Another Lifetime

Chapter 38:

Cesar's POV:
I wake up when Monty gets Monse's little brother. When he walks out I hear Mona about to start crying. "Don't worry mama." I pick her up. "Your tío's gonna kill me for not speaking to you in Spanish." I kiss her forehead. I get her ready and give her bottle before Monse even wakes up. "What time is it?" She yawns. "Almost nine." I lean Mona on a pillow between us. "I don't even know the last time I slept in this late." She sits up. "Good morning." I kiss her. It's so normal for a second but the universe doesn't want that shit. We hear a few gunshots and Mona starts screaming.
**** eight months ago ****
"Damn, we gotta do this more often." I try to catch my breath. "Yeah, I know I'm great at this." Vero laughs. "Cesar!" I hear Ruby yell. "Let me see what's up." I kiss her, get dressed, and go find Ruby. "What's up compa?" I ask. His face is red and puffy as hell. "He rolled up on us." Ruby's barely breathing. "Who?" I ask quickly. "They knew my name, they knew Monse left, they-" I stop him. "They knew Monse left?" Now I'm pissed. "Tell me the fuck it was and I'll handle it!" I scream. "They're gonna kill." He cries. "Compa! Listen to me. I'd die before I let anything happen to you. You know that, right?" I make Ruby look at me while he's in tears. "Right?!" I yell and he nods. "Where were they?" I ask and he gives me an address I don't recognize.
We get in my car and drive towards Latrelle's place. He's alone in front of his house and I roll my window down. He looks me in the eyes and I shoot. I don't think anyone saw. "What the hell did you do?" Ruby asks from the backseat.
**** present ****
I take a deep breath. "You had the same look on your face that Ruby did." She tells me. "We went through some shit together. He'll live." I say. "I gotta go handle Thirteenth Street but I wanna see my girls later, ok?" I smile. "Until you leave Vero the only girl you gotta worry about is Mona." She tells me. "I don't care who I'm with, you're always gonna be my girl." I kiss them both and I go.

Monse's POV: 12:00 pm
"I'm back." He kisses me. "You talk to Vero?" I ask. "Yeah." Cesar nods. I get up off the couch and pull him in by his shirt. "I've literally been waiting eleven months to do that again." I smile. "I didn't breakup with her." He laughs. "Sorry." I take a step back. "Where's my daughter?" Cesar asks. "Napping. I was actually thinking of taking her to the Joint 'cause a few people wanted to see her and then the beach." I tell him. "Cool, I'm going down to the Joint anyways." He invites himself. "I'm gonna go get her." I smile but he stops me. "I got." He's acting weird. "Where's her clothes and shit?" Cesar comes back and my daughter's looking a mess. "Let me take care of it." I laugh. Once she's ready we go to our cars.
"Let's just take mine." He says. "Cesar, do you even have a car seat?" I ask. "I bought one and Spooky set it up." He smiles. "Cool." I know I shouldn't be impressed by the bare minimum but I am.
We get to the joint and everyone's obsessed with Mona. "I gotta handle something real quick." Cesar whispers and he walks over to the cash register. I watch the cashier hand him two stacks of cash and he walks back over. "What the hell was that?" I ask. "Don't worry about it." He puts the money in his backpack. "Whatever." I roll my eyes. "Does Ky wanna sibling?" I ask Jamal and he shakes his head. "You mean another one?" He laughs. "Nah. Kyrie likes having me and Lola's full attention. Plus he's already got like four." Jamal explains. "Yeah, I'm good with one... forever." I laugh. "Really? I kinda thought y'all would have more." Jasmine shrugs. "I'm always down to try." Cesar squeezes my thigh and I hit his hand. "That's why." She laughs. "We're not back together." I remind her. I look over at Ruby and he's just staring at his phone. "You wanna come to the beach with us?" I ask them all but I look at Ruby. "With Cesar?" He asks and I nod. "I gotta study." He shrugs. "I'm taking Ky to a birthday party while Lola does her whole Reina thing." Jamal explains. "Why can't Spooky take him?" Cesar asks and I can already tell it's gonna be a thing. "He said he was busy." Jamal looks confused. "You know he's Spooky's kid, right? I know you like Lola but-" Jamal stops me. "I'm gonna propose." He tells us and we all get excited.
"What's your problem?" I ask him when we get back to the car. "Lola tell you Ky called Jamal dad?" He asks. "Spooky acts like it's no big deal but if Mona ever-" I stop him. "I want to get back together. I don't want her grow up away from you. If she ever gets a stepdad, that's on you." I let him know and he grabs my hand. "I love you but I can't just leave Vero. She helped me through a lot." He says. "Can we just act like we're a normal family for today?" I ask and he nods. "You know how to put her in the car seat?" I ask. "No." He laughs. "I'll show you." I smile. Before I can even open the door a purple and gold truck rolls up on us. "Sapo's been looking you. He just wants to talk." Someone says from the passenger seat and Cesar pushes us behind him. "Told him I'd see him tomorrow." Cesar puts his hand on his gun. "Better not piss him off. Looks like you got shit to lose." The guys drive away. "Let's go. It's better if we aren't here." He says.