Darious swallowed the blood in his mouth, fixed his clothes, and then he too left the house. Despite Tammy calling out his name several times, he never stopped, causing her to get up and run out the door behind him.
“Wheeeww, I’m taking my ass back to Philly today,” Kim said, gathering her things to go.
“Come on, let’s get out of here,” Nate told Lisa, putting his arm around her and leading her toward the front door.
Chris looked over at Falisha, who sat down at the table. No words needed to be said. If it wasn’t clear before about them two being official, everybody now knew it. At that moment, Falisha knew that she had fallen in love with Chris. She knew now that he just didn’t talk about it, but he was a man of action, and his actions said that he wanted this to last. Falisha wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I gotta get some air,” Chris said before turning around and walking out of the house.
Falisha was about to get up, but Ms. D stopped her. “Sit yo’ ass down, girl,” she said, sticking her hand out.
Falisha did exactly as she was told. She did reach over, grabbed the bottle of Grey Goose, and poured herself a shot.
Ms. D just sat there staring at her. Falisha was like a daughter to her, and she loved her to death, but every time Ms. D turned around, she was in the middle of something.
“Girl, you are the devil in Louis Vuitton,” Ms. D said, grabbing the bottle of Grey Goose to pour herself a shot too. “Pure evil.” She chuckled, amazed at how Falisha’s good looks could cause a storm at any given time. The thing is, Ms. D knew that what she did wasn’t intentional.
“Ms. D, I’m not evil. You know I don’t do well when I’m backed into a corner. After that, I’ll say whatever.”
“I know, baby. That’s why I’m going to miss you the most. I’m gonna miss all of you and all the drama y’all be having.” Ms. D laughed and threw back the Grey Goose. “But let me leave you with this,” she said, getting out of her chair. “Just make sure you can stand on the things you do in life. And I think even you know now, you can’t trust nobody . . .”
Chapter 21
Lamar sat in the courtroom talking to his lawyer, going over the procedures for the day. The task of trying to get full custody of his son Jordan was proving to be more difficult than anything in his life. Over the past five months, he had been to four hearings, two meetings, and with all that, had still only managed to see Jordan once, and that was merely for an hour.
“Don’t look so down,” Anne, Lamar’s attorney, said, nudging his side. “I really think you’re going to make out today. Everything is in order,” she assured him.
Unlike many men who try to gain custody of their children, Lamar had a number of good things going for him. A nice job, good credit, his own house, car, blocks away from a good day care, health insurance, and plenty of help from family.
“Oh God, I was hoping she wouldn’t make it,” Anne said, looking over and seeing Falisha coming into the courtroom.
Lamar begged to differ, seeing that she had Jordan with her. It had been almost three weeks since he saw him last, and at the sight of his son, it was impossible for Lamar to resist. He got up from his seat and walked over to Falisha. “Hey, li’l man,” Lamar smiled, reaching out for Jordan. Falisha quickly spun Jordan away, not allowing Lamar to touch him.
“Don’t touch my son,” she snapped.
It took everything in Lamar for him not to grab Falisha around her neck and make her choke on those words. Good thing he didn’t because as he stood there giving Falisha the evil eye, the judge walked into the courtroom. Anne grabbed Lamar by the arm and pulled him back over to the table.
“Let me do my job,” she told him, then went into attack mode. “Your Honor, my client has complied with everything the court has asked of him, and he stands before you seeking full or joint custody of his son.”
Falisha’s lawyer wasn’t a pushover and attacked as well, sitting and quoting laws pertaining to parental rights, specifically the ones of a mother to her child. Today was a battle without a doubt and definitely the most intense one yet. Lamar just knew that he was going to walk out of the courtroom with his son, or at least in a better position than the one he was currently in. The hearing lasted every bit of two hours, and after taking a ten-minute recess, the judge walked back into the courtroom, sat in his chair, and prepared to give his ruling.
