by Tynessa
“Uh, the fuck type of shit is that? Did that nigga just walk right past us like he didn’t see us? I know damn well he wasn’t that dedicated to that damn phone to not notice his damn wife.” La-La was almost livider than Heaven. She’d just gotten done defending him and what does he do? Walk in with his ex-ho’s sister that his wife was sitting there stressing over. That shit wasn’t a good look at all. Just as Heaven opened her mouth to speak her phone went off, indicating she had a text message.
My Hubby: Hey boo, just want you to know that I love you. Enjoy the rest of your day at work and can’t wait to see you later. Love you!
Heaven: Go to hell Zylen!
Sliding the phone across the table effortlessly to La-La, Heaven got up. Without giving it a second thought she walked over to the table where Zylen and Tammy sat. La-La read the text then turned to look at the drama that was about to unfold. She had no problem going off in Tammy’s shit, or Zylen for that matter.
“So I see what goes on when I’m at work,” Heaven said once she approached Zylen’s table. The sound of his wife’s voice alerted him right away. He looked up slowly and the look on his face was priceless. Him sitting there with another woman, his ex’s sister at that, was all bad, even if it was an innocent lunch.
“Heaven, baby, it’s not what you think.” Zylen motioned to grabbed her hand but the look on Heaven’s face stopped him. Worriedly, he dropped his head, not knowing what to do. Zylen wanted to get up and leave Tammy sitting there so he could explain to his wife the reason he was having lunch with another woman, then he wanted to offer Heaven a seat so she could hear what was about to be said.
“Well help me to understand what it is, because I’m seeing my husband sitting here with another bitch while thinking I’m at work.”
“Bitch?” Tammy finally spoke up. Zylen cut his eyes at her and if looks could kill she would’ve dropped dead right then and there.
“That’s what I said,” Heaven responded.
“Look, honey, I understand that you’re mad or whatnot but there’s no reason for you to be standing here calling me outside of my name,” Tammy said with a slight attitude. Zylen saw Heaven take a step in her direction. He jumped up and stood in between them.
“Tammy, could you please shut the fuck up and stay out of this?!” said Zylen.
“She put me in it when she called me out my name. There’s one thing my mother didn’t raise and that was a bitch,” Tammy continued.
“My bad. I guess she raised hos instead.”
By now everyone was staring at them, waiting for some shit to pop off. Zylen noticed La-La walking in their direction and knew shit was about to get ugly. He ran his hands down his face. Why the fuck is Heaven not at work anyway? he thought to himself.
“La-La, could you please take her home? I’ll be there in a minute,” Zylen said to La-La, avoiding eye contact with Heaven.
“Fuck no! She’s not taking me anywhere. Either you bringing your ass on now or don’t come at all. So what you gonna do?” Heaven asked, giving him an ultimatum. Standing there with her hands on her hips while giving Zylen a deadly glare, she dared him to say he wasn’t leaving right then.
“Man, Heaven chill out, damn,” Zylen responded.
Nothing else was said as Heaven turned on her heels and walked away without giving Zylen a second look. If he wasn’t there by the time she made it home then she wouldn’t hesitate to leave before he decided to make it there. Heaven didn’t know what type of bullshit he was on but she wasn’t about to participate in the games he was playing. Once she and La-La made it to her car she glanced over her shoulder one last time; Zylen was walking out the door and over to her car.
Chapter 10
“I can’t have this baby, Fred. I’m sorry but I just can’t. It’s not the right time,” Kendra said as she and Fred stared at the EPT she’d just taken ten minutes prior. They’d been lost for words ever since. Neither one knew what to say to the other.
Fred loved kids and there was nothing more he wanted in life than to have a family of his own, something he’d never gotten a chance to experience in his life. Born a crack baby with a king-pin for a father—at least that’s what his mother told him—Fred pretty much raised himself. He’d always said he wouldn’t bring a baby into the world unless he was married and out of the drug game. Unfortunately he was still in the game and wasn’t married so Kendra not wanting the baby was music to his ears.
