He walked up to me and lifted my head, “Why you looking at the ground? So does this mean when I call you’re gonna answer? I understand you don’t want to be with me, I got that part, but I at least want to be in my child’s life. And I still want you to be in MJ’s life. I know you moved on and I can accept that. Let’s just be parents to our children and put all the bullshit behind us.”
He stuck out his hand for me to shake so we could call a truce. I just laughed and we shook on it.
“I told MJ that we need to sit down and have a talk with him about the incident, but I didn’t want to do it today. I just wanted him to enjoy being back home. So call me when y’all are ready to have that talk.”
“Aight.”
I left Mykell’s house feeling better than I did when I got there. I didn’t know what to expect when I went in there. I was happy that we were on good terms for the sake of our children, that’s what was important.
I noticed Kamil was quiet and that was unusual for him. I had to know what was up with him. “Wassup? Talk to me.”
“Help me figure something out real quick.”
“What?”
“Why do you still have keys to that nigga’s shit?”
I was a little taken aback by his question and the way he asked it. I just know his ass is not jealous. “Because he hasn’t asked for it back yet,” I said thinking it was no big deal.
“Is that right?”
“Sure is!”
“He shouldn’t have to. The moment you left that nigga, you should have given him his keys back.”
“Why? What’s the big deal about me having keys to his house? I’ve had the key for almost three years. Hell, I had a key before I even moved in. If he didn’t want me to have a key to his house anymore, I know for a fact that he wouldn't hesitate to ask for it back.” I was getting annoyed with the conversation. He was tryna make a big deal out of nothing.
Mykell
I met a girl about a month earlier named Lisa. She was not Neicey and she damn sure didn’t have shit on her, but she helped me keep my mind off her. Pops called and told me he was having a little get together at his house since it had been awhile since we’d all gotten together. I asked him if it was cool if I invited shorty and he said yeah.
“So I’m meeting the family already huh?” she asked on the way to the house. I looked at her before answering, “Uh yeah I guess so.”
I hope her ass don’t get the wrong impression. I’m not even tryna go there with her ass. Hell she gotta get through Lani’s crazy ass before she even thinks she’s in the family.
When I got to the house Mack, Lani, Mone, and Pops were chilling. When I saw Ramone, I remembered that Neicey might be coming. Damn, I forgot all about her, I wonder how this shit gonna play out.
I saw Lani looking at Lisa funny and knew she was gonna be on some other shit. She just didn’t want to like her because she wasn’t Neicey. “Wassup everybody, this is Lisa. Lisa, that’s my dad, my baby sister Lani and my two brothers Micah and Ramone.”
It was dead ass quiet for a minute; everybody was looking at me as if I was crazy. Finally Pops spoke up, “Hi Lisa, nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too, all of you.”
“My other sister should be here soon, and then it should get real interesting in here. We’re the queens of this family,” Lani said. I couldn’t even be mad at her because she had always been that way whenever Mack and I had females around.
We were in the basement in the theater room for about twenty minutes before I heard the front door close. “Pop-Pop!” Oh shit, here we go.
“Aw shit, my sisters here!” Lani gave me a dirty look, and I gave her lil ass one right back.
Neicey waddled her pregnant ass down the stairs with MJ. She was now five months pregnant and at her last appointment we found out she was having a boy. To say I was happy would be an understatement. I couldn’t help but smile at her. She was glowing and her hair was growing like mad.
“Okay everybody, the life of the party is here so let’s get it cracking.”
“It’s about time yo fat butt got here, we’ve been waiting on you forever.”
“Mack don’t even go there! If yo nephew wasn’t sitting on my bladder I would have made it on time,” she said and laughed.
“MJ, you not gonna speak? You’ve been around Neicey all day and now you acting funny. She’s starting to rub off on you,” I joked.
“Hi Dad.” He kept it short and I just shook my head.
“Don’t even go there punk.” Neicey threw a pen at me.
“You have a son?” Lisa asked. Neicey looked at her like she just noticed her for the first time.
