by Anna Black
“Are you crazy, Leslie? I can’t do that, and I don’t need help. You and my mother—I swear. I finally got him where I want him, and it’s only a matter of time before I make him mine, and that’s final for me. I have never wanted any of those motherfuckers this bad, Les,” she said, and Leslie was dead serious when she said she was done with her crazy-ass behavior.
“Karen, if you don’t tell him, I will. I’ll tell him everything. I will even inform him that you can’t even get an erection on Versed, so he can know that he didn’t even have sex with you,” she said and stood to leave.
“Tell him, and you will no longer work in this hospital, Leslie. You can kiss your RN license goodbye,” she said and stood. “I see you have forgotten that you are the one who took the Versed for me, and that’s not the only time you’ve swiped drugs, so my advice to you is to keep your mouth shut, or I will let them know about your little ‘addiction,’” she threatened.
Afraid, Leslie just looked at her. “You wouldn’t,” she cried with a look of pure panic on her face.
“Oh, but I would,” she returned, and then she grabbed the baby and left. She felt like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders, and all she had to do now was figure out a way to get her man and keep Leslie quiet.
Chapter Thirty-seven
Katrina called Cher, but she couldn’t reach her. She left her five messages telling her it was urgent and to call her back right away. Then she went by the gym looking for Ray, but he wasn’t there, so she rushed over to Cher’s office, and they said she was out showing some property. Katrina was walking around wondering what to do and decided she’d go back to work and just wait for Cher to return her call.
After her shift, she called Cher, and she finally answered.
“Hey, Kat, what’s the big emergency, girl?”
“I need to get a hold of Rayshon,” she said.
“Kat, come on. I thought you were over that, and you know I can’t give you his number.”
“I am, Cher, but this is about Karen, the one that claims he’s her baby’s daddy,” she said.
“Who and what? What’s going on, sis?”
“Cher, please, I can’t explain right now. I just need to call him right away or even Leila,” she said with desperation in her voice.
“Look, you know I can’t give you their numbers, but what I will do is give Leila a call, and then I’ll ask her to call you,” she said, and Katrina agreed with that.
“Just hurry,” she said and hung up. Cher dialed Leila and left her a voicemail telling her to call her back. She scrolled through her phone and realized she didn’t have Rayshon’s number, so she hoped Leila would call her soon.
* * *
Leila was lying in her bed, resting. She had an exhausting day, and she didn’t want to talk to anyone. She was terrified that the results were accurate, and what they thought was a lie wasn’t. She wasn’t sure if she could live with it. She was also angry as hell and starting to feel anger toward Rayshon.
“Lei,” he whispered.
“Yes?” she said softly.
“You gotta eat something, honey,” he said, but she wasn’t hungry or in the mood to talk to him.
“I’m not hungry, Rayshon,” she said.
“Leila, I know you are mad and hurt, but there is still a chance that she’s lying,” he tried to say, and Leila sat up.
“What if she’s not? I wanted to believe all these horrible things about that woman, Rayshon, and how she was crazy and did all this damage to my marriage, but the fact of the matter is, it was you,” she blasted.
“Whoa, Leila, baby. You know I never wanted any of this to happen, and you know I hate putting you and our family through this entire ordeal,” he said, and she believed him, but that didn’t ease her pain.
“I know, Ray, and I’m not sure if I can really handle this. I mean, I thought I could, but the result hit me hard. I was so busy telling myself that she was a liar and that the baby wasn’t yours and how the test was going to get her out of our lives, but after what happened earlier, I’m scared to death, Rayshon, and I don’t know if I can do this,” she cried. He reached for her, but she pulled back.
“Leila, please,” he said and tried to hold her again, but she stood.
“I know you’re sorry, Rayshon, and I forgive you for everything, but I just don’t know right now. I have too many mixed emotions about this,” she said and walked toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“By Jay’s. I need some air,” she said, and she left. Ray threw the remote across the room. It crashed against the wall. He knew from the silent ride home that Leila was upset. He knew that those first set of results could be genuine, so both of them were terrified.
When Leila got to Jay’s, she was surprised to see Devon sitting at the bar alone. They hadn’t seen much of each other lately, and he rarely got out of the car when he picked up and dropped off Deja because they wanted to keep Christa and Rayshon from freaking out.
“Is this seat taken?” Leila asked, and Devon looked up.
“Leila! What a pleasant surprise. Have a seat,” he said, and she climbed onto the stool as Tony came over to get her drink order.
“So, what brings you out tonight, and where’s your wife?”
“Needed some air, and Christa wanted to pack alone.”
“Pack? What are you talking about?” she asked, and Tony set her drink in front of her.
“It didn’t work, Lei,” he said and put his head down.
“Aw, Devon, I’m so sorry,” she said.
“It’s okay. You know, it was bound to end. As long as you exist, Christa would have been insecure. No matter how good I tried to be to her, we’d always end up arguing about you. She wanted to rid the house of everything because she knew that everything reminded me of you. Do you know she threw out all of our pots and pans because one day I said that you said that a certain pan was perfect for steaming fish?”
“The red one, right?”
