by Andrea Sad'e
"I know you love Gena, but please don't walk around here moping. Our relationship does not need to suffer because of theirs, so pick ya head up."
"I know, baby. It just makes me extremely upset when somebody thinks they can do my best friend any kinda way. She just had a baby, Ace,” I said with tears filling my eyes.
He pulled me into a hug. “Imma see what’s up with him and see if I can talk some sense into his dumb ass.”
“Okay, babe,” I said, pecking his lips.
“Don’t try me like that,” he said seriously and I gave him a more deepened, passionate kiss. “That’s what I thought, lil nigga,” he said, slapping my ass.
I went downstairs and saw Mrs. Camila feeding Ahleya a bottle. “Hey, chunky butt,” I said, kissing Ahleya. “Hey, ma,” I said, pecking Mrs. Camila on the cheek.
“What’s up with you boo? You look sad,” she said, sitting on the couch.
“Slick hasn’t been home in two days so I have to go help Gena so she can wash up and stuff.”
“That lil nigga always doing something, huh?” she said.
“I guess. I’m so happy Ace isn’t like that.”
“Yea he’s actually a good one. Proud to call him my son.”
“We just hired some chefs so they’ll be here soon to make lunch and dinner since breakfast is almost over.”
“Oh, I could have cooked, baby,” she said, sounding a bit hurt.
“I know, mama, and your cooking is bomb, but I feel like you should be able to chill when Ahleya is napping and stuff. We just don’t want to overwork you.”
“You guys are so thoughtful. Okay then, if you put it that way, but I want the kitchen on Sundays,” she said, smiling and cheering up a bit.
“Consider it done,” I said gladly. “I’m gonna go but I’ll be back.”
After I said goodbye to Ahleya, I got up and walked out of the house, ready to go comfort my best friend.
5 minutes later…
I walked into Gena’s house to her putting all of Slick’s clothes in a pile. I looked over and saw that Kenyah was in her crib sleeping and Gena’s hair was wet so I guess she’d had a chance to shower which was good, but she kept bringing back clothes and shoes.
“Uhh Gena, what are you doing?”
“I called this nigga, Rayna, and I could hear him and another woman talking and he told this bitch he loved her. I recorded it,” she said, playing the recording for me.
My entire chest sunk in. I felt horrible for my friend.
“He better make sure that bitch makes him way happier than Kenyah and I cause at this point, I’m like fuck him!”
She took the clothes and shoes and threw them into the fire pit they had in the front and set them all on fire. I honestly couldn’t even object. We both took a picture in front of the burning clothes so she could be childish and put them on Instagram later. We walked back in the house just as Kenyah started waking up.
“She’s probably hungry,” she said, picking her up and lifting her shirt and allowing Kenyah to latch on. It was beautiful to watch and kind of made me have baby fever, but I wanted to be married first. I stayed and played with Kenyah for a while and just listened to Gena like a good friend should.
“You can come stay at our house for a while if you need to, Gena.”
“Thank you, Ray, but I want to be here when his ass walks through the door. I pumped some bottles and I started her on formula as well for her to go stay with his mom tonight so I can pack all our things up. I hate to be away from her but I have to pack enough things for her and if he comes home, I know it won’t be pretty and I don’t want her around that kind of stuff.”
“I understand,” I said, feeling everything that she was saying about the situation. I got up and hugged her before I left. “Call me if you need me, girl.”
“You know I will,” she responded.
I got up and went home. I was so sad for my friend and it had me in a gloomy mood, but I know Ace would be able to help me shake it. He always did.
Chapter 17
Slick
It was around 5’clock and I was just coming home. I had been out for two days with one of the chicks I’d been rocking with on the side for a while named China. I stopped after the Ashley incident but after a while, I just had to scratch that itch again. I knew it wasn’t right to leave her and Kenya like that and honestly, I didn’t know what the fuck I was thinking. I walked into the driveway and I could smell that something had been burning so I walked over to the fire pit and saw one of my shoes and sweaters lying on the ground.
