Psalms 42 || Tori Kelly

Slowly

continued

2:30 PM

After witnessing her mother push her personal pain to help her sister and jump back into mommy mode without skipping a beat, Irie got to thinking. Jairus would be home any minute and with some help from Addi and Nya, Irie could handle everyone. "Get up. Go get your shoes on," Irie demanded, as she got up from her the couch and ran to the fridge to pack Sampson's diaper bag.

"Why?" Abiah groaned, pushing up from her warm spot and towards the shoe rack by the door with Brianna not too far behind.

"I have an idea, but we have to leave when Jai gets here," the eldest of 4 said. The teenagers grumbled, not really wanting to leave, but not wanting a fight on their hands. Irie threw a couple of bottles into the grey backpack along with wipes from the playpen and pacifiers from all over the house.

"Where are we going?" Abiah asked, noticing that her sister had packed more than two bottles and a water bottle for their baby brother. Irie glanced at the cup of baby snacks and shrugged before throwing them in the bag too.

"We are going to the city for a while. Sammy is going to Michelle for the night," Irie answered. "Go get a couple of outfits from the laundry room, while I grab a packet of diapers and the baby from upstairs," Irie bossed. The girls went their separate ways as Irie's plan came together.

—

Irie softly knocked on the door but got no response, so she decided to enter with caution. "Mommy?" Irie called, popping her head in. The tv was still running Word Party with Sampson heavily engaged and Tori out. "Come here, buddy," Irie sweetly called, luring the child from his mother's side. Tori immediately, woke up once Sampson started to get up, afraid he was about to fall off the bed.

"Oh my gosh," she whispered, with her heart racing. She was happy to see her daughter taking the baby, but she was not prepared for that.

"You need to sleep or work this out with daddy or whatever. You don't need this added stress. Michelle is taking the baby and I'm getting the others out of your hair for a while. I'll probably take them to get some dinner then find a bowling alley or something," Irie said. Tori lazily threw her arm off the bed and grabbed her purse off the floor next to her.

"Get a fifty from my wallet," she said, tiredly dropping the slightly heavy bag before her daughter. Irie shook her head and put the bag on the floor in front of her feet.

"I'm good. Daddy gave me two hundred last week and hasn't asked for it back. At this point it's mine," she smirked. "Sammy, say bye bye," Irie waved, getting her brother to imitate her.

"Bye!" He waved. Tori couldn't help but smile. She loved how responsible her daughter was.

"Bye, baby," she smiled, throwing a sleepy wave to her kids, before her first attempt at falling back to sleep, in search of real sleep. Without Sampson in the bed, Tori quickly swiped all of his toys onto her side of the floor, shut off the tv, and ducked under the covers. She was going to take advantage of her alone time.

—

In the living room, Irie came down to see Abiah and Brianna zipping up the backpack and grabbing their jackets. "Alright, take him to my car," Irie said, handing the baby off to Brianna. "I'm going to get his seat from mommy's car and hopefully Jairus will be home by the time we are ready," Irie said. Once again the twenty-year-old parted ways with her siblings to complete phase one of her plan.

3 PM

"She looks dead," Jackie whispered.

"She's a mother of four. I'd be dead too," Kamari replied in the same hush tone.