“Yep, the red one and that set her off, and the next day when I came home, she had all new cookware. When I told her that was insane, she blew up and said she was tired of you being in our marriage, so I told her that she was the one that was always bringing you up or comparing herself to you. I mean, everything would be, ‘Does Leila clean like this?’ or ‘Does Leila do it like that? I betcha Leila would have done it differently,’” he said, speaking in his Christa’s voice.
“I mean, it was so redundant, and I just got tired of her throwing your name in my face. Tired of her constantly comparing you two and tired of her asking me if I was sure that I was over you,” he said and took a sip of his drink.
“Wow, I’m sorry, Devon, and trust, I know what you were going through,” she said, feeling bad for him.
“Well, I’ll be all right, I guess. At first, I will admit I started dating her to make you jealous. Back then, it was all about you, but Christa is a great woman, and in a short time, I did grow to love her. I wish I could have proven my love for her or been better to her. I don’t know, I didn’t want to lose her,” he said, and they sat in silence for a moment. “Why are you here? Where’s Mr. Johnson?”
“Home, as you and the world know by now, I got baby momma drama,” she said, and he nodded.
“Yeah, I heard.”
“We got the test results today, and I was just expecting them to be negative,” she said, and her eyes teared up.
“Wow, I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he said, rubbing her back.
“It’s okay. I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to accept it.”
“You are, Leila. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I know, but it hurt so damn bad,” she said, and he gave her a napkin from the stack on the bar to wipe her eyes.
“It’ll get easier,” he said.
“I hope so, because Karen is a thorn in my side, for real.” Suddenly, Karen walked in with another young lady in tow. “Speak of the damn devil,” she murmured, and Karen looked
right at her. She walked in her direction, and Leila wondered why she was coming over.
“Hey, Leila, how are you?”
“Fine, Karen,” she spat.
“And you are?” she asked Devon.
“Devon,” he said, shaking her extended hand.
“So, you’re the infamous Devon. I heard so much about you. Not a surprise to see you here with Leila since y’all are so close and all.”
“Shouldn’t you be home with your child?”
“Shouldn’t you be home with your husband?” Karen retorted. “Oh, I meant with my baby’s daddy,” she said, and Leila wanted to punch her in the throat.
“Devon, I’m leaving,” Leila said, getting up, and Devon got up too. She moved quickly to the door, and Karen waved bye with an evil smirk.
Chapter Thirty-eight
When Leila finally made it home, Rayshon was sleeping on the sofa with Rayven on his chest. Leila gently picked her up and took her to her crib, and then returned to wake Rayshon. When she shook him, he grabbed her arm and pulled her down on top of him and held her tightly. He got the text from Karen earlier, saying that she saw Leila and Devon hugged up at Jay’s, and he deleted it because he didn’t believe her. He knew she was trying to stir up some mess, so he laughed at the foolish attempt to get him angry with Leila.
They lay on the sofa for the rest of the night, and the next morning, Leila’s phone woke her up. She looked at the ID, saw it was Cher. She put it down without answering and lay back on Ray’s chest. She dozed off again, and then her phone rang once more, so she went ahead, got up, and took the call.
“Good morning,” Cher sang.
“Hey, Cher, what’s up?” Leila said groggily.
“I’m sorry to wake you, Leila. I thought you’d be up with the kids.”
“It’s okay. I gotta get them up soon,” she said, going for the orange juice. “What do I owe this early-morning honor?”
“Well, Kat called me yesterday and said she had something to tell Rayshon about Karen. She wanted one of you guys to give her a call,” Cher said, and Leila went for a pen.
“What’s going on?”
“I’m not sure, but it sounded important.”
“What’s the number?” she asked, and Cher gave it to her. She repeated it back and told Cher she’d give Ray the message. Leila ran up and got the kids up, so they could get dressed for school. When she came down, she started breakfast, and Ray walked into the kitchen.
“Good morning, babe,” he said and leaned in and kissed her cheek.
“Good morning,” she said, moving around the kitchen. He leaned against the counter and rubbed his head. She looked up at him and saw the stressed look on his face beneath his neatly trimmed beard and mustache. She hated what he was going through, but he was partly to blame. She put the carton of eggs on the counter and walked over to him, and this time, she hugged him.
He grabbed her, leaned in, and cried on her shoulder. His tears wet her hair and the side of her neck, and she wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so sorry, baby,” he cried, and she knew he was.
“It’s okay, Ray. We’re going to be fine,” she said because she could see the pain behind his eyes, and she knew her husband was, overall, a great man.
“I wish I could take it back,” he cried.
“I know, Ray, baby, I know,” she said as li’l Ray walked in.
“Daddy, are you crying?” he asked with his head tilted and a look of confusion on his little face.
“Yeah, li’l man,” he said, wiping his eyes. “Daddy’s just a little upset about something.”
“Like what? What can I do to make you feel better?” he asked, and Ray picked him up.
“Nothing, baby. Daddy’s going to be okay. Run upstairs and make sure your sister is getting ready, okay?” he said, and RJ took off as soon as he put him down.
“We’re going to have to tell them,” she said.
