Xerxes found himself looking through different shades of purple since everyone decided to bitch out of helping him with the gala. They all had different excuses for what they needed to do, while Elijah just flat-out told him he wasn't helping with shit and was spending time with his wife. Their father threw the colors in his face and then told him he knew how to handle himself. The mess was crazy, and this wasn't how he was planning to spend his Saturday. The gala was in a week, and he was overly stressed about everything else that was to come.
He and Riley had set a wedding date, and she was excited for the day. He was, too, but wished he could have helped her with what needed to be done. It was true she had their daughters and mother. Really, all the females who were happy to see them back together. However, it should have never happened. X was upset with himself for letting something come between them, but he did get some beautiful children out of the fucked-up relationship he had with Amoy.
"Yo Unk, Dad told me to come give you this." Xerxes looked up to see his nephew walking through the door with something he asked his brother to take care of. He should have known the fool would throw it on someone else, especially when it had something to do with his twin. X couldn't blame him. It was a hard subject to think about, and being years later didn't make it any better.
"I asked Eli to take care of that."
"Oh, he did, but he didn't want to bring it to you. You know how Dad is. He's scared you're going to rope him into doing something he doesn't want to do. Plus, he's high off his ass, as always... I want to talk to you about something." Slowly, Xerxes put down his Apple Pen and then gave his attention to his nephew. It wasn't every day Lias came to him with something he wanted to discuss. It either had something to do with his children or his wife.
"If you want a therapist, I suggest you go to your Opa..."
"Damn, say it how you fucking feel it, but I don't need a therapist. I'm worried about Dad and Uncle Val. I'm more worried about Unk because, for the past few years, he's been spending more time away from the fam, claiming he's traveling. I know he always has the boys with him, but—"
"I understand, but Valentino is a grown-ass man. He's hurting and moving on isn't an option for him." Elias nodded, taking a seat as he slowly reached over to take a document with a sigh. The boy clearly had something else on his mind that Xerxes didn't have the time for. He knew it sounded rude, but he was on a timeline, and talking out someone else's feelings wasn't on his agenda.
"Tell me what else you need done, and I can help. Yejide is out with Xylia and Shanice, and I have no idea where Xavier, Barkley, and Ziggy are." Xerxes knew he needed all the help he could get; therefore, he nodded, handing the boy a list of things to do. He knew by the look on Elias's face he was about to talk shit just as his father would do. The two were one and the same, and he loved seeing his little brother in his nephew as he saw himself in Xavier, but the two were a little more ruthless than them.
For hours, the two worked on the gala, with Elias arguing about everything he didn't like. First, it was with the flowers, yelling they weren't the right ones Melody liked, and then it was the picture. It ended with Xerxes allowing him to do everything for his aunt while he worked on Tyler, his Opa, Oma, and great-grandmothers. Xerxes changed the details just a bit. He wanted everyone they had lost to be remembered at this gala. It was a way to step back and let the up-and-coming mafias take control under their wing if it was possible. X wasn't crazy and knew in some way they would get drugged back into the drama. It was just a matter of when.
"I thought all of this was handled. Why are we going through this again?" Elias asked hours later while Xerxes sighed. It was handled until everyone wanted him to single handily go through the shit he assigned to them. "It was, but at the last minute, they threw all this on me. The colors were picked until your Father decided that purple wasn't the right color. Then he placed about six different dishes in front of me to choose from and more, but I think we are done now. Thank you..."