“So what you gonna do? Have an abortion?” Fred asked for clarification. Though it might’ve been selfish of him, he would be lying if he said he would be disappointed if she said no.
“Would you be mad if I do?” Kendra looked up at him with teary eyes. “I mean, things are all fucked up in my life right now. I have a deranged ex that’s calling threatening to kill me every other damn day. There’s no way in hell I could bring a baby into the world under those circumstances. Then you out living a dangerous lifestyle. What if one day you don’t come home, you get arrested, or even worse, killed? I don’t want to be out here alone with a baby. This shit is all fucked up and I can’t do it,” Kendra continued.
“Well I guess you gotta do what you gotta do. Call and make the appointment. I got moves to make.” Fred stood, kissed her on the lips, grabbed his keys, and left out the room.
Kendra sat on the bed, confused. She definitely wasn’t expecting him to say that. He’d pretty much given her the green light to have an abortion. Though she’d just announced that she wasn’t ready for a baby, Fred telling her to make the appointment for the abortion still threw her off. Deep down she hoped he would’ve attempted to talk her out of it. What pissed Kendra off the most was the fact that he was so nonchalant about it. Like he didn’t have an opinion in the matter.
Fred jumped in his ride and rode around with no destination in mind. His mind was in overdrive and he was all fucked up behind the baby situation. He loved Kendra and even saw himself spending the rest of his life with her but a baby at the moment was what he didn’t need. He could excuse the fact that they weren’t married, but him being in the drug game he couldn’t overlook.
“Shit!” Fred hit the steering wheel. It wasn’t long before he ended up at Ali’s house. He knocked on the door and La-La opened it with pissed off look on her face.
“Da fuck wrong with you?” he asked as she moved aside to let him in. Walking in, he stood in the foyer.
“You are what’s wrong with me. Why the fuck you told Kendra to get an abortion?” La-La was on ten and wasn’t trying to hide it. She thought it was fucked up that Fred would be okay with Kendra getting an abortion.
“Man, I didn’t tell her that,” was all Fred said. He couldn’t believe Kendra had called La-La and made it seem like it was his idea for her to abort their unborn child, when she was the one that suggested it to him. Even though he wanted her to, the moment he saw the plus sign on the pregnancy test he wasn’t about to suggest it.
“Not in those words. How the hell are you going to agree with her when she suggested it though? Really, Freddrick?” La-La said, calling him by his government name.
“Man ,chill out with the name! Shit, what was I supposed to say? Both of us are in fucked up positions right now for a baby. Aborting it might be the best decision.”
“How about tell her don’t fucking have one?! I can’t believe the bullshit I’m hearing right now. What the fuck is wrong with you and Kendra? Having a child is a fucking blessing from God. How could both of y’all dumb asses want to kill something so precious?” La-La couldn’t believe how selfish Kendra and Fred were being.
“I’m not trying to bring a damn baby into the world while I’m out here selling drugs and shit.” Fred opened the front door and walked out.
“That’s the best thing you’ve said since you got here, but both of y’all should have thought about that before y’all decided to fuck without protection!” she yelled. Fred kept walking but yelled over his shoulder for her to tell Ali that he’d stopped by.
He knew La-La was
right but at this point his mind was made up. Kendra wanted the abortion and that’s what the fuck she was getting.
********
Heaven sat on the couch in her living room in a daze. The news that Zylen had just delivered to her caused her heart to ache. It was like her whole world had been turned upside down in a blink of an eye. Even if it was before her time, him being the father of Tamar’s child was something she didn’t see coming. Even with that bitch being dead she still managed to have some type of connection with Zylen.
“So did you get a blood test?” Heaven wanted to know.
“I did and the result should be back in a few days.”
“So what are you going to do if it is yours?” She wanted to know. Heaven loved her husband unconditionally but she didn’t know if she could handle being around Tamar’s son.
“What do you mean what I’m going to do? If he’s mines I’m gonna be there for him. I want him to live with me.” Zylen looked her dead in the eyes. There was no way he would turn his back on the little boy, no matter how much he hated his deceased mother’s gut. Heaven just stared at Zylen.