“I know she didn’t,” I said to myself.
I turned around and walked in the house and I heard Gena playing music. I walked upstairs to our room and I saw her packing suitcases. She looked up at me then went back to doing what she was doing. She stopped the music then started playing a recording and my stomach dropped to my ass. It was me talking to China, telling her what she wanted to hear, including that four letter word. If looks could kill, I would have been a dead man the way she looked at me, then she switched it back over to the song we danced to on our first date.
“You said you’d never purposely hurt me while we were listening to this song. You looked me dead in my eyes and lied to me you, puppy dog bastard,” she said, not raising her voice once.
“I-I’m sorr–”
“Save that shit, Kendrick, cause I don’t want to hear shit you got to say,” she said, continuing to back her bags.
“Where’s Kenyah?” I asked, noticing that I didn’t see her in her bassinet.
“Why do you care? She’s six whole weeks and you already fuckin round on me. Letting her down in the process because now she will never know what it’s like to have a mommy and a daddy in the same house,” she said before walking past me with her bags in hand.
I grabbed her arm. “Gena, don’t do this. I know I keep fucking up but I promise I’m trying to do better. Give me another chance.”
She looked me dead in the face, kissed my cheek and walked out the door.
My heart dropped to my feet. I had really fucked up. I sat down and tried to think of what I could do next. My phone vibrated and I looked in my iMessages and my mom had sent me a picture of Kenyah drinking a bottle. I got up quickly and hopped in my 2015 charcoal grey Tahoe and sped to my mother's house.
When I got there, I got out of my truck and walked in the door using my key.
“Heyyy, mama, that bottle good?” I heard my mom talking to Kenyah while feeding her a bottle.
“Wassup, ma?”
She looked up at me with disappointment in her eyes. She sighed, “Hello, Kendrick. I guess you’re back from your little whore binge, huh? Leaving your new baby for two days? Wow.”
“Ma, I know I fucked up.”
“Yea, you did son. Here,” she said, handing me Kenyah and her bottle.
My chest stung the way she looked me deep into my eyes. I’d let her down, but it wouldn’t happen again. “Hey, mama,” I said, looking at her and kissing her juicy little cheeks.
“I’m gonna go to the bathroom and shower,” my mom said, getting up and going in her room.
I grabbed her breast milk out of the fridge and her formula and water off the table and put it in her bag. I put her in her car seat and walked out of the door, and strapped her in. “Hopefully mama won’t be too mad,” I said to Kenyah.
I drove to my house and took Kenyah and laid her in her bassinet while I took a shower. After I got out of the shower, I put on some sweat pants and a T-shirt on. Seems like Gena only burned up all my expensive shit.
“That girl there,” I said to myself. I walked back in the room and looked in the bassinet and saw that Kenya was wide awake, chewing on her hands. “Dang, Ken, you greedy just like yo mama,” I said before changing her diaper then picking her up and walking downstairs to fix her a bottle and warm it.
When I was done warming her bottle, we went back upstairs and laid in the bed and turned on the TV while I fed her a bottle. When she fel
l asleep, I picked her up and put her on my chest while I watched TV, drifting off into a slumber of my own.
Ace
“What’s wrong, babe?” I asked Rayna as I saw a distressed look on her face.
“Gena’s not answering the phone and I’m worried about her because nobody has seen her.”
“I’m sure she’s okay, she probably just needed some time to herself.” I finished changing Ahleya and picked her up. “Alllllll clean, mama,” I said, kissing her now super chunky cheeks, which made her laugh with slobber coming down her chin.
“Give her here, baby hog,” Rayna said. “Hey, mama babyyyy,” she said, giving her kisses all over her face which caused her to laugh and try to grab her face.
“I can’t believe she’ll be 6 months soon,” I said, grabbing her little toes, which I knew would make her giggle.
“I know, man, she’s growing up so fast. I really feel like she’s mine, Ace.”
“She is, the adoption will be final tomorrow.”
“Great. I’ve been avoiding this question, but what did you guys end up doing to her parents?”
