I didn't think it was real. I didn't think it could be happening but sure enough it had happened. Malachi's body was found at Piedmont Park right next to a gazebo on a lake.

"Overdose. That's what they are calling it."

My grandmother sits next to me at the funeral. She's explaining what happened to people at the gravesite. She doesn't cry. I know she's sad. She's raised Malachi since he was younger. His mom was an addict and his dad was a deadbeat. I wish I could be as strong as my grandmother was right now. She's being the strong one.

I'm the one breaking down.

"Bullshit," I state, "Malachi wouldn't have even' taken his own drugs."

"Well baby I'm sure there were a lot of things about Malachi that you didn't know," my grandmother explains to me.

She puts an arm over my shoulder as though I'm some kid who has no idea what I'm talking about. Cupid is crying as well, dressed in all black next to me. There is this gloom and doom over the entire funeral that I can't comprehend.

"They did this to him," I tell my grandmother.

"Who?"

"Them."

Team Underwood wasn't too far away. I'm shocked they showed up at the funeral as well. Leave it to them my brother was only their goddam drug dealer.

They were standing while we sat during the whole burial. I hadn't seen them during the service and they showed up at the burial late. Tempest doesn't even have black on. The bitch has a fitted burgundy dress on. Then I see Storm. His eyes are buried on me for some reason. They haven't budged the entire time. He can see me looking at him. He still doesn't move his eyes. Even though I look like I want to go over there and rip his fucking throat out.

He just stares. Silently.

Cupid gives me a slight shrug and pulls me close to him. He's making sure he pulls me away from my grandmother.

"Don't upset her."

He has a point. Grandma was holding it back. She had always been tough on the exterior but inside she was falling apart worse than we were. She'd go home tonight. She'd be devastated. She wouldn't get over Malachi's death that easy.

Luckily the burial is over. Everyone is headed to the reception. They let the family get up first. My parents have come from out of town. Some other cousins and aunts. Even my grandfather who we hadn't seen since he divorced grandma was back.

"I can't let them get away with this," I whisper to Cupid.

Cupid shakes his head, "You don't know they did anything..."

"I know."

"Demarco. If you have proof go to the cops about it..."

"I don't have proof."

"Then how do you know? Didn't you say the cops were looking for him. Malachi might not have been telling you the whole truth. You know he's always gotten into trouble. He's always gotten into some shit.It was probably worse than you thought."

If Cupid is trying to make me feel better he's failing miserably.

I ignore him. Storm has gotten up. He's walking his sister to a black Escalade that they have. Savannah, the twins, Gunner and Miles follow closely behind. There is a train of cars that are heading to the funeral reception. My grandmother had the food catered. We were going to celebrate Malachi's life. We were going to tell stories about him.

Cupid is walking me to the car but I stop.

"I'm not going."

"You're not going to your cousin's reception?" he asks me.

"Listen. Tell my grandma I said that I was sorry. I just can't..."

He's shocked. Cupid is screaming my name out as I start walking away. My grandmother would be upset she realizes that I am not going. It's fine though. She would forgive me.

I had a reason I wasn't going. These fucking people had done something to my cousin and I was going to find out what. No matter what.

I wasn't going to attend the reception.

But Lady was.

~

She walks into the reception hall. I've picked out a pretty black dress for her. I have my boy clothes in a large purse. I'm not going to make the same mistake again and change abruptly without anything to change into. Just in case I do change abruptly I needed to make sure that I was covered.

I had stolen it from Cupid's store. It fits like a glove. As I walk into the reception hall there is nothing but sadness. I push down my extra large church hat, adjust my black gloves and put a veil over my head.Here goes nothing...

I'm still getting used to being Lady. I stride through the hall realizing I'm getting stares but attempting to pretend as though it doesn't bother me.

I don't get far. Cupid can spot his dress from a mile away.

"You've got to be joking," he tells me.

He walks up to me flaming. He's so loud that a few people around to look. The reception hall is really quiet. Food hasn't even been brought out yet so everyone is in a very somber mood.

"You couldn't wait to change back to her, could you?" Cupid asks me, "You couldn't even wait until we got through today. At least even for Malachi."

"I'm doing this for Malachi."