“Oh, let me do the introductions,” Lani said. “Lisa, this is Neicey my sister, Neicey this is Lisa she’s Mykell’s. . .”
“Girlfriend,” Lisa cut Lani off. I looked at her like she was crazy and Lani looked at her like she was ready to beat her ass. “Hi, are you the baby sister?” she asked her.
“Something like that, I’m the baby and he,” Neicey said pointing at me, “he's the father of my child.”
Before I could say anything, that bitch ass nigga came down the stairs. “Wassup everybody.”
“Hey Kamil,” everybody spoke but me.
He hit Neicey on the ass, “I thought I told you to wait for me Fat Mama.”
“I know but you were taking too long.” She giggled like a damn schoolgirl.
“I need a fucking drink,” Ramone said getting off the couch and heading upstairs. That was my cue. “Make that two,” I said following him.
“How about three,” Mack followed suit. I knew Pops wasn’t going to leave Lani down there with Lisa and I knew that nigga wasn’t about to leave Neicey’s side.
When we got upstairs to the kitchen, Ramone went in.
“She just gonna bring that nigga up in here like he family or something. Then she looked right at me and didn’t even speak. Her ass been acting real funny towards me for a couple of months and I’m tired of the shit,” he said, pouring himself a glass full of Hennessey.
“You know what I think?” Mack asked not giving us time to answer. “I think y’all on some other shit. You knew she was going to be here and she knew you were going to be here, but y’all both brung y’all rebounds just to get a rise out of each other. Well it looks like Neicey won because she don’t give a fuck about ol girl down there but the moment you saw my mans, yo ass got the fuck on.”
“What the fuck ever Micah, ain’t nobody thinking bout that nigga. I just don’t like him being around my son, hell both of my sons.”
“Well, if you would’ve been taking care of home, he wouldn’t have to be around. Period.” That nigga was starting to act like Pops.
“Mack, I hear what you're saying and all, that’s my baby sister; hell my only sister, but I don’t agree with this bullshit she has going on. As soon as she left Mykell, she moved in with the nigga, the exact same day. So something is telling me that she was already fucking the nigga. So Kell, if I was you I would get a blood test on that baby.”
I had to look at that nigga to make sure I was hearing him right. Was he saying that his sister wasn’t carrying my baby? I just knew that nigga was already drunk. I could smell the liquor on his breath the moment I walked through the door. No matter what he said, I knew for a fact, that Reneice was having my son.
Reneice
I sat there with Mykell’s new girlfriend to feel her out. I had to know who was going to be around MJ.
“So, you’re Mykell’s son?” she asked MJ
MJ looked at her up and down, “Who are you?”
“Your daddy’s girlfriend.”
“My daddy don’t got no girlfriend. He loves my mommy.”
“MJ, that's enough.”
“But Mommy…”
“No buts, go pick a movie for us to watch.”
I looked over a Lisa and she was already looking at me.
“So how long have you and Mykell been together?”
“A month.”
Lani chuckled at her statement. “What makes you think you’re his girlfriend? Because we have never heard nothing about you and any chick that tries to get in this family needs my approval.”
“Le’Lani,” Pop-Pop said. We all turned to look at him. For a minute, I’d forgotten he was down there. He was so quiet.
“I’m just saying Daddy. He didn't introduce her to us as his girlfriend earlier.”
“Leave it alone.” That was exactly what she did; nobody went against what Pop-Pop said.
“So, is that his baby too?” she asked pointing at my stomach.
“Yes that’s my little brother,” MJ said coming to hand me a movie. “Here Mommy, put this one in. We used to watch this all the time.”
“Boyz in the Hood,” I laughed. “Of course sweetie.”
“I got it baby,” Kamil said getting up to put the movie in.
“Kamil, can I sit on your lap since, I can’t sit on Mommy’s because of Daddy.”
I laughed. “Oh my God, this boy is seven going on 37.”
MJ climbed on Kamil’s lap and Pop-Pop dimmed the lights. I could feel Lisa’s eyes burning a hole in the side of my face. I looked over at Lani and she gave me a knowing look. It was funny how we could communicate with each other without words.
Ten minutes later, the three stooges decided to come downstairs. Everybody took a seat except for Ramone. That nigga stood right in front of me wobbling. I knew he was drunk, he could never hold his liquor. “Mone, move out of the way. I’m tryna watch the movie.”
He just stood there looking stupid. “Move, I’m not playing with you.” He continued to stand there.
“Ramone, leave her alone and have a seat.” Pop-Pop came to my defense.
“Pop I just wanna ask her a question,” he slurred and wobbled a little. “Is that Mykell’s baby or this nigga’s baby?” He pointed from my stomach to Kamil.
“Ramone, you are out of bounds right now. Sit down somewhere with that bullshit,” Lani intervened.
I laughed at that nigga. “Ramone Tyshaun Peake, if you don’t get yo drunk ass out my face we gonna have a situation up in this bitch.”
“Ramone, I said sit down,” Pop-Pop's voiced roared through the room.
He walked away, or should I say, wobbled away, mumbling under his voice. “Nigga, if you have something to say, say that shit out loud. Don’t talk under yo breath like a bitch,” I snapped.
“It’s always about yo little spoiled ass! You act like the world revolves around you. Yo lil ass is the reason my damn daddy left. Yo lil ungrateful ass is the reason I did a bid.”
“Ramone, what the fuck are you talking about? You were locked up because you got caught with a gun, dumbass. And your daddy left because he was a bitch ass nigga. Right now you acting just like his ass,” I yelled because that nigga was pissing me off. Kamil put his hand on my thigh to try to calm me down.
“Correction, Ladybug,” he said walking back in front of me. “Daddy left because he didn’t want any more kids and when he found out mama was pregnant with you it pissed him off! Oh, as far as the gun? That was the gun you shot that nigga with and the bitch was registered in my name. Yo stupid ass thought you were hiding it but you didn’t do it right. I only did the little time I did because I had an alibi that didn’t put me at the scene of the murder. I should have let the damn system take yo ass.”
I jumped up in the nigga’s face. “You right bitch, you should have let the system take my ass. Then I wouldn’t have been raised by a bitch made nigga. After all the shit I did for yo ass, this how you do me? I’ve been damn near taking care of myself since mommy died. All that money you and yo boys used to give me, I never spent it. I kept it in a safe in my room and when I got old enough, I put it in a bank account. I was saving that for you, I never needed it. I was working at the little corner store with Mr. Jimmy and he would pay me under the table.
"Every time I got some money, I put it in that account. When I got a check from work or school, I put half in the bank. There’s about $90,000 in that bank account right now. But yo ass don’t deserve shit! I’ll give that shit to MJ before I give yo dog ass shit!” I was hurt. I couldn’t believe my only brother had that much malice in his heart for me. The fact that he said he should have let the system take me; that was just too much for me.
Before I knew it, he reached back and slapped the shit out my ass and I fell to the ground, that was how hard he hit me. I saw Micah, Mykell, and Pop-Pop get up and grab Ramone.
Click Clack. Lani was helping me off the floor when I looked up to see Kamil pointing his gun at Ramone. “Nigga if you ever in yo life put yo hands on my girl, I will kill you without a doubt. The only reason I’m not doing it now is because yo ignorant ass is drunk and I don’t know how Neicey would feel about me laying yo ass out. But try some shit like that again and it lights out, for good.”
“AHHHH!” I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. “Mommy what’s wrong?”
“Kamil, put the gun down son, it’s cool I’ve got it. You just get Neicey,” Pop-Pop said while he still had Ramone hemmed up.
“Come on ma, get up.” He reached down for my hand.
I grabbed his hand and tried to get up but the pain was too powerful.
“AHHH! I can’t move Mil. UGHH!”
