won't be necessary, he'll be coming with us. Kelly wants to meet him." 

Mia laughs. "Damn Elijah, you can't go one minute without mentioning the woman's name in a sentence. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you're obsessed with her." I had told the girls about the new information, that Elijah had informed me of last night. They know everything, except for Elijah's niece. 

I'd manage to keep that part out.

Elijah glares at her. "Store, go now!" He commands. "While the majority of you guys are out, I'll be having a guy day with my mini-me." 

I scoff. "Good luck with that, he sleeps really hard when it rains." Grabbing my purse, I put the envelope in it and zip it up. Picking up my keys from the table, I turn to look at Mia. "I'm ready when you are." 

Mia looks spectacle as we near towards the door. She has an umbrella in her hands. "Umm... you sure you want to drive?"

My eyebrows knit together. "Of course. Why wouldn't I?" She goes to open the umbrella in the warehouse and I quickly grab it from her hand. "Girl, you crazy?" Never open an umbrella indoors. That's a lifetime of bad luck!"

Mia rolls her eyes and snatches the umbrella back. "That's just a myth Brandy. Anyways, I was just asking because it's raining. And seeing as you're a... very complicated driver. Maybe it's not in your best interest to drive in this condition." 

"What are you trying to say? I'm a bad driver or something?"

She avoids my gaze. "Well if the shoe fits..."

I glare at her. "I'm a good driver." 

"Yes, you are. There's no doubt about it, it's just you have... road rage and yeah... road rage." 

"You know what, I'm not even gonna argue with you. If you want to drive, then be my guess." I say, handing her the keys to my car. She smiles and grabs it, before opening the door. Taking a step forward outside, she opens the umbrella. I clutch onto her side as she closes the warehouse door and makes a run for it to the car. She walks to the drivers' side and gets in, leaving me to get in last and to close the umbrella. "s**t! That damn water is so cold. Heater, now please!" I shriek.

She laughs and does so, before pulling out the driveway and driving away. "I've got a question." 

"And I've got an answer," I reply back. Looking at the message, Andreas just sent me. 

Text from: A

-Do me a favor? 

"You and Tyson really not cool anymore?" Mia asks, suddenly. 

"Yup," I answer truthfully. "I can't be friends with someone who always questions my decisions. It makes me second guess myself and second-guessing myself is something I hate doing. You feel me?"

Mia nods. "Yeah, I feel ya."

Sent to: A

-I'm not saying I'll do it, but what's the favor?

"How come you asking?" 

Mia squints at the road, trying her best to drive in the rain. She shrugs, stopping at the light. "Just asking before I cut him off for good. If your not cool with him, it doesn't make sense for me to be cool with him seeing as he is your friend." 

"You don't have to do that, but if you want to then okay. I'm good with either decision." Mia goes quiet which causes my eyebrows to raise. "You alright?"

She gulps. "If I tell you something, you promise not to judge me?" She asks quietly. 

"Of course," I tell her. 

Text from: A

-Come to my birthday party. Please. You won't regret it. I promise.

"I slept with him... a couple of weeks ago." She says, avoiding my gaze. "It was a one-time thing... a mistake." 

I look up from my phone. "I know," I say, nonchalantly. The look of shock on her face was priceless. "You gave it away when you kept bringing him up, after that whole Yonnie incident. Plus from the way you've been acting these past few days, it didn't take long to know you were hiding something. I'm always watching you guys, even when I'm not around." 

"I'm pregnant." She blurts out. 

My eyes widen. "What?!" I yell, causing her to swerve the car a bit. Now it was my turn to be shocked. "Are you sure?" 

She bites down on her cheeks. "I don't know." She confesses. "But I think I am. I'm late on my period, my breast are getting bigger. I'm craving things that shouldn't even be mixed together." She glances at me. "Don't be mad at me. Please, don't be mad at me."

"I'm not mad Mia... I've got no business being mad at you. I'm just... shocked. That's all. Have you talked to Tyson about any of this?" 

"I told him about my suspicions... he says he wants nothing to do with me." She chuckles humorously. "Which I don't blame him seeing as no one wants anything to do with me." She was referring to her family. After Mia's sister Michaela died, Mia was in a pretty bad state of mind which is how she met her now ex-boyfriend. When Mia's parents found out that her ex was bad news, they gave her an ultimatum. Them or him. She chose him. "I'm just a huge ball filled with f**k-ups." 