“Could you say something and not just stare at me? I know this might be hard for you to process but it was way before you. There’s no need for you to be sitting there looking like you ready to kill a nigga. I didn’t cheat on you, Heaven. You knew me and Tamar had a history together so there’s no need for you to be looking at me sideways. We’re in this together and this is the time we need to stick together.”
Heaven was acting as if he went out and fucked Tamar last month and got her pregnant. She knew they was together for years when she was just lusting over him, so why she was acting out was beyond Zylen.
“Well I personally don’t think you should be getting all attached to him until you get the results. How old is he anyways?”
“He’s eight and I hear what you’re saying but I really feel that he’s mine. I mean, no disrespect but that was the time Tamar and I were deep into our relationship. Before she got on her bullshit.” Zylen wasn’t trying to disrespect his wife but he was being honest. If Taylen was eight then that meant he was conceived when he and Tamar were in a committed relationship. Heaven stared at him through narrowed eyes before busting out with laughter.
“So even though this bitch stole from you, you still think so highly of y’all relationship, huh? She might have cheated on you. Shit, I wouldn’t put it past her,” Heaven said, pissing Zylen off.
It was taking everything in Zylen to keep his composure, not because of what she said but because she was being so damn petty and immature about something he had no control over. What happened to standing by your man through thick and thin? Whether he’s wrong or right? Instead, she was trying to argue by bringing up old shit. Deep down, he was praying and hoping for a miracle that the boy ended up not being his himself. He knew that would be too much like right though, because he and Tamar were going strong back then.
“Well would you at least like to see him?” Zylen asked, brushing off her last statement. Just as Heaven was about to let him know that she didn’t care to see Taylen she came to her senses. Of course she wanted to see that child Zylen suspected to be his.
“Sure. Why not?!” was her response.
“Okay. I’m going to call up Tammy. I would like for him to get to know his brother and sister as well. I’ll get him for dinner tonight.” Zylen kissed Heaven on the lips as he got up and exited the room before she could even respond.
Chapter 11
Heaven had gotten off early and headed straight to La-La’s bridal shop. She had yet to inform her about the whole Taylen’s situation. The test had come back that he was indeed Zylen’s son and Heaven was still devastated about it. Not to mention the little boy was due to move in with them in two days.
Tammy claimed to have a modeling gig in California so Zylen wanted Taylen to stay with them. That irked Heaven because though the test said her husband was 99.9% the father, she still had her doubts. That little boy didn’t look shit like Zylen, at all. He looked more like Tamar. Zylen had strong genes and he and Heaven’s kids looked exactly like him. They were the spitting image of him, as a matter of fact. Maybe Tamar genes were stronger, but either way Heaven didn’t think he was Zylen’s son.
“So what brings you by? And why do you look so damn stressed?” La-La asked as she and Heaven walked into her office.
“Girl, so damn much has been going on. I’m starting to think moving back was a damn mistake. Damn kids popping up from out of nowhere and shit,” Heaven rolled her eyes upwards as she fell back into her seat.
“Whoa. What kids?” La-La asked confusedly.
“That bitch Tamar’s son that’s supposed to be Zylen’s,” Heaven said as if La-La should have known. She was pretty sure Zylen had broadcasted it to the damn world.
“Wait…where the fuck did he come from? Please tell me that he’s much older than Hydeia and Li’l Zy. Cause if that nigga cheated on you back then, I’m gonna fuck him up myself.” La-La almost didn’t want to hear the answer Heaven was about to give her.
“Girl, his little ass is eight and bad as fuck. Since Zylen got the DNA results back he had to beat his ass twice for talking back to him. Then his ass is moving in with us because that ho Tammy is moving to Cali. I should have just kept my ass in Atlanta,” Heaven said in one breath.
“Damn, Heaven. So that’s why he was at the Garden with that bitch?” asked La-La, referring the Olive Garden. Heaven just nodded her head up and down.
