Another Lifetime

Chapter 47:

Cesar's POV:
"Go put Mona in the crib. I'm gonna need a second." I say to Monse. "Cesar!" Alasie screams at me and Mona wakes up crying. "Let me know if you need me." Monse looks her up and down before she goes inside. "I been waiting out here for Oscar and he didn't show. Where'd he take Vale?" She sounds desperate. "He left. I don't know where he went." I explain. "For how long?" She hugs herself. "If he's smart, forever." I shrug. "He can't just take her!" She's yelling like I did this. "Get you ass inside."
I grab the back of her arm and pull her into the house. No one knows Oscar's gone and she's not gonna be the reason they find out.

"So he just took her without saying anything?" She paces. "He better pray I never find him. I'm gonna get a job, a lawyer, and a-" I cut her off. "A what? A fucking time machine? Remember all those damn papers you signed? What'd you think was gonna happen?!" I ask. "She's my daughter." Alasie says it like that means anything. "She doesn't even remember you." I point out. "Valeria's a baby, it doesn't matter if she forgot. She needs her mom." She finally stops pacing. "You want your kid to be ok? Pray Spooky's never dumb enough to come back. The farther Vale is from you, the better she is." I stand up. "You don't know what the fuck you're talking about. I was a good mom." She pushes me back. "So good you left her?" I laugh. "Being a good mom isn't just about staying." Alasie says. "You can't be a mom if you're never around." I remind her. "What if it was your baby?" She asks. "Don't bring my kid into this." I laugh under my breath. "Answer the fucking question." She demands. "I'd want what's best for her. If it wasn't me, it'd let her go. Valeria's getting a chance and you're trying to take it from her. Get the fuck out of Freeridge." I leave her alone in the living room, probably a bad idea.

"She's really Spooky's ex? At least he found someone his own age to knock up." Monse jokes. "Sorry. She seems nice." Monse quickly changes the subject. "She's a dick. At least now she just has a reason to be one." I sit on the edge of my bed. "Oscar really didn't tell her anything?" Monse asks. "No. Alasie ruins everything for him. That girl is toxic and, if she finds him, she'll do some stupid shit." I explain. "Valeria's still her baby." Monse defends her. "If you went to jail right now, would you give up Mona?" I ask. "No." She doesn't even have to think about it. "Alasie made a choice. It's not Oscar's fault she can't handle it." I take off my shirt and lay down with her. "Come here." I pull Monse to me and put my hand on her hip. "I love you." She kisses me before she goes to sleep. I don't sleep. Maybe it's 'cause tonight's the first time Mona's sleeping on her own and maybe it's 'cause I wanna talk to Oscar. All I know is I'm worried about my family.

Right when the sun comes up Mona starts crying and I sneak out of bed. "Hola princesa." I pick her up and she calms down. She looks up at me with her big brown eyes and it's the best feeling in the world. Having a baby is the scariest shit I've ever been through but she makes me feel like I'm doing everything right. I change her diaper and bring her to the kitchen so I can make her a bottle. I'm so distracted I almost don't notice Alasie sleeping on my couch. "Who the fuck told you to sleep here?" I throw one of Mona's empty bottles at her. "What the fuck?" She yawns. "I'm not going anywhere until we find my kid." Alasie tells me. "You're not gonna find her." I put Mona in her high chair. "So then I'm not going. Someone around here has to know where he went and, if you want me out, you're gonna help me." She sits on my counter. "Your shit with Oscar isn't my problem." I remind her. "Fine, I guess I'll just have to tell Monse about you and Lola." She smiles. "What are you talking about?" I ask. "You know, how you two don't even know if Ky's even Oscar's son." Alasie says. "You said we'd never talk about it again." I furrow my brow. "And you said we were family. Things changed and now we're both just looking out for ourselves." I can tell she hates that she has to do this. Doesn't change the fact that she's being a dick. "You're wrong, I'm not looking out for myself. Unlike you, I still have a daughter to look out for." I walk back over to my baby and try to act like I'm ok but all I can think about is talking to Lola.

"Oh, you're still here." Monse says. She's not a morning person, I don't think she could sound ok with it if she tried. "Morning." Alasie pours herself some coffee but I take her mug and give it to Monse. "Hi." She smiles when I kiss her. "Is she staying here?" Monse asks me. "Good question." Alasie raises her eyebrows. "Yeah, just for a couple days." I tell them both. "We'll see." Alasie shrugs. "Did I miss something?" Monse asks. "Yeah. Your boyfriend's gonna help me get my daughter back." She finally leaves the kitchen. "Really? Last night you thought she was crazy 'cause she wanted to find Valeria." Monse reminds me. "She can be really persuasive." I clench my jaw. "I gotta go out for a few hours. You guys should probably go back to your place or something. I don't trust her around Mona." I tell Monse but I keep looking at Alasie. "What do you mean? You told me you'd watch Mona while I helped Eby." She crosses her arms. "I can't babysit-" she cuts me off. "Babysit? It's not babysitting when it's your daughter." Monse tells me and now I know I can't get out of this. Normally I'd drop anything to spend the day with Mona but I gotta deal with this shit and didn't really plan on bringing a baby with me.

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Lola opens the front door of her apartment and I just walk right in. "Damn, never thought I'd see the day a cholo used a baby wrap." She laughs. "Is Jamal here?" I ask. "No." She shakes her head. "How about Ky?" I look around but I don't see him. "He's at school." She explains. "Ok... is Kyrie mine?" I ask.