I grabbed my phone and saw no missed calls from Pernelle, just a text from Hov.
Hov:You better get back here fast, nigga. Yo ass in trouble.
I shook my head because I already knew what that meant. Pernelle had probably said some slick shit to her friend, and Hov was warning me before I even showed up.
I ran into the restroom and grabbed the same toothbrush I had used the last time I was here. I didn’t give a fuck howmuch of a rush I was in, I was never leaving out of her house, or anybody else’s, with sleep in my mouth.
“Crew, calm down. Why are you rushing? Slow down and let me make you something to eat since you are still here.”
“I don’t have time to sit down and eat shit, Bria. I was supposed to be gone last night. I told you last night was my night to watch the baby, and that’s why I set an alarm. I don’t understand how I didn’t hear it. You saw me set that shit, right?”
“Yeah, I did,” she said, standing behind me.
I grabbed the toothpaste, the same kind I use at home, and put it on my toothbrush. As I went back and forth in my mouth with the toothbrush, realization hit me out of the blue. Alarms don’t turn off on their own and someone has to turn them off manually.
“Bria, you didn’t turn my alarm off last night, did you?”
“Huh?” she acted confused as she put a layer of toothpaste on her toothbrush.
“I said, you didn’t turn my alarm off last night, did you?”
“What kind of question is that Crew?”
“Just answer the question. Say yes or no. Did you do that shit?”
“No, I did not.”
She wouldn’t look up at the mirror to face me.
“If you didn’t do that shit, look me in my face and tell me you didn't. Because I know for a fact that I put my phone on ring, and I didn’t hear shit go off last night. And if I didn’t snooze them, they would’ve kept going off every ten minutes.”
“I don’t know, Crew. Okay! Maybe I did it by accident or just by force of habit.”
The truth finally came out of her in an irritated tone.
“Well, that’s fucked up, Bria. I don’t appreciate that shit at all. I needed to be there for them last night.”
“Crew, if you overslept, you overslept. Why are you acting like you owe this girl more than just being her baby’s father? Why do you have to be with them every night?”
I washed my mouth out with water and used a towel from the rack to wipe my face. Once I was done, I walked close to Bria so she could feel my next words. Her ass didn’t just need to hear them.
“Bria, don’t question me about anything I have going on with the mother of my child, alright? That situation doesn’t involve you at all, and we're going through shit you don’t even know about. Or understand.”
“You are right because I don’t understand why you are panicking like that’s your girlfriend. Is she your girlfriend?”
“It doesn’t matter, Bria. I have a responsibility back home, and that’s where I’m supposed to be.”
“So, you’re her man? You two live together?”
“No, but she just had a newborn two weeks ago, so of course, we’re staying together right now. That doesn’t mean shit, though. Pernelle and I haven’t made anything official yet.”
“Oh, yet? Interesting.”
She walked out of the restroom, clearly mad as hell with her arms crossed, and I followed behind her.
“I don’t understand why you are mad. You told me last night that I didn’t have to explain anything to you and that you understood my situation. Don’t turn around and switch up on me now.”
“I’m not. I just feel like you should be able to spend time with me, too.”