“That’s fucked up,” was all La-La could say as she shook her head.
“I don’t think it’s his, though. He took a blood test but that little boy doesn’t look shit like his ass. I don’t give a fuck what the results said. I really think he should retake it.” La-La laughed but Heaven was dead ass serious. She really thought Zylen should consider taking another test.
“Well, who does he look like Heaven? I mean if the blood test says Zy’s the father then what more do you want him to do?”
“Hell, he looks like Tamar ass and whoever the fuck his daddy is because Zy ain’t it,” Heaven stated with an attitude. La-La couldn’t help but laugh because her friend was on ten.
“You laughing and I’m dead ass serious, La! I mean he’s a cute little boy but he doesn’t look nothing like my husband or my kids and we all knows they look exactly like Zy.” Heaven paused before continuing. “Zylen so fucking stupid! How in the hell is he going to go the clinic that bitch works at to do the blood test? Her ass probably did some shit to it just so she could get rid of Taylen so she could move to California,” said Heaven. She really thought in her heart that Tammy tampered with the test.
“Well anything is possible. Have you talked to him about that?”
“I told him that I don’t think he should have went to the same clinic that she worked at, but his dumb ass wasn’t trying to hear that shit.”
“Well, it might be his Heaven. You might don’t see the resemblance because you don’t want it to be his. At least he didn’t cheat on you and the little boy was conceived during the time they were in a relationship, before you two got together,” La-La said. Heaven blew a frustrated breath.
“That’s the same thing Zy said. I guess that could be it. I just don’t wanna accept the shit,” she said sadly. Maybe that could’ve been the case but deep down in Heaven’s heart she knew it wasn’t because of that.
“Just give the kid a chance.”
“I guess I will. It’s not like I have a choice any damn ways,” she said.
Though she felt that it wasn’t Zylen’s son and the fact that she hated his dead mother with everything that’s in her, it still wouldn’t allow Heaven to mistreat Taylen. He was an innocent child and because her husband thought he was the father she would treat him like she’d birthed him herself.
“Well, I’m about to head out. I have to pick my kids up from daycare and go cook dinner. Why don’t y’all come over?” Heaven suggested as she got up from her seat and grabbed her
purse and keys.
“Yeah, we might do that. I wanna meet my new nephew anyways,” La-La laughed, fucking with Heaven. Heaven laughed as well as she flicked her the middle finger. Hugging La-La, she left, heading to pick up Hydeia and Li’l Zy.
********
La-La, Ali, and the twins arrived at Heaven and Zylen’s house later that night; along with Fred and Kendra. La-La thought it was nice of Heaven to invite Kendra. Heaven was slowly warming up to her and La-La thought that was a good thing. She thought Kendra was a good person and wished Heaven could see it.
Heaven introduced Taylen to La-La and the rest of the crew and as bad as La-La hated to admit, Heaven was right. He didn’t look anything like Zylen, but he damn sure resembled someone else.
The gang sat around enjoying one another’s company once they were done eating. It was so weird seeing Zylen get on Taylen for talking back to him. Yeah, Hydeia had a little mouthpiece on her but he never said to much to her. For one, she was his baby girl and the fact that he had her spoiled rotten didn’t help either.
“So what you think about him? Does he look anything like Zy to you?” Heaven pulled La-La outside and asked. She already knew he didn’t but she needed someone else to see the shit too. La-La hunched her shoulders.
“No, not really,” was her nonchalant reply.
“I told yo’ ass that’s not Zylen son!” Heaven was hyped because someone else was now agreeing with her.
“I know it doesn’t mean shit but he’s too damn light for one. Zy is black as fuck and Tamar’s ass isn’t too much lighter. I know Zy ain’t that damn dumb,” stated La-La.
Zylen wasn’t that damn black but he was dark enough to know not to try claiming a high-yellow ass child.
“Exactly! For some reason he doesn’t think that bitch could’ve cheated on him. Even after she stole from his ass and caused all types of hell in our relationship.”