They walked through the busy park until Honey spotted the cookout. Her eyes roved over the crowd until they landed on one of the people she hated the most in this world— Kai’s father. She stormed across the grass, ignoring how odd her heels felt on the warm surface.
“Andre,” she called.
The guy sitting next to him noticed her first and tapped Andre’s shoulder, pointing at her. When Andre spotted her, his eyes widened as if he had not expected to see her there.
“Where is my son?” she demanded as she neared the table where he sat with his friends and family. People glanced in their direction, some of them recognizing her as Andre’s baby’s mother, but she didn’t care. She was only focused on him.
“What are you doing here?” Andre asked as he stood up and tried to push her away from the table, probably so they wouldn’t draw attention to themselves. But Honey wouldn’t budge.
“Where the hell is my son before I call the police on you?” Honey demanded frantically. She would tear this whole cookout apart if her son weren’t before her eyes very soon.
“Mom.”
Honey’s head whipped around at the sound of her son’s voice, and she saw him as he raced over to her from the small crowd of children who were playing together. Honey felt relieved when her son threw himself in her arms. She squeezed him tight, just glad to know he was okay.
“Okay, you see him now. I don’t know what you’re acting all crazy for, talking about calling the police. I’m his father,” Andre boasted, and Honey glared at him.
“Nik!” Kai exclaimed when he saw him too, and Honey had nearly forgotten he was there.
Kai threw himself at Nikos, and Nikos picked him up.
“How are you doing, kid?” Nikos asked as he ruffled Kai’s hair playfully, and Kai giggled.
“Who is this? Your new man?” Andre asked, frowning.
“Kai, go get your things and go with Nikos to the car.”
“But, Mom,” Kai whined.
“No buts,” Honey said firmly.
“Be a good kid and listen to your mother,” Nikos said. Kai pouted but got down and did as told.
“He’s having fun with his family, and you’re going to be bitter and take that away from him,” Andre complained.
“You picked him up without even telling me. Who does shit like that?”
“I’m his father.”
“Only when you want to be.”
They both glared at each other as Kai returned with his school bag.
“I’m not just going to let you and your white trash boyfriend take my son,” Andre said.
“Have you lost your mind, or have you forgotten who has full custody? Or are you too busy showing off for your friends? Huh?”
Andre scuffed, and Honey sighed, trying to gather herself together. It was only Andre who could get her out of character like this. Sometimes, she wondered how she had ever been in love with him at one point, and she cried for her young teenage self that had been super in love with an asshole like him.
“Tell your father bye, Kai.”
“Bye,” Kai said as he gave his father a hug, but Andre was too busy looking at the rest of his family, who were watching them, to hug his son back, which was just Andre in the nutshell. Only worried about other people’s opinions of him but never worried about the right things, like actually taking care of his kid.
Kai went back with Nikos, and once they were out of hearing distance, Honey laid into him.
“This could be considered kidnapping,” Honey said as she trembled with anger. “Don’t you ever in your life pull something like this again.”
“You can’t keep my son from me.”
