Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
STORMI
“God damn, Shiloh. You smell like a grown ass man.”
I could hear Jo talking to Shiloh from down the hall as she changed his pamper.
Her voice was half disgusted, half amused, but all love.
She had been heaven sent through this whole journey.
I don’t even know how I would’ve made it through without her every long night, every breakdown, every pain that came with healing.
Her being here was everything I didn’t know I needed until I had it.
“I’m bathing him,” Jo called out again. “These wipes not gon’ cut it. This boy shit like he eats ribs and wash it down with beer on the weekend.”
I laughed out loud because I knew she was so serious and I could picture her face when she said it.
“Okay, I’m finishing up dinner!” I yelled back from the kitchen, wiping my hands on a towel.
Serena had been out most of the day, and I wanted to surprise her with dinner. She’d been holding it down so heavy lately with breakfast, lunch, dinner, diaper duty, everything. It was time I did something to show her we appreciated her. Still loved her through the chaos.
“Mommy Stormi! I finished my homework!”
S3 came running into the kitchen, hair wild, one shoe on, one sock covered foot sliding across the tile, no shirt, just some basketball shorts two sizes too big. Lord, he looked so much like Seth it was scary sometimes. The way he moved, talked, even the way he made messes was all his father.
“Okay, baby, put it on the counter. I’ll look at it after dinner,” I said as I turned the stove to low heat. The smell of seasoned chicken and sautéed cabbage floated through the air, thick and comforting.
“What you cookin’?”
“Smothered chicken, yellow rice, cabbage, and cornbread. You hungry?”
“Starving,” he said dramatically, grabbing the juice box I handed him and inhaling it in one long gulp like he hadn’t drank since last week.
“Go bathe and put on your pajamas, okay? Everything should be ready by the time you finish.”
I kissed his cheek, the softest spot just beneath his eye, and watched him trot off, mumbling about how he hoped the cornbread was the sweet kind this time.
I stepped into the living room to straighten up a bit, picking up toys and folding blankets. It felt good, I felt really good like the beginning of something peaceful. I wasn’t 100% better the pain still visited, some days more than others but I was healing.
Being home again, back in my space, surrounded by my boys and my chosen family… I’d forgotten how grounding that could be.
Seth had been in and out all day. I didn’t press. I knew he had things to handle, and whatever this situation with Dre was, it had a clock on it. When that time ran out, I believed maybe blindly that we’d be back to our rhythm. Back to what we were trying to build before everything got flipped.
I flopped onto the couch, a small wince slipping out as a dull ache shot up my side. I placed my hand there, breathing through it.
I turned on the cartoons for the boys to watch after dinner, letting the warm flicker of the TV light fill the room.
For a new mom, I wasn’t as tired as I thought I’d be.
Rich had taken over most of the overnight shifts, and Jo was my angel with wings handling early mornings and late nights like she wasn’t also fixing her own life.
I laid back and let the comfort settle over me. I wasn't all the way back. But I was close enough to feel it.
“Hey. I was wondering when you’d be back,” I called out as Serena stepped through the door, purse slung on her shoulder, keys jingling in her hand.
I smiled, relieved she was home until I saw who was behind her. My smile dropped like dead weight.
Imani. The moment our eyes locked, I stood up from the couch, every nerve in my body going still, then sharp.
“What the fuck you doing here?” I asked, my voice low but steady.
We’d kept it cordial after the fight, unsaid boundaries.
She stayed in her corner; I stayed in mine.
We never got to the bottom of why she was with Dre.
Seth said he’ll handle it. I believed him, so I let him.
She was S3’s mother, I respected that. And with the schedule she and Seth had in place, she didn’t have to step foot in this house.
He handled pickups and drop offs. We split birthdays and holidays.
Honestly, she was barely around, too busy living her life out of state or in somebody’s section.
So why was she here again, unannounced, standing in the middle of my living room, I didn’t understand.
“This is my baby daddy’s house,” she snapped, attitude laced in every syllable like she was daring me to check her again.
“This is Seth and I’s house,” I corrected, standing my ground.
I glanced over at Serena and of course, she was avoiding eye contact like a guilty kid caught in a lie. Suddenly, the silence said more than either of them had.
“Oh, right,” Imani said with a fake laugh. “Y’all had that little wedding, huh?”
She said it like it was a joke. Like it was some backyard ceremony with a plastic table and folding chairs.
“Yeah,” I said, smiling with teeth, “the one you wished you had. What the fuck do you want, Imani?”
Her face twisted for a split second before she caught herself, and then that smug smile came right back.
“My son is here. You know Seth’s firstborn? The one who carries his name, and our blood?”
That smirk she gave me could’ve sliced glass, like she thought sharing a child with Seth somehow made her royalty.
I didn’t flinch. I just smiled harder.
“You mean the same boy I tuck in at night? Help with his homework? Watch cartoons with him on the couch when he can’t sleep? Yeah, he’s here.”
She took a step closer. Her energy shifted like she was ready to start a fire just to see if I’d burn.
“Aww,” she said sweetly, “Seth turned you into the help, huh?”
I didn’t blink. Didn’t move. But I felt that one. Before I could say what I really wanted to, Serena stepped in.
“Okay, that’s enough,” she said, positioning herself between us. “Imani just wanted to see S3. It’s been over a month. Seth’s had him cooped up in this house.”
“And you know why,” I shot back, glaring at her.
She sighed, her patience obviously thin. “That doesn’t make it right, Stormi. How would you feel if you hadn’t seen Shiloh in over a month?”
My jaw clenched. The mention of Shiloh alone had me ready to snap. “That’s different and you know it. Imani agreed to this, you were there. She said she was okay with S3 staying while she was out in Vegas. Seth didn’t make that decision alone.”
Serena folded her arms. “Yeah, well, she’s back now.”
And just like that, I understood. This wasn’t about S3. This wasn’t about motherly concern. This was about control. A bitch’s ego. What territory she thinks she might have.
I pulled out my phone and typed a quick message to Seth:
Your mom brought your baby mama home. Come handle this. Now.
My thumb hovered for a second. Then I hit sent. Whatever peace was in this house before. It just left with the sound of that door closing behind them.
“The fuck this tramp doing here?” Jo’s voice rang out like a gunshot as she came down the stairs, cradling a freshly bathed Shiloh in her arms, steam still rising off his curls.
Imani turned toward her slowly, arms crossed.
“Last time I checked, this was my son’s house,” Serena voiced, calm but firm, like she was waiting for a reason to snap.
Jo didn’t miss a beat.
“Oh, baby, when he put that ring on my daughter’s finger, it became their house. What’s his is hers now. Everything except that bitch right there.”
She tilted her chin toward Imani, stepping closer like she was ready to lay hands. I didn’t even hesitate. I reached out and gently grabbed Shiloh from her arms before things escalated.
“Jo, it’s fine,” I said quickly, adjusting Shiloh. “S3’s in the bath right now. He’ll be down soon. You can stay for dinner if you want.”
“You cooked?” Serena asked, eyebrows raised like she was genuinely confused.
“Yeah,” I replied simply.
“Huh. Didn’t know you could do that,” she shot with a smug little smile before walking into the kitchen like it was hers.
Jo narrowed her eyes, watching her go. “Oh, mother-in-law on one today,” she muttered, starting to follow behind her.
I reached out, grabbed her wrist. “Jo, just… let it ride. Please.”
She looked at me like I asked her to swallow fire.
“She don’t know me,” she said low, teeth clenched. “I might’ve changed my ways, but I will still cut a bitch about you. Tell her don’t test me, Stormi.”
“I know, Jo. I know. Let’s just keep the peace tonight.”
Jo shook her head but relented. “Oh, I keep a piece. Hell, Seth got a few stashes around here. Showed me where they were at.”
That pulled a laugh out of me. God, I needed that.
And of course, right on cue, Imani decided to speak.
“Oh, the ghetto this has become,” she muttered, brushing past us on her way to the kitchen.
Before she could take another step, Jo snatched her ponytail like it owed her money and yanked her backwards.
“Did my daughter invite you into her kitchen?” Jo barked.
“Jo” I yelled, stepping in before things went all the way left. “I got this. Go grab S3 for me.”
Jo gave Imani one last glare before turning away. “Y’all lucky I got grandbabies in this house,” she muttered.
I turned to Imani, the heat in my chest rising slow and steady. She stood there, smug like always, thinking just because she once shared a bed and a baby with Seth, she had some type of claim. She didn’t. And I was about to remind her.
“I know you’re used to me letting Seth handle you, Imani.
But he’s not here right now. I am. And let me make something very clear.
If you ever think I won’t fuck your ass up again, try me bitch.
You walk into my house, yes, my house, and disrespect me or my mother again, I will personally escort your ass out, headfirst.”
She blinked, caught off guard by the tone shift. I stepped closer.