"You're doing this for yourself," Cupid hisses at me, "And I made that dress for a customer."

"I'm just borrowing it..."

"I swear to god..."

"Is this man bothering you?"

I turn at that moment and notice Ivory's boyfriend Miles standing there. He gives Cupid a hard look. I hadn't even noticed Cupid was talking to me in an aggressive manner. That's just how he talked honestly. Still when Miles gives him a look Cupid takes a few steps back. Miles seems...intimidating to say the least. It wasn't his size. It was his presence. He looked like some mob boss or something. He just looks nefarious.

Just the type of guy that I'm suspicious of.

"He was just leaving," I state looking at Cupid.

Cupid gives me a hard look. Then he looks at Miles. I can tell he wants no parts. He turns and walks away dramatically joining my grandmother at my family table. I watch as he starts to continue to console her. It should be me. I feel guilty. But then I look back at Miles and realize that there is a reason Demarco isn't here. There is a reason that Lady is.

"You OK girl?" he asks me.

"I'm OK now that you're here," I state.

The words just roll out of my mouth like satin. I realize I'm checking Miles out too. He has on slacks from his slacks I can tell he has a nice package. I'm talking about thick meat. When I coyly adjust my tits I watch as his eyes lower, just an inch to see them.

He bites on his lower lip.

"Anytime shorty," he tells me, "I remember I tried a lot of times to be your knight in shining armor. You never gave me the time of day."

"I don't remember that."

Miles looks me up and down, "Oh yeah, the amnesia right? Nah. You were too into your fiance."

"Fiance?"

"Yeah...Storm. You really don't remember anything do you?"

Storm had said that he loved Lady. I figured I should have assumed they were in some sort of romance but the idea that they were engaged blows my mind.

"What broke them up?"

"Them?"

"I mean us..."

Miles isn't looking at me anymore, "Shit. I shouldn't be telling you anymore. Ivory is getting jealous. I can see her from over here. You should come sit with us so this doesn't look weird."

Miles was right. Ivory was staring from across the hall at me talking to her man. She wasn't the only one that was staring. They all were. Storm and his friends had set their eyes on me and they were shocked that I had showed up.

I follow Miles to the table. Storm jumps up from the table, pulls out my chair for me to sit and even pushes me in. I'm shocked when he does it. He's such a gentleman. I wish the reception from everyone else was the same.

It wasn't.

"You showed up," Storm says.

Tempest looks at me and raises her eyebrows, "Are you surprised Storm? We all know what happened. Of course she would show up."

A few of them seem a little confused. It's Savannah that I worry about. She seems smart. She doesn't only seem smart but she also seems a little bit cunning. She is staring there next to Tempest, being her right hand. She had on black lipstick and a dramatic wing on her eye.

"You have a way of just popping up. Weird," she says.

Tempest seems to be annoyed at that moment, "Shut up Savannah. Her and Malachi were...close."

Savannah sighs, "I thought you said you didn't remember anything."

"Savannah stop," Storm says.

Savannah shuts up. She looks at me. She was smart. Too smart. I would have to watch out for her. She seemed to be setting for me and she seemed like she was a little too good at it. It's interesting that Storm comes to my defense as well. It's even more interesting that he is sitting across from Savannah and right next to me. I wonder. Is Savannah intimidated by Lady?

"I don't remember anything," I state, "I was invited."

"Yeah? By who?" Tempest asks.

Tempest doesn't seem as suspicious as Savannah but she is definitely curious. It's hard to read Tempest. If she does feel some type of way she isn't the type of girl to show it. Her smile is wide and pretty. Her eyes are welcoming. Then I remember how she treated me when I was Demarco. I thought she was nice then as well. I had been wrong.

At least Savannah didn't hide the fact that she didn't like someone. Tempest hid it. She hid it a little too well.

I wonder how she really felt about Lady.

"Demarco?" I ask.

"Who?" Tempest asks me.

I almost want to roll my eyes when she says that. I had dated Tempest back in the day. She should have remembered who I was. Storm had re-introduced me to her not too long ago.

"Malachi's cousin," Storm says.

Tempest seems clueless.

"Baby. You remember. That faggot designer who sews clothes that was obsessed with Storm," Gunner says.

