“Calm your ass down! What are you doing in here?” he barked as he snatched me out of the closet.
I was hysterical, and the more he swung me around, the more enraged I became. Jesaiah tried calming me down, but how could I calm down when the man I’d been having sex with had a fucking disease? This time when he swung me, I felt my body fly into something, and it was lights out.
SAMARA
Savior’s cries grew louder as I tried focusing on the road. The urge to get to Covana made my hands itch. I needed answers, and I needed them today.
“Okay, Savior. We’re almost there,” I said, trying to calm him down.
When I crossed the Covana city line, the light rain turned into hard drops crashing against my window. I knew the boys were probably tired of being in the car, so I opted not to go on campus and decided to go home instead. My phone rang, and I thought it was Dio, but it was Yana calling. I waited until I pulled into the parking lot of my apartment and answered. “Hello?”
“Samara, where the hell are you? We came to check on you and the boys!” she shouted into the phone.
Peace had now joined his brother in a screaming session. “I- I left something at my place, and I came to get it,” I lied.
That was when I heard the phone shuffle. “Girl, if you don’t bring your bonehead ass back here. You took your ass up there for Dio,” Diamond started. “Chasing apes. Are you and the twins safe?” he asked.
“Yes. I just made it to my apartment.”
He blew out a sharp breath. “Chevy is going to nut the fuck up. Yo ass better be safe. You and Dio need to figure this shit out because you kidnapping those twins to chase love is going to get your head knocked between the washing machine and dryer. Fuck!” he shouted.
I knew Chevy and Zaria would have eyes on the twins and me, but this was ridiculous. After hanging up with Diamond and Yana, I moved quickly, tossing the twins’ diaper bag over my shoulders, then grabbing their car seats. After struggling through the short trip to the door, I was finally inside my place. It took me a minute to get them to calm down, but when I did, they fell asleep. Now that I had time to repower my brain, I sent Dio a text and told him to bring his ass home because we needed to talk.
PERCY
I waited at the door until Ms. Cecily answered. When she opened the door, she wore a thick robe and glasses as if she were headed to bed. “Percy?” she asked.
“I know it’s late, Ms. Cecily, but I need some advice.”
She had always been helpful when it came to clearing a nigga’s head. When Jesaiah and I would go out and make bad decisions or even think about getting into some shit, she would find ways to talk us out of it. She knew how to put things in perspective.
When she let me inside, the jazz music she played calmed my nerves almost immediately.
“What’s going on? I see you left the house.”
I turned to look at her. “Yeah, well, your nephew ruined that as he has done many other things.”
She gave me a weak smile as she tightened the grip on her robe and nodded for me to sit down. “Jesaiah is filled with anger because of his bad decisions. His time to face the truth will come, but you cannot let his actions mix with your situation.”
I sat down and placed my elbow on my knees. “I’m out here trying, Ms. Cecily. I really am. I have an opportunity to get back onthe field and finish school. I’ve been offered the option to give my daughter a home, but I’m scared. I don’t want her to forget me, but I also don’t want to ruin a family’s dream if I decide to get her back.”
Ms. Cecily came and sat beside me. Her gentle rub on my back reminded me of my Nan. Suddenly, my tired, stressed eyes poured tears out of me. My shoulders bounced up and down because I didn’t know what else to do. Dio said he would set up the play, and that was cool, but me giving up my daughter to only want to take her back was a fucked-up situation.
“My brother felt the same way about Jesaiah, but he knew what was best. Sometimes you have to exclude yourself and think about your child. Now I’m not telling you to do it or not. What I’m saying is you know what your daughter needs. Let me make you some tea.”
She got up and went into the kitchen. I had only been here a handful of times, but each time I came, I noticed something new. This time, I saw something and became so confused. I leaned forward and grabbed the picture on the table.
“Aye, Ms. Cecily, who’s this?”
“What did you say, sweetheart?”
I pointed to the picture. “These people with Jesaiah?”
She smiled. “That was the happiest day of Jesaiah’s life. It was the first time he met his mother’s side of the family,” she explained as she came over and took the picture frame out of my hand.
I stood and pointed to the only person in this picture I cared about. “Who is that?”
“Oh, that’s Royce. Jesaiah’s cousin. You know she goes to the school too. It’s a shame what happened to that family. They—”