* * *
Brian sat on the hood of his car outside in the parking lot, waiting for Kim to emerge from the legal building. He smiled when she walked out of the glass double doors. “So, how did you do?” he asked, passing her a bottle of water.
Kim paused for a moment, trying to make it a little suspenseful. “I got a perfect score,” she busted out in joy, a little surprised that she did that good. The bar was tough, but for Kim, it was a walk in the park. Being a paralegal for so long and studying the law helped out in a major way. Aside from being confident, she really did know the law and every intricate detail about the United States Constitution. It was a wonder it took her this long to give the exam a crack.
“You know Tim is gonna end up making you a partner,” Brian joked. “One thing I know about him is that he loves money, and you’re making him plenty.”
Kim smiled at the thought but didn’t think that it would be realistic at this time, especially since Tim already had a partner. “What about you, did you take care of that situation?” Kim quizzed, looking to get some eye contact from Brian.
She was referring to a number of illegal items he had at his and her house, which he promised to get rid of. Assault rifles, drugs, and body armor were just a few of the things he possessed. Not even Kim could help him if the feds decided to run up in his house.
“Nah, I didn’t do it yet, but I will,” he said, grabbing her waist and pulling her closer to him. That wasn’t enough for Kim, though. The promise was a little bigger than just getting the items out of their house. Brian was supposed to be getting out of the game, which he was knee-deep in. That was the real promise and was supposed to be carried out before Kim walked down the aisle.
* * *
Tammy looked down at the large pile of laundry sitting on the couch, dreading the fact that she had to fold every piece of clothing without any help. Having already cleaned the entire house, this was the last of the chores that needed to be done before a little relaxation could take place. As she stood there and was about to reach for the first article of clothing to fold, the locks on the front door could be heard clicking. This was out of the ordinary, since Mr. Jimmy changed all the locks before she moved back in. She grabbed Anthony’s trophy off the coffee table and was about to let whoever walk through that door have it.
“Boy, you lost ya damn mind?” Tammy yelled at Chris with the trophy raised in the air.
Chris was lucky to have grabbed Tammy’s wrist before she could administer the blow.
“Whoa, girl,” he grinned, amused at her being in attack mode.
Tammy snatched her wrist away, then put out her hand, insisting that Chris give up the key.
“I don’t know what you said to Mr. Jimmy for you to get a set of keys, but you need to turn them the hell over. This is my house, not yours,” she barked. Not wanting to get into an argument about it, Chris reluctantly handed over the keys.
“Now, the kids are not here so what do you want?” she asked, walking back over to the couch.
Chris didn’t expect for Tammy to be home, and the only reason why he came there today was to retrieve some money he had stashed in the basement. He wasn’t about to let her know that, though. “I came by to check up on you,” he said, walking up behind Tammy and attempting to wrap his arms around her waist. His touch sent chills down her spine. She pushed off and turned around with her face turned up. Chris gave her a seductive grin, licking his bottom lip as he took a couple of steps toward her.
“Come here. I know you miss daddy dick,” he said, reaching out for her hand. He was arrogant, thinking that Tammy would always want him, and
though he may have been partially right, it wasn’t the way he thought. She couldn’t believe he was coming on to her yet again, and more so on the touchy-feely level now. In any event, Tammy wasn’t going to entertain him. This was the reason she was by herself now, after the big fight at Ms. Dee’s house. She and the kids had moved back into their old apartment.
“Chris, let me be straight-up wit’ you so there won’t be any confusion. You will never, ever, ever, ever, taste this pussy again. I put that on the lives of our children,” she said with sincerity in her eyes. “So please stop trying and let’s just call it what it is.”
“I don’t believe you. You mean to tell me that I’ll never be able to suck on dat pussy again? You telling me that ya kitty don’t purr for this pipe?” Chris smiled, grabbing a handful of his crotch. He had seduction in his eyes, but Tammy had nothing but hatred in hers. In the past, she probably would have been weak and fell for his game, but now, her heart took a turn for the worst, and Chris no longer had any influence on her life.
“It’s time for you to leave,” she concluded, walking over to the front door and opening it.
