A/N: it's 6 am and this is nearly 6,700 words without the note so I'm gonna make this super short; my long a/n will be on Redemption which is in the works so for right now, Happy Holidays and Read&Review!

Chapter Fourteen: Foundation Cracks

It was a little after ten when she got the text asking to come over. She had just finished unpacking her bag from her college orientation and was now filling out a list of her needs for the dorm room. In truth, she was waiting for Huey to come home from work, eager to gush over the small details during her two-day stay at Georgetown. She packed a small overnight bag and told Huey she'd be right over.

Jazmine knew that her dad was exhausted after the drive back from orientation and went to bed a while ago, so sneaking out wasn't going to be a problem this time. She made sure that she turned off the alarm before slipping out the front door. The air was unusually chilly for a June night and she was grateful that she chose a hoodie for the walk across the street, although her legs shivered from her choice of bicycle shorts.

In the driveway, she noticed that while Mr. Freeman's car was gone, another car unfamiliar to her took its place. It looked new too. She wondered if he finally decided to retire Dorothy and get a new car while she was gone. Considering how cheap Mr. Freeman was though, she doubted it. Maybe someone was visiting?

She sent a text to Huey that she was outside, and not even three seconds passed before she could see the front door opening. A huge grin appeared on her face. "Looks like someone couldn't wait…" She trailed off as she saw Cindy open the door, who was frozen in time under the frame. "Oh."

"Hey Jazzy…" Cindy mumbled. Her hand gripped tightly around a few dollar bills before she hastily shoved them into the back pocket of her shorts. They stood in uncomfortable silence for a few more moments. "Jazzy, I can explain," she finally blurted.

"Can I come in first?" She could practically feel the goosebumps forming on her legs. Cindy moved out of the way so Jazmine could get out of the night breeze. She immediately started to rub her thighs. "Cindy, look—"

"Jazzy, you just don't understand how hard it has been for me… my mom… Riley…" Cindy interrupted. Jazmine stopped and looked at her. "I barely have time to do anything that doesn't have to deal with Brielle and it's really fucking up my relationships." She chewed on her bottom lip, one of the few indicators of Cindy's nervousness. "Riley's trying, okay?"

Her mind wandered to all the times Cindy texted her about something that Riley did for the umpteenth time, how she couldn't stand him after he showed up to her house drunk, how she was for sure done with him after all the bullshit he put her through. She also thought about how Cindy looked the last time, fidgety and all over the place and the suspicion she was doing drugs.

Jazmine smiled. "If you're happy, then I'm happy."

"Oh my God, you don't know how good it is to hear that from you," Cindy confessed. She pulled Jazmine into a big hug.

Riley came down the stairs in the background. "Yo Cin, was that the delivery guy or what?" he questioned aloud. He saw that Jazmine was with Cindy in front of the door. He was a little taken aback, Jazmine could tell, but regained his composure almost as quickly as he lost it. "What's up Jazzy?" She smiled and waved at him. "So… everything good down here?"

Cindy turned to Jazmine, then back at Riley. "I actually think we are?"

They weren't. Although Jazmine hadn't pressed the issue any further with Cindy, it was not because she was satisfied with the answer she received. Jazmine knew that neither Cindy nor Riley were going to tell her the truth about their sudden reconciliation and instead of getting into a back and forth bickering match with both of them, she was going to do some digging of her own.

The doorbell rang and now Cindy and Riley's focus went on the delivery person at the door. Jazmine took this time to go upstairs to Huey's room. She knocked on his bedroom door and jumped when the bathroom door opened instead. Huey stood by the sink with his toothbrush in his mouth, his cocoa skin glistening with water droplets. He was nude except for the towel clinging onto his hips, just under the top of his pelvic line. He spat out the toothpaste foam and wiped the sides of his mouth. "Hey."

"Hey," she repeated. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest. It was weird how she still felt excitement over him. She couldn't help but crack a smile. Huey raised an eyebrow at her. "Nothing," she responded, still grinning.

