Yesterday, I ended up sleeping for the rest of the night. I woke up before Royce and took the opportunity to get ready while she was not in my way. I brushed my teeth, took a shower, and got dressed for the day. I slicked my hair back in a low ponytail and defined my curls. When I was done, Royce still wasn't up so I left her in the room.

I walked towards the kitchen, but no one was there. It did smell like coffee so somebody was up.

"My mom is still sleep, but dad is out back," a voice spoke up.

"Hey Remi," I said turning to her.

"Hey."

"You look different from the last time we ran into each other."

"I cut my hair," she said.

"I noticed. It looks good on you."

"Thanks. And you look really pretty." I thanked her for the compliment and was about to head towards the back door when she stopped me.

"Wait," she held her hands out, but stopped herself from touching me.

"No hard feelings right? I apologize for what I did. I should've thought my plan through instead of just showing up and being a creep. You had every right to cuss me out and threaten to call the cops on me," she said.

"I get what you were trying to do, but the way you went about it was hella suspicious. A simple 'hey, how are you,' would have been a lot better. And I would have responded a lot better too."

"I know that now, and I'm sorry."

"It's cool. No hard feelings," I smiled at her. She kind of reminded me of myself when I was her age. I'm not that much older than her, but still.

"MOMMY!!! I stopped what I was doing and made my way back to the room. When I opened the door, Royce was sitting up.

"What's wrong?"

"I have to pee," she whined.

"Ok. Come on." She slid off of the bed and I took her to the bathroom. She was pretty much up now, so she took a quick shower and I did her hair just like mine, as she so loudly requested. I dressed her in something simple—a brown long-sleeved sweatshirt that had spoiled written in white letters across the front of it, brown biker shorts, and matching white sneakers. She was indeed my twin.

I tried not to laugh as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"I look like you mommy," she said.

"That's what you wanted right?"

"Yes," she giggled.

"When you're done looking at yourself, let's go. We've been in here long enough." It was now almost noon. Remi was nowhere to be found, so we walked out of the house and into the backyard. There was Latin music playing from a speaker and my dad was on the grill.

My dad was technically a mix of a bunch of things, but he considered himself to be Black, because he was Black. From what I remember, he said his father was Black and his mom Puerto Rican. I told him to take a DNA test if he wanted to know the specifics of his ethnic background, but he just shrugged it off. Trina is mixed herself, but with just black and white. She is one of them types that grew up privileged, and I think I read that her father was a doctor and her mother a lawyer. And, my dad may or may not have accidentally told me that Trina's parents disowned her when she got pregnant with Uriah. But that's none of my business and I wouldn't dare bring it up.

They definitely made some racially ambiguous children, I'll tell you that.

"Asha! Come dance."

"Oh no. I don't really dance."

"But you can dance. Come on." I walked over to Trina and my dad. They were now dancing together. I didn't know what type of dance they were doing, but it looked fancy.

"Oh no, I can't do that."

"Just watch, it's easier than you think," he spun his wife around. Me and Royce just watched them as they seemed to get lost in the song. She was too excited jumping up and down beside me.

I would say that Trina and my dad were cute together, but I couldn't imagine what it felt like for her to raise two kids on her own. Not to mention, before Remi was even conceived, my dad cheated and had me out of wedlock. Trina probably didn't know at the time, but if she did and she still chose to have another baby by him, that ain't none of my business either. She stuck by him for 18 years while he was in jail. I could never.

"Imani, you want to dance?" My dad asked her, and she couldn't contain her excitement. This was a good way for him to break the ice with her and get her to open up.

"You can dance with me," Trina caught me off guard by pulling me onto the pavement.

"Trust me, I had no rhythm before I met your father." She showed me the steps and I did my best to mimic her movements, but she was just moving way too fast.

"Let's switch," my dad interrupted. He grabbed my arm and spun me to him. He showed me the correct starting position by placing his arm atop the middle of my back. He guided my own arm up and rested it on top of his so that I was touching his shoulder. We then interlocked our free hands.

"Just follow my lead," he said. And I really tried my best. I even had to take my jacket off because I was working up a sweat.

"There you go!" He encouraged me. I couldn't help but smile. It felt nice to dance with him.

"Raymond, the food!" Trina yelled over the music. My dad stopped.

"Not bad Asha," he smiled before walking off. I took the opportunity to catch my breath. I went to the cooler and grabbed a water. I looked over to Imani and she was still dancing with Trina. I took a seat in one of the chairs when Imani ran over to me.

"Mommy, did you see me?!"

