21. Givens
GIVENS
“If I asked Mercy on a date, do you think she would say no?” I asked Faylin as we walked to the court. She glanced at me and smirked before shaking her head. “Legit, daughter, I need some help right now.”
“And why would I help you?” she laughed.
I threw my arm over her shoulder and pulled her close to me. “Cuz I’m yo daddy, and I’m struggling.”
“And whose fault is that?” she questioned. “You decided to ghost her, not me.”
“She told you that?” I asked in surprise. From what I could tell, Mercy never put our business on Faylin’s lap, which I respected.
“Nope,” she answered. “I saw it. Daddy, you went from sweating her to nothing, and now you’re back to sweating her hard.” She stopped walking and put her hands on her waist. “Is it because you're jealous?”
“Jealous?” I reared back. “Of what?”
“Of that cop that’s been coming around.”
“What cop?” I felt my face twist in confusion. Mercy hadn’t mentioned the police being around, nor had I heard anything from Pyrite or Hood. “You seen him?” Faylin nodded. “How many times?”
“A couple,” she answered with a shrug. “He came by yesterday and brought her lunch and stayed for practice. He’s nice.”
I licked my lips, wiped my hand over my face, and then nodded. Here am I worrying that she was in trouble or could be, and this cop nigga was around bringing her lunch and staying for practice. I chuckled and then stared at Faylin. “That nigga show up today, let me know.”
“Why?” she asked, her face twisted like I was in the wrong.
“Daddy, I told you that Mercy was the prize, and you fumbled her.” She shook her head like she was disappointed and sighed.
“I love you, but I’m not on your side for this one.
If you want her back, then you have to prove it.
” She started back walking to the court.
“And that little post on IG won't work. You gotta think bigger and better.”
I watched my daughter walk away with a million thoughts running through my mind.
Even though we hadn’t discussed being exclusive, I didn’t expect Mercy to be talking to another nigga, let alone allowing him to come to the Arena.
Instead of getting pissed off even more, I made sure Faylin was at the court before leaving the arena.
When I got to my car, I found Shai waiting for me. I wiped my hand down my face and shook my head. “What you want, Shai?” I asked as I pulled my keyfob from my pocket and unlocked my car doors.
“We need to talk,” she answered. We hadn’t seen each other in almost a month, and I waited to keep the streak going. “It’s important.”
“If it ain’t about Faylin, we ain’t got shit to say to each other,” I said, shaking my head. I looked her up and down, then waved her on. “Move, man.”
“I’m late,” she said, and I shrugged.
“Me, too,” I said with a laugh. “Look, I ain’t stopping you from getting in there and doing your job, so move.”
“I mean, my period is late,” she declared, and my heart dropped into my ass. “It was supposed to come on the other day, and it didn’t.”
“The fuck you tellin’ me for?” I questioned, and she kissed her teeth in annoyance. “You tryin’ to say this kid is mine?”
“We fucked a few times in Chicago,” she answered with a nod.
“Nah, man,” I said, shaking my head. “That ain’t my baby.”
“Yes, it is,” she said as she stepped into my space. “And I’m keepin’ it.”
My eyes went to her flat stomach, and I felt like I was about to throw up.
This was the last thing I needed. I mean, yeah, I wanted more kids, but not right now, especially not with Shai.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, stepped back, and my eyes went to the arena.
I was just getting back on good terms with Mercy, and now I was going to have to tell her this.
We weren’t going to survive it, and the nigga that Faylin had seen at the arena the past few days would have my spot in Mercy’s life.
“Nah, man,” I said. “You ain’t took a test, right?”
“No, but I know my body,” Shai said, rolling her eyes. “I feel the same way I did when I was pregnant with Faylin.”
“That was damn near fifteen years ago, you don’t remember shit,” I scoffed. “Take a damn test.”
“For what?” she questioned with an attitude. “It’s only going to say what I already know. I’m pregnant, and it's your baby.”
“Then set up an appointment,” I suggested.
“Givens, I already said I’m keepin’ it.”
“Shai-“
“No,” she said, cutting me off. “This baby is coming no matter what you say, and you’re going to take care of it just like you take care of Faylin. If your little girlfriend can't handle that, then that’s your problem.”
“Set up the fuckin’ appointment to get it confirmed, Shai,” I said, not giving a fuck about what she was talking about. If she was pregnant, then cool, but I wanted to see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears a doctor tell me the due date. “When you do, call me, and I’ll be there.”
“Alright,” she agreed.
She started to walk away, but I grabbed her arm to stop her. “Ay, don’t say shit to Faylin or nobody else until I say so,” I said, and she mugged me hard. “I don’t give a fuck about the attitude, Shai. Keep your fuckin’ mouth shut.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” she said, then snatched her arm away. I watched her walk away and tried to wrap my mind around this shit. I got in the car, started it, and drove off. My mood was fucked up for the rest of the day.
I wiped my hand over my face and took a deep breath as I waited outside the arena for Mercy and Faylin.
All day, my mind had been on the bullshit Shai had dropped on my lap, and I debated on how I was going to tell Mercy if the baby was mine.
I wasn’t going to say shit until we went to the doctor and got a DNA test, and I wasn’t waiting til the baby was born, either.
She was getting that shit done while it was still in the womb.
I was almost done dealing with her ass, and now this shit.
I looked up in time to see Mercy and the girls walking out of the gym and got out of the car. Without saying anything, I met them halfway down the sidewalk and took Mercy's and Faylin’s bags from them.