As she turned to go into his room, she noticed Riley and Cindy coming up the stairs, bags of food in their hands. They were both so invested in each other that they didn't even notice that Jazmine and Huey were watching from the opposite end of the hallway. She turned back to Huey, who already had a deep scowl forming. When they finally disappeared into Riley's room, Huey's face immediately softened. He looked down at Jazmine, whose eyes were studying his face. "What?"

"Why did you look at them like that?" she inquired, still watching him.

"I always look like that," he replied quickly, turning off the light in the bathroom and walking into his room. Jazmine was right behind him. "That's just my face."

Jazmine jumped onto his bed as Huey went to his dresser. "Nuh-uh… you looked meaner than usual." He grunted in response, which meant he was trying to dead the subject. She took it as a sign to let it go and rested her back on the headboard. She watched him as he went through his nightly routine. "So… how was work?"

He shrugged. "Long. Annoying." Huey continued to talk about his day as he searched through his dresser, but Jazmine was in a trance when he changed into a pair of basketball shorts. The definition of his shoulders, the subtlety of his abs, the curve of his di—

"You seem stressed. Do you want a massage?" When turned around to her, she got on her knees and patted the space under her. "You had a long day. You're annoyed by everything… and everything else you said." Huey opened his mouth again but Jazmine put her hand up. "Aht! Lay down. And get the lotion too."

"Fine." He grabbed the lotion bottle from the top of the dresser and got on the bed, scooting into the position Jazmine motioned to. When she sat on top of him, he shifted again under her before settling still.

"I should put some music on the TV," she announced, looking around the room. "Where's the remote?" Huey grumbled under his breath. "I'm trying to set the mood, Freeman."

"Who cares when we're going to end up fuc—" His sentence was interrupted by Jazmine smacking the back of his head with a pillow. He rolled his eyes as he put the pillow under his head. "Really?"

Jazmine stifled her need to laugh. "My bad." She playfully ran her fingers down his back. "Okay, where are you tense?" He pointed to his shoulders while she opened the lotion. "This might be a little cold." Huey hissed when the cream touched his bare skin.

She rubbed the lotion into his shoulders before adding pressure to the tenser areas. She could feel Huey's breaths deepen as she worked on the knots near his neck area. Every so often, she would ask if he was okay and he would respond with blissful "mhmm," barely audible with the pillow covering his mouth.

Huey turned his head to the side when Jazmine moved down to his back. "How was your orientation?" he asked."Was it everything you expected?"

"Ugh, the campus is soo pretty! And I think that all my classes are super close to my dorm," she explained as she massaged him. "The room is a little small but my room at school was also pretty small so I think I can manage." She grinned at the thought that in less than two months, she was going to be a real college student. "I can't wait to be on campus permanently."

"I can't wait to be away from all of this."

Jazmine tilted her head. "What do you mean?" He shrugged. Jazmine had a feeling that he was talking about everything happening with Riley and Cindy. She remembered the look he gave them and how he locked up the first time she asked about them. "Well, I still need to get a ton of stuff for my room." She announced, ending the silence. She used her knuckles to get the knots in his back. "You know what we should do? Go into the city."

"Jazmine, you hate driving to Baltimore," he reminded her. "It always makes you panic for some reason."

She pouted. He was right, but it was because the drivers there were so rude! Always honking at her even when she was going the speed limit, unlike everyone else. And parking was even worse. "Yeah but if we go together…"

"How did I end up as your personal chauffeur?" he questioned aloud. Jazmine made an 'I don't know' sound. "Alright, but if I'm driving then I want to stop by this vegan soul food place while we're there. That's my only condition."

"Deal." She playfully slapped his back and slid onto the bed. "You're done!" Huey turned around and sat up on his elbows. "Feel better?"

He nodded. "I actually do," he replied as he rubbed his shoulders. "You want me to do you?"

"No, your hands are too rough." She giggled when Huey huffed in response.

"I'm gonna remember that the next time you want to be fingered by these so-called 'rough hands'," he remarked as he got under the covers.

She laughed again. "Aww, sweetie you know I was just kidding, right?" she asked before following him into the sheets. He turned his back to her and she immediately stopped laughing. "Huey? You know I was kidding, right? Huey? Huey?"

