𝓐𝓼 𝓦𝓮 𝓛𝓪𝔂

Ch. 24: All Bad

I don't know why I had the sudden urge to stay home today, but I followed my first mind & did it. I tried to convince Maurice to stay home as well & us having an 'extended' weekend, trying to play the bad vibes off as something happy, but he wasn't going for it. I had no other choice but to tell him the real. So I told him about the bad feeling I had surrounding us leaving the house & that we all should just stay home & start fresh Tuesday. I even made Nevaeh miss school today, but he thought I was bugging & went to work anyway.

So all day, it was just me & my two love bugs. Lounging around with a messy bun, one of Maurice's tank tops & some sweats. Vaeh was still in her pajamas & Halo was in a onesie, that was about to get changed into another one, since he made this one a filthy mess like the last two. Big chilling! My favorite type of carrying on. Most of my day was filled with snacks, changing the cartoon on TV fifty lem times, coloring, drawing, playing "Superhero Princess saves the day" & being the damsel and distress. Followed by diaper changes, feedings & trying to keep a six month old baby in his hearing aids.

I was exhausted as hell, but I was loving every minute of it. I was still, six months going on seven, in awe at the fact that I had two kids & seeing Nevaeh doting on her baby brother just made my heart swell & burst. She was such a great big sister to him. I sat on the couch in the midst of changing the TV to something else again, when I got a glimpse of her gently removing his hands from his hearing aids & redirecting his attention to his toys. So thoughtful. I stood up from the couch to stretch & to go grab all three of us a snack.

"Vaeh, you want some chips or something outta the kitchen? I'm heading that way" I asked. She handed Halo a plushie, that he immediately put straight in his mouth before she looked my way.

"Um, I want strawberries instead of chips, Mommy" she replied, returning her attention to her brother.

"Ok then, healthy!" I chuckled as I made my way to the kitchen. "Daddy should be home soon, so I'm gonna start prepping dinner. That means you're only getting a few. I don't want you to spoil your appetite!" I shouted loudly enough for her to hear me with the distance between us.

"Ok Mommy!" she shouted back. I smirked as I grabbed the cutting board, placing it on the counter en route to the refrigerator. I put some music on, on my phone as I normally would to chop her strawberries & to start prep for dinner. Once I had her small bowl full, I popped one in my mouth as I headed back her way.

"Here you go baby. Share with your brother, don't give him any big pieces. He only has one & half teeth" I said with a mouthful & a smile. She giggled as she reached for the bowl, I bent down more to help her reach it & to kiss her forehead. As I made my way back to the kitchen, I felt my phone vibrating in my sweats back pocket. Which reminded me that I needed to take my phone off silent. I pulled it out & saw that it was Mama Sheryl calling me.

"Hey Mama" I answered gleefully & put the phone on speaker, so I could get to deboning the rotisserie chicken. It was a short cut my mother taught me, instead of thawing out chicken breast & cooking it. I was in a great mood, until the panic in Mama Sheryl's voice caught my attention. She sounded distraught & seemed to be crying. So much so that her words were choppy & damn near inaudible.

"H-He...They rushed...Maurice. Maur-My baby. Niecy. Maurice!" she cried and shouted on the other end & just hearing his name & her tone, I instantly went into panic mode.

"Calm down Mama, what's going on with Maurice?!" I ended up shouting trying my damnedest to remain as calm as possible, but I was failing. My heart instantly sank the minute she opened her mouth, but before she could utter another word I was getting a call from an unknown number & clicked over to answer it.