I frown. "Don't say that. Tyson wants nothing to do with you because he knows he f****d up. He also knows that if Candace finds out about it, that's the end of their relationship." Placing my hand on her shoulder, I give it a light squeeze. "We all f**k up sometimes, but what matters is what we do after we f**k up. You're not alone in this, you've got Savannah and Michelle and most importantly you've got me. We'll get through this, together." 

"How come you always know what to say?" She asks as tears fall from her eyes. 

I chuckled, smiling at her. "Believe it or not, my mommy. She was a very wise person." Mia makes a u-turn to get into the plaza of Costco's. "You know how far along you could be?" 

Mia parks the car. "Everything happened like a month ago, so I'm guessing four weeks, probably even five. I'm not sure." 

I nod. "It's alright, honestly. I had no clue how far along I was when I was pregnant with Elliot. If anything, my ass was in the same shoe as you." My hands fold at my side. "First thing first, we're gonna buy a pregnancy test to find out the truth. And once we do, we're not gonna overreact. We're just gonna breathe and then buy the groceries and specifically get us a tube of ice cream, so we can eat it later tonight while watching some reruns of boondocks. Second, we'll deal with everything tomorrow."

"Just like that?" She asks. 

"Just like that," I assure her. 

She shuts off the car and then sighs, leaning her head on the steering wheel. "Okay." She finally whispers. 

"Okay." 

•••••••••

Mia and I sit in silence inside the bathroom stall of Costco's, waiting for the timer on my phone to go off. It didn't take a genius to see that Mia was freaking out. I tried my best to keep her calm, but it wasn't working. Mia has always been one to never control her nerves. 

"I'm such a hypocrite." She says, with her head buried in her arms. "Whenever the girls made fun of Candace, for basically not knowing how to do anything, I use to stick up for her. But then here I go, sleeping with her man and shit." She rocks back and forth on the ground. "You think if I let her beat my ass, she'll forgive me?" I couldn't help but laugh at the question, she laughs along with me. "That was such a stupid question." 

"Stupid questions are good. Besides, it's good that you can laugh at a time like this. When I first found out I was pregnant, it was all tears and more tears and then regret. Ended up sending myself to the hospital with stressing myself out." 

She stops moving. "Really?" 

"Yup, almost had a miscarriage and everything. Laying in that hospital bed made me realize that I had to get my s**t together. And so I did." 

Mia opens her mouth to say something but is cut off by the sound of my phone ringing. She looks at me nervously. "Can you tell me the results?"

"Of course." Standing up, I walked towards the bathroom sink. Looking down at the blue and white stick, I lift it up to get a better look. "It's positive," I say after a pause. "You're pregnant." My eyes quickly find Mia. "Don't panic." 

"I'm pregnant." She whispers. "I'm really pregnant." She says again, louder this time. "Holy s**t I'm pregnant." 

"You know sometimes the test can be wrong. We'll just schedule you an appointment with your doctors and you'll take the test again to be sure."

She lets out a sob. "I'm not cut out to be a mom, Brandy. I can barely even take care of my damn self." She stands up and begins pacing around the bathroom. "I'm screwing up the whole plan. Elijah is gonna be so pissed at me." 

"Elijah and the plan will be fine, Mia. We'll figure something out. Nothing's gonna change. Just breathe." I say, pulling her into a hug. 

She pulls away to look at me. "Don't tell him, please don't. Don't even tell the girls." She pleads. "Just wait until I'm sure that this is real... until we finish the whole thing with the bank. Then, I'll tell them." 

Something was telling me that this was a bad idea. But I couldn't go against her wishes, it wasn't right. I sigh, finally giving in. "Okay."

•••••••

"That was a long ride." Elijah comments as Mia and I walk through the back doors of the warehouse. "What took you guys so long?" 

Me and Mia's eyes connect before she quickly walked away. "Well considering the fact that it's raining and the roads are slippery, I think that pretty much sums up the fact," I reply, before frowning at his attire. "Why are you wearing a suit? Matter of fact, where'd you even get a suit?"

"Hi, mommy," Elliot says while sitting down. His eyes are glued on Savannah's phone, which means he's most likely watching Sponge Bob." 

