There's More To Life: The Velvet Rope

Chapter One: Eight Months Later...

H A R L E M

"Dad what if I told you I wanted another sibling?" I joked as we got out the car to head into the store.

"I'd say you've already said that and I'll give you the same answer, not yet. Ask your other father." He shook his head and I chuckled. "BUT, if I was to give you another sibling, would you want a boy or a girl?"

"BOY" I answered immediately and he laughed. "I love my sister Cali but girls are a handful. Like she's so sassy for no reason."I explained and he nodded.

"I gue-" he was interrupted by tires shrieking. We looked back and saw a gun pointed at us.

"HARLEM GET DOWN!!!"

POW POW POW POW!

I felt a sharp pain in my arm as dad pushed me behind a car for cover. When the shots stop I checked my arm and a bullet grazed it.

"Dad?" I call out but I didn't get an answer.
I slowly got from behind the car and what I saw wind out of me.

Dad laying there in a small pool of his own blood.

"NO NO NO DAD!!" I cried out in terror.

I ran over to his unconscious body crying out for anybody to help but I didn't seem as if anyone was outside

"MOSCHINO!" I heard someone yell out. I looked up to see Zek running towards us at full speed. "NO NO NO NO MOSCHINO BABY WAKE UP" He flipped flipped Dad over and held his head as if it was the most precious thing in the world.

Our cries for help filled the parking lot until Neptune showed up...

"DAD!"

"DAD!" I jumped up in cold sweat. I keep having the same nightmare for the past eight months....except what happened wasn't a nightmare, no matter how much I wish it was.

Just a nightmare.

"Harlem!" my dad....lets just call him Daddy J...bursts into my room. "Are you okay?" he asked and I shrugged. "The nightmares again...." he asked and I nodded. He let out a big sigh and told me to hold tight.

After the shooting everybody is trying to get back on track. We basically had to drag Uncle Phenix to the airport to leave for South Carolina the next day. Uncles Liam and Lewis are now engaged to be married while uncles Corey and Brandon are still in the dating phase. They bought a nice house and are raising Camden together and are talking about having more kids......after they get married.....whenever that will be. Uncle Nijle is....Nijle to say the least. He always gotta new chick on his arm but is never tied down. SMH. Uncle Tate released his mixtape 'The Boy With The Hair' back in December and it went platinum at the beginning of February. He has an endorsement deal with Beats by Dre, Chanel and has his own hair company. Everyone is extremely proud of him and I'm sure Dad would be too. Oh and he has a new baby sister he's excited about. Uncle Phenix had an amazing season dedicated to dad and even took his team to the championship. Bummer they didn't win. Uncle Aubrey was walking around like a sick puppy for the longest because he didn't have his baby brother to annoy him. Now he's on tour and shouts out dad any way he can. Nana and Gramps are doing well. She's telling all of us to keep the faith.... Lord knows we need it. Grandpa and Gramps are working together to find the guy who shot dad. Every time they get close to him, he just disappears.

Speaking of Daddy Mo', the doctors say he may never wake up....and if he does he'll never walk again. One of the bullets hit his spine causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down. One of the other two bullets hit him in his side and the other bullet missed his heart by 2 inches. I've been to see him every day for eight months....more than what I can say about the others. But it's not like not like they don't want to see him, is just that they are one, busy. two, not even in the state and three, are trying to get use to living without him, just in case that becomes our reality. But there's one person who's been by to see him more than often, even though he'd hate to admit it, Zek. Since the shooting he's been checking up on me and even taking me by to see Daddy Mo.