“I’m extremely sorry to disturb you so late Ms. Waterson, but we have a guest here who is demanding he see you?” the guard says.
“Who?” I say sitting up.
“His name is Abraham Clifford? He was here early but you didn’t give him full visitor clearance,” the guard says.
“What is he doing here?” I ask, climbing out of bed.
“He’s highly intoxicated, I can barely understand him ma’am,” he says.
“Alright, I’ll be right there,” I say.
“What’s happening?” Alec asks tiredly, standing in the guest room doorway.
“Braum is at the gates,” I say, making my way downstairs.
“Why?” he asks, following me towards the front door. “What’s happening?”
“I’ll be right back,” I say, slipping on my sandals before moving outside, getting into my car. I drive down to the security gates where Braum sits, mumbling to himself. I climb out of the car, walking up to him.
“Braum? What’s happening?” I ask, he looks over at me and shoots out of his seat.
“Adeya!” he squeals, the security guard jumps in front of me, but I stop him.
“It’s fine, I’m fine,” I insist. “Come on Braum,” I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards the car. I open the passenger door helping him inside, I climb back into the car pulling away from the security guard station. “What is going on B? why are you soaked in liquor and why don’t you have a car? Where’s Demetra and Bo?”
“Probably somewhere fucking,” Braum says, leaning back in his seat. I grip the wheel to my car tightly. Pulling into my driveway, I look over at him. “2 long years, and for what?” he whispers, dropping his head on the window.
Chapter Thirteen
“She abandoned him here with no money, no clothes, and she stole practically all his things, she also withdrew him from all his classes and took all the college funds, he’s completely abandoned with nowhere to go! Until his parents come, I am all he has, what was I supposed to do?” I hiss, Alec and Zahara stare at me like I wasn’t speaking English. “It’s only until his parents come! And then they have to go get things sorted out with his school,”
“I can get him a hotel,” Zahara says, pulling out his phone.
“He wants to be with Lorelei,” I say.
“Adeya, you understand why we don’t think this is a good idea?” Alec asks, crossing his arms. “I mean what about Raphael?”
“Raphael doesn’t need to know about this, Braum won’t be here long and I’ve already made it clear that I don’t want anything to do with him, and I meant it,” I say, they look at each other before realizing they weren’t going to change my mind.
“I can stay longer, if you want,” Alec says.
“No, he needs somewhere to sleep, I’ll be fine guys I promise! Lorelei will be at school most of the day and I’ll be working the most I’ll be doing with him is dinner,” I say.
“If you insist,” Zahara says, leaning against the counter. “What is he going to do about it? About the girl?” she says, referring to Demetra.
“I don’t know, he was really distraught and doesn’t really want to talk about it, all I know is that she took all his money and left with Bo in the middle of the night, they only left his a letter and his I.D” I say.
“That’s terrible,” Zahara says.
“All he can do is move on,” I say.
Braum and Lorelei are watching TV when I walk into the living room. They’re curled up on the couch, and Lorelei is wrapped in so many blankets, she just looks like a little ball in his lap. “I’m home,” I announce.
“Mama!” Lorelei squeals, untangling herself from the mass bundle of blankets and rushing over to me. I scoop her in my arms.
“How was your day bear?” I ask.
“Good! Daddy and I went to the park!” she replied as I set her back on the ground. She runs over sitting back beside her dad.
“Was she a lot to handle?” I ask.
“May helped a lot,” He says.
“Well that’s good, what did she have for dinner?” I ask.
“We just had some leftovers, I cleaned the dishes and everything,” he says.
“Thank you, I’m going to wash up and then it’s time for her bedtime,” I say, before heading upstairs and taking a shower. When I finish, I find a missing call from Raphael on my phone. “Hey!”
“Oh, I thought I missed you,” he says. “Sorry if it’s late,”
“No, it’s fine,” I say, sitting down on my bed. “How was your day? Save anybody from a fire?”
“Not today, but there is always tomorrow,” he laughs. “How was your day? Write any good songs?” he asks.
“No but, I recorded a lot of my new album,” I say.
“I can’t wait to hear it, Emily always has a listening party with her friends, I might sit in this time,” he jokes.
“Or I can just invite you both to my fan listening party,” I say.
“Seriously? You don’t have to,”
“No! I want to,” I say. “It won’t be for some time, but you’ll surely get,”
“That’s amazing, thank you, she’ll love it,” he says. “So, when am I going to be able to see you again?”
“I’m free tomorrow,” I say.
“Lunch?”
“Text me where, and I’m there,” I say.
“Sounds great, I can’t wait,” he says. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow, we’re going out,” he says.
“Good luck! Be careful,” he hangs up the line, and I drop my phone on the bed. When I come back downstairs Braum is cleaning up the living room.
