Essence

Chapter 2: Relationships

Marrissah's (Mom's) POV: As she's heading to sleep

I lay on my bed wide awake, thinking about Mav. I'll always love him. What we had before could never be wiped from my memory. And I'd do anything to get back to that. I finally fell asleep a bit after these thoughts.

"Ri, are you up?" Mav asked as he entered the room.

I jumped a bit as I didn't expect him to come home. I looked at the time and it was 4:10 a.m.

"We need to talk." He said as he sat down on the bed.

"Yeah, we do." I sighed as I sat up.

"While I was out, I was thinking about what I heard you say to Essence, and I realized you were right. I'm not the same person I was before. The person I was before would've never talked to Essence the way I talk to her now. I never would've abandoned you when you had our kids, and I wouldn't treat anyone the way I do now. But that person before, he could never defend this family. Right now, many people fear us, and I like it like that. They now know not to mess with us. And once we find the people who took our son away from this world, they will be gone before they even know it... L-L-Let me stay on topic, I'm so sorry for how poorly I've treated you and Essence, e-e-even Elijah. I never should've made you doubt my love for you, because that's never going away. I don't know what I would do with myself if I were to lose you. S-So, I gotta know. Do you still love me?" He explained.

I tried to hold my grin as I held his hands.

"I'll always love you, Mav. You're everything to me." I grinned.

He pulled me onto his lap as he hugged me. I loved this version of him, so sweet, so vulnerable, so simpy. This version of him made me feel like I was the best person in the world.

"Does this mean you're going to be nicer to Essence?" I asked.

"Yeah. In the morning, I'll apologize to her." He sighed.

We laid down, then fell asleep. When I woke up, Mav was already talking to Essence.

Essence's POV: When her Dad enters

"I know you're getting ready for school, so I'll make this quick." He started.

Of course, it had to be while I was doing the trickiest part of getting ready... My hair.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I know over the years I've been a little t-t-tough on you--" He continued.

"A little tough?!" I snapped.

"Alright, I've been a bitch." He chuckled.

I nodded with a smirk as I continued doing my hair.

"I wanna explain why. My parents were always super kind. No discipline, they'd just tell me not to do things, but they didn't really enforce it. So, I grew up thinking I could do what I want, but I wasn't tough at all. Then I got tied into the gang. I'm strict with you so you can become tough too. That way, if you ever get into a situation, you can defend yourself. I know you're strong, and I've gone too far with how I've treated you, so I'm done. I'm done being a bully, and I'm ready to be a real father." He explained.

I let out a sigh as I finished my hair.

"It's about time, Dad." I giggled as I hugged him.

I went to school and greeted Kori.

"Can I please know where we're going?" I begged.

"No, you can't know. It's a surprise for a reason, Essie." She teased.