I turn to Gunner. He laughs about it. A few of the others join in. I just want to spurt out that he actually FUCKED the so called faggot he is referring to. I can't believe I was fooled by this guy. The ego that Gunner has can't even fit in this fucking room right now. He thinks he is god's gift to man.

I am so pissed that I open my mouth to say something but I'm interrupted.

I'm interrupted by Storm.

"Yo don't call him no faggot," Storm says.

"Ain't that what he is?" Gunner asks, "A run of the mill FAG..."

Ivory and Savannah laugh amongst themselves. Tempest does her thing where she just stares a hole at someone without really having an expression but a smirk. She isn't staring at me though. She's staring at her brother. I can't read her expression. I can never can. It's one of those intimidating expressions though. That expression you can tell someone is judging you. However either Storm doesn't notice his sister's stare or he doesn't care. Maybe it's neither. Maybe he is just used to it.

"C'mon. This is a funeral," Ebony says.

"I don't give a fuck. I didn't like Malachi anyway. I hated him," Gunner says, "I'm only here because I feel bad about..."

He just stops talking. His eyes trail off to me.

Interesting. Why would Gunner hate my cousin?

"If you don't like him then why are you at his funeral?" I ask.

Tempest turns to Gunner. The way she looks at him is just weird. It's almost as though she is daring her boyfriend to speak out of place. Gunner leans back in the chair.

"Just cause. I'm ready get out of here anyway. What happened to that Fag in the first place? He isn't here..."

"Sounds gay that you are looking around for the so-called fag," Storm says.

"What?"

"You've been trying to find him since we came in here," Storm responds.

Gunner doesn't deny it. That's the weird thing. He looks down at the food that has just been brought out. He doesn't eat it. Something seems to be eating this guy up and I'm not exactly sure what the hell it is.

"You think he went home?" Gunner asks.

"There it goes again," Storm points out, "And you call him obsessed."

Tempest has rearranged her stare from her brother to Gunner now. She smirks. It looks polite like she is going to make some small conversation to him but the most vicious words come out of her mouth.

"Baby...why the fuck do you care where that basic, dung detective, booty bandit, limp wrist piece of shit is?" Tempest asks, "Unless he has Malachi's drugs I could care less where he is. He's could be slitting that limp wrist of his for all I care because he's so obsessed with my brother."

"He's a gay man. And I never told you he was obsessed with me. Stop fucking putting words in my mouth," Storm says.

"Why you so mad?" Tempest asks.

Storm doesn't answer.

He looks pissed! I'm not talking about regular pissed either. His sister is definitely getting under his skin. And I'm curious that he isn't as rude behind my back as I thought. He's actually defending me which I wouldn't have expected in a million years.

He sulks in the chair at that moment. He's tapping his knife on the table. It's just a butter knife but right now he is holding it like it is a butcher's knife and he's ready to go Lorena Bobbitt all this bitch.

"You guys are scaring Lady. Look at her face," Ebony says.

Ebony walks over to and puts her hands on my shoulders in a gentle way as though making it seem like they were all friendly people.

"You're right. Let's get out of here. I got bottles back at the penthouse," Tempest says, "Hopefully this was enough to satisfy my brother's bleeding guilt."

Bleeding guilt?

Bleeding guilt about what?

They get up from the table. That's when I notice Storm offering me his hand.

"You coming right?" he asks me.

I nod. Yeah. There was no way in hell I was going to miss this.

~

"The Dior heels are my favorite."

"I just hate how the heels look..."

We are in Tempest's penthouse. This place is beautiful. The pent house is on the 66th floor of a building and features marble floors and columns throughout. There are 24 carat gold accents like platters, lamps and vases. There is crown molding that outlines each room with large vaulted ceilings. You walk in there and you feel like you are royalty. Tempest has definitely done well for herself since I've known her when I was younger.

The girls are gathered around me by a bar that Tempest has set up. You would think they would be discussing Malachi but they don't mention him. They are talking about shoes.

"Which do you prefer Lady?"

I can't take it much longer. I didn't think you needed a labeled shoe to be beautiful. I turn to the right. There is a beautiful view of Atlanta. That is where Storm is. He's looking out at the city just staring as the other two boys stand on the other side of the glass smoking.

