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“I had something smart to say, but I’m gonna leave it alone. I actually might stop by his house before I go home, though.”

“You’d be wasting your time. He’s at the studio recording.” Messiah informed me.

“Well, dang. I see you’re keeping tabs on everybody, huh?” I scoffed.

“Only the people who matter.”

I had no rebuttal for his comment. Messiah was kind of like a father figure, even though he wasn’t that much older than me. He watched over the whole family and made sure we were all good.

“How has training been going? I hope they are working you down to the ground so you’ll be too tired to be in my business.”

“Never that. I could tear my Achilles, fracture both elbows, and break my nose in three places, and I’ll still find the energy to be in your business. You might as well accept it for what it is.”

I laughed even though I knew he was serious.

“You are truly ignorant,” I told him.

“Rule, what the hell are you over there doing? I’ve been looking at your greasy ass forehead for too long.” Messiah shouted.

Rule shifted his camera so we could see his face. I couldn't look too long, but I smiled when I saw his handsome face. My parents weren’t perfect, but they made some beautiful kids.

“My bad, y’all. I’m in the studio with Reign. She’s getting ready to go on a tour with a couple of teen artists, and she wanted to add two new songs to her lineup.”

I could hear the pride in his voice, and it made me smile too. My niece was following in her father’s footsteps as a music artist, and she was doing an amazing job. Every time I saw her take the stage and command the audience's attention, my heart felt like it was going to explode.

“I can’t believe my niece is going on tour. Momma and I both bought ten copies each of her Teen Vogue issue. Her pictures turned out so good, and you could tell she was PR trained because some of those questions they asked were stupid, but she handled it well.” I commended.

“Yeah, Nayeli wasn’t too pleased with some of the questions, but I let them know to move on. Overall, she enjoyed herself. Her manager called yesterday because she’s been offered a few commercials and two TV show opportunities. My little baby is making a name for herself.”

“How do you feel about it?” I inquired.

“I’m proud of my baby, but a part of me is sad because she’s growing up so fast. Reign is my first baby, but because I missed so many years of her life, I feel like time is speeding by too fast. Before I know it, she’s gonna be eighteen and graduating from high school.”

My poor brother sounded stressed, but I understood where he was coming from. He missed out on a lot of time with his firstborn because he didn’t know she existed for the first ten years of her life. No matter how active he was in her life now, he would never be able to get those years back.

“Please don’t mention high school. I’m still adjusting to going from being the baby of the family to having all these nieces and nephews. I’m not complaining, but dang, y’all are popping them out like hotcakes. Pretty soon I’m gonna have to start making a chart so I keep up with all of them.” I teased them.

“Hell yeah. I’m trying to convince Yaya to give me one more. Rule and Nay have four, and I think it’s only fair we have the same number or more.” Messiah chimed in.

“Bro, what? I didn’t know we were in competition with how many kids we have.” Rule chuckled while shaking his head.

“You better believe it. As soon as I get done with this training, I’m hiding Yaya’s birth control. She thinks I’m playing, but I’m about to trap her ass.”

Messiah was too unhinged to even bother arguing with. Yaya married his crazy tail, so it was clear she loved him and whatever was wrong with him.

“You are insane, but I’m gonna mind my business. I just pulled up to the house, and I’m about to take a shower and head straight to bed. The mixed drinks Ren made are finally catching up to me, and I’m buzzin'. I love y’all.”

“Love you more, Honeycombs. Messiah, I’ma hit you up in the morning. I love you, bro,” Rule said.

“Alright, bet, love you too, bro. I just got the notification that you turned the car off and removed your seatbelt, baby girl. I love you.”

Messiah declared with not an ounce of shame. All I could do was shake my head because there was nothing else for me to do.

“Goodnight, crazy.” I rolled my eyes, even though part of me appreciated his extra-ness.

Once I got inside, I did exactly what I said I would and got ready for bed. My eyes grew heavy as I plugged my phone into the charger and got ready to turn on my nightlight and rain sounds to help me sleep. My phone buzzed, and I knew it could only be a handful of people since my DND feature was on and only a handful of people were in my favorites list. I blushed as I read my best friend's message.

Bestie: We’re going to the fair on Friday.