Chris could see that she wasn’t impressed by his charm, so he figured now wouldn’t be the time to try to make his way to the basement to retrieve his bread. Instead, he turned to walk out the door, but not without having a serious attitude. And mumbling the word.
“Bitch!”
* * *
Lamar watched as Falisha and Jordan got onto the elevator. His lawyer could see the pain in his eyes. It was actually a turn-on to her. She had never seen a responsible man as passionate as he was and willing to go through everything he’d been through in order to be with his son. She was his lawyer, but as a woman, she was feeling him.
“I give you my word, I’m going to do everything I’m able to get you back in ya son’s life,” Anne said, placing her hand on Lamar’s back in an attempt to comfort him.
There was nothing she could say to make him feel any better at this point. All he wanted was his son, and thoughts of doing something vicious to Falisha in order to get him back kept entering his mind. The games Falisha was playing were unnecessary and out of pocket, but since this was the game she wanted to play, he was going to make sure it cost her in the near future.
* * *
When Falisha exited from the courthouse, she immediately pulled out her cell phone to cut it back on. It had been killing her sitting inside the courtroom and not able to check her Instagram and Facebook. Before she could click on the app icon, her phone began to ring flashing the word Unknown. Falisha knew exactly who it was calling her from a private or blocked number. Fox had been trying to reach back out to her ever since word got out that she had beat the drug case. Fox just assumed that there was no way for Falisha to get out of a case like that without ratting him out. He knew she didn’t have the financial means to hire the type of lawyer that could beat a potential federal case. He wanted her to agree to meet with him so he could check her temperature and see just how much she told the cops. If it was as much as he assumed, they would have wanted to dismiss her case. Fox had already made up his mind that he would have to do the unthinkable. Although he had some feelings for Falisha, they were nowhere near the amount he would need to risk his freedom for. He also didn’t want the beef that he knew would come from Chris. But again, he wasn’t going to end up in prison for trying to avoid it.
* * *
“Damn, babe, I’m proud of you,” Brian yelled out from the bedroom to Kim who was in the bathroom sitting on the toilet. She looked down at the box which contained the First Response pregnancy test and ripped it open. She could vividly remember the time when she was in this position before, messing around with Lamar. With some of the signs her body gave, she was almost certain that she was pregnant. Within about a minute of pissing on the little stick, her suspicion was confirmed. “Oh God!” she exhaled, gliding her fingers through her hair. Weighing the options of whether to tell Brian began to creep into her thoughts. She was leaning toward giving him the news being as though they were about to get married, but then Brian’s lifestyle choices prevented her from wanting to do so.
“What are you doing in there?” he yelled, knocking on the bathroom door.
Kim quickly got up and hid the test in-between some towels in the cabinet. She made up her mind for now that she wasn’t going to tell him. She had to be sure that she was going to keep it first. That decision was going to be entirely up to the choices Brian made in the near future. The wrong ones could mean the end of fatherhood for sure.
* * *
“Okay, Mom, just give me like ten minutes,” Falisha said into the phone. “I know, I know, just give me ten minutes.”
Chris sat on the edge of the bed, tapping away at the keys on the laptop. He was all over Facebook and Instagram, seeing the latest flicks Tammy had posted. He didn’t want to admit it, but the lack of interest Tammy had in him made him kind of want her even more. It was as if she wasn’t feeling him at all.
“Can you watch him real quick so I can go help my mom with something?” Falisha asked as she was fixing her hair in the mirror.
Chris looked up at her like she was crazy. “You know I’m not a babysitter,” he shot back. “Take him wit’ you.”
Jordan was asleep in their bed and had been for the past thirty minutes.
“Babe, I’m gonna be a half hour. Besides, he’s asleep.”
“I don’t care if he’s asleep or not. I’m not watching him,” Chris snapped back, making Falisha cut her eyes over at him.
It wasn’t what he said, it was how he said it. This was the first time he’d gotten nasty like this about watching Jordan. It was rare Falisha ever asked him to, but when she did, he never had a problem with it.
