Page 77 of Beyond The Stars

Snickering, Noodle leaned back, crossing her legs. “I like her.”

“I knew you would… girls.” He sighed heavily, shaking his head.

As the horns of the music blared, everyone yelled in unison with Siasia laughing at how amped they all became.

“How many people you know can take it this far,” Stephanie sung off key.

“Please let Luna be the singer.” Malaysia cackled, dodging Stephanie’s playful slap.

“We gone take it to the moon, take it to the stars!” everyone sung in unison, jumping around the living room.

Qamar yanked Siasia into his arms while he rapped every verse word for word. She had no idea how a song could mend a family so easily but it worked.

“T-minus fifteen seconds,” Luna and Javen’s daughter, Jaci, mimicked word for word.

“Lift off,” Solar and French’s son yelled, tossing his tiny arms into the sky with a big smile on his face.

Esmeray climbed into Noodle’s lap to watch the production. She was used to it and would never get enough of it.

As the music faded out, Luna looked around at everyone with a content smile on her face. “You need to get a bigger house, Qamar. Where all us gone sleep at?”

“Better make a pallet like old times. Don’t act like you ain’t from the struggle,” Qamar teased her, still rocking Siasia in his arms.

Luna’s hand went into the air to silence the brief moment of happiness. By the look on her face everyone stopped moving.

“Hello?” she answered the phone on speaker.

“Hey, Luna,” Barbie greeted with dread of the news she was about to deliver in her voice.

Javen’s eyes doubled. He hated the way Luna and Barbie were cordial enough to have one another’s number. Barbie was an unofficial ex of his and was still a sore spot since he hated how she seemed to build a relationship with his wife.

“Talk to me, Barbie, because I know you didn’t call me to ask me how I was doing,” Luna directed the conversation, knowing nothing good was going to come from the impromptu phone call. It never did.

Barbie sighed before revealing the reason for her call. “You know my fans stay on me about not posting enough bad stuff about y’all… so, I just wanted to give you a heads-up that I was sent the video of Qamar and the college brawl that took place as well as a video of the girl it was about dancing on the pole.”

Everyone’s eyes seemed to dart towards Siasia who shrank under their judgment.

“I don’t give a fuck,” Qamar declared, already shutting down any negative talk about Siasia. He didn’t care about her past and didn’t want his family or the world judging her.

Smacking her lips, Barbie continued, “This is too good for me not to post it. Now, I know we have this unspoken bond so I’m just calling you to give you a heads-up.”

“How much time?” Luna asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“And this why you should’ve whooped her ass when you had the chance.” Stephanie wagged her finger, pissed that Barbie was going to post bad things about her baby.

“It ain’t too late.” Solar sniffed with her fist balled at her side. She was fuming because her little brother didn’t deserve the bad press. Siasia either. People online liked to pretend their shit was perfect when it was usually the complete opposite.

Luna took a deep breath, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the phone. “Barbie, you know this is going to cause a lot of trouble. Is it really worth it?”

Barbie hesitated, the silence on the other end of the line stretching out uncomfortably. “I don’t want to do this, Luna. But you know how it is. My followers expect this kind of content.”

“Your followers can wait!” Luna snapped. “This isn’t just some gossip. This is our lives. Our family.”

Siasia’s eyes welled up with tears, her body trembling. Qamar wrapped his arm around her protectively, his jaw clenched.

“Luna, please,” Barbie’s voice softened. “I’m giving you a chance to prepare. That’s more than I’ve ever done for anyone else.”

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