9. Tahli
Holding onto Sierra’s hand, I whipped the spoon in the mixing bowl we’d put brownie batter in. “Your arm tired?” I asked.
Sierra whipped her head back and forth. “Okay. We only have to do this for like one more minute. Then we can pour it into the cupcake paper.”
“We’re making cupcakes?” she asked in a confused tone.
“No, but we’re going to put the brownies in cupcake paper and bake them in a cupcake pan, so they’re brownies, but they’re shaped like cupcakes.”
“Ohhhh.”
It had been one month since I moved into my apartment and two weeks since the first time I met Sierra.
She was the sweetest little girl, and I loved watching Khalif be a father.
He could definitely teach mine a thing or ten.
I still didn’t have a regular job, but I prayed daily that social media would continue being good to me.
I still primarily posted wigs, but I had started a little series about my new apartment and showing how I decorated each room.
I had gained so many followers, and they always asked me where I got things from, so I joined an affiliate link with .
Each time someone clicked my link and purchased something from , I got a commission.
I had more than one hundred items linked in my storefront.
Everything from edge control and edge brushes to home décor and my favorite kitchen gadgets.
Once my apartment was decorated, I was going to start another little series talking about books I read and review them.
I loved everything from urban romance to thrillers and suspense.
When I checked my account and saw that my upcoming social media payout was for $22,000, I screamed so loud, I was surprised the neighbors didn’t call the police.
Lord knows, I had done wrong in my life by way of scamming and fraud, but things were looking really good for me, and I was so grateful.
I had a court date approaching, but my lawyer was sure the case would get dismissed because of what the officer said to me and the fact that he had been fired.
Khalif walked into my apartment with Sheniah behind him. “I found a stray in the parking lot,” he joked.
Sheniah punched Khalif playfully making Sierra squeal. “Daddy she punched you!”
“She sure did. I’m about to arrest her.”
“Anyway,” Sheniah rolled her eyes and walked into the kitchen. “Hey Pretty Girl,” she greeted Sierra.
Placing the shopping bags he had on the counter, Khalif shook his head. “She done already cost me a friend, and now she’s abusing me. I need a restraining order.”
“If I cost you a friend that looney tune was never your friend,” she declared.
“That part,” I co-signed.
One night, I was at a bar with Khalif and his co-worker, Tony.
Sheniah wanted to pull up on us, and she did.
She hit it off with Tony, and all Khalif could do was shake his head and say he wanted no parts of it.
He absolutely had nothing to do with them hitting it off.
They’d been dating for three weeks, and when Nook found out, he not only went off on Sheniah, but he went off on Khalif.
He was so drunk and belligerent yelling in Khalif’s face that Khalif knocked him out.
Straight put Nook to sleep. He was laid out in the grass snoring and all. Nook hadn’t spoken to Khalif since.
“You know I don’t care. That smells good, Stink.”
“Daddy, I don’t stink.”
“No, you don’t.”
Khalif settled on the couch while Sierra and I poured the batter into the baking cups.
Khalif and Sierra were spending the night with me, and I invited Sheniah over to watch the fight.
When she told Tony he asked why he wasn’t invited, and I told him he could come.
I couldn’t care less about Nook or his temper tantrums. Sheniah was my friend first. I didn’t give a damn what he was talking about.
She said she was simply having fun with Tony and even if they didn’t work out, she’d never go back to Nook, and I believed her.
My girl’s life was so peaceful without Nook around.
Her only regret was that they didn’t break up sooner.
I couldn’t fathom being miserable with someone for ten years.
But familiarity could make people do strange things.
My cell phone vibrated on the counter, and my brows dipped when I saw that my mother’s friend, Brenda was calling. Brenda never called me. It felt as if my heartbeat was in my throat as I cleared my throat and answered the phone.
“Hey, Tahli, baby, how are you doing?”
She didn’t sound like she was crying, so that was good news. “I’m fine. What’s going on?” I cut to the chase.
“Earl was found in his truck this afternoon. No one is for sure what happened, but they think it was an overdose. Your mother isn’t taking it well. She’s been here with me for the past three days. I just wanted to let you know.”
I hate that I felt so relieved. I wasn’t glad that Earl was gone, but I was happy that it wasn’t my mother. Even if I was mad at her, I’d never wish death on her. “Whatever he was doing do you think she was doing it too?”
“I don’t think so. For the past six months or so, I’d been hearing that Earl was on heroin, but I didn’t know for sure until she confirmed it.
He lost his job, and she helped him to get that truck.
I think he did that on his own, and she just drank as she normally did.
In less than six months, he lost everything, and she was right there with him. ”
I pushed out a deep sigh. “Do you know what she plans to do about her living situation?”
“I told her she’s good here for as long as she wants. You know I’m alone since Alex moved out.”
“I’m going to send you some money through Zelle. You can give some to my mom, but I want you to keep most of it. Put food in the house. Household supplies. Whatever you all need, but I don’t want her drinking all the money up.”
“Okay, Tahli, I appreciate that. I’m not charging your mother anything for staying with me. That’s been my friend since elementary school, but I’d be lying if I said I could afford to carry both of us.”
“I get it. I’m about to send the money now, and thank you for calling me.”
I ended the call and sent Brenda $2,500.
“Everything okay?” Sheniah stared at me with eyes full of concern.
Khalif had gone to give Sierra a bath while the brownies baked because it would be her bedtime soon.
“They found Earl in his truck. They think he died from an overdose.”
“Oh my God,” Sheniah’s eyes bulged out. “I know your mom is fucked up.”
“Yeap. I’m sure she’s somewhere right now drinking the pain away, but she’s good with Ms. Brenda. They’ve been friends forever. I sent her some money and asked her to look out for my mom.”
I knew my mother loved Earl, and she wouldn’t take his death easy at all.
I was sad for his kids and his grandkids.
Prior to his addiction, Earl was a hard-working man.
My mother wasn’t the only person he looked out for.
His kids were always coming to him for something, and he never hesitated to help them. His grandkids adored him.
Whatever issues I had with my mother, I was going to put to the side and go see her at Ms. Brenda’s house the following day. The doorbell rang.
“Go get the door for your boo,” I smiled at Sheniah and went to the email app on my phone. I had a habit of checking my emails every few hours.
When I saw that my attorney had sent me an email two hours ago on a weekend, my heart drummed in my chest. I opened it, and my eyes darted back and forth across the words.
My heart was so loud in my eardrum, I almost didn’t hear Tony speaking to me.
I loved and trusted Sheniah. I trusted Khalif as well, but I wasn’t about to reveal my news with Tony present. My knees buckled, and I grew warm.
According to my attorney, the police department didn’t want a public scandal, and they were willing to settle out of court.
Once my lawyer got her cut, I was going to get $1,250,000.
I literally couldn’t breathe. My ass wasn’t even thirty, so no, I wasn’t set for life, but I had a major ass head start.
With the cushion that I had, I could pay off all my debt, and plan on buying a house once my lease was up.
I could also focus on more creative content and even getting someone to professionally edit my videos, so I could gain more followers and make more money with social media.
Shit, I was going to create a YouTube channel.
I was so worried about being embarrassed and talked about for being arrested at the mall, and it turned out to be the biggest blessing ever. Maybe Mack’s lil’ trifling ass was good for something after all.
Khalif sighed and tossed his phone to the side. It landed on the couch, and I watched him run his hands over his locs. I was searching his face for signs to try and decipher his mood. “You okay?” I asked.
It was a week after we watched the fight at my apartment, and Sierra was with Gina’s mother. Sierra had just called Khalif and asked him if she could spend the night with her mother. Of course, he didn’t want to say no because Sierra seemed excited.
“I’m good. I just don’t want Gina on that wishy washy shit. Sierra has been doing good. She barely even asks about her mother. Now, for whatever reason, Gina remembers she has a kid, and she wants to pop back up. I just hope she has her shit together.”
“Hopefully, she does.”
Khalif looked over at me, and the expression on his face was a serious one. “I’m not going through this shit again. Once we have our baby there is no breaking up.”
My brows hiked. “And when are we having a baby? I missed the memo.”
Khalif gently grabbed my arm and pulled me into his lap. I straddled him and wrapped my arms around his neck.
“After we get married.” He gripped my waist and placed a kiss on my lips. “And that won’t be too far away.” The way he peered into my eyes there was no doubt in my mind that Khalif was into me.
It may have been too soon to be talking about marriage, but I really could see myself marrying him in the future. As long as he didn’t switch up on me. I still hadn’t told him about the money. Eventually, I was going to, but I wanted to make sure that what we had was solid first.
“You think you want to marry me, huh?”
“I know I want to marry you. I fucked around and fell in love with a scammer.”
I punched Khalif in the shoulder. “Excuse you, nigga. I don’t scam.”
“Not anymore. But it wouldn’t matter if you did. I would have been riding until the wheels fell off.”
That comment made me shake my head. “That’s dangerous and not smart. You’re a police officer. It’s your job to uphold the law. You can’t let a woman come along and knock you off your square.”
“I hear you, but I don’t give a fuck about what you talking about. I just would have kept getting on your nerves until you stopped scamming.”
Cupping both side of his face, I placed a sensual kiss on Khalif’s lips. “You fell in love, huh?”
“I did.”
His expression made me aware that he was serious as a heart attack. Maybe I was tripping because my brain was telling me that it was too soon, but my heart was telling me that I felt the same way. “I fucked around and fell in love with twelve.”
That got a heartfelt laugh out of him. I would for sure marry Khalif and give him a baby or two.
It would also be a privilege to be Sierra’s stepmother.
She was the sweetest child ever. I loved her whole life, and it baffled me that her mother could just walk away from her, but that wasn’t my business.
I was about to see to it that life only got better for us.