Listening intently, I nodded. “I completely understand where you’re coming from. And like you said, I hope that we can eventually sit down and get to know each other. Cause you being Face’s ex doesn’t make you my enemy. I wanna help raise those beautiful little girls with you, and I hope that you’re okay with that.”
Shenodded,beforesmilingawkwardly.“I’mgettingthere.”
“This aint even ‘bout love. It’s the way this girl handle a thug. And got a nigga like man. I need this shit. And if you change on me I’ma leave you bitch!” I loudly rapped the lyrics to Acres Homes’ very own J-Dawg’sAbout Love,as I gripped the steering wheel of my GLE Mercedes Coupe, while flipping through the hood. Something that I hadn’t done in a minute.
I aint gone lie, I almost felt a little guilty about how I’d left Face and the kids at home to step outside alone. Almost.
Sometimes I had to remind myself that I was a whole person before Face and those kids came into my life. The twins included. I had always been the one to take joy in the simplest things like reading, or sitting on my porch in 790, and I sometimes craved the simplicity I once had.
Back at home, things had been cool. Tera was coming by on a daily basis, which I felt indifferent about. I would never be against her spending time with the girls, but I didn’t necessarily like sharing a space with my man’s ex. Especially when Tera was still trying to warm up to me, and most ofour interactions were awkward. Thankfully, the house was pretty big, and she would often hang out in the girls’ rooms whenever she’d come over.
Still, Tera preferred to deal with Face, and would call his phone regularly about the smallest things now. On his end, every-thing felt completely innocent, but I wasn’t sure about Tera. I think that her seeing his personal growth had her reexamining some of her choices, and she’d expressed just that via texts. Of course, she hadn’t come onto him, but she kept emphasizing how much he’d changed. She would also thank him for the financial support, after he’d given her the money to get her own place…right down the fucking street from us.
I knew that if Tera was going to be around, then it only made sense that Face helped her get her own place. Especially because her mama’s house wasn’t in the best neighborhood, and Face didn’t want that to be the place his kids had to visit regularly. And I think that Tera’s goal was to gradually have her kids move back in with her. Of course, I didn’t want the girls to go, but I also would never stand in between them and their mama. So, I was bracing myself for that, while I still didn’t know if I liked the idea of Tera literally living in the same subdivision.
Naturally, Face wasn’t the ordinary man, and he was a "rm believer in his kids benefiting from the fruits of his labor. So, even if they were no longer under the same roof with him, he didn’t want their lifestyles to be downgraded. I got that. But again, I didn’t want to share a space with his ex, because our interactions were weird, and I didn’t want to have that energy directly in my life, constantly.
With everything being relatively new, I had been holding my tongue, while waiting to see how everything would unfold. Maybe one day me and Tera would become cool as fuck, and everything would run smoothly. Or she’d make a move and show her true intentions, forcing me to step in, and set boundaries for her ass.
Nevertheless, I was strongly considering riding out to Humble to see Soya, when she called my phone.
“Girl,yougonelivealongtime,”Iansweredthecallon Bluetooth.
Soyalightlylaughed.“Whyyousaythat?”
“Cause I’m riding through the hood, missing our days of bull-shitting on the porch.”
“I know right? If nothing else, we was gonna witness some bullshit and get some laughs in.”
“True.” I nodded.
“And you say you riding through the hood? Where Face at?” “At home.”
“Yeah? Is his baby’s mama over there?”
“She wasn’t when I left, but she could be by now.” “Huh? You cool with her being there when you aint?”
“I mean, her daughters live there. So, I can’t stop what needs to be done whenever I step away.”
“Right.Butthey’renotnewborns,Babi.Shecouldliterally take those kids with her. Especially when you aint there.”
I sighed. “I hear you. And once she moves in that house in a few days, then she can just pick them up and go.”
“A house, huh?”
“Yeah, girl. She’s renting a house in our neighborhood.” “I know you fucking lying.”
“Nope. She’s moving in walking distance.” “And you cool with that?”
“Not per say. But it’s really only a issue because she basically said that she don’t like me, right now.”
Soya laughed. “I can’t believe you of all people are tolerating that shit.”
“Oh, trust me, it’s been very respectful, because you know that I don’t play that shit.”
“If you say so,” she breathed into the phone. “Just don’t be too
nonchalant, cousin. Fuck around and let that hoe trick you out of your spot.”