"Jaz, your phone."

Jazmine groaned as Huey nudged her awake at the sound of vibrations on the nightstand. She didn't even turn around to grab it, instead opting to blindly reach behind her until she felt the outline of her phone. She rubbed her eyes a few times to prepare herself for the brightness of the screen. All the messages were from Cindy, one to tell her to come to Riley's room and several others to make sure she woke up to see the initial message.

She swung her legs over the side of the bed and rubbed her eyes as she stood up. She could barely stay awake as she walked to the other side of the hallway. She yawned and only gave the door one short but noticeable knock.

Cindy opened the door, dressed in what looked like one of Riley's shirts. "Hey, Jazzy. Did I wake you?" she asked as she let Jazmine in.

"It's like… eight in the morning," Jazmine replied. She looked around the room, littered with toys and clothes. Riley was sitting up in bed, focusing on his phone while Brielle slept next to him. He glanced up only for a second and have a quick nod in Jazmine's direction. "Hey, Riley."

Cindy turned to her. "Can you do me a huge favor?"

Jazmine sighed because she already knew what the question was going to be. "To be honest, I have plans with Huey all day." Cindy sucked her teeth and opened her mouth to say something. "Real plans," she interjected before Cindy made a comment. "I can't babysit Brielle all day."

"It's only gonna be a couple of hours, though!" Cindy protested. "I gotta do some stuff for school and we still need to get some stuff to organize this room," she explained. "Jazzy, please."

'You don't even live here. Why do you care?' But Jazmine decided to keep this thought to herself. "I mean… if it's gonna only be a few hours… then I guess I can do it." Cindy squealed and got Brielle from the bed. "Seriously. Cindy, look at me."

Cindy turned to her, her eyes glossy and cold. While she still looked seventeen as a whole, the circles under her eyes were subtle but noticeable. She looked frazzled as if she was panicking while standing completely still. Her athletic frame was replaced by a plumper figure, with her hips protruding more than ever. Her skin was pale, her hair lifeless. In a way, Jazmine felt sorry for her; her entire day was based on the availability of a babysitter. She could understand why she was so stressed.

"A couple of hours, then you get Brie."

Cindy grinned. "Of course, Jazzy. Again, I can't thank you enough for doing this for me. I owe you one."

"Uh-huh." Jazmine walked back to Huey's room with a sleeping Brielle in tow. When she got back, Huey was still sleeping on his stomach. She placed Brielle down next to Huey before climbing into bed after her. Brielle squirmed to get comfortable under the covers, waking up Huey. He looked down at her, before raising an eyebrow in Jazmine's direction. "It's only for a couple of hours."

"Is that what they told you?" he replied, his sleepy voice still dripping with sarcasm. He groaned into his pillow, now realizing what this kind of day this was about to be. "We had plans."

"I know but…" Sometimes she wished she could be as selfish as the rest of her friends. While they were always down to help whenever, but they were also quick to say no as well, a trait Jazmine lacked. It was part of the reason why Cindy asked her and not Huey. "But I felt so bad, she just looked so… stressed out."

"It's probably the drugs." He turned and closed his eyes again. "Well, Brielle doesn't usually get up this early so we can get a little more sleep."

Jazmine closed her eyes and got comfortable in her spot. She could feel herself drifting back into a good sleep. Right before she knocked out, she could sense that Brielle was stirring. A few moments later, Jazmine felt little hands touching her face.

"Auntie Jazzy? Auntie Jaaaaaazzy."

Jazmine heard the curse words that Huey was muttering under his breath. She sat up in the bed and Brielle automatically climbed into her lap. "Yes, Brie I am awake." Barely. "What's up, Love Bug?"

"I want… breakfast!" she squealed as she flailed around.

Jazmine pointed in Huey's direction. "I think that you need to go tell him you want for breakfast," she whispered into Brielle's ear. Brielle studied Huey's silhouette in the covers for a second before attacking him with all her might.

"Unca Hooey!" Brielle giggled as she crawled over his body. Jazmine could barely hold in her laughter. "I want breakfast!"

