.:*The One Who Protects His Magic*:. || A Bruno Mars Fanfiction

:: 25 ::

Kenneth and Celestine's Place
Landing at Fancher Creek Apartments [Fresno, CA.]
February 20, 2017. 4:15 P.M.

ELISE

When we pulled up in front of our parents' house, the first thing I noticed was Joyce's car parked next to their mailbox. Lyra, McKenzie, and myself got out of the car and we saw our mother pacing back and forth, showing no mercy to the mahogany decking on the porch.

"What's wrong with Grandma?" McKenzie questioned. "She looks so angry."

"Nothing's wrong, munchkin," I quickly countered, trying my best to not let my niece racked her mind with what was going on around her. When children get involved with adult affairs, that's what really made me angry because they didn't need to know about such things at an early age.

"McKenzie, go in the house through the back door and go directly in Elise's old room, okay?" Lyra eyed her daughter, not leaving any room for her to back talk.

"Okay," As McKenzie hurried through the backyard, she yelled. "I'm gonna talk to Hosea while I'm up there!"

"Who's Hosea? Her little boyfriend or something?" I looked at Lyra for an explanation, letting the name roll off my tongue. I've never heard of him before and I was supposed to know my niece like the back of my hand.

"I'll tell you about that later."

I would normally questioned more about who niece associated herself with, but that would have to wait for another time. As we dashed on the porch, our mother gazed at us with distressed eyes, barely acknowledging our presence. "Did you had fun while you were gone?" Celestine inquired to me vaguely.

"Mom, are you okay?" Lyra asked, but we already knew why. Whenever something bothered, she would usually sit down and contemplate on the situation. That left little to the imagination with the ire that brimmed in her eyes.

"I will be once that woman leaves from my house."

The ashtray that mom had kept for so many years was full of cigarette ends and judging by how much that accumulated into a pile, she had been at this for a couple of hours. "Mom, please put those out. You got clean a few years ago and we don't need you starting that again." I pleaded with her.

"Kenny is just hell bent on wanting to control your life and I'm fucking sick of him. I don't want you to go in there, Elise. I don't want to go in there because I'm afraid of what I'll do to him and that woman." Her voice came out more acerbic than usual. That was never a good sign when she got like that. Mom wanted to stand by our Dad whenever he made rash decisions, but even she had a limit.

"Lyra, try to calm her down and make her stop with those cigarettes."

It grew silent between the three of us but I was the one who brought this chaos in our family and it was my job to rectify it. I had to worked this out. I just had to.

I entered my parent's place through the front door as I placed my jacket onto the coat rack that was located near the closet and I plopped it on one of the hooks, not caring how it landed nor looked for that matter. I could already hear the conversation that was taking place. "I wanted to thank you for letting me wait here for your daughter, Mr. Dupree." I heard Joyce spoke in a cordial manner, as if nothing serious was about to take place.

"It's not a problem, Miss Lyons," Kenneth mused with a smile, clearly enjoying converse with someone from the FPD. "It's always nice to meet one of city's finest officers. Would you like some more tea?"

"No, I'm good sir. Thank you, anyway." Joyce replied.

I leaned against the entryway I stood there in the hallway, watching the exchange in silence. He couldn't let that life go for nothing. He retired from the FPD and he still wanted to cling to that life what went on there. His glory days and obsession with the place was going to suck what little life he had left in him.