"Oh hi Elliot, so much for a kiss," I say, sitting down on top of the table. I frown. "Why do you have on a dress shirt?" I turn to Elijah. "Why the heck does he have on a dress shirt?" 

"We're meeting members of another mafia Brandy, it's best to dress nicely for the occasion. It's a sign of respect." He walks near me. "Michelle bought us it while she was out." He spreads my legs open and walks in between them. I'm starting to think this was his favorite thing to do. "And before you ask, no I didn't spend a lot of money on them. Michelle made sure of it." He says, placing a kiss on my head. 

I look up at him. "You didn't tell me I had to dress nice. Now I have to actually put effort into my appearance." 

He smiles down at me. "I'm sure you'd look beautiful either way. Besides, what better way to show you off than dressing you up like me." 

A small smile finds its way onto my face. "You bought me a dress?" 

"No." He says in a serious tone. My fist balls up and I punch him in his arm. "Ouch Brandy, that hurt." 

"It's your fault for getting my hopes up."

Elijah laughs, cradling his arm. "You didn't even let me finish. I was going to say, no I bought you and the girl's dresses. But you punched me before I had the chance to say anything." He says pouting.

My eyes roll to the back of my head. "Suck it up wimp, it wasn't even a hard punch." He playfully cries, which causes me to groan. "Ugh, if it makes you feel any better you can hit me back." 

He shakes his head no. "As much as I'd like that, I only hit women when I most absolutely have to." He bends his head down, looking at my lips. "But I'd like something else in return." 

"Nope, Nope, Nope. Quit that lovey-dovey ish out. Some of us single people, don't have room in our hearts to see this right now." Savannah says, giving us a dirty look. "Go somewhere else with all that." 

Michelle bursts out laughing. "Leave them, alone girl, it's not their fault you're single and miserable." 

Savannah glares at her. "Bi——" She starts to say, but then catches herself. "Look here, B. I. T. C. H." She spells. "I'm not miserable and there's nothing wrong with being single. It blesses the heart. Me, myself, is all I need. Or whatever Beyoncé said." 

Michelle rolls her eyes. "H.O.E" She spells, tilting her head back in laughter. "If you're gonna quote the queen, at least make sure to quote her right. She said, me, myself and I is all I got in the end. And yes you are miserable. Because only miserable people misquote Beyoncé and say that there's nothing wrong with being signal." 

Savannah gasps. "You did not just say that." They start bickering back and forth.

I groan, tilting my head back. "Great, look at what you've done started," I say to Elijah. 

Elijah looks at me shocked. "That's all them. I didn't even do anything." He looks back down at my lips. "Can I get my kiss now?"

I push him away lightly. "Boy, go get the food out of the car while the rain has stopped." I hop off the table, but not before looking down at my watch. "It's a quarter half-past five, so I'm gonna go get ready now so if we're late no one blames me." 

"I absolutely hate people like you. Just say the damn time. Why do you have to say past this or half-past this? It makes zero sense." Savannah whines. 

Michelle shakes her head. "You know what type of people think it makes zero sense?" 

Savannah looks at her confused. "What?" She asked, falling for it.

"Miserable people," Michelle concludes, which causes Elijah to laugh. 

"Jesus give me strength," I whisper, before walking towards the front door of the warehouse. "If anyone needs me, I'll be taking a shower at Roseanne's house." Roseanne is the name of the lady who's renting us her bathroom since there isn't one inside the warehouse. We pay her two hundred dollars for each day we use her restroom. 

Her house wasn't too far from here, if anything it was across the street. When we told her about the proposition, she was hesitant at first but then agreed to it when we promised to respect her home and not bring any trouble to her front door.

"You forgot your towel," Elijah yells. 

I sigh. "Towel, right. I knew I was forgetting something."

•••••••

"That makes zero since Elijah," Savannah says while driving. They were currently engaged in a conversation about God. Cue the eye roll, please. I'm not even sure how we got on this topic. "If you can teach your kid about Santa, then you can teach him about God too." 

Elijah frowns in the backseat. "I disagree. Santa isn't a serious issue. It's just about a fat white man who delivers presents to kids who are good. God, on the other hand, is a very serious topic and I'd rather Elliot be of age to learn about him, that way it doesn't seem that it's a must for him to believe in God and everything that comes along with him." Elijah explains. "I'm not going to force him to believe in anything. He'll find his path of belief on his own." 