“I know, Leila, but I wanna wait till after we hear from Dr. Bryce’s office,” he insisted, and then he started to help her get the kids breakfast.
“I honestly think the results are going to be the same,” she said softly.
“Leila, don’t say that. That is my only hope, and I don’t feel it in my heart. I just have to be absolutely sure before I tell my children about the baby,” he said. Then Deja walked in on their conversation.
“What baby?” she asked.
“None of your little business, that’s what, baby,” Leila said to her because Deja was a nosy smarty-pants. “Make sure your brother is dressed. Breakfast will be ready soon,” she said, and Deja knew that meant get out of the kitchen. “I’m going to go up and get Rave. Can you take it from here?” Leila asked.
“Yeah, I got it.”
“Oh, Cherae called this morning. Said Katrina needs to talk to you about Karen.”
“About what?”
“I’m not sure, but she said Katrina said it was important. I can’t imagine what that’s about. Considering Katrina is your ex-stalker, I assume she’s not crazy enough to try any shit again.”
“Katrina isn’t on that anymore.”
“I know. Just call her and see what it’s about,” Leila said and went on upstairs, and then Ray finished cooking breakfast for the kids. He got them fed and put them on the school bus. He came back and showered and dressed for work, and when he kissed Leila goodbye, he made her promise him that she was not going to leave him over this, and she reminded him that divorce wasn’t an option.
Chapter Thirty-nine
When Ray walked into his office, he realized he forgot Katrina’s number, so he called Leila for it, but she didn’t pick up. He was about to get started when Karen walked in with the baby, and Ray wondered why she was there.
“Karen,” he asked, looking at her strangely, “what are you doing here?”
“My mom can’t watch the baby, and I have no one else to watch him on this short notice.”
“And you bring him here? Karen, I have a client in five minutes,” he said.
“But you have a daycare here,” she protested and pushed the baby in his direction.
“Which doesn’t open for another hour,” he said, looking at her like she was crazy.
“Rayshon, I just got back to work. I have no more time available to take off, and you need to keep your son,” she said, and he looked at his watch. His temples flared, and he knew he had to ask his wife to watch his son.
“Look, I’ll take him, and he can hang at the desk with Catrice. Leila is going to have to keep him.”
“Oh, hell no,” she disputed.
“Karen, listen, Leila stays home with my daughter, and she is the only one that can come now and pick him up, so if you don’t want my wife to watch him, you need to figure something else out,” he said.
She looked at her watch. “Ray, if my child has so much as a scratch on him—” she tried to say, but he cut her off.
“Karen, don’t even go there. You know damn well she wouldn’t do anything to hurt him. He’s my child, crazy ass, and my wife wouldn’t harm him,” he said, and she handed the baby and his bag over to Ray.
“Okay, my shift ends at five,” she said and hurried out. Ray was about to call Leila again, but he had to run out to ask his client to give him a minute. He set the baby seat on the floor behind the counter and asked Catrice to call his house for him, and then he got his client started on the treadmill. When he came back to the desk, Catrice said she didn’t answer. She assured Ray she’d keep an eye on Shon and keep trying Leila, so he went back to his client.
Twenty minutes later, Ray got a page that Leila was on the line, and when he told her about Karen dropping Shon off on him, Leila was pissed. She dressed and dressed Rayven and went over to pick up Shon. When she got home, she told herself that she could do it . . . She could care for her husband’s baby. She made up her mind that she wasn’t going to let this destroy her family.
When Tabitha got there, Leila thought it would be best to get the baby out of the h
ouse before the kids got off the bus. She went back to the gym, and she and the babies were in the office when Ray came in. He was happy to see them.
“Wow, baby, how was he?” he asked, picking him up first, and Leila got a little jealous because Rayven was in her chair too.
“He was fine, and why did you pick him up first?” she asked, and Rayshon laughed.
“Seriously, Leila, it wasn’t on purpose. It’s just that you’re used to having Rave, but this was your first day with Shon,” he said, putting him down and then picking up his little princess.
“I hope my last,” she said.
He nodded in agreement with her. “Yeah, that was crazy what Karen pulled this morning. I’m going to suggest she find a daycare if her momma’s going to pull moves like this,” he told her, putting Rayven down.
“Yea, then she’s going to want more money,” she said.
“Maybe, but he has to go somewhere that’s reliable.”
“True because I can’t do this every day,” she expressed.
“I know, baby, and thank you for watching him today. I can imagine that it wasn’t easy,” he said and sat at his desk.
“No problem.” She stood to leave. “I’m going to head home. Will you be on time for dinner?” she asked.
“Yeah, I should be. Karen will be picking Shon up about 5:30, I guess. I’m going to take him into the daycare till she gets here,” he said, and she leaned in and kissed him.
“Okay, later, babe,” Leila said and grabbed Rayven and left. Ray took Shon and signed him into the facility daycare. Karen picked him up, and Ray told her to look for a daycare, and as Leila said, she asked if he would pay, and, of course, he said yes. He told her that he wouldn’t be by after work since he got a chance to see Shon already, and just as he was ready to leave and head home for dinner, Katrina walked in.