“We’ll talk about it after she goes to bed, okay?”
“Okay, cool,” she said, laying back on the bed, allowing Ahleya to grab all over her face with slobbery hands.
“Hey, mom and dad finally found a house they liked about 10 minutes away from here.”
“Aww, I’m glad they’re getting their own but I’m sad to see them go.”
“Me too, but mom will still be here during the day with Ahleya and will leave when you’re done with your classes and doing what you have to do during the day.”
“Ace?”
“What’s up?”
“Don’t say no, just think about what I’m about to ask you.”
“What, Rayna?” I said, chuckling.
“Could I have a driver?”
I raised my eyebrow “a driver?”
“Yes babe, when I’m on the way to school, I like to study and I’m not able to do that if I’m driving. Please, baby?”
I thought about it. “I guess it’s a possibility, Rayna,” I said before picking Ahleya up and taking her to her room. I put her in her crib since she had fallen asleep playing with Rayna’s face.
I walked back in the room. “I can have one of our security guards drive you since all them niggas ugly,” I said, causing her to bust out laughing.
Rayna
“I can have one of our security guards drive you since all them niggas ugly.”
As soon as those words came out of Ace’s mouth I doubled over in laughter but when I looked up, he wasn’t smiling at all. “Oh, you’re serious, huh?” I said with a smirk on my face.
“Yes, dead ass serious. I’m nice but not that damn nice.”
“Babe, chill out. I’d never cheat on you even if the nigga was fine as hell.”
“I hear you. You better not cheat or Imma dead the nigga,” he said with a serious face.
“Sure,” I mumbled.
He grabbed me by my waist and pulled me close. “Don’t play with me, Rayna. shit gets real when it comes to the people I love,” he said, looking in my eyes so deeply I swear he could see my soul.
“I know, baby. I know,” I said before kissing him and walking to the bathroom for a shower. Once I got out of the shower, I tried calling Gena again but she didn’t answer.
“Regena, I am worried sick about you, girl. You got thirty minutes to call me back or I’m coming to find you,” I left that on her voicemail and I was super serious. she had thirty minutes. Now I had to wait.
“Ace, have one of your men find Gena. It has been 30 minutes or more and she still has not called me back.”
“Maybe she just wants some alone time, Ray,” he said, shrugging me off.
I turned around and looked him dead in his face. “She has had enough alone time, Anthony. I need to find her to make sure she is okay,” I said slowly so he would know I was far from fucking playing.
“Whatever,” he said, grabbing his phone and calling one of his boys.
“That’s what I thought,” I said before he slung a pillow my way, shutting me up for the moment. I chuckled and turned back over.
“He said he’d get back at me in 30,” Ace said, looking at me. “You happy now?”
“Nope, not until they find my friend.”
“You crazy,” he said, chuckling.
“What you mean babe?” I said, looking at him curiously.
“You was finna flip out on me a second ago. I saw the fire all in ya lil ugly ass face,” he said, laughing.
“Yea, Gena is a very important friend to me. She took care of me when my mother refused to and it breaks my heart to feel like such a good person is being done so wrong. That’s my baby boo,” I said, getting sad all over again. I looked over at Ace who had a blank stare on his face. “What’s wrong, Ace?”
“I’m jealous,” he said, not cracking a smile.
“Don’t be, you’re gonna be my husband one day,” I said, pecking his lips.
“Long as you know,” he said, slapping my ass and pulling me close.
“Ouch, Ace,” I said with attitude.
“Girl, hush. You know you like that shit.”
“I just a call back from my boy, he said Gena is at the Hilton, room 915,” Ace said with the phone still to his ear.
I got up and started getting dressed. It was the middle of the night but I didn’t care. My bestie needed me.
“Imma drive you, it’s too late for you to be out by yourself,” Ace said, getting up and putting on a jacket and sweatpants.
We got Ahleya all bundled up and dropped her off to Mrs. Camila and headed in the direction of the Hilton.
Chapter 18
Rayna
When we got to the hotel, we went up to 915 and knocked on the door. We knocked, and knocked, and knocked some more until we saw a maid in the hallway. With a little extra tip, she let us in. We walked in and I called for Gena. I spotted her curled up in the corner just staring with red, swollen eyes.
“Damn,” Ace said, disappointed to see her looking so down.
Without a second thought, I ran over and hugged Gena tight and cried with her. When we were done, I got a rag and wiped both of our faces.
“Ya’ll crybabies done?” Ace said to the both of us.
“Shut up, asshole,” Gena said, throwing a pillow at him.
“So what’s your next move, bestiboo?” I asked Gena as she got herself together.
“First I need to go get my baby. Can ya’ll drive me to Slick’s mama house?”
“Yea, of course, and check outta this hotel. You can stay in the guest house.”
“Okay, cool. I’m going to look at some condos tomorrow.”
“So you’re really gonna leave him?”
“For now at least. I just need to get my mind right. I deserve to have peace of mind.”
“You’re right about that, boo.”
“Yea, well, let’s get going so I can pick up Kenyah, my breasts are starting to get full and I left my pump at the house.”
When she said that, Ace started making gagging noises which caused us both to laugh.
Gena
*Knock Knock Knock*
I was standing at Slick’s mom’s door waiting for her to answer.
“Hey, Gena,” she said with a worried look on her face.
“Hey, Mrs. McNeil. is Kenyah okay? Why are you looking like that? Where’s my baby?!” I said, rushing in the house and not seeing any of Kenyah’s stuff.
“Kendrick came over and while he was feeding her, I went and took a shower, and when I came back, they were gone. I’m sorry. I hope you’re not angry with me.”
I put my hands up and pinched my nose to try to relieve some pressure. “I’m not mad with you, he’s her dad. He’s an asshole but you did nothing wrong.”
She let out a long sigh. “Thank you for understanding, Gena. I’m gonna kick his ass for putting me in this position.”
“I�
��ll handle him, ma,” I said, kissing her cheek and walking out of the door. “This bastard,” I said aloud when I was getting in the car.
“What’s wrong?” Rayna said, turning around and looking at me.
“That nigga took my baby, take me to my house, please,” I said in the calmest tone I could muster up. I wanted not to see Slick for a while, now I had go see his stupid ass face.
Ace drove to my house by now it was almost 1 am. I got out of the car and walked straight in the house. When I walked in, I wanted to be mad and fuck shit up but seeing what I was looking at right now made my heart melt. Kenyah was all cuddled up on her dad’s chest, knocked out. I went in and grabbed Kenyah off of his chest, which made him jump up out of his sleep.
“What you doing?” he asked, rubbing his eyes.
“I’m taking my baby with me.”
“No, either you stay here with her or she’s staying here with me. I’m not about to have my daughter living under a different roof than me.”
“Oh, don’t try that fuck shit with me, Kendrick! You were just living under a different roof than her for two damn days, so fuck all that bullshit you talking,” I said in a low tone, not really giving a fuck about him or his feelings anymore. “If another nigga comes around and he treats me well, your daughter will have a stepfather all because her daddy couldn’t stop fucking up,” I spat. Watching how his jaw tightened up, I knew I had gotten to him. I grabbed Kenyah’s things and walked out of the bedroom with her in my arms.
“Okay, Gena. I guess you want this to get ugly. Okay, I’ll see you later, ma,” he said, kissing Kenyah on her cheek.
“Catch an Uber, nigga!” I said, sticking my middle finger up and getting in the car.
Ace was laughing and got out of the car to help me with our stuff and to dap Slick up.
“I fuckin hate him,” I said, sighing.
“It’ll get better, boo,” Rayna said, looking at me with saddened eyes.
“Yea, I know but I’m really feeling like fuck him, I’m not finna take this shit again, man. I refuse to be in another abusive relationship. He has not put his hands on me but he’s messing with my mental, Ray,” I said sadly. “I’m done crying over this nigga,” I said, looking out the window.