Cario “Crow” Domingo
The smell of butter and bacon filled the house as I stood over the stove flipping pancakes. Saturday mornings belonged to me and Sebastian. No matter how busy life got, I made sure we had this.
“Daddy!” he yelled, his little feet pattering across the hardwood floor.
I looked over my shoulder and smiled. “Morning, little man.”
He rubbed the sleep from his eyes before climbing onto one of the kitchen stools.
“You makin’ pancakes?”
“You know it.”
“And bacon?”
I lifted the lid off the skillet. “Wouldn’t be breakfast without it.”
His face lit up. “Can I help?”
“Wash your hands first.”
He darted to the sink without another word. A minute later, he stood beside me on his little step stool while I handed him the mixing bowl.
“Your job is to stir.”
He grabbed the whisk with both hands and mixed the batter like his life depended on it. Flour puffed into the air and a little landed on the tip of his nose.
I chuckled. “What?”
“You got flour all over your face.”
He wiped at it and somehow made it worse.
“There,” I laughed. “Now you look like a little baker.”
“I am a baker.”
“Oh yeah?”
He nodded proudly. “The best one.”
“I don’t know...” I joked. “You got some competition.”
“Who?”
“Me.”
He gasped dramatically before pointing the whisk at me. Spending time with my son was always important to me. I didn’t care what we were doing as long as we were together and happy. Those moments reminded me what really mattered and gave me something no amount of money ever could: peace.
“No, you don’t!”
I laughed so hard I almost burned the pancakes.
“Alright, alright. You win.”
He got quiet all of a sudden, still stirring the batter.
“Daddy?”
“Yeah, little man?”
“My mama said you ain’t shit.”
The spatula froze in my hand as I faced Sebastian, and he genuinely looked confused.
“She said what?”
He nodded like he was just repeating what he’d heard. “She said you ain’t never gonna be shit.”
For a second, I just stared at him. Not because I was mad at Sebastian. Kids repeated everything they heard. I turned the stove down and walked over to him.
“You know what?”
“What?”
I crouched down so we were eye to eye.
“I don’t care what nobody says about me. The only thing that matters is what you see. Do I love you?”
He nodded.
“Do I spend time with you?”
“Yep.”
“Do I take care of you?”
“You make me pancakes.”
That made me laugh. “I sure do.”
“And you make my lunch.”
“I do.”
“And you read me stories.”
“I do that too.”
“So...” I smiled. “Am I a good daddy?”
He didn’t even hesitate.
“The best.”
A lump formed in my throat.
I pulled him into my arms and kissed the top of his head.
“I love you more than anything in this world, Sebastian. Don’t you ever forget that.”
“I love you too, Daddy.”
I gave him one last squeeze before standing back up.
“Now come on. These pancakes ain’t gonna eat themselves.”
His smile returned instantly.
“Can I have extra syrup?”
I laughed as I slid a fresh pancake onto his plate.
“You already knew the answer before you asked.”
After breakfast, Sebastian plopped down on the couch and turned on his cartoons.
Despite his mama’s stupid ass, I was glad my son was still acting like a kid.
He deserved that. He deserved to laugh, play, and worry about nothing more than what cartoon came on next.
But I couldn’t even front, I was pissed at Shameka.
If she was gonna talk shit about me, whether it was true or not, she needed to make damn sure Sebastian wasn’t around to hear it.
Kids soaked up everything. They repeated everything.
None of that grown-folk shit belonged on his shoulders.
No matter how she felt about me, that was between us.
Sebastian didn’t deserve to be caught in the middle.
An hour later, Sebastian sat on the living room floor surrounded by toy cars while cartoons played on the television. Every few seconds, he’d look over at me just to make sure I was watching whatever crazy stunt he’d made his toys pull off. I smiled seeing him being a kid.
For the first time in a long time, life actually felt good.
Rebel and I had finally stopped pretending.
After years of dancing around our feelings, we decided to give us a real chance.
I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Yeah, Sarah stealing her life savings and wiping out her dream of opening a tech company had been eating at both of us, but I thought the worst was behind her.
I figured all she needed was time and somebody to remind her she wasn’t carrying this alone.
My phone buzzed on the coffee table. The second I saw Rebel’s name, I smiled and answered on the first ring.
“What’s up, Rain?”
It was quiet so my smile slowly disappeared.
“Rain?”
A shaky breath came through the speaker.
“I love you, Crow.”
My heart swelled hearing those words. She’d always said it before, but this time it felt different. Maybe it was the way she looked at me, or maybe it was because I wanted to take our relationship to a different level. Whatever it was, those words hit me harder than they ever had before.
“I love you too.”
She got quiet again. At that moment, I knew something felt off.
“You okay?”
“I just wanted you to know that.”
Every instinct I had went on high alert.
“Rebel... where you at?”
She ignored the question.
“I’m tired, Crow.”
My grip tightened around the phone. “What you mean you’re tired?”
“I can’t believe that bitch took from me.”
I closed my eyes. “Don’t let Sarah make you become somebody you ain’t.”
A bitter laugh escaped her lips. “It’s too late.”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. Rebel sounded different. I knew she was bummed. She’d invested millions into her portfolio, and now every damn dollar was gone. Watching everything she’d worked so hard to build disappear overnight was enough to break anybody.
“Rain,” I called her by her real name.
“I’m at her house.”
My heart dropped.
“What’d you just say?”
“I’m gonna make sure she loses everything the same way I did.”
She went quiet.
“Baby... listen to me.”
“I’m done listening.”
The line went dead.
“No.”
I immediately called her back, but it went straight to voicemail. I tried again with the same result.
“Shit,” I muttered.
I pulled up our location-sharing app, and the second her location loaded, my stomach dropped. She wasn’t bluffing. She was at an unknown location. Without wasting another second, I rushed toward my son.
“Sebastian!”
My son looked up from the floor.
“Come on, little man. We gotta go.”
As I buckled him into the backseat, there was only one thing running through my mind. I had to get to Rain before she destroyed the rest of her life.
It didn’t take me long to get to the house.
I quickly told Sebastian to stay put. The last thing I needed was for my son to witness the chaos that was about to unfold.
I slammed the door and took off running.
Rebel was standing in the yard with a large red gasoline container, pouring that shit everywhere like she’d completely lost her mind, as Sarah looked out from her window in fear.
The strong smell of gasoline hit me the second I approached.
“Rainl!” I shouted.
Her head snapped in my direction.
“What?”
“What the fuck are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?” she yelled back. “This bitch stole my money. She stole my future. Since she wanted to take everything from me, she can lose everything too.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “Rain, have you lost your damn mind?”
“Nope.”
She tipped the gas can again.
“Rain!”
“What?”
“Put the damn gas can down.”
“No. She took everything I worked for, Crow. Every damn dollar.”
The anger in her voice cracked for a split second, revealing the hurt underneath.
That’s when I realized this wasn’t really about the money.
It was about her dream. Anybody who knew Rebel knew she had been planning to open that tech company for years.
I slowly walked toward her, careful not to make any sudden moves.
“Rain, baby.”
“I love you, Crow. But I am gonna kill this bitch.”
“I know you’re hurting.”
Her jaw tightened.
“You don’t know how this feels.”
I know what she did.”
“No, Crow. She didn’t just steal my money. She stole my way out.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I worked too damn hard for that money. I risked everything for it. Now it’s gone.”
My chest tightened.
“Rain...”
“And she gets to stand here in this big-ass house like nothing happened?” she continued, her voice cracking. “Like she didn’t ruin my whole fucking life?”
For a second, all I saw was a broken woman. Not the loudmouth fearