Page 31 of Butterfly 6, Phase 1

“Lift your dress,” he instructed. Bella pulled it up slightly, revealing the biker shorts beneath. He couldn’t believe he was strapping up his daughter. “You holster your gun here. You don’t set it down. It’s a responsibility to carry. You don’t take this off your leg. You don’t show anyone. You don’t pull this gun unless it’s time to use it. You stay strapped until I walk back into this house. You understand?”

Bella nodded.

“Bella, baby, tell me if you can’t handle this and I’ll…”

“I can handle it, Daddy,” Bella said, more confident this time. “You can’t be everywhere. I’m scared, but we all aren’t here. Mo is out there. Messari is with Aria. Yara is out there. Whoever was in that car could be after them, too. We’re safe here. Nobody’s coming in here. I won’t hesitate. I’ll breathe, and I’ll shoot.”

Ethic felt a mixture of pride and heartbreak.

“Good girl,” Ethic stated.

“Dad! Wait!” Eazy shouted, bursting into the garage. Bella adjusted her dress, and Ethic stood.

“What’s wrong, Big Man?” Ethic asked. “What about football? I have the parent meeting! And I need my suit fitted for the banquet!”

Alani appeared at the garage door.

“I can handle it, Big Man,” Alani promised.

Ethic halted as he glanced back at Alani. She was in no condition to be out in the world without him, especially running errands and sitting through team meetings. She couldn’t even drive. She could barely walk.

“Why are you still on your feet?” Ethic asked Alani.

“Please, Alani, he’s right,” Mara said as she joined the family in the garage. “I can handle the parent meeting and the suit.”

Ethic was juggling so many balls. Bella looked from Alani to Ethic, then to Mara. “I’ll call Uncle Ny,” Bella stated. “I’ve got it, Daddy, and Eazy, nobody is worried about your stupid league right now.”

“I don’t want to miss the season, though!” Eazy stated. “It’s mandatory!”

“You won’t, Big Man,” Alani reassured. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Why doesn’t anyone ever care about what I have going on?” Eazy shouted.

Ethic locked in on his son, and his brow bent in concern. He had wanted to keep what was happening away from his youngest son, but he was getting older and he realized that his unavailability was noticeable to Eazy. Ethic was pressed for time, but he couldn’t make Eazy feel small.

“I care, Big Man. What’s important to you is extremely important to me, but Yara Rae had to go to the hospital a few nights ago. She’s very sick, baby boy, and I need to check on her and Mo. That’s the only reason why I can’t take you to the meeting today.”

“Is Yolly okay?” Eazy asked.

“I don’t know anything just yet. That’s why it’s important that I be there to speak to the doctors. It’s serious, though. She’s not awake right now,” Ethic said truthfully.

His son’s sensitivity was one of the most precious things in the world. Eazy’s eyes prickled slowly as Ethic watched him fight his emotions.

“It’s okay to cry, Big Man,” Ethic said.

Alani rubbed Eazy’s back as Ethic went down on one knee in front of his child.

“I don’t want to be soft. All the boys on the team tell me I’m soft,” Eazy said, biting back his sadness and sniffing while rubbing his eyes.

“Fuck them li’l bad-ass niggas, Big Man,” Ethic said, instantly angry.

Alani’s eyes widened in protest to Ethic’s approach.

“You tell they little asses your daddy hard as they come so you ain’t got to be,” Ethic continued. “They fucking with you? That’s why you want me there?”

Eazy didn’t want to admit it, but he nodded his head as tears fell down his face.

“They put hands on you?” Ethic asked.