"It's not forcing him, it's just teaching him to have faith." She shrieks. 

"Honestly, the fact that people are having faith in someone that hasn't even been proven to be real is beyond me," Michelle says as she plays sudoku on her phone. "And I agree with Elijah, you guys basically are forcing the belief of God onto people. Kids in general." 

Savannah makes a left turn. "Oh, bs." She exclaims. "That's not true."

Michelle scoffs. "It basically is. There's even a psychological term for it. It's called ''conditioning." She says, leaning against her seat. "How do I explain it?" She mumbled, before figuring out a way. "You see as a child, the majority of us had to go to church and stay there for hours and so on, so on. While you were at church, they mainly talked about three things. God, the Bible, and Jesus depending on what your religion is. What I'm trying to say is that over time you fall into a pattern of things and you get used to it. So now boom, five years down the road you are now stuck with the belief of God in your head. And then those kids grow up to do the same to their kids, and it continues on from there." 

"I think I understand what you're trying to say," Mia says, putting her two cents in it. "It's almost like training." 

"Yeah pretty much," Elijah says agreeing with her. "Just because we believe in something, doesn't mean our kids need to believe in the same thing too."

Savannah rolls her eyes. "You guys are stupid. Just big time stupid. Y'all don't make any sense, but it's okay. I'm gonna pray for guys." She says, causing everyone to groan. She glances at me. "Brandy, what do you think?" 

I sigh. "Even though I tuned out the majority of this conversation. I'd have to say that both points are valid. And that's just it, the end. Now can we get over this topic, I'm tired of all the bickering." 

"Mommy, I'm hungry," Elliot says, getting my attention. 

Reaching into the glove compartment, I pull out some peanut butter crackers. "Here ya go bud, this will help for now until we get to where we need to be." He takes it from my hand and makes his dad open it. "Savannah, how much longer do we have till we get there?" 

She glances at her phone. "According to google maps, we'll be there in less than fifteen minutes." 

"We could've been there like ten minutes ago, if you would've just use the Waze app." Mia comments. 

"Don't come for me, if I didn't send for you Mia!" Savannah snaps. 

I clap my hands together. "Alright, that's it. No more talking, everyone is getting muted." I turn on the radio. "The radio is the only thing I want to hear until we get to our destination." I turn up the radio. "I mean it!" I rage on. Everyone shuts up and says nothing for the rest of the ride. 

"We're here," Savannah announces after a few minutes goes by. She puts the volume to the radio down. "Umm, Elijah. You sure we're in the right place?" 

Elijah looks out the window. "Yeah, this is the club NiNe right?" 

"You bought us to a club!" I shrieked.

He rolls his eyes. "Calm down Brandy, there won't be anything explicit going on in there. Everyone will be on their best behavior." He puts on his black hat. "Savannah park the car across the street." 

"Okey-dokey boss man." She says, before turning the car around. When she finds a good spot, she parks the car. "I'm ready when you are folks." 

"Let's get this show on the road people. Heels aren't my forte, so I don't plan on wearing them for long." Michelle says, opening the car door. She was wearing a black jumpsuit, with red pumps and a red shoulder strap bag to go with it. 

Mia follows her out of the car. Her 3c hair was in a natural messy ponytail, that she barely took her time on. She looks very pretty with her purple dress, that stops just below her thighs. Since she wasn't in the mood for coming out, she had on her black slippers. "Ghetto as hell," Savannah said when she saw Mia's outfit just before we left home. "Amen to that," Mia says, laying her head on Michelle's shoulder. 

Elijah gets out of the car and carries Elliot on his side. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" He asks. 

Smiling, I wrap my arm around his side. "Yup, you've told me." Together we walk to the club entrance. My dress wasn't really all that. It was simple, nothing over the top. It was a bodycon dress that stopped at my ankles. It was the same color as Elijah's suit which was gold and black. Black pumps were my go-to for tonight. 

If I had to say, Savannah's dress topped all of ours. She looked stunning in her Spaghetti Strap Sleeveless dress. It showed all the right things, especially her curves. And even though she might deny it, it was clear that she came here looking for a man. 

"Mr. Müller," The guard outside the club greets, opening the door. "It's a pleasure to see you again." 

