Another Lifetime

Chapter 43:

Cesar's POV:
Monse's wearing one of my hoodies and we're smoking. "I haven't gotten high since I found out I was pregnant. I missed this shit." She laughs. "Man, Vero and Odie couldn't go a day without smoking." I tell her and she looks at me like I'm stupid. "You really wanna talk about your exes right now?" She asks. "Not when you're dressed like that." I pull her on my lap and she takes my phone. "You're cute but your taste in music is shit." Monse says. "All you listen to is Pac." I laugh. "You don't like Tupac?" She leans back. "If I said no I'd get dumped on the spot." I kiss her. "You're just jealous that I'll never love you like I love him." She tries to look serious. "Second place is good enough." I take the blunt from her and puff smoke in her face. "I missed this. I forgot what being a teenager felt like." She kisses me. I'm happy but it's Freeridge so it won't last. "I gotta go soon. Mona wakes up hella early." She tells me. "I gotta buy a crib or something so y'all can stay here." I say. "Yeah but we couldn't do half the shit we did tonight if she was here." Monse laughs. "Ok we need a place with two rooms." I tell her and she nods. "You don't get how much I miss having my own room." Monse says and she takes the blunt back. "You're gonna keep missing it 'cause we're gonna share a room." I remind her. "Yeah, but that's more fun." She unzips the hoodie she's wearing and I smile.
"Ok, now I really gotta go." Monse says while she gets dressed. "I'm gonna start looking for a place 'cause I still need a couple more hours with you." I tell her and she rolls her eyes. "Sure... hours." She says. "Wanna prove me wrong?" I smirk. "Maybe when your brother isn't here. I'm surprised he didn't kick me out already." She says. "I wanted to!" Spooky yells from his room. "Shit." Monse laughs. "Ok, I'm out." She kisses me. "Take my car. I don't want you walking home. Nineteenth isn't backing down and the Reinas don't wanna give up shit." I explain. "I was gonna take it anyways." She shrugs. "Of course you were." I laugh. "Bye, I love you." She says and I smile. "Only took you a year to admit it." I laugh and she hits my arm. "I love you too, Monse."
I kiss her and she grabs my keys from my desk.
Monse's POV:
I walk out and I see Ruby sitting outside his house. "You ok?" I ask. "Haven't been ok since Latrelle died." At least he's looking at me now. "Jasmine told me you were having nightmares and shit. Still happening?" I sit down with him. "Every night." He nods. "Cesar likes to justify it and say he was protecting me but he didn't have to drag me there." Ruby sounds like he's gonna cry. "Wait, you were there?" I ask. "He didn't tell you? Cesar literally dragged me into his car and he shot Latrelle right in front of me. I don't think he was protecting me, I think he was proving a point." Ruby explains. "What do you mean?" I ask. "A few weeks before I got rolled up on I told him that Latrelle was a victim of circumstance... he told me everyone starts like that but they all end the same way. Cesar told me power makes people killers and he wasn't exaggerating." Ruby tells me parts of the story I didn't know. "I was on the phone with Latrelle when he died. He apologized." I admit for the first time. "At least he got to tell you that." Ruby goes back to the same blank stare he usually has. "I'm around Cesar so much sometimes I forget how lil Spooky can be." I say. "Just make sure he keeps being Cesar. My brother grew up with Spooky and he remembers seeing him change. One minute he was Oscar and the next he was a gang leader." Ruby warns me.
"But Spooky isn't like that anymore." I remind him. "Cesar took his power, he's allowed to be a person again. The Santos already think lil Spooky's weak... he's only gonna get worse." Ruby gets up and goes inside without saying anything else.
I finally get back home and both of the babies are crying. "Where the hell we're you?" My dad asks and I take Mona from him. "With Cesar." I tell him. "Should've known. I'm not gonna be taking care of your kid for you all the time so you-" I stop him.
"I put her in your room so she'd have someone just in case something happened." I defend myself. "When the hell did you start talking back?" He asks. "Around the same time you became a career criminal." I smile sarcastically and he laughs. "I'm trying to be a better dad but I can't take care of three kids right now. Without the Prophets I haven't been making enough money." I can tell he hates to admit it. The Santos were supposed to help us not make us broke and traumatize us.
I meet Cesar at the Joint later and Ruby's working. "Hey." I smile at Ruby and he actually smiles back. "Hola Mona!" Cesar takes her right out of her stroller. Seeing him with her helps calm down the anxiety I've had since me and Ruby talked. "So I wanted to ask you something." I say when we sit down. "Why do I feel like I'm in trouble?" He laughs and Mona does too. "You're not... maybe. My dad said he hasn't been getting enough money from the Santos." I say and he nods. "I give him what I give all of the other Prophets." He shrugs like he doesn't care. "Cesar, my dad has to pay for the house, Mav, and he doesn't let me pay for shit." I explain. "I'm running a gang not a charity." He says. I look over at Ruby and he shrugs. "I gotta take care of my girls." Sometimes talking to him is like talking to two different people. He starts talking about apartment hunting and baby furniture like he didn't just screw over my dad. "Do you even care about the Prophets?" I ask. "No. They tried to kill you and me a shit ton of times." He says it like it's that easy. "Ok but most of them are in jail. The ones that are left are good people." I explain. "I get it but they're still Prophets. They get whatever's left and if they have a problem they can talk to me." He goes back to playing with our daughter.
We hangout for a few hours but when I get home I go straight to my dad. He looks tired and pissed off and now I know my plan needs to happen. "The Prophets need to come back but not how we were with Lewi. I think our family should take back the power. You always say we changed after the dollar sign so let's go back." I smile.