“What da hell is ya problem?” she asked, walking over to Chris who was still looking in the screen of the laptop. “Hello! I know you hear me.”
He looked up, then rolled his eyes back to the screen with an attitude. This only made her madder. She snatched the laptop out of his hands and was about to slam it shut, but before she did, she got a glance at what was on the screen. Now she was really pissed. Tammy’s Facebook page was on the screen with a couple of cute pictures of her and the kids she had just posted.
“Gimme my shit,” he yelled, snatching the laptop back from her. “Go ahead and go where you’re going.”
“No, I’m not going anywhere. Why da fuck is you on her page? What, you miss that dumb bitch? You want that bitch back?”
“Yo, watch how you talk about the mother of my kids,” Chris checked. He was already upset about what happened with Tammy earlier, and now Falisha was getting the bad end of the stick, and she didn’t even know it. At this point, he really didn’t care what came out of his mouth.
“I barely watch my own kids, so what makes you think that I wanna watch somebody else’s? You should be trying to let his real daddy watch him instead of me.”
These were definitely some of the harshest words Chris had said to Falisha since they’d been together, and just as the anger subsided, sadness began to kick in. Falisha calmly walked over to the bed, picked Jordan up, and walked out of the room without saying another word.
Chapter 22
“Congratulations!” the whole office yelled out when Kim got to work. Tim, being who he was, had already got the word of Kim passing the bar exam. He had total confidence in her from the very beginning and had put a few things in motion because of it. “Get over here, kid,” he said, pulling Kim in for a hug. “Come on in.” Inside of his office, he went into his stash of booze and pulled out a bottle of bourbon. He poured two nice shots for both of them. Normally, it would have been a good time for a drink, but Kim declined, knowing what she had growing inside of her.
“Mark my words, you’re gonna have a lot of law firms contacting you in the near future. I figure I’d let you know—”
“Tim, I’m not going anywhere, if that’s what you’re thinking,” she interrupted. At least her staying t
here with Tim was her intentions, but Tim knew the reality of the situation and understood the legal game more than most. With high scores like Kim’s, the word was going to get around fast.
“Just hear me out, kid,” Tim began. “I have a $50,000 bonus for you just as long as you give me another year. All the cases you work with me, we’ll split the retainer fee sixty–forty, my way. And last but not least, your office will be right next to mine,” he smiled, pointing to Tony’s old office.
Tim never said the words directly, but Kim understood this to mean that he was trying to make her partner and not just a lawyer. This was the best news Kim had gotten thus far, and she didn’t believe that there was a better offer coming her way in the future. She wanted to sign on right then and there, but Tim didn’t allow her to. Instead, he gave her two weeks to listen to what other law firms had to offer, and if she didn’t like what she heard from them, then her place would be with Tim and his firm.
* * *
Tammy didn’t expect that when she dropped the kids off at Chris’s mom’s house, that she would want to talk. It was a total shock, considering the fact that the last time they had a sit-down was two years ago. “That dang SpongeBob movie should keep them busy for a while,” Ms. Elain said coming back down the stairs. She walked over and took a seat next to Tammy on the couch. “I really just wanted to know how you’ve been,” Ms. Elain began. It’s definitely been awhile since they had this kind of conversation.
“I’m doing better. The kids are healthy, I’m healthy, and we got a roof over our heads. I can’t complain.”
“I know that’s right,” Ms. Elain smiled. “You know I never got a chance to apologize for that dumb stuff my son did.”
“Ms. Elain, you don’t have to apologize for him. To be honest wit’ you, I messed my own marriage up. I jeopardized what I wanted most for what I wanted in the moment. The love I had for Chris prevented me from being with someone else, but I’m about to make things—”
Tammy caught herself before she said too much. A lot had gone on since that day at Ms. D’s house, and there were still some issues that needed to be addressed. Speaking on the topic, it reminded Tammy that she needed to be somewhere in the next hour.
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