Huey turned and lifted Brielle in the air, which resulted in more giggles. Although Huey was adamant about refusing to smile, Jazmine could see one trying to break through on his face. It made Jazmine feel warm inside to see how good he was with his niece.

"Fine Brielle, I'll get you breakfast," he finally conceded. He got up from the bed and put Brielle on his hips. "You can do your morning routine or whatever you call it while I watch her," he announced. "You want coffee?"

"Please?" Huey nodded as he headed out of the room. "I love you!" she yelled after him.

"I know!"

Jazmine stretched to the sky and took a moment to herself before finally getting out of bed. Her bag had a dress and a couple of rompers, but nothing for being around the house. She checked the drawer that Huey gave her for when she left clothes over his house and found a t-shirt that she didn't mind getting dirty, just in case.

As she brushed her teeth and put on her morning sheet mask, she scrolled through social media. A lot of her friends were out enjoying the summer days before school started again, posting pictures from all the vacations and parties they were going to. Meanwhile, she was on babysitting duty. She let out a heavy sigh; she wanted to be out doing things too.

She lazily put her hair in a low ponytail before heading out of the bathroom. She could already hear Brielle running around and laughing from the top of the steps.

"Auntie Jazzy!" she beamed when she saw Jazmine coming down the stairs. She stood by the baby gate with her hands in the air, waiting on Jazmine to pick her up. "Up-Up!"

Jazmine complied with the request and put her on her hip after climbing over the gate. "What is Uncle Huey making for breakfast?" Brielle shrugged. "You don't know?" she asked, feigning shock. She walked into the kitchen and saw Huey standing over the island, mixing something in a large bowl. She peered into the bowl. "Are we having only eggs?"

"Well, considering I don't eat meat, I'm going to eat mine with fruit and toast," he stated. Jazmine made a sour face. He rolled his eyes and motioned towards the fridge. "You're more than welcome to look and see what meats are in there."

"Alright then." Jazmine gave Brielle a kiss and put her down on the floor. "Go watch some TV while I help make Uncle Huey make breakfast," she told her. Brielle nodded and skipped to the living room.

Jazmine opened the fridge and started to rummage through, trying to look for what she could have with her eggs. Mr. Freeman's fridge was always stocked, so she knew she'd find something. She dug around until she found a pack of breakfast sausage under some cheese.

"Ooh, Mr. Freeman got the preformed sausage patties," she pointed out. "This house becoming lowkey bougie."

Huey made a face. "Your dad drinks kombucha and you went off to a boarding school," he reminded her. "Let's not compare the bougie-ness of each other's house."

Jazmine rolled her eyes as she closed the refrigerator door. "In my defense, the boarding school was against my will," she defended. "The Kombucha thing is pretty bougie though, so I'll give you that."

As Jazmine fixed the sausage, Huey scooped Brielle from the couch and put her into the highchair. "Brielle do you want milk or water?" he asked her when he was by the fridge.

"Uhh… milk!"

"Okay, breakfast is served!" Jazmine announced, placing the plate in front of Brielle. Combine with Huey's eggs, Jazmine put cut up sausage and grapes on Brielle's plate. She smiled when Brielle said thank you and immediately dug in.

A yawn escaped from Jazmine and she realized that she never got the coffee from Huey. "Hey, Huey where is that—" When she turned around, there was a mug in front of her from Huey. "It's like you read my mind." He gave a nonchalant shrug. She looked down at the mug with caramel-colored coffee in it. "You fixed it too?"

"Try it," he offered. He watched as Jazmine's eyes lit up when she tried her drink. "It's Granddad's fancy French Vanilla creamer… if I get my you-know-what whooped because of it…"

"I love it," she smiled. She fixed her own plate while Brielle ate and sat at the kitchen table next to Brielle's highchair. "Have you bought dorm stuff yet?"

"No."

She made a face. "What do you mean 'no'?"

Huey took a sip from his mug and shrugged. "I'm going to be in a ten-by-fifteen box that I can barely move in. I'm not really stressing on getting things."

Jazmine thought how she's been on high anxiety alert since she wrote or her own dorm checklist. "Well, are you gonna get—stop using your fingers Brielle— a TV in your room?"