That is real beauty. His eyes squint. His hands are tucked into the pockets of his tuxedo pants. He has his shirt unbuttoned and his tie is loose. The pants fit him so well that his ass forms a perfect bubble in the right places. The moon reflects on his skin casting a spotlight on him. He looks in the city almost as though he is a performer looking into a crowd ready to say the most beautiful poetry in the world.

I couldn't help it.

I can't stop staring at him. Fuck this boy was perfect.

"Either or..." I state shrugging them off, "I'll be right back."

I can't help but notice Savannah staring at me leaving. She can tell where I'm going. For some reason in this body I don't care. I know how it looks and for some reason I do it anyway. I march right over to him. Even though the other boys are on the balcony I feel alone with him from right outside the window.

It's almost like he knows it's me walking up to him before I even turn around. I can tell he's drinking whiskey. He seems to be drinking a little heavily as well.

"Tired of my sister and her backup singers already?" he asks me.

He turns to me. He squints. I almost melt. It's serious. This pussy of hers gets wet often but not as often as when Storm stares at her.

"Backup singers?" I ask, "I thought you and Savannah were close."

He laughs, "Let's just say she's used to being a backup."

He gives me a look.

"Wow."

He was definitely flirting with me.

"Sorry. That isn't fair to Savannah. I'm a little tipsy. This funeral has me emotional."

"Sad about Malachi."

"No. He got what he deserved," he says.

"What does that even mean?" I ask him.

I'm confused.

Storm shakes his head, "Nothing. Never mind. I'm not sad about Malachi. No. I'm sad about my friend. Demarco. He looked so hurt at that funeral. I can't get his face out of my fucking head for some reason.That shit is burning a hole in me."

He takes another long drink of the whiskey straight.

"He's a mutual friend of ours," I explain to Storm, crossing my arms, "And I'm sure he would appreciate it."

"He's a cool guy. Most definitely. I kind of played him. I tried to apologize and shit. Was going to invite him out to this costume party I was having. The actor who played Petty P was going to be there. That's when he got the call about his cousin being dead and shit just...fell apart..."

That's why he was there that day?

"You know the actor who played Petty P?" I ask getting excited.

Storm seems confused.

"Wait. You know Petty P?"

Fuck. I got way too excited at that moment. I calm down a little bit.

"No um..."

"OH I was about to say. Since when did you care about movies. You were always concerned about making it big. No amount of amnesia could ever change that from the Lady Richardson I know..."

Is that her personality?

I confidently smile, "That's me."

He laughs, "Well...that's my favorite show. It's his too."

"Tell me about it."

He looks over at me at that moment suspiciously, "You don't want to hear about this fucking show. It's an old show that got cancelled before I was even born. It's corny as hell. Lady...I know you. You're way too cool for this shit."

I give him a smile.

"Try me."

He licks his lips at that moment, "Better yet, why don't I show you?"

"How?"

"I live next door..."

With that he offers me his hand. The smile that he has at that moment is legit. That's when I notice Savannah. She's standing up at that moment. She wants to say something but for some reason she doesn't. I can see the look in her eyes. She wants to go off on the fact that Storm is holding my hand. She wants to go crazy.

I don't say it. She doesn't say it.

It's actually Tempest who sighs and announces fully as her brother walks me out of the room.

"Looks like Lady really is back."

~'

We are drinking together in his apartment. His apartment wasn't as luxurious as Tempest's. The apartment is beautiful though none-the-less but it has a real home-like feel to it. I can't help but to feel comfortable especially when we sit in front of the warm fireplace drinking whiskey. Seeing the fire flicker in Storm's eyes make me forget why I'm even been here.

"I can't believe we've been talking for hours," he says, "You might as well stay the night."

I'm shocked.

"Are you asking me to stay over?"

He laughs, "Yeah. I guess I am yo."

I hadn't felt the burn yet. I haven't had the urge to change back into Demarco. I have brought extra pills just in case I need to re-up.

I nod, "I'd love to."

"Cool. You mind if I get comfortable?" he asks.

"Go ahead."

I'm shocked when he takes off his shirt. I