Elijah smirks at him as we enter. "You too Leonardo."

"Check-in at the front, another guard will escort you to the gathering."

"Thank you," Elijah says, just as the door closes. 

It was dark in the hallway of the club as we walked on the tile crystal colored floor. There were little yellow lights that guided us to the checkout area. "Hello, Mr. Müller," another Guard greets. This one was huge. "I just need to know how much weapons you're carrying and then you can go straight down that door." He also had a very thick Italian accent, it was almost hard to understand him. 

Elijah turns to look at us, before looking back at the man. "Six altogether. The ladies are packing one each and I have two." 

The man nods and writes it down. "Bené." He responds in Italian. "Go ahead." He says, pointing at the door. 

I stand behind Elijah as he opens the black wooden door. Classical music fills my ears as we all walk in. My eyes take in the place, and I'm taken aback by what I'm seeing. There wasn't anything explicit going on, it was all... chill. A lot of men were walking around and talking to one another, they didn't even notice us. Elijah puts Elliot down and sends him to my side. I hold onto the little guy's hand. 

"Well look what the cat dragged in." A husky voice says. My eyes move from the lights and fall onto a man. He looks just like the guy that Michelle described. "Elijah Müller, I didn't think I'd ever see your ass around here again. Look at you, cut your hair and everything." 

"Looking like a whole new person." Another man says. This one was skinny and had a babyface. He was pretty cute with his sandy brown hair and pink lips. He looks like he could pass as a model. "What's it been? Five? Six years?" 

"Five," Elijah says, not looking bothered. "You guys gonna hold a grudge?" 

"Well, that depends Elijah." A deep Italian voice says, out of the middle of nowhere. Turning to my right, I watch as a man steps down the stairs. My eyes widen by how fine he is. He resembles the baby-faced man a lot but looks way better. "Are you going to keep making excuses for your wrongdoing?" He says walking forward. He has an intimidating look on his face as he stares at Elijah. They are now face to face with one another, giving each other death glares. 

"Boys!" A woman shrieks, walking into the room. From the way both men visibly relax at the sound of her voice, it was a dead giveaway that this was Kelly. Her presence holds so much power, that even the men in the room have stopped talking. All eyes are on her. My eyes widen, looking at the braids on her hair and then her skin. She was black, which really shocked me for some odd reason. She wasn't as I imagined her to be. I frown, looking at her attire. She wasn't even dressed professionally. She had on a black T-shirt and some grey sweatpants, along with some socks and sandals. What the actual f**k! "Didn't I tell you guys to play nice?" She questions, coming into view. "You're scaring the poor kid for goodness sake." She places a hand on her husband's shoulder. "Marc, you promised." 

Marc continues to look at Elijah, before suddenly sighing and stepping back. "Elijah, it's nice of you to come visit. How are you?" He questions, but you can tell it was forced. Kelly looks at Elijah with her eyebrows raised, waiting for him to respond.

"I'm good brúder. I'm happy you could have me. How are you?" Elijah questions. 

"Oh, you know. The usual." Marc looks over at Kelly and smirks. "Happy." 

Kelly clears her throat. "Well don't just stand there, looking all awkward. Give me a hug." She says opening her arms wide. Elijah chuckles before giving her a hug. They stay in each other's arms for a while, before pulling away. "Well come on pfirśich." I'm sure that was a German word. "Introduce us." 

Elijah smiles, like really smiles. He turns around and motions for Elliot to come forward. I let go of his hand and let him go to his father. "This here," he says proudly looking down at him. "Is my son, Elliot." 

"Oh my God, Lija. He looks just like you. He's so precious." She tells him, smiling at Elliot. "Hi, kiddo. My name is Kelly but you can call me Kels for short." 

Elliot actually smiles at her, which causes my frown to deepen. "Hi." He says. I wanted to gasp. This was the second time that my own kid betrayed me. He even looks like he actually likes her. 

"And this is Brandy, my... the mother of my child." Elijah introduces. I gulp, he did not just say that.

"Hello." I quickly say, trying my best to sound nice. Kelly pushes Elijah out the way and pulls me into a hug. She smells like coconut oil. Now it was getting really hard to hate her. She's so damn nice. "It's nice to meet you too." 