"You did a good job. Do you want to take a break with me?" She nodded and I pulled her into my lap and handed her my water.

"Are you hungry?"

"Yes. Can I get a hotdog?"

"Go ask if there are any hotdogs, and make sure you ask nicely." She slid off of my lap and made her way over to my dad. I was sure he grilled up some hotdogs. What's a barbecue without hotdogs.

I went back inside the house and grabbed my phone off of the charger. At the last minute, I decided to use the bathroom. When I was done peeing and washing my hands, I left out. As I was rounding the corner, I ran into a hard chest. Damn.

"My bad. I didn't see you."

"No, it's okay. I wasn't paying attention," I said grabbing my nose. I took a step back so I could get a better look at just who I ran into. I recognized those features.

"Oh, you must be Uriah." He cocked his head to the side confused.

"And you are?" Before I could say anything someone beat me to it.

"That's your sister, idiot," Remi chimed in.

"Oh shit," he pulled me into a hug.

"It's Asha right?" I nodded into his chest. He was holding me so tight that I could barely breathe. And, he was messing up my edges. He pulled back and I fixed my hair.

"Hi," I tried hard not to laugh.

"Damn, you are beautiful. I can't say the same for Remi."

"Suck my dick Uriah," she clapped back. "Why are you even here anyway?" He turned to her.

"I was invited," he pushed his finger into her forehead, pushing her back and out of his space. Remi swatted at his hand.

"I thought you were out of the country?"

"I was. I just got back a few hours ago," he said walking past her. I followed behind them as Remi continued asking questions.

"Did dad tell you to come? You are his favorite child. But seeing as Asha is here now, she may give you a run for your money," she teased.

"You seem awfully talkative today."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She questioned.

"No juegues a tonto." (Don't play dumb)

"English please," she rolled her eyes. He ignored her and continued out the back door.

"He knows Spanish?" I asked once he was gone.

"Of course. He's the golden child."

"And you don't speak the language at all?"

"No, not really. No one ever taught me," she shrugged.

"Well don't feel bad, I only know how to say hello and count to ten." And I learned that shit from when Royce used to watch Dora.

Anyway, I wanted to get back outside and maybe get myself a hotdog or something to settle my stomach. I was about to walk out the door when I noticed that Remi wasn't following behind me.

"Are you not coming?" I asked her.

"I have plans," she said. I said nothing else and just let her do her thing. I thought she would at least want to maybe sit and talk, but I guess she would rather go about her business. She is an adult that can make her own decisions. But damn, I can't help but wonder where she disappears to. Does she have a job? A boyfriend? A girlfriend? I don't know, but I won't lose sleep over it either way.

The rest of the day went by fast. It was just me, my dad, Trina, Royce, and Uriah. We ate, talked, danced, and played games. Uriah was definitely the life of the party—very energetic and goofy. Imani basically followed him around like a lost puppy because he gave her all of his attention. As the sun went down and the street lights came on, all that was left was me and my dad. Trina been went inside to clean up, Uriah went home, and Royce was knocked out in my lap.

"Can I ask a personal question?"

"You can ask me anything." Well, I don't know about anything, but I will start off simple and straight to the point.

"How did you end up in prison? I may be wrong, but you seem so well spoken and you don't look like a man that would easily get caught up with the law." It took a moment for him to respond.

"When I was in my teens, I got caught up with the wrong type of people. There was a group of us, and we were all around the same age. I didn't know any better at the time. I was a follower—I just wanted to do what everybody else was doing. One thing led to the next, and I was stealing anything that I could get my hands on: money, cars, people's personal items, jewelry...mostly petty things. And I was always dumb enough to get caught. The more I stole, the more I was in and out of holding cells and detention centers."

"Why didn't you stop?" I asked.

"Because it became my livelihood. My mom was an illegal immigrant that spoke not a lick of English, and my father was barely home because he was always working."

"But, did you ever stop?"

"I did when I got into my twenties and I met Trina. She was the complete opposite. She lived with her parents, who were well off. I had never seen people that were literally drowning in money. That's what I thought at the time, 'these people are rich.' And they didn't even try to hide their wealth," he laughed.

"You met her parents?"

"No. Not even to this day. I only knew of them. Trina knew better not to bring me around them, so she would often sneak me into her house. But, I couldn't understand why someone like her would even entertain someone like me. She had her whole life planned out for her. Meanwhile, I was a high school drop out. It pissed me off. I thought she was playing me; I thought she was sent by one of those cops to have me sent away permanently, but that wasn't the case."

"Y'all fell in love," I teased.

"Maybe," he shrugged. "But long story short, we eloped within the same year of us meeting, and she got pregnant some months after that. I was twenty six when Uriah was born, Trina was twenty. Her parents found out and disowned her. Shit happened, and I stepped out on my wife and had you. It wasn't my proudest moment, but I don't regret you," he made himself clear when stating that I wasn't a mistake. But he didn't have to reassure me. It's not like I would get mad if he thought I was a mistake. Shit, I probably was a mistake, and that's okay.

"Then y'all had Remi some years later, and you went to jail right after that?" He nodded and I took a moment to process everything. I did the math in my head. Uriah was born when my dad was 26, then me when he was roughly 29, and lastly Remi when he was maybe 33.

"Did you tell Trina that you cheated or did she find out herself?"

"He told me," Trina spoke up from behind me.

"You should've saw his face. The guilt was too much for him. But believe it or not, that's when I realized that he was a good guy. Maybe not loyal, but he admitted to cheating and that was enough for me. He promised to never do it again, and he didn't."

"If everything turned out alright then how did you end up in prison for 18 years?" I addressed my dad.

"My teenage years caught up with me," he shrugged looking away. There was more to the story, but he didn't want to tell me.

"What do you—"

We were interrupted by some noise. It sounded like someone was in the house. Maybe Remi finally came back.

"I'll be back," he stood to his feet and disappeared into the house. Not even a minute later, I could hear my dad full on yelling.

"Hold on Asha." Trina left as well. I looked down at Royce. She was curled up on the patio furniture, her head in my lap. She looked rather peaceful until I jumped up at hearing someone scream. I lifted her up and made my way to the back door. I pushed it open and stepped directly into all the commotion.

"Dad stop!" Remi yelled.

"What did I tell you about being in my house." He had some guy in a headlock.

"I said stay out of my house and stay away from my daughter," he applied more pressure.

"Dad, stop. You're hurting him!!"

"Ray, that's enough," Trina had her hands up trying to calm him down. Between all the yelling and Royce snoring in my ear, I couldn't think. It wasn't until the guy's eyes started rolling into the back of his head that I stepped in. I handed Royce over to Trina and inserted myself into the drama. I stepped in front of my dad so that he could see me. I didn't know what the fuck was going on, but it needed to stop.

I didn't even have to say anything. My dad saw the expression on my face and immediately let the guy go.

"Get out." The dude wasted no time in scurrying out the house. Remi tried to follow behind him, but Ray grabbed her.

"I can't stand you," she seethed.

"My house, my rules." She tore away from.

"If you leave, don't bother coming back."

"Ray, that's our daughter!"

"I don't know what else to do. Im tired of the constant attitude and the disrespect. She wants to be out all day and all night, and bring motherfuckers in this house. So maybe it's time for Remi to get a place of her own. She's an adult after all. Maybe I should start treating her like one."

"Your kicking me out?" Her voice cracked. He didn't say anything so Remi took his silence as a yes.

"That's fine. Screw you and this house," she stormed off.

I stood rooted in place. I didn't know what to do. I knew there was tension between them, but not this much damn tension. I was at a loss for words. I wanted to run after Remi, and smack some sense into my dad all at the same time. Remi wasn't just some random girl, she was his daughter. Yes, she's an adult, but she's also only nineteen. I wasn't a therapist or anything like that, but I could tell that Remi was just doing all of this for attention. She wasn't acting like this for no reason. Kicking her out isn't the move, and it won't solve any of this conflict between them.

Choosing to go after Remi, I followed in the same direction she ran off in. I found her in a room packing a bag.

"He's not going to kick you out Remi," I told her. She scoffed.

"He sounded serious to me." She wiped at her tears and continued stuffing a bag full of clothes.

"Remi." I sat down in front of her and grabbed her hands.

"He's not kicking you—"

"Can I come stay with you?"

"I..." my voice caught in my throat.

"Please. I'll help you with Imani. I'll do anything you ask. I'll cook, clean, take the trash out." She squeezed my hands.

"Please let me stay with you."

"I don't know Remi. That's a lot on me. I finally got a stable job, but I don't know if it's good enough to sustain three people. My house is only two bedroom. I—"

"I'll get a job and help out."

This was the last thing I expected to happen. Surely her and Ray could make up. He just needed some time to cool off and Remi needed to learn better manners. Kicking her out wasn't the move, but letting her move in with me wasn't it either. But even as I looked into her eyes, I could see how desperate she was. Didn't I say she reminded me a lot of ME when I was her age.

Instead of completely shutting down the idea, I gave her a little bit of hope.

"I'll see what I can do," I told her.

.....

😜 🤫