She looked at me. “She has an early stage of dementia, so she remembers now but will forget in less than ten minutes.”
I watched stress settle onto her face. How was it that she was in school and working two jobs?
I stood with my daughter in my arms. “You’re good. I’ll grab her something.”
Royce looked at me, confused. “You sure? I don’t mind.”
Royce was sweet. She didn’t need a nigga like me with a kid adding to the already stressful life she lived. This was something I needed to figure out on my own. I didn’t need to add to her plate. I started thinking about those classes I had taken that spoke about how women had carried the burden of being a single parent for centuries, especially Black women. I figured if they could do it, so could I.
Royce walked me to the door. I gave her one last look before I left. When I pulled up to the campus, I let out a sharp breath. It was the weekend, and the campus was pretty dry. I grabbed what I could of Breann’s things, picked her up, and hurried across campus to Avery Hall. I poked my head into a quiet hall. I moved quickly to my room, went inside, and closed the door. Xavier wasn’t here, which was cool, but I knew at some point, the nigga was going to come back. Now I felt like shit because just as he asked me for a favor, I shitted on him. I now needed the favor and prayed like hell the nigga would be accepting.
I lay my daughter on the bed as I went to my small fridge to see what I had. “Man, fuck!” I grumbled.
I opened a pack of noodles, cooked them in the microwave, and allowed them to warm so I could feed her. My phone vibrated in my pocket. When I pulled it out, I saw it was Faye, my baby momma.
“Yo, where are you at?” I said as soon as I hit Answer.
“I was out. Why?” she snapped.
I ran my hand down my face as I turned to look at my daughter, whose curious eyes scanned the room. “My Nan, she’s in the hospital. I got Bre, but she can’t be on campus. I need you to—”
She sucked her teeth. “You need me to what? Come get her? No, Percy. You need to bring her to me. Honestly, you’re worried about college when we have a daughter. You want me to do all the work while you’re in school doing what you want. It takes two, sweetheart.”
I moved toward the door because, although my daughter didn’t understand, I didn’t want her to hear me.
“How the fuck am I supposed to take care of her in school? Faye, you act like you’ve been out there doing what you're supposed to. It’s been my grandmother.” I paused. “All I’m asking for is some help. If you want me to bring her to you, fine. I just need a little time to—”
She hung up.
“Fuck!” I shouted.
I didn’t regret my daughter, but Faye was the worst decision of my fucking life. I knew if I couldn’t figure this situation out, whatever goal I had within this university shit was done. If I had to, I would drop out just to do what I had to for my fucking daughter.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
PRESS PLAY
I rolled over, still groggy from last night. After the whole Samara and Jesaiah thing, I didn’t care anymore. I took shot after shot until everything in front of me became blurred. Jesaiah played in my face one too many times, and it was always me who looked dumb in the end.
My eyes slowly opened as I lifted up. As my eyes captured everything in the room, I began to panic.What the hell? Where am I?When I felt the weight of something across my waist, I glanced down. I shook my head because there was no fucking way I ended up here, with him.
I moved his arm and slowly peeled back the cover. When I realized I was naked, I freaked the fuck out. “Get up!” I shouted. “Harlem, get the fuck up!”
He moaned and groaned as he rolled over, slowly sitting up. “Apple, please stop yelling.”
My face balled up. Something was different. He sounded different. “Harlem!” I shouted.
He ran his hand through his locs, then stood from the bed andturned toward me. I pointed at him. “What happened, and before you try to lie, don’t!” I snapped.
He crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned on the bedpost. He stood there wearing basketball shorts, no shirt, and a pair of socks. He needed a fucking retwist and a shape-up, but he wasn’t ugly. His eyes lingered on my body, and I quickly grabbed the blanket as a shield to cover myself.
“Stop looking at me like that.”
His brows raised. “You ready for me to tell you what happened or—”
“Tell me,” I mumbled.
I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the disgusting things I did, but I also needed to know how I got here and who saw me.
