The Stepbrother 2: Noah

Creed-

A week had passed since finding out that Devon had gotten his friend Maria pregnant while we were still together.

He'd sent me more voicemails than Scarlett had, trying to explain Maria away.

He claimed it was a one-time thing because he could feel that I wasn't committed to our relationship.

This motherfucker tried to gaslight me, blame me for his weak pullout game. I deleted all his messages after that and blocked him everywhere.

But honestly, I wasn't even mad anymore.

I never truly loved Devon, so his betrayal didn't hurt as much as it should have.

I told my daddy what I knew about him, that he was now unemployed, and then I washed my hands of it all.

I shook the thought of Devon from my head and turned right, following Noah.

Either Noah's craziness was rubbing off on me, or I was my father's child through and through because following a significant other was his thing.

So much so, I think he invented it.

I couldn't count on two hands and both feet how many times I'd been with Daddy when he followed Scarlett. I think in the back of his mind, he always thought she would try to get some type of revenge for Tiffany. Honestly, I think she did. There were too many rumors for at least one of them not to hold some type of weight. I actually think she had an affair with the African giant for a while. They made music that seemed a little too intimate together, but Mama was sneaky, and Daddy would never find out if she did.

Noah had been acting strange since that day he threatened to move out.

He would leave the house every day at the same time and come back a couple of hours later, smelling like Florida water or nag champa incense.

There were a lot of Erykah Badu-type women in Atlanta, looking for a man, and they were willing to share. I wasn't.

I followed Noah to a house in a quiet neighborhood outside of metro Atlanta.

I stopped driving and pulled over when he slowed.

I watched him pull into the driveway of a pretty craftsman-style house.

It was all white, even had a picket fence. He knocked, and the door swung open to reveal a woman with wild hair like mine, but it was dyed silver. I didn't get a good look at her face though. She welcomed him with open arms and a warm smile, burying her head in his chest.

I swear I saw him smell her hair and kiss the top of her head.

My mouth fell open.

I knew damn well, after the hell he'd put me through, he wasn't cheating.

I opened the door of the car and got out.

I thought about walking right up to the door and knocking, but I wanted proof.

I made sure I grabbed my phone.

I ran towards the house. It was mid-daylight, so I couldn't exactly hide. I pretended to bend down and inspect the flowerbed in the front yard. Then I thought about what I was doing. There was no way anybody would think I was doing the gardening in my expensive cardigan dress. I gave up pretending and ran to the side of the house, out of view of the neighbors. The windows were too tall on the side, so I made my way around to the back. Her yard was nicely manicured, but there were large pallet crates. I wondered what in the hell she had them for.

I didn't dwell on it.

I dragged one back to the side, then went back and got two more, stacking them.

Then I stepped up on them.

There were curtains blocking my way, but I could hear low music playing in the background.

"Hold me right here, baby.

That's it," I heard a female voice say, real low-like, sounding breathless.

Immediately, tears welled up in my eyes.

I wiped them away in frustration.

I felt like a fool.

I'd only had two relationships, and both men had cheated on me.

The thought of losing Noah was unbearable, but there was no way I would stay with him.

I went to step off the crates.

I lost my balance.

My hand hit the window hard as hell, but I didn't fall.

I stepped down off the crates and went fast-walking towards the front yard.

The woman and Noah came from the house just as I got to the front.

I stopped in my tracks, my fists balled at my side as I glared at Noah.

He said something to the woman only they could hear.

The woman stepped behind Noah, and before I got a good look at her face, she was covering her mouth.

She was laughing at me.

There was nothing funny about her breaking up my happy home.

I was going to pull that fake lace wig off her head.

My heart ached.

I had so many questions.

Why make me marry him if he was going to cheat? My tears blurred my vision as I tried to get my mouth to work.

I wanted to yell, to scream, to beat his ass...

"Why are you here, Creed? Did you follow me?" He looked amused.

They were both laughing at me.

All of a sudden, my mouth worked.

"You're damn right I did."

I started walking in his direction.

Tears streamed down my cheeks.

Noah met me halfway, concern all over his face.

"Why are you crying?" He reached for me.

I knocked his hands away.

"You sneaky, conniving, cheating mother—"

He interrupted.

"Cheating with who?"

"With her." I shot my finger in the direction of the lady who was still on the porch.

Then I looked at her, like really looked at her.

She reminded me of Debbie Allen and was as old as her, with graying sister-loc’d hair.

Confusion and frustration had me frowning.

This lady was not having sex with Noah.

"What are you doing here, Noah?"

He shook his head.

"It was supposed to be a surprise."

I tilted my head to stare at him.

He was still perfectly put together in a black polo, khaki chinos, and black Gucci sneakers on his feet.

He hadn't been fucking.

"What type of surprise?"

"I've been taking lessons to help Mrs.

Auta.

I want us to switch to a doula.

I didn’t like that doctor we went to."

His words hit me square in the chest.

My entire body turned red.

Noah took a deep breath and gently cradled my face in his hands, wiping away my tears with his thumbs.

"Did you follow me here because you thought I was fucking her? You were bloodthirsty at the idea, huh?" He leaned and rested his forehead against mine and whispered so only we could hear.

"Your jealousy makes me hard as fuck, Chipmunk." I hated his new nickname for me.

He said I had chipmunk teeth.

I shoved him off me.

"This is the hormones.

Ignore me, forget I was ever here." I threw a wave at Mrs.

Auta. She had a knowing smile on her face. I wanted to curl up and die for just an hour. I rushed back to my car with both of them laughing at me. I got in the car. I was halfway down the block before I fully processed what Noah said. I pulled over at a corner store. I needed to. I was about to lose it. I had embarrassed myself so badly. I was surprised Noah even let me leave. Then he pulled up beside me. His blue eyes shone bright. He was too amused for my liking. He gestured for me to roll down the window. I did. "I was going to follow you this time."

I resisted the urge to give him the finger.

Instead, I said, "You're out of your mind if I'm having a holistic birthing experience.

I want to be in the hospital, with three or four Black and/or POC doctors, who get paid a hell of a lot to make sure I make it home.

Black women die in childbirth. Won't be me. Now come get in the car and hold me," I said before I busted out crying.

I don't know what the fuck Mother Nature put in pregnancy hormones, but I wish I got less of it.