ʜᴇʀ ᴀꜱꜱɪꜱᴛᴀɴᴛ | ᴛᴀʀᴀꜱɪᴀ

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ

ꜰᴀɴᴛᴀꜱɪᴀ ʙᴀʀʀɪɴᴏ
ᴊᴜɴᴇ 30, 2020
ʜᴀᴘᴘʏ ʙɪʀᴛʜᴅᴀʏ!

i woke up to thousands of birthday wishes and posts from the shaderoom, blog pages, my fans, more huge celebrities, and tab & laila. i wasn't gonna lie and say i didn't look forward to taraji telling me, but of course, there was nothing from her. my brother and mom didn't tell me anything- no matter how many times we argue, she tells me every year, and rico too, so it kind of caught me off guard that neither one of them even told me.

i had no energy to even get up out of my bed. crying took up most of it- i felt alone all over again. i couldn't sleep by myself, so i cried myself to sleep and woke up still feeling like i wasn't enough for her. where did we go wrong? where did i go wrong? what did she do for taraji that i couldn't? all of those questions replayed in my head over and over again.

after finally finding the strength to get up, i walked into my bathroom. looking at myself in the mirror reminded me of the things that man put me through- i looked exactly like that. puffy eyed and hurt all over again. i needed to forget it all- it would only make life not worth living for me as it has plenty of times before. i just have to come to accept that ill never be good enough for anyone no matter how good i am to them.

walking into my company, i was met with alani.

"good morning, ms.barrino! oh, and happy birthday!"

"thanks." i gave her a small smile, "is tab in?"

"yes ma'am! the last time i saw her, she was running behind a little girl."

"laila? lailas here?" i asked, getting excited. i thought taraji would keep her from me. at least she kept one promise.

"would you like for me to find them for you?"

"no, it's okay, ill search for them. will you take my bags in my office please?"

"yes ma'am!" the halls were kind of empty as i walked through them.

i checked lailas toy room- there were crayons and things laid out on the table, meaning she was indeed here.

i furrowed my eyebrows and continued to the lunch room. i opened the door, flipping the lights on.

"SURPRISE!!!!" everyone shouted at me upon arrival. i was in complete awe.

"happy birthday, tai tai!" laila shouted, causing everyone to laugh, including myself, who was also crying.

"thank you, baby. thank all of you. i really appreciate you guys." i dapped my eyes. i searched for taraji, but she wasn't here. i probably need to stop worrying about her, but i can't bring myself to do it. i miss her so much, and we've only been away from each other for a few hours. i need her.

"make a wish, tasia." tab held the cake up to me. i closed my eyes and made the one wish i was hoping would come true. it was pretty obvious what that wish was

"do you want the first slice?"

"i haven't eaten anything yet, but ill have a piece afterward. yall have at it. again, i wanna thank every last one of you. i love you guys, i appreciate you, and thank you again!"

"tabi, i want cake." laila said, holding a small plate.

"be careful with too much...?"

"sugar!"

"because the sugar fairy will do what?"

"steal my cake!"

"yep, there you go- hey, tab, get her plate and bring it to my office." i needed to always be on standby incase anything went left, "come on, laila waila." i grabbed her hand, and we skipped through the halls. it's crazy how this little girl can turn a bad day into a beautiful one in seconds.