"I didn't plan on it," he confessed.

"What about when you have company over?" she offered.

He scoffed. "What company? I'm not going to have a roommate." Jazmine cleared her throat and pointed at herself. "Well, you'll be fine with watching things on my laptop." She made another face. "You're not going to bully me into getting a TV."

"Okay… but what about a mini-fridge? Or a vacuum? What about towels or curtains or a lamp or—"

"Alright fine, I'll take this dorm stuff seriously," he finally interrupted. He cleaned up his dishes and grabbed Brielle from her highchair. "You know, you're lowkey demanding."

Jazmine smirked at him. "You highkey love it."

He eyed her before he walked into the living room. She finished her food and washed the remaining dishes. As she dried her hands, her phone buzzed with a new notification.

Cindy: how is Brie? she up yet? thanks again for doing this bestie!

She looked over to the living room, where Brielle happily watched TV under Huey, who was reading the newspaper. Everyone was chillin at the moment.

Jazmine: we just finished breakfast, in the living room rn

Jazmine: you know around what time you guys will be back?

She didn't think it was a shady text; she genuinely wanted to know so that she can plan the rest of the day accordingly. Still, when she read the response from Cindy as she sat next to Huey, she had to pause.

"…Huh."

Huey looked over to her before going back to his paper. "What?"

Jazmine sat for a moment, trying to decipher the text that she received. "So Cindy texted me, right? So I answered back or whatever and then I asked her when she was gonna be back… so I can have an idea on when we can leave for the city. Nothing behind it. And then she replies with 'chill Jazzy we'll f-u-c-k-i-n-g be there in a bit lol'." She repeated the text, conscious of Brielle being in the room. "Am I looking too deep into it?"

"Probably, but they're notorious for being late so…" Jazmine raised an eyebrow. "If Riley says a couple of hours, that means a few hours. A few hours means the whole day. I can only assume that Cindy's the same way."

She frowned because part of her was hopeful because she wanted to believe that her friend, her best friend would be considerate and try to wrap their errands quickly. Another, bigger part of her was upset because she knew her friend, her best friend didn't care and was going to take as long as she wanted. The smallest part of her was sad that she fell for the okie doke… again.

"Well, I think we should at least leave the house today," she announced. She stood up and put her hands on her hips. "We shouldn't waste your off day just because Cindy and Riley are jerks."

"I'm not driving all the way to Baltimore with Brielle."

She waved him away. "Not Baltimore. But at least we can go somewhere else with Brie. Also, she never gets taken anywhere and she doesn't get to interact with other children," she explained. She glanced over to Brielle as she continued to watch TV, unbothered by Jazmine's conversation. "I feel bad."

Huey remained still and unmoving behind his paper, which meant he was thinking it over. He finally put the newspaper down and looked up at Jazmine. "Alright. Where do you want to go?"

She grinned widely. "Let's get ready first and then I'll think of something." She squealed and gave Huey a kiss on the cheek before scooping Brielle up to get dressed.

Jazmine handed her phone to Huey and went back to fixing Brielle's baby hairs. "It's literally like twenty minutes away from here. And look! There's a discount on Wednesdays!"

"'The Woodcrest Children's Museum has been proudly serving the young communities of Woodcrest and surrounding areas for fifteen years…' How come I've never heard of this place?" he questioned. "Riley and I were young enough to still go when we got here."

She fluffed the afro puffs on each side of Brielle's head. "You do know how Mr. Freeman is, right?" Jazmine remembered all the times the Freeman boys had to walk or pay their own way due to Granddad's stinginess on spending time and money. "It has a toddler area, a bunch of STEM games, and… aww, they have a mini restaurant to pay in!" she cooed.

"While you gush over all the things they have, in going to put the car seat in your car."

She nodded as she put the finishing touches on her own hair, fixing her ponytail to look more polished and sleek. Before they headed out of the bathroom, they took a picture in the mirror because Brielle's floral romper nearly matching Jazmine's shorts was not an accident.

