The One She Loved

Chapter six,

hi besties! 🫶🏽

"Daddy you getting a li'l gut, you might have to start working out," Luvie teased her father, Marc, as he leaned on the counter, eating a slice of the strawberry shortcake that Candice made.

A smirk graced his face as he continued chewing. "Ya' mama like it," he said, he and Luvie looking over at Candice who was maneuvering around the kitchen, wiping down the counters.

"Stop talkin' wit' ya' mouth full," she told her, folding the washcloth and placing it on the neck of the faucet. "Nani, you want any more of this cake before I put it away?"

"No ma'am," Luvie declined, clearing her throat. "So, um, can I go over to a friend's house?"

"What friend?" Candice asked her, placing a hand on her hip.

"Amauri,"

"It's a school night, Nani," Marc wiped around his mouth, giving her a stern look. "How long do you plan on being over there?"

"Just a few hours," Luvie told them, her eyes darting between her parents. Marc and Candice exchanged glances, he shrugged and stood up straight with his now empty plate.

"...Alright, you can go. Just make it back by a decent time, Sioni," Candice said, a little happy that her daughter was finally starting to make more plans to go out. Out of all their children, Luvie was the only one who didn't give them issues.

She did her homework without them having to check, kept good grades, and didn't get into any type of trouble at school. Though her brothers didn't go around starting trouble, they couldn't help themselves from getting into fights whilst trying to stand up to bullies.

The couple was proud that their sons didn't tolerate harassment of any sort, but they always preached to them that every situation didn't deserve a reaction.

After Richie passed, they stressed to their sons to keep their mouths closed at school unless it was absolutely necessary. Nazim almost facing death and then losing his uncle scarred him and put him in depression.

Out of all of her brothers, Luvie connected with Nazim the most. Like his sister, Nazim also blamed himself for the death of his uncle. Had Richie not pushed him out of the way, he wouldn't have gotten killed.

Nazim regretted every waking day of his life that he ever turned around. If only he hadn't turned his back, he would've seen the gun and prevented Dante from hurting anyone.

"Okay," Luvie replied, getting up from the table. She walked to her room, shutting the door behind her. She grabbed her phone from off the bed and went to text Amauri that she could pick her up when she was ready.

Luvie had already counted on her parents saying 'yes' to her going out. Since she rarely did, they jumped at any opportunity to have their alone time when she left.

Earlier at school, Amauri invited her over to hang out. She hadn't solely hung out with Amauri in a while, so, Luvie accepted her invitation. She was a little skeptical that Brielle wasn't tagging along since the girls were always together. Even though the four girls were all friends, it sometimes felt a bit 'cliquey' within their small friend group. Luvie believed that the tension between Sacha and Amauri was the reason for it.

While she was in her text messages, she texted the group chat with Faven and Tyra, reading over the text messages that Tyra sent in regards to a guy she was talking to.

For the past week, Luvie had grown a little closer to the sisters. She began to hang out with Tyra in the mornings when Faven dropped them off, and even after school at their house. Her parents were a bit surprised when she found out that she was talking to her childhood best friend again.