He bent down and scooped me up in his arms. “It’s happening again. I’m gonna lose this baby too,” I cried. “Why does this keep happening to me?”
“Shh don’t say that ma,” Kamil said. “You and little man are gonna be alright. I’m bout to take y’all to the hospital right now.
“We’ll meet you there, after I handle this,” said Pop-Pop.
I looked over at Mykell as Kamil carried me to the stairs. I saw something I’d never seen in his eyes before, fear. He was just as scared as I was. “AHHH!”
“I’m hurrying baby.”
* * *
I was lying in the hospital bed thinking about what happened a few minutes earlier. I couldn’t believe Ramone and I went at it like that. My lip was swollen and sore. We used to fight all the time, but he would just put me in a headlock until I said I was sorry. Then we would act as if nothing ever happened. However, that time was different. I was straight on him; I didn’t care if he was my brother. Fuck him; I didn’t need him around me if he felt that way. My thoughts were interrupted when everyone walked in the room. I was shocked to see Lisa walk through the door. I’d forgotten she was even there.
“Hey mami, how you doing?” Lani asked
“I’m good boo, they just said the baby was a little shaken up but he’s okay.”
Mykell came to my bed and rubbed my stomach. “Lil dude, don’t scare Daddy like that. You had me worried for a minute there.”
Then MJ came and did the same thing as his daddy. “Yeah baby brother, don’t scare me like that, you almost made me put the paws on somebody. You’re my baby brother so I have to look out for you and mommy, but Pop-Pop wouldn’t let me get to him.”
Everybody in the room laughed. That was exactly what I needed. I smiled when I saw all the people I loved the most by my side.
“The doctor said he wants to keep her here for a few days to keep an eye on her and the baby. He also wants to put her on bed rest until her next doctor's appointment,” Kamil informed everybody. “He also said she needs to refrain from things that could be stressful and he wants her to take it easy.”
My lip was hurting so bad. I put my hand up to it to feel how big it was. “You don’t have to worry about that little incident that happened tonight. I took care of that and took his drunk ass home,” Pop-Pop assured me.
“Thanks Pop-Pop,” I said with tears falling from my eyes. MJ wiped my tears away, “Don’t cry mommy. It’s going to be okay.”
I pulled my baby up in the bed with me and kissed his cheeks. It was crazy how much I loved that little boy. I loved him just like I’d birthed him. My baby must have felt his brother’s presence because he started moving. I gasped because that as
the first time I’d felt him move like that. I put MJ’s hand on my belly, “Come here Mykell.”
He came over to the bed and I put his hand by MJ’s. They baby moved again. MJ and Mykell both jumped. I just laughed. “That was your little brother,” I pointed at MJ “and your son in there getting excited,” I said pointing at Mykell.
“Whoa!” MJ leaned down to kiss my stomach.
I heard somebody clear their throat and everybody looked at Lisa.
“Ain’t it time for you to go?” Lani asked with an attitude.
“When Mykell’s ready, I’ll leave.”
“Well I’ma be here for a while, so get comfortable.”
“Her boyfriend is over there. He can take care of her.”
I looked over at Mykell and then back at Lisa. I saw his vein popping out his neck, so I knew he was mad.
“I’ll take her home. I have some business to handle anyways. Baby girl, I’ll see you tomorrow. Come on, MJ, you’re hanging with me tonight,” Pop-Pop said.
MJ gave me kiss before climbing out of the bed. “Bye Mommy, bye Dad. Love y’all”
‘Bye,” we said in unison.
I looked back at Lisa, she gave me the evil eye before walking out the door, and I smirked. Mykell didn’t even look her way.
Chapter 2
Ramone
I woke up that next morning feeling like shit. I looked over and I didn’t see my shorty, so I went downstairs to look for her. I saw her sitting at the dining room table with a plate of food in front of her. “Where’s mine?” She just looked at me and rolled her eyes. I knew she was probably pissed at me. I was mad at myself, shit got too out of hand because of me. “I’ve got a real bad hangover and I need you to take care of me.”
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