“Mykell that’s enough, you didn’t even have to go there,” Neicey said.
“Nah, she should have just stayed in her place and minded her business. Mack, check ya girl,” I said, walking back up the stairs leaving everybody standing there.
I went to my bedroom and stripped down to get in the shower. I heard the bedroom door close and I knew it was Neicey. She came into the bathroom. “Can I join you?” she asked.
“Not right now Reneice,” I snapped.
She just looked at me like I was crazy before leaving out the bathroom. “Shit,” I said to myself. I didn’t mean to snap on her like that but I’m tired of the bullshit. Every time I get some damn peace in my life, somebody gotta fuck it up.
I took a quick shower and got out. When I walked back in the room, Neicey was sitting on the bed texting somebody with a smile on her face. When she noticed me coming she put the phone down and got up to take her shower. When she walked past me I grabbed her wrist. “Baby, look…”
“Not right now,” she rolled her eyes and snatched her wrist out of my hand.
I just shook my head. “I deserved that,” I said.
I went to the dresser to grab myself some boxers when her phone beeped. Since we’ve been married, we’ve been checking each other’s phones; so I went to see who it was. It was a text from an unknown number.
I really am thankful for you. Like I told you in that letter, I really am sorry for what I did. You could have told Mykell about our little visit and sent him after me but you didn’t. I love you, always and forever.
I stood there dumbfounded for a minute because I know I didn’t read what I thought I read. I didn’t even know her ass was still communicating with him. What the fuck he mean, their little visit? I thought as I put the phone down and got dressed.
I didn’t even have time to deal with this bullshit.
Reneice
I really didn’t have time for Mykell’s bullshit today. He’s mad because his bitch ass baby mama did some foul shit, so I guess he’s going to take it out on everybody else. I’ve been avoiding him all day. I was in the kitchen with Janae and Lani when I heard Ramone calling my name.
“In the kitchen Daddy-O!” I yelled.
“What the fuck,” I heard Lani mumble.
I looked at her to see what was wrong she had a funny look on her face so I followed her eyes. Ramone was standing there with some tall, light skinned chick.
“Ladybug, come here,” he said.
“Nah, you come here,” I said.
He walked over to me. “Ladybug this is Maya, Maya this is my sister Reneice,” he introduced.
It was so quiet you could hear a mouse piss in the floor. She reached her hand out to me and I looked over at Lani then Janae. Lani was pissed and Janae looked like a deer caught in headlights. I walked around her hand and grabbed Ramone by the back of his shirt, pulling him to the basement.
We walked past our dads and the other men and I took him to the office Kell had down there and slammed the door. “Are you fucking serious?!” I yelled.
“What?” he shrugged.
“Ramone Tyshaun Peake, don’t fucking play with me because I am two seconds away from slapping the taste out ya fucking mouth.”
“Why you tripping? I told you about Maya when you came home,” he said.
“I swear I told you I didn’t want to meet her ass. Then you bring her to the house knowing Le’Lani is here, and not to mention your fucking kids!” I fumed.
“Reneice calm the fuck down okay. Me and Lani are not together, I can do whatever the fuck I want,” he raised his voice.
“Watch who the fuck you talking to,” I said.
“Ladybug, I will throw yo pregnant ass out that window, keep playing,” he laughed.
I couldn’t help but to laugh with him. “Where the hell did she come from anyway? She didn’t come down here with you?” I questioned.
“I paid for her flight down here, she just got here.”
“I hope yo tricking ass paid for a hotel too because that bitch ain’t staying here,” I said.
“What?” he laughed.
“I’m serious Ramone, I told you I didn’t want to meet her and I can already tell the bitch is stuck up. If I fuck around and slap her ass, it’s your fault.”
“Just open the door and take ya ass upstairs so you can finish cooking. A nigga hungry.”
“Yea, yea, yea.” I opened the door and all eyes were on us. I noticed Maya had worked her way downstairs and Lakey was there too.
She walked over to me and Ramone, but I blocked her from getting to him. “You, upstairs. He’ll be alright, he’s a big boy,” I said.
I could feel everybody’s eyes on us. I gave her a look that said ‘don’t play with me’ and she headed for the stairs.
“Be nice, Ladybug,” my brother whispered in my ear.
I smirked and looked at him with my head tilted. “I’m not promising nothing,” I said before heading up the stairs. When I got up the stairs, I found MJ and Chyanne all hugged up. He was whispering something in her ear and she was giggling. I just shook my head at the young love. “MJ, leave that girl alone and go downstairs with your dad and uncles.”
“Yea, let me head to the man cave. It’s too many women in here for me,” he joked.
I hit him the back of the head when he walked passed me and he kissed me on the cheek. I looked around the kitchen and could tell that there was a lot of tension in the room. Chyanne was the only one putting forth the effort to hold a conversation with Maya, only because she didn’t know any better. I could tell Lani’s mood had changed because she was sitting there nursing a cup of Hennessey and, like me, she wasn’t really a drinker.
I walked over to her and looked at her real good. Her eyes were glossy. “How many of them have you had boo?” I asked.
“Since you’ve been downstairs, she’s been chugging em back to back. She’s already on her third one,” answered Janae.
I took the cup from her and took the bottle off the counter and poured both of them down the drain. I grabbed her hand and led her to the hallway.
“Le’Lani, pull yourself together! This shit is not you; you are never supposed to let a bitch see you sweat. You are a bad bitch in every sense of the word so I need you to act like it. You are letting her think she has the upper hand right now. Fuck Ramone, brother or not.”
She nodded her head up and down in agreement, “You’re right, mami. Since he wants to play, we can play,” she said.
“Exactly! He’s the one missing out, not you. You know what to do and you know how to do it.” I smiled. “Now let’s go,” I said, walking back into the kitchen.
“So how far along are you, Chyanne?” Maya asked.
“Five months tomorrow,” Chyanne smiled brightly.
“How old are you again?” Maya asked.
Chyanne shifted nervously before she answered, “Sixteen.”
“Wow, that’s young,” she shook her head.
“And? What you trynna say?” Daniella asked.
Everybody’s eyes shifted to her because she’s usually the quiet one. I stood there, wanting to see how this was going to play out.
“I’m saying that she’s too young to be having a baby. She’s not even out of high school yet. Sex should be the last thing on her mind,” said Maya with her nose in the air.
I noticed Lani tense up, so I gave her a look that said ‘not right now’ and she fell back. Daniella was cutting up some vegetables but stopped and walked towards Maya.
“Girl, let me tell you something. That girl already has enough people judging her as it is that don’t even know her story, so my advice to you is to shut the fuck up if you don’t know her situation,” she said, waving the knife around in her face.
I looked over at Lani at the same time that she looked at me, then we looked over at Janae and we all smiled. I knew I liked her for a reason, I thought as I walked over to Daniella and pulling her back. “Calm down LaLa, I want us to at least eat befor
e you cut her. Let’s save the entertainment for later,” I giggled.
* * *
Pop-Pop sat at one end of the table while my daddy sat at the other end. The kids had their own table and were in their own little world. I looked around the table and smiled, my family looked good, with the exception of the one who didn’t belong here. Everyone was laughing and talking until Chyanne damn near jumped from the table grabbing her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” everyone asked simultaneously.
She grabbed MJ’s hand and smiled, “He just moved.”
Everyone smiled, remembering this was her first child so she wasn’t used to this yet. She had a wide smile on her face as she and MJ rubbed all over her stomach.
Daniella playfully whined as she watched the two interact. “Y’all are giving me baby fever,” she joked.
“See, I told you to stay away from her and Neicey, LaLa, I knew they were going to rub off on you. That’s how me and Janae ending up pregnant,” Lani laughed.
“Nah, I wasn’t even around when you found out about Nyla so that one wasn’t my fault,” I joked.
“Yea, hopefully after these two drop, there won’t be no more for a while,” Pop-Pop laughed.
“Shit, I want at least four more,” Ramone said and everyone just looked at him like he was crazy.
“Hell naw! The three you got is enough, I’m too damn young to be a grandpa.” My daddy shook his head.
“Right, you already have two princesses and a prince. You good,” I said as I cut my eyes at Lani and got up to get more dressing.
“I’ll be happy to give Ramone a child,” Maya smiled.
I looked over at my brother and he just gulped down the rest of his drink while everyone’s eyes shifted from her to him.
“Maya, no offense but it’s time for him to chill out. He has enough as it is and we don’t need any more problems.”
“Well Neicey…” she started, but I cut her off.
“No, it’s Reneice; you only call me Neicey if I give you permission,” I said, looking her up and down.
“Reneice, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m the lady in your brother’s life. He’ll never have to worry about a paternity issue with me in his life. I’m not that type of woman. I’ll leave that to the rats,” she said.
“What the fuck you trynna say?” Lani asked, getting up.
“I think I said what I had to say. That’s trashy, you should know how to only sleep with one person at a damn time, then you wouldn’t have to worry about who the father of your child is.”
“Yo Maya, chill the fuck out,” Ramone said, but that wasn’t good enough for me. I tried to lunge for that bitch but someway, Mykell grabbed me. It’s okay because Lani hit her ass with a good two piece.
Everyone just stood there for a minute because they knew how Lani got if you tried to break up a fight. Finally Ramone grabbed her and drug her up the stairs while she was screaming and yelling. I told his ass not to bring that bitch around but he just had to be hardheaded.
Lani
I tried to fight Ramone off of me the whole time he was dragging me up the stairs. He took me to the room and dropped me on the bed. “Get the fuck out, now!” I yelled.
“One of these days your temper gone get you fucked up,” he said calmly.
“Ramone, just get the fuck out my face, I don’t have shit to say to you. Go back down there and check on your bitch,” I said through gritted teeth.
“I am checking on my bitch. You alright?” he smirked.
“Don’t be a smart ass Ramone; I’m not in the mood to play your games.”
“Nah, but for real though Le’Lani, I need for you to calm your hot tempered ass down and chill out. All that shit was uncalled for.”
I looked at him with my head tilted, ready to slap fire from his ass; instead I just got in my bed and lay down. “I’m too tired to fight and argue with you Ramone, I’m too tired.”
Without another word, he left the room. I turned over to my other side so my back was facing the door when I heard the door open again.
“Leave me the hell alone!” I said without looking to see who it was.
“I know you not talking to me, little girl.”
I turned around to see my daddy standing there with a smile on his face. In his fifties, Noah Jones was a very handsome man. He had good, curly hair that was cut short without a grey in sight. His goatee was trimmed nice and neat and he was very built for his age. Those hazel eyes that Mykell and Micah inherited from him made him even more handsome than he already was.
“I’m sorry daddy, I thought you were Ramone.” I moved over so he could have a seat on the bed.
“I just came in here to talk to you and see what’s up; you’ve been a little distant lately,” he said.
“I know daddy but it will get better now, I promise,” I sighed.
He looked at me like he knew I was hiding something, “Cut the bullshit Le’Lani, your brother already told me. What I want to know is why you felt like you couldn’t come tell me what the fuck was going on?”
I knew he was really pissed for two reasons. One, he only cursed when he was really mad and two, a vein was sticking out on the side of his neck. If you’re just meeting my daddy, you would never know or guess that he used to have a very bad temper once upon a time. From what I’ve been told, it didn’t surface until the day I was born, which just so happens to be the day he lost his wife.
“Because daddy, you’ve been doing good all these years and I refuse for you to have a set back behind me. Also, I did this to myself because I should have listened but I didn’t, I got what I deserved, basically,” I shrugged.
He got up and started pacing the floor for a few minutes quietly before he decided to speak again. “Le’Lani, you are my daughter, my baby girl, so if somebody is hurting you or disrespecting you, I feel as though they are disrespecting me. That never happens and it’s not about to start now. As far as my temper goes, you never get rid of it; you just learn how to deal with it,” he said before leaving out of the room.
* * *
I went to check on Zyla and Ranyla to find them both knocked out in the bed with Keiyari. I kissed all of them on the forehead before leaving out the room. When I got back to my room, I ran a bath and put some bubbles in it. I lit a few candles and turned on some music so I could relax.
After getting everything I needed, I got in the tub and laid my head back, letting my sore body soak. Not all of the bruises Zamier put on my body had healed completely, so I was still a little achy on top of my attacking Maya earlier today. I closed my eyes as "Right by My Side" by Nicki Minaj and Chris Brown came on the radio and I sang along.
Gotta let you know how I’m feeling
You own my heart, he just renting
Don’t turn away, pay attention
I’m pouring out my heart oh boy
I heard movement by the bathroom door. I opened my eyes to see Ramone standing there. I just stared at him and kept singing.
I, I’m not living life
I’m not living right
I’m not living if you’re not by my side
I hadn’t even noticed that I was crying until I felt the tears roll down my cheek. Our eyes stayed locked with each other’s as he came closer to the tub. He grabbed the rag, poured body wash on it and started washing my back. I flinched a little when he got to the middle of my back because that was still one of my sore spots. Out the corner of my eye I noticed him clench his jaws and he tensed up.
“You deserve way better than this Le’Lani. Any nigga that would put his hands on a female like that is a bitch, hands down.”
I didn’t respond as he stood me up and finished washing me down, then he let the water out the tub and turned the shower on for me to rinse off. After I was finished, I grabbed the towel and walked into the room so that I could dry off. Ramone just stood in front of me, staring at me the whole time. When I was done, he went into the drawer and got me out some panties and a bra.
�
�What do you want from me Ramone?” I asked as I put on some shorts and a t-shirt.
“I’m sorry Le’Lani, okay? I know I fucked up and none of this bullshit would be happening if I would have just put my pride aside. That shit really fucked me up though, thinking the child the love of my life carried wasn’t mines. Then to find out she’s actually mine is some crazy shit.”
I chuckled. “Ramone, I accepted Keiyari because he was a part of you and innocent in the whole situation. I have no problems loving him like he’s mine, and I even get along with his mother. You kicked me out and turned your back on me because the results didn’t say what you wanted them to say. Not only did you turn your back on me, but you also turned your back on that innocent little girl, you also turned your back on Ranyla when you kicked us out the house.”
Damn these tears, I thought as I wiped my eyes.
“I know Lani and I regret that shit deeply! All I want is for you…y’all, all three of y’all, to come home. I’m tired of playing these fucking games. I want my family back; it’s been too fucking long,” he pleaded, not only with his mouth but with his eyes.
“What about the DNA test and what about Maya?” I asked.
He cocked his head to the side and looked at me funny. “Fuck the test; I know that’s my daughter. I’m taking y’all back home with me so we can change her last name and put my name on her birth certificate.”
“Again, what about Maya?” I said slowly.
“Say you’ll come home and her ass is a done deal,” he said.
I just looked at him, contemplating in my head if I wanted to do this again after all this time and the hurt.
Chapter 10
Ramone
I left Lani at the house with the girls and Keiyari while I went on the hunt. I really hoped that nigga didn’t think that I was going to let him live after he put his hands on my girl and daughter. I parked my car down the street from his house and slowly walked to his house. I was dressed in all black and it was night time, so I made sure nobody saw me.
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