She pulls away. "I'm sorry, I'm such a hugger." She apologizes. She was about two inches taller than me but skinny. Thick skinny. 

"And these are Brandy's friends. Mia, Savannah and Michelle." Elijah finishes. 

Kelly waves at them. Her light skin was glowing. "Hey guys, it's nice meeting you all. Michelle, Kevin hasn't been able to shut up about you." 

Michelle blushes. "Oh really?"

"Guilty," Kevin says looking at her. He licks his lips. 

Marc snaps his finger at him. "Behave yourself, there's a child literally right in front of us." He looks at Marc. "Can we go discuss this thing, so I can be on my flight back to New York. Atlanta makes my skin crawl." 

Elijah nods. "Lead the way."

Kelly smiles at me. "I've got to go with them to make sure that they don't kill each other, but as soon as I'm done. I'll find." 

I nod. "Alrighty. I'll just be... here." They all walk away, leaving me behind. Elliot tugs at my hand, causing me to look down at him. "Yes, bud?"

"Food." He states. 

"I've got him." Mia quickly volunteers. "It's not like I've got anything better to do." She mumbles, before walking away with Elliot. 

"Welp," Savannah says, clapping her hands together. "I'm gonna go... find me something."

I scoff. "Yeah, something my ass," I say as she walks away. I turn to look at Michelle. "At least you're still here." 

Michelle scratches the back of her head. "Yeah, about that..." 

Groaning, I shake my head. "Go to him." 

"Bye." She says running towards Kevin. 

"And then, there was just one," I whisper to myself, looking inside my purse for my phone.

"You know they lock people up for that." A Familiar voice says. 

"For what?" I question, looking up. It was the babyface man. "Looking through purses?"

He grins. "Nope, for talking to yourself. But it's fine, I'm here now so you can talk to me." He sticks his hand out for me to shake. "I'm Wyatt, Marc's little brother."

"I knew you guys had to be related. Y'all look alike." Shaking his hand, my feet start to move in the destination of the stairs. "I'm sorry, theses stairs are calling my butt." Pressing my dress down with my hands, I take a seat on the stairs. "So what brings you here, besides the whole Elijah thing?"

Wyatt shrugs. "To be honest, a party. Once I'm done here, I'm going straight over there." He says, taking a seat by me. From my line of vision, I can see Mia feeding Elliot some spaghetti. "How come you didn't go in with Elijah." 

"He didn't ask me too. Besides, I'd very much rather be out here, than with him." 

"Oooh, Elijah must have messed up bad." He says teasingly. He tilts his head to the side. "You're jealous, aren't you. About his and Kelly's relationship." 

"Yeah," I admit. 

Wyatt chuckles. "Take it from me, you've got no reason to be jealous. Kelly and Elijah are just friends and that's all they'll ever be. She loves him like a brother and he... well he loves the idea of being with someone like her. And that's only because, Kelly reminds him of his mother." He laughs. "So totally didn't explain that right, but I'm sure you get the point." 

I genuinely, laugh. "I get what you're saying. It's just..." 

"Awkward to you." He finishes. 

"Very." 

"Tell him that. He'll understand." He nudges me with his arm. "He likes you... a lot. Because under no circumstances would he have brought you here, to a place like this. I practically grew up with the guy, so what I'm telling you is the truth. Elijah will listen if you tell him how you really feel. And then he'll do right by you. Just don't break his heart or anything, he'll go all ballistics." 

"You're so chill." 

He chuckles. "In my line of business, I've got to be." He turns around and sees Kelly on top of the stairs. "Uh oh, I've gotta go before she grabs me by the ears. She probably thinks I'm hitting on you or something." He says, standing up. "It was nice meeting you Brandy, hopefully, we'll get a chance to see each other again." And with that, he quickly walks away, before Kelly could reach the bottom steps. 

"Was he bothering you?" She questions, looking down at me. "Because I have no problem beating his ass for you." 

I smile. "No, he's fine. He was just keeping me company." I nod towards upstairs. "How's everything going up there?" 

She takes a seat. "Good. They're in the process of making up right now as we speak." 

"How do you do it?" I ask, seriously. "How do you do all of this?"

Kelly pauses, taking in my unexpected questions. "That's a good question. I guess you can, love." She admits. "You see, not long ago I was opposed to all things that had to do with this lifestyle. The money, the drugs, the killing, and definitely the people who ran it. But then, I'd realized all the good that came from it. My daughter was found because of it. And because of the love I have for my husband and inhumanity, it made me accept this lifestyle and everything that comes with it. Love helped me shape this whole thing, that and the help of Marc." 

"What do you mean, shape this whole thing?" 

"Back then, the Italian mafia was just plain old... mean. And don't get me wrong, it still is mean. It's just now we have me. Back then, there was unnecessary killings and beefs, along with trafficking and just the worse of the worse. But that's all changed now. The day Marc asked me to marry him, I declined at first, telling him that I couldn't marry a man whose own mafia is caused of several bad things happening in the world. And when those words came out my mouth, it was as if he was actually hearing me for the first time. He looked me right in the eyes and was like so then change it. And so then I did." She explains. "When we got married, I spent my whole honeymoon devoting it to the mafia. Figuring out ways that I could turn it's bad reputation into a good one. I'd meet with men that was in charge of things for a pretty long time and gain their respect. It wasn't easy of course, nothing ever is when it comes down to men. But hey, it worked out for the best. We're the Biggest mafia syndicate in the whole world and that's where we'll always be since my husband and me are pulling the strings." 

I look at her in adoration. It was inspiring seeing a black woman be in charge of something so big. "That explains why you're in slacks." 

Kelly chuckles, showing off her white teeth. "I only wear dresses and all that other s**t for special occasions. Like weddings and funerals. Other than that, you'll always catch me out, looking like this." She raises her eyebrows. "Elijah told you guys to dress up?" 

"Yup, he said something about it was a sign of respect." 

Kelly's smile widens. "Them Germans are weird I tell ya. They do a lot of things differently. Everything is a sign of respect to them." She stretches her arms. "Lijah told me about the program you got going on. I've got a similar program too. So if you ever need any resources, or if you're ever in need of a job just call me. We could use someone like you in our New York location." 

"I'll be sure to call you. I can't believe I was kinda afraid of meeting you. You're so nice." 

She places her index finger against her lips and shushes me. "Shh. Don't tell anyone, it's a secret." She whispers. "I like you, Brandy, you seem like you'll be good for lijah. He needs good in his life right now." She looks at me seriously. "Therefore, if you break his heart. I'll personally come after you myself."

I visibly gulp, I didn't doubt her one bit. "I won't." 

"Good." She glances down at her watch and sighs. "What is taking those idiots so long? I wanna go home already and see my babies."

"How many kids do you?" 

"Just two, both girls." She says distantly. "I've wanted more, but I can't naturally have kids anymore. It's all about adoption now." She rubs her hands together. "I got shot in the stomach when I was pregnant with my second child. The bullet took away two things from me that day." 

I frown. "I'm so sorry." 

Kelly pats my hand. "Oh, nonsense. It was a sad situation, but it had a good outcome. I gained another daughter and soon I'll be adding another child to my family." She smirks, chuckling a bit. "I'm literally changing the world, one adoption at a time." 

My heart melts. "The world doesn't deserve you, Kelly Russo." 

She nods. "And it never will." 

"Brandy," Mia shouts running towards me, with Elliot in her hands. She looks panicked. "I just got a call from the Recovery clinic. It's urgent."

An alarm expression marks my face. "What happened? What did they say?" 

Mia closes and then opens her eyes. Her hands are shaking. "It's Yonnie." She says, causing my heart to drop. "One of the nurses caught her injecting herself with heroin. And before they could do anything about it, she ran away." She bites down on the inside of her cheek. "T... they have reasons to believe that the heroin was laced. M... Meaning." Tears form in her eyes as she tried to find the right words to say. "Meaning..." 

"They don't think she'll make it through the night." I finish for her in a shaky voice. My chest tightens just thinking about Yonnie being on the streets all alone. Too much bad things happen at night in Atlanta. This was all my fault. I should have tried harder to get her better help. I should've put her into a better clinic and visited her often. We haven't spoken since the day I dropped her off. 

Various bad thoughts race through my mind, which causes me to feel lightheaded. It takes me a moment to realize that I'm barely even breathing. 

"Brandy, are you alright?" Kelly asks, worriedly. Opening my mouth to say something, nothing comes out. 

Instead, everything goes black.