“Daddy, Mommy wants me to go to her house tonight,” Faylin said, rolling her eyes. “I told her I had something to do with you and Mercy.”
“You ain’t trying to go?” I asked even though I knew the answer.
Faylin wasn’t feeling Shai’s clingy behavior.
Since living with me, she’d gotten used to dealing with Shai once or twice every few weeks, but over the last week, Shai had been trying to pop up more and more.
Faylin was being a good sport, but I knew it was about to end, and she would snap.
“No sir,’ she said and shook her head. “I just want to go home, shower and sleep.” She looked over at Mercy and smirked. “Because somebody has been running me ragged, and I’m exhausted.”
“Who?” Mercy looked around and smiled before turning back to us.
“That owl,” Faylin and I said in unison.
“Well damn,” Mercy replied with a sigh. “I’m over here trying to prepare you, and now I’m the bad guy.”
“Yes,” Faylin laughed. “I need a night off, no expectations, or a million questions I don’t want to answer.” She turned back to me and pouted. “Please put me on punishment.”
“Million questions?” I lifted my brow. “Who the fuck be asking you questions and why?”
“Daddy, that’s not the point,” she sighed. “Just put me on punishment.”
Shai’s car pulled up next to mine just as we reached the curb. I unlocked the car, opened the passenger seat, and then the back seat before popping the trunk.
“She’s going with me tonight, Givens,” Shai said as she mugged me.
“Nah, not tonight,” I denied as I dropped their bags into the trunk and closed it. “Check with her in a couple of days.”
“What?” she reared back, then shook her head. “So you trying to keep my daughter away from me?”
I rounded the car and opened the passenger door to see Mercy’s attention on her phone, not my conversation with Shai.
“Baby, start the car,” I said, handing Mercy the keys.
She nodded, climbed across the center console to get in the driver's seat, and started the car. “Give me like a minute.” I looked back to see Faylin half asleep in the back seat before closing the door and walking to Shai’s car. “What the fuck is your problem?”
“Mine?” she asked, trying to play innocent. “Why would I have a problem, Givens?”
“How the fuck am I supposed to know, Shai?” I replied and shook my head.
“You talkin’ about some I’m trying to keep your daughter from you bullshit like Faylin cant make her own decisions.
” I bent down so that we were eye to eye and I could speak freely so Faylin couldn’t hear what I was about to say.
“A few months back, you were at my house telling me that she needed to live with me full time, even though I’m still paying your ass child support.
Now I’m trying to keep her from you? Be fuckin’ for real right now. ”
“I am being for real,” she replied with a laugh. “I’m just trying to spend time with her before this baby comes. I’m not trying to neglect my daughter.”
“Stop fuckin’ playin’ with me, Shai,” I said, shaking my head. “I keep tellin’ you-“
“You not tellin’ me shit, Givens,” she interjected.
“I hold the cards right now.” She looked over my shoulder to my car before giving me her attention.
“If you don’t want your little girlfriend to know you’ve been fuckin’ on me, and we’re going half on a baby, you might want to do what the fuck I say. ”
I flicked my nose with my thumb and nodded to try and keep my cool. She had me completely fucked up, and the only things keeping me from smashing her fucking face into the steering wheel was the fact that she was my daughter's mama, and I didn’t put my hands on women.
“How much is this gonna cost me?” I asked, knowing that Shai’s motives were always controlled by money.
“You think this is about money?” she laughed and shook her head. “You can't afford to pay me what I’m thinking, but that’s alright. I’m going to have fun destroying your little happy life.”
“The fuck is your problem, Shai?” I questioned. “We've been cool for years. Now, because I got a woman, it’s a problem? Is that what this is about, cuz I’m with Mercy? You jealous?”
“Get the fuck away from my car, Givens,” she snarled, and I nodded.
The fact that she was jealous was crazy as fuck to me.
Shai and I may not have been perfect co-parents, but neither of us gave a fuck about what the other was doing as long as Faylin was taken care of.
She’d dated plenty of niggas in the past, and I never batted an eye.
“Nah, man, answer my fuckin’ question. Are you acting like this cuz I’m with Mercy now?”
“That bitch doesn’t mean shit to me,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Now get the fuck away from my car-“
“Watch who the fuck you talkin’ to.” I reached into her car, grabbed her around her throat, and squeezed. “Play with another nigga and not me, Shai. Have your attitude, but don’t be disrespectful because then I’ma be a disrespectful nigga.”
“Givens,” she gasped as she grabbed my wrist. “Givens!”
“Stop fuckin’ playin’ with me, Shai,” I calmly said. “Check your fuckin’ attitude, schedule the appointment, and get yourself together. Faylin will come to see you in a few days. You understand?”
“Yes,” she gasped and nodded. “Yes.”
“Good,” I said as I let her go. I stood up and stared down at Shai.
Her eyes were lit with anger, but I didn’t give a fuck.
To add insult to injury, I tapped the hood of her car and then walked away.
Her speeding off echoed through the empty parking lot as I rounded my car and opened the door, grateful that Mercy was back in the passenger seat. I got in and drove off.
“You okay?” Mercy asked, and I nodded.
“Yeah.” I looked through the rearview mirror to check on Faylin. “She on some fuck shit right now, and I ain’t with it.”
“You need me to handle it?” she questioned. I looked over at her and smirked. This girl was funny as fuck.
I rested my hand on her thigh and turned back to look at the road. “I got it, DeCorte,” I said as I drove.