“She’s already down,” he says, before turning to me. “You sounded busy,” he says, striding pass me and upstairs. I walk back up to my room climbing into bed.
The next day, Braum is still sleeping when I wake up and Lorelei is sitting in front of the TV waiting for breakfast.
“Good morning bear,” I say, lifting her into my arms and carrying her into the kitchen.
“Is daddy staying forever?” Lorelei asks, as I set her in her seat.
“No, he has to go back to school,”
“Why?”
“Because he has to,” I say, moving to the fridge to start her breakfast. “But he’ll be back to visit,” I say. I hand her a plate of toast, cut up fruit, and half of my scrambled egg before sitting beside her.
“Good morning baby!” Braum says, walking into the kitchen. I turn my attention and Braum is in nothing but my oversized sweatpants that I let him borrow. Alec said he’d be bringing over clothes that he could fit, but until then it was whatever was too big for me. “Good morning Adeya,”
“Good morning,” I say, looking back down at my breakfast.
“Good morning daddy!” Lorelei says, he walks over to her kissing her on top of the head.
“How did you sleep baby?” he asks, sitting down at the table beside her, and across from me.
“Good,” Lorelei replies, before returning to her breakfast.
“Are you working today?” Braum asks, I just nod.
“I work every day pretty much, when Lorelei is in school May usually takes her, and then after school they meet me at the studio but for now May is just keeping her here,”
“I’m really sorry about that, again,” he says, looking down at the table.
“No, it’s fine, it’s okay now…. Let’s just move pass it,” I say. “And if you want to talk about anything…. I’m ready whenever you are,” I say, before pushing out of my seat and grabbing my plate. “May should be here in less than 30 minutes, I’ll be getting ready if you need me,” I drop my plate in the sink, before moving upstairs to get ready. I didn’t have rehearsal until the afternoon, but I couldn’t just wait for my date in the house with Braum, with nothing to talk about but the past. After I get ready, and when I’m sure May is here, I leave, meeting Alec and Calum at the diner by my house, for coffee.
“So how is it living with your ex-boyfriend?” Calum says, as
soon as I sit down.
“A bit awkward,” I admit, leaning against the table. “I have a date with Raphael for lunch,” I say, quickly changing the subject.
“A lunch date! How exciting,” Alec gushes.
“I also invited him and his younger cousin, to the listening party for the new album,” I say.
“Did you run that pass Zahara?” Calum asks.
“I’m sure it won’t matter, they send all the tickets to the radio station anyway,” I shrug. “Enough about me,” I say, leaning back in my seat. I look expectantly at my two friends, and Calum is the first to clear his throat.
“I’m going to propose to Zahara,” he says, I nearly leap out of my seat.
“Finally!” I smack my hand down on the table.
“Alright Ms. Superstar, do you want a riot?” Alec says. I settle in my seat, covering my mouth only now realizing how public we were.
“Sorry,” I mutter. “That’s so exciting! When are you going to do it?”
“Are anniversary is coming up, we’re having an all-white party, and I know Zahara isn’t going to want to ask but-”
“Of course, I’ll perform,” I say, he smiles.
“Thank you, D,” he says. “You can invite Raphael, I can’t wait to meet him,”
“He’s a doll,” Alec replies, before I get the chance.
“Does Braum know about him?”
“No, and I don’t plan on telling him,” I say, I begin biting my nails. “I think he heard me on the phone last night though,”
“Don’t feel bad!” Alec snaps in my face. “He started dating that Demetra girl barely a month after you left!”
‘Thanks for the reminder,”
“My point, it’s been 4 years Deya, you can’t just sit and wait for something to happen forever,” he says. “And plus! Raphael really likes you!”
“You’re right, you’re right,”
After coffee, Calum drives me to the studio where I’d meeting Raphael for lunch. He was waiting for me, sitting on a bench outside of the studio sipping coffee.
“How I didn’t keep you waiting long,” I say, sitting down beside him.
“No, I got here early, how was your morning?” he asks.
“It was well, are you ready for lunch or are you good with the coffee?” I say, he laughs pushing out of the bench.
“No, I’m ready whenever you are,”
We end up going to a restaurant near the studio. They give us a table near the kitchen, away from all windows. The service is quick and polite, which is a perk of being a celebrity.
“So, there are some things I wanted to talk to you about,” I say, leaning back in my seat.
“Sure? What’s up?” he asks.
“Well first, I know this is only the second date, but I wanted to tell you about my daughter,” I say.
“Daughter?” he says, a surprised look crossing his face. He must not have spent a lot of time on the internet or reading magazines.
“Yes, she’s turning Four in December, her name is Lorelei,” I say.
“Lorelei, that’s a cute name,” he says, with a soft smile. I pull out my phone, sliding my phone across showing off a picture. “She’s adorable, she looks just like you,”
“I don’t get that a lot,” I say, taking my phone back. “And I wanted to tell you this, because My friends have invited you for their anniversary party in a few weeks, it’s an All white party,” I say.
“Oh, I’ve never been to one of those before, I’m a little messy,” he jokes, making me laugh. “I would love to come, thank you for the invitation,”
“No problem,”
The rest of the date went by like nothing, we talked about growing up in a fire station. I talked about leaving my home at 16 to pursue my dream, before I knew it, Zahara was texting me telling me I was late for rehearsals.
“I’ll see you later,” Raphael says, pulling me into a hug.
“See you later,” I say.
Chapter Fourteen
“How is everything?” my mom asks.
“Everything is perfect, Lorelei got to go back to school on Monday, the album is being cut together,” I say.
“Well that’s fantastic,” my mom says. “And I know you didn’t ask, but Braum managed to get back into school, they talked to the Dean, he just has to do a lot of work study,”
“That’s good! Has anybody heard from Bo or Demetra?” I ask.
“Bo handed over the bar to his younger sister and his mom, and neither have been seen in town since what happened,” she explains.
“That’s terrible,”
“Well that’s karma for you,” my mom shrugs, and I snort.
“Ma,” I say, she doesn’t say anything else. “I have to start getting ready, if I haven’t at least started my hair by the time Zahara gets here, she’ll have my head,”
“I’ll talk to you later then, tell me how the party goes,” she says, waving before turning off her camera. I move from my desk, over to my armoire to start my hair.
“We’re back,” May announces, down the hallway.
“Can you please get her ready? Zahara and Alec are going to be here in 25 minutes,” I shout.
“Alright!” May says, I hear the room door close and I return to doing my hair. Zahara and Alec burst into my room with my dressed wrapped in plastic, Zahara’s hair is pulled into a pretty updo, and she hasn’t started her makeup. Alec is already in his suit, and it looked like he got a haircut.
“Don’t you look fabulous,” I say turning in my seat.
“Thanks love,” Zahara spins around before hooking my dress on my closet door. “Almost finished? We’ve got to leave by 8, or we’ll be late, it’s in West Hollywood,”
“I’m almost finished, just go check on Lorelei,” I say, she nods leaving the room and I push out of my seat walking over to the dress.
“Are you ready?” Alec asks.
“For the performance? I’m always ready,” I say, and he snorts sitting down on my bed.
“No, For Raphael to meet Lorelei,” he says. “You’ve been holding it off for some time now,” he says.
“It’s been like two weeks,” I unzip the dress from the sleeve pulling it out. It was a tight white dress with lace arms, and frilly lace at the bottom. “I want to make sure that-”
“You were actually going to continue dating him?” Alec finishes and I nod, slipping into my dress. Alec stands to zip me buckling the dress at the top.
“15 minutes until I leave,” Zahara shouts.
“Someone is a little impatient,” I mutter. Slipping on my heels and grabbing my purse and phone. “Let’s get a move on,” Lorelei and Zahara are waiting downstairs, Lorelei in a pretty white dress that drops below her knees. “Don’t you look pretty,” I say, pinching her cheeks. I lift her into my arms, and we leave out to Zahara’s car.
When we arrive at the community center, it’s already flashing lights. Zahara pulls to the side of the building, forcing us to take the back entrance. Inside its loud music, and already drunk and loud adults, talking about nothing.
“My favorite girls!” Jacob shouts, walking over to us pulling Zahara in a hug. “Congratulations my little angel, how many years?”
“6,” Zahara says, pulling away.
“And my little Lorelei and her super star mommy!” Jacob says, pulling us into a hug. “I was wondering when you guys would show up,” he says pulling away.
“Are you bored Jacob?” I ask, and he laughs.
“To Death!” he says, before hooking arms with Alec. “I know you can drink,” he says, pulling him towards the bar. I set Lorelei on the ground.
“Stay close honey,” I say, as we begin making our way through the crowd.
“There she is, the women of the hour,” Calum says, when we make our way over to him. He pulls Zahara into a kiss, before pulling me into a hug. “Fashionably late as always,”
“And we look fabulous,” I say, he scoops Lorelei in his arms peppering her with kisses.
“An
d don’t you look just like an angel, I have a present for the both of you,” he says, looking up at me.
“For me?” I ask, and he nods, before pointing across the room. I turn around and immediately spot Geo and Laila at the bar with Alec. I rush over crashing into Laila. “Your assholes you didn’t tell me,” I shout, punching Geo in the arm.
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