Chapter 17
CHRISTIAN
When we got to my mama’s house, I could see the nerves embody Mya. Jakari’s and Rylan’s cars were already in the driveway. I’d purposely arrived later so everyone would be here, and I would only have to say it once. I was happy, and I knew my family would be happy for me too.
I grabbed Mya’s hand and caressed it between my big ones. After she threw up earlier, it was like it wouldn’t stop after that. I felt horrible for causing it. She assured me that it was okay, but that shit didn’t look okay to me. One thing I hated was throwing up. I didn’t think anyone liked it, but I’d choose diarrhea any day over that.
When she finally stopped and had fallen asleep, I didn’t want to wake her up. I knew she probably wouldn’t eat much so she wouldn’t upset her stomach again, but hopefully, she would be able to get something down.
“You know everything is going to be fine, right?”
“Yeah. I’m nervous for nothing, but I can’t help it.”
I smiled at her and got out of my Escalade to help her out of it. When I did, I saw Uncle Storm staring at us from his house. I slightly rolled my eyes as he walked over. When Mya saw him, she perked up a bit. “Hi, Mister Mayor!”
He gave her a one-cheeked smile. “What’s up, Mya? I thought you was a runner, girl. You got out of here fast as hell the last time I saw you.”
Mya giggled. “I was a little overwhelmed. I’m not running anymore.”
“I see. Congratulations, I guess.”
I shook my head as he stared at us. The nigga could peep out anything. “Christian, why you being all sensitive and shit? You holding on to her like she gon’ break.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t you have something else to do? You changed that filter?”
“Nope. It ain’t dirty.”
I slowly shook my head as he walked back to his house. Growing up, sometimes I hated that his nosy ass lived so close to us. We couldn’t get away with shit at the house. When we wanted to do our dirt, it had to be away from home.
“I think he knows something,” Mya said.
“Yeah. That nigga always got his nose in other people’s shit.”
She let out a nervous chuckle as I led her to the door. I could hear them talking and laughing and JJ in there acting a damn fool. Jakari’s son was bad as hell. He was as bad as Uncle Storm’s kids, meddling with every damn thing. I opened the door, and Mya and I walked inside to join the festivities.
However, before we could get to them, the doorbell rang. I wasn’t sure who it could be, since we were all here. Mya and I entered the room they were in as my pop was heading to the door.
“Hey, son. This must be the infamous Mya. Angel has been talking about you nonstop.”
I chuckled. When Angel was extremely excited about something or someone, they were her entire conversation. “Hello, Mister Douglas. It’s nice to meet you,” Mya said as she shook his hand.
He slapped my hand and headed to the door as the doorbell rang again. We proceeded to the room where everyone was, and my brothers stood from their seats. Rylan hugged Mya since he’d met her yesterday. When he released her, I introduced her to Jakari. He smiled and hugged her too. After she kissed Angel then Renzo’s head, I introduced her to JJ and Yendi.
Mya then sat next to my mama and gave her a big hug. I could tell that Mya felt my mama’s sweet spirit. The hug she gave her was different from the one she gave Angel. It was like a mother daughter type of hug. Her eyes had closed and everything. What was even more touching was that my mama closed her eyes too. She was about to have three daughters and three grandchildren.
When they separated, there was a loud noise at the door. I immediately stood from my seat, along with my brothers. We all rushed to the area to see Courtney trying to fight her way inside. “Man, what the fuck you on?” I yelled.
She stopped struggling with Pop and stared at me. “Christian! I need to talk to you!”
Jakari looked at me with his eyebrows lifted. “Who in the fuck is that?” he asked.
“Man, Courtney from school.”
His eyes widened even more. I was embarrassed for even fucking around with her. I wished I had never gone to Ms. Hazel’s house that day. Pop stepped aside for me to get to her. I swiftly grabbed her by the arm and pulled her outside. My brothers followed me, probably to make sure I didn’t hurt her ass. It seemed I had the worst temper out of the three of us. I was quicker to snap on somebody, too, because patience was a virtue I didn’t possess.
“Christian, I need help! Ms. Hazel put me out, and I have nowhere to go. Please.”
“What the fuck that got to do with me, Courtney? You disrupting our family dinner. That shit ain’t cool. What the fuck you on? I know you using.”
She jerked away from me. “You’re like all the rest! I’m struggling right now, and you’re accusing me of using drugs. Fuck you!”
“And that shit proves my point. Look how defensive you are. Let me see your teeth.”
“Get the fuck away from me!” she yelled as I grabbed her.
“Naw. You wanted to be in my space, so shut the fuck up.”
Jakari grabbed her and wrapped his arms around her, pinning her arms to her side. I grabbed her head and pulled her lips apart to see just what I thought I would see. Her teeth were rotting, a telltale sign of meth usage in my book.
“Just like I thought. Rylan, call the police.” I turned back to her. “You see the no trespassing sign? You in violation. I could have shot your ass and got away with it. Quit fucking with me before that becomes a reality. I am not the same Christian from high school, and you need to respect that shit before you can’t.”
Uncle Storm was in his driveway, watching the whole time, then decided to make his way over. Courtney used to be scared of his ass because he was so damn mean to her. It was mainly because he didn’t like her family. He didn’t care if shit didn’t apply to her. She was guilty by association in his book.
“What yo’ ass doing over here besides fucking up people’s day?” he asked her.
When she didn’t respond, he grabbed her by the chin. “I asked yo’ ass a question. What the fuck you want with my nephew?”
“I need… I need help.”
“Your fucking breath stank. You need to carry your ass to a fucking rehab facility. He can’t provide that kind of help, and that’s what you need the most.”
I slid my hand over my face as a sheriff department squad car pulled up. I turned to look toward the house to see all the women on the porch. My eyes met Mya’s. I expected to see anger in them, but all I saw was concern. That eased my nerves a bit. I knew I would have to explain to her what was going on, but at least I wouldn’t have to try to soothe her beforehand.
When the cop approached, Jakari released her. She ran up on me and swung. Before I knew it, I had grabbed her by her fucking neck and lifted her from the ground. “Christian! Oh my God! Baby, put her down!” I heard my mama yell.
Before I did, I pulled her a little closer to me as she struggled. “Don’t you ever put your fucking hands on me again. I’ll break your fucking fingers one by one.”
I dropped her to the ground, and the cop helped her to her feet. Rage had taken over me in that moment. Thankfully, my mama housed the holy spirit, because the Lord was the only one who could stop me from choking the shit out of her ass. She stared at me for a moment as he cuffed her then spit at my feet.
My nose twitched, and I was about to grab her ass again. Jakari snatched me by the shirt and pushed me against my vehicle. “Are you crazy? Let that shit go. You tryna go to jail?”
“She put her dirty ass hands on me.” I jerked away from him. “She deserved everything she got and what she was about to get. People need to learn to keep their fucking hands to themselves!”
Uncle Storm put his arm around me as Pop stood next to me. “It’s cool, nephew. She gon’ get what she’s searching for. Think about your lady and the baby she’s carrying.”
I rolled my eyes as Pop’s eyes widened. “Baby?” he asked.
“Let me fill this cop in on what happened, and then we’ll talk to y’all. Uncle Storm, keep yo’ two cents to yourself.”
“I always got more than two cents, nephew. I’m a fucking dollar bill.”
I knew he was fishing, and I gave him the answer he wanted. He was good at that shit. He didn’t know shit for sure, but this was an example of how he found out everything he was questioning. I went to the cop and gave him blow by blow details of what happened today, what has been happening since I reconnected with Courtney, and how we knew each other.
After he filled out his report and I filed a restraining order against her ass, he left. She would probably be charged with harassment, but I was pretty sure she would be back on the streets Monday morning, since it was the weekend.
I made my way back to the house, and when I got to the porch, Mya was standing there with a towel. She gently put it to my face as I stared at her. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“You have no reason to apologize, Christian. Come on.”
I followed her inside as Rylan asked, “You didn’t see that cop pull his weapon? It was like you didn’t hear any of us yelling at you. You didn’t release her until Mama yelled. Uncle Storm eased the cop’s trigger finger.”
I slid my hand down my face then sat on the couch. I dropped the cold towel to the coffee table and rested my face in my palms for a second. “I’m sorry, y’all. Mama, it had to be God speaking through you if I didn’t hear anyone else. I don’t know why she insists on fucking with me.”
“Christian, like you said, she only remembers the cool Christian from school. That is not who you grew up to be. I honestly think you need to talk out your anger issues with somebody, because since the situation with Avery, you haven’t been the same. When we all released forgiveness and moved on, you didn’t. That’s not healthy, man. You can forgive him without having a relationship with him, but you have to let that shit go before it destroys you,” Jakari said.
I slid my arm around Mya and kissed her head as I noticed the tear slide down her cheek. She placed her hand on my cheek, right where that bitch had hit me, and gently caressed it. I rested my forehead against hers and then kissed her lips before pulling away from her.
“I know I have to get it together, especially for the sake of Mya and our unborn child. Mya’s pregnant. That was what today was supposed to be about. I’m about to be a father.”
My mama’s hands flew to her face, and I could tell she wanted to be happy, but she didn’t know if she should be, given what had just happened. Jakari frowned slightly, but he didn’t say anything. Rylan and Pop were the first to congratulate us. Afterward, everyone followed suit. After handing Renzo to my mama, Angel hugged Mya tightly, and when Mya started crying, she only held her tighter.
I was worried about how she was feeling. As I was about to try to comfort her, she sprang to her feet. I knew what that meant. I quickly led her to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her, shutting me out. I didn’t know what to feel in that moment. For a second, my mind wondered about how she felt about what she saw. I was more than sure she was scared.
If I could snap on Courtney like that, she probably suspected I could do the same to her. I closed my eyes and silently prayed that everything would be fine. I felt a hand on my back, and I knew it was my mother’s touch. Her touch could always soothe me. I turned to her, and she pulled me in her arms.
“Everything will be fine, baby. Congratulations. You’re going to be a wonderful father, and if what I’m seeing is accurate, you’ll be a wonderful husband too.”
I didn’t respond to her words. I just held her tightly. When I released her, she smiled at me. “Don’t let what happened today dim your light. You’re gonna be a daddy!”
I smiled slightly. When the bathroom door opened, Mya’s face was red as hell. I went to her and kissed her forehead. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m just a little embarrassed about my emotional breakdown. I don’t even know where it came from.”
My mama smiled slightly. “Girl, pregnancy will have you a bundle of senseless emotions. This evening has been full of stuff to trigger them though. You have no reason to be embarrassed. Come on here so we can talk about this baby!”
Mya smiled and gently stroked my cheek then followed my mama back to the family room. I stood in the hallway, trying to pull myself together. Just that quickly, the anger had left me. I was way more concerned about Mya and how she was feeling. I knew we would talk later when we were alone. As I walked down the hallway to join everyone, Jakari was coming my way to check on me, I assumed.
Sure enough, when I got to the end of the hallway, he slid his arm around my shoulders. “Are y’all a couple?”
“Yeah. We just became a couple, although I’ve been wanting her for the past three months practically.”
“Are you sure she’s accepting that for the right reasons now?”
I frowned slightly as he lifted his hands. “Yeah. Why?”
“Isn’t it my job to look out for my lil brother?” he asked.
Suddenly, my irritation was coming back. “You mean like you looked out for Rylan against Decaurey’s punk ass?”
“Hol’ on, man. Don’t do that. I did look out for Rylan. Just because I didn’t shun Decaurey like you did doesn’t mean I wasn’t concerned. I called and checked on him all the time. You tripping.”
“Yeah, maybe I am, but I’m grown. Don’t question my relationship like that. If something is up, I would be the first to know.”
I walked past him and flopped on the couch, ready to go. There were certain things that were off limits, even with my family. The woman I loved was one of them. If I was making a mistake, then so be it. I felt like he was only saying that shit because Janay was his sister-in-law, and they were rooting for us to make it.
I was rooting for us to make it too, but this was my fucking life. Janay and I didn’t work out, and it was simply because of the distance. We tried, and we both fucked up. End of story. We ended on good terms and understood our downfall. We wished one another the best and moved on. He needed to do the same.