She grabbed the backpack doubling as Brielle's diaper bag and packed it with all the essentials Brielle would need: Pull-Ups, wipes, an emergency set of clothes. When she went downstairs with Brielle on her hip, she stuffed a couple of fruit snacks and water bottles at the top before zipping the bag and heading out the door.

Huey already moved her car to the driveway and stood on the front porch, waiting on Jazmine and Brielle to emerge from the house. "You got everything?" he asked as he locked the door.

"Of course," she assured. "Diapers, snacks, I got it… it's lowkey heavy, to be honest." She opened the passenger side door and dropped the bag on the floor of the car. She helped Brielle into her car seat and fastened the straps snugly.

"Are you gonna drive, or am I?"

She rolled her eyes. "You know, I am capable of driving my own car sometimes," she countered as she walked to the driver's side. "I just like you driving when we go far distances." She settled into the driver's seat, adjusted it after Huey moved it back, and grabbed her sunglasses from the armrest. "Now, I'm ready to drive."

"Uncle Hooey!" Brielle yelled from her car seat. "Where are we going?"

"To the Children's Museum."

She nodded to herself as she continued to look out the window. "Is Mama and Daddy gonna be there?"

Jazmine's eyes widen. "Oh, shiiiii–nap I forgot to text Cindy that we were going somewhere."

"I texted Riley. He responded with a 'K.'" He turned back to Brielle. "No, it's going to be an Uncle Huey and Auntie Jaz day. You want to hang out with us?" Brielle nodded happily. He stuck his fist out to her and she immediately pounded it.

"Aww," Jazmine cooed. Huey rolled his eyes. "That really got to me."

"Whatever."

The drive went quicker than Jazmine expected and she wondered why she hadn't heard of this place until today. The building was much bigger than she imagined, with the large windows making it look more like a school than a museum. If it wasn't for the large banners and brightly colored decorations at the entrance, she might've thought she was in the wrong place.

Brielle was silent as she got out of the car, so mesmerized by this unfamiliar building that Huey had to pick her up in order to snap her out of her trance. She watched the other children buzzing around them while they walked towards the entrance, making her grip on Huey's neck a little tighter.

"You okay, Brie-Brie?" Jazmine asked when she noticed Brielle's reluctance. She only nodded slowly while continuing to analyze her surroundings. Jazmine looked back at Huey. "I've never seen her so quiet before..."

"Just give her some time to warm up," Huey replied.

They walked through the doors, and immediately Brielle went from skepticism to pure wonder. The building was filled with all kinds of attractions, including the giant jungle gym that almost reached the top of the museum. There were plenty of halls that lead to different exhibits, and kids were flowing in and out of all of them. Jazmine made a note to keep watch of Brielle a little bit harder with the sheer amount of children running everywhere.

Brielle leaned across Huey to tap on Jazmine, who was looking down at a visitor's pamphlet while they stood in line. "Auntie Jazzy!" Once she got Jazmine's attention, she pointed at the large cartoon dinosaur inside one of the halls.

"I see, Brie!" she happily responded. As they moved along in the line, a green and blue sign on top of the ticket booth caught Jazmine's eye. "Twenty bucks for a ticket on regular days?" she blurted out. Even for Woodcrest's standards that seemed a little excessive. She understood why it looked hectic on Wednesdays.

"Now I know why I never heard of this place," Huey remarked. He put Brielle down while he paid for them to enter the museum. She snapped the admission bracelet on Brielle's tiny wrist, then her own, and let Brielle practically drag her to the first exhibit with the dinosaur in front. "I hope she enjoys herself."

The first exhibit was the toddler area, where children around Brielle's age played in a large carpeted ring, with lots of space to run around and structures for little kids to climb on. As soon as Brielle was put into the area, she immediately ran off in another direction. Jazmine smiled as she watched Brielle run around in glee.

"She will."

Huey buckled in a sleeping Brielle into her car seat and dropped her diaper bag on the floor under her before closing the door. He saw Jazmine standing behind him, trying to focus on her phone with heavy eyelids. "Jaz." Her head perked up at her name. "You need me to drive?"

She yawned and nodded. She had spent the entire trip entertaining Brielle: running after her, picking her up to see some of the exhibits, trying to match her high energy. She threw her keys to Huey and jumped into the passenger seat.

Even though she was totally exhausted, she was glad that they decided to leave the house today. She loved watching Brielle play, and she loved how curious Brielle got when they went to some of the educational sections of the museum. She especially loved that Brielle got to interact with other kids her age, and how great she acted around them. She went through all the pictures and videos she took at the museum.

"I can't believe how still she was when she got her face painted," she commented, watching the video of the museum worker drawing cat whiskers on Brielle's face.

"She's a very patient kid, very different from her parents."

Jazmine rolled her eyes. "Don't… even mention them right now," she bluntly said. She saw Huey raise his eyebrow. "As much as I had fun, I'm still upset that she pulled this stunt on me. Me! Her best friend!" She paused for a second. "You know what? I think I'm gonna give her a piece of my mind." Huey nodded as he silently drove. "I'm serious! She can't continue to walk all over me. And I can't continue to let her!"

"You're right."

"Because if the roles were reversed, I would never do her dirty like she does me," she huffed. She folded her arms over her chest. "I help her with all of her shit, I let her stay in my house when she was 'whatevering' with Riley, and she wants to act like my time isn't valuable. She's gonna have a rude awakening when I leave for school."

She thought about what she was gonna say the rest of the ride home. The delivery, her tone, she even thought about what Cindy would say and how she would respond to it. Jazmine was almost giddy at the thought of telling Cindy off, that she would finally be able to speak all those feelings that she kept dormant for so long.

Huey carried Brielle into the house while Jazmine carried the diaper backpack, the smell of food hitting them as soon as they walked through the door. "Granddad?" Huey yelled out.

"In here!" he responded from the kitchen. "You got Babygirl with you?" They turned the corner and he smiled when he saw Jazmine. "And you have Lil Cutie Pie too!"

Jazmine grinned. "Hi, Mr. Freeman!" she greeted, giving him a kiss on the cheek. He always made her feel welcomed no matter what. "What are you making?"

"Oh, just some spaghetti," Granddad replied. "Huey, I left some sauce on the side if you wanna add that weird meat to it." He looked over to Jazmine. "Are you staying for dinner?"

She shook her head. "Nah, I'm just waiting for Cindy to come back."

"She's going to cuss her out," Huey added after putting Brielle down in the living room.

Jazmine glared at the back of Huey's head. "I'm not gonna cuss her out; I'm just gonna tell her all my thoughts about how today went. If it involves cussing then that's just how it goes."

"Mmm, talking to either one of them is like talking to a brick wall. You might as well save your breath," Granddad noted as he continued to stir the sauce.

"With all due respect Mr. Freeman, I'm tired of being treated like a doormat by her, like I have to put up with her mess just because I'm the only friend she has left." She looked over to Brielle still sleep on the couch. "She treats us all like that and I want her to know how I feel."

"Cutie Pie, she don't care about how we feel and she never will, not with her current mindset. If she did, she woulda been stopped doing it," he explained. "No point yellin' and cussin' and gettin' your heart rate up for nothing. Keep it short and simple and keep it moving. I don't want all that cussin' around Babygirl no ways."

"You cussed around us all the time!"

"Maybe that's why y'all were so damn bad all the time," Granddad countered. "Gotta change some habits in this family."

Jazmine heard the front door opening from her spot. There was a moment of silence before a high-pitched "Brie-ELLLLLLE" rang throughout the house. Granddad grunted to himself while Huey let out a heavy sigh.

Brielle poked her head from the couch. "Mama?" Cindy and Riley emerged from the hallway. Brielle immediately ran towards her. "Mama!" she excitedly repeated.

"Hi, my little nugget!" Cindy picked her up into a big hug before she studied the paint on Brielle's face. "What is this on your cheeks?"

"I'm a cat! Meow, Meow, Meow!"

Cindy turned to Jazmine. "We went to the Children's Museum earlier and she wanted to get her face painted," she explained as she walked over to Cindy. She nodded in Riley's direction as he picked up Brielle and went to the kitchen. "Hey, can we talk upstairs real quick? I'm not gonna be long."

"Wait, hold on… you went somewhere?" Cindy said, completely ignoring what Jazmine said last. "Did you drive there? In your car?"

Jazmine folded her arms over her chest and eyed Cindy. "Of course I drove in my car. What are you even getting at?" she shot back. Cindy huffed and shrugged her shoulders. "Need I remind you that you and Brielle have been in the car that I drove before?"

"Well… yeah but that's different because I'm in the car with you."

"That doesn't make any sense, Cindy but okay whatever," Jazmine conceded, throwing her hands in the air. She was getting annoyed by this conversation and it wasn't even the one she needed to have. "Can we please go upstairs now?"

Cindy was now the one to fold her arms. "Are you even gonna apologize?"

Jazmine stared at Cindy as if she suddenly grew another head. She couldn't believe that Cindy even had the audacity to fix her mouth to say such words. "An apology for what, exactly?" she growled. "For agreeing to babysit, or for changing my whole day plans for you, or for going the extra mile and taking her out of the house for a fun outing?"

The group in the kitchen had now sensed the tension between the two girls. "Babygirl, let's go play soccer in the backyard real quick," Granddad announced before taking Brielle out the back door.

"You didn't even tell me you were going somewhere!" Cindy barked back. "Something could have happened and I wouldn't even fucking know!"

"Huey told Riley and he said it was fine!" Jazmine retorted. "How the hell is it my fault that he didn't tell you?"

"Cindy, you need to chill out," Riley reminded, giving her a stern look. "You straight-up buggin' right now. Don't be coming in here starting shit. Relax." He almost made it seem as if he was talking about other things.

"Nah, I'm not buggin' because you ain't even tell me!" she snapped. She looked back at Jazmine. "All plans with Brielle goes through me, so I know what the fuck going on. Riley don't know shit about shit. I'm her mother."

Jazmine scoffed. "Fooled me."

"Ex-cuse me?"

"You're my best friend, Cindy," she started, pacing back and forth. "I think of you as my sister and I would do anything for you, even when you do me dirty. And you do me dirty a lot. But still, I forgive you and still agreed to another favor of babysitting. My gut told me not to but you begged and pleaded and gave me some bullshit excuse about whatever the fuck you had to do today."

"But I was at the school and—" Cindy tried to object.

"I don't give a fuck what you actually did!" Jazmine interrupted. "Because my one condition was that you keep it to a couple of hours and You. Promised. Me." Her anger was now replaced with hurt, and she could feel the tears behind her eyes. "You broke that promise and then had the fucking nerve to ask for a fucking apology for some stupid shit that wasn't my fault!"

Her voice was cracking, her body was numb and she was seconds away from bursting into tears. "I'm done." It was barely a whisper above inaudible, but as soon as she said it, she felt relieved. Hurt went back to anger as she shook away the feeling of crying. "I'm done. Don't ask me for shit, don't call me for shit… matter of fact, don't hit me up unless it's a major emergency."

Cindy stood in shock, speechless at what Jazmine just told her. "Jazzy, you can't be serious… you're my best friend!"

"A real best friend would respect my fucking time and respect me enough to trust my fucking judgment." She simply shook her head; she no longer felt the same love for Cindy, and it almost felt like she was breaking up with her.

A strong bond of eight years crumbled in less than ten hours.

Jazmine went to Huey's room and gathered all her things from her overnight bag. She unceremoniously threw everything in the bag, only focusing on timing and not organization.

"You think this is it?" Huey stood at his door frame, watching Jazmine pack her bag. She shrugged and continued. He came up and turned her around, bringing her close to his chest. Jazmine let out silent cries into his shirt. "Hey. Maybe she'll change."

"Yeah." Jazmine knew it was probably bullshit and Cindy would probably never change, but it made her feel somewhat better. She wiped her eyes before going downstairs, Huey right behind her. "I'll call you later. Tell Brie I love her," she said as she opened the front door. She looked down the hallway into the living room, where Cindy watched in defeat the end of their relationship. She seemed as if she wanted to say something, a final plea for forgiveness to salvage the destruction of today's events.

Instead, she stood silently.

"Good night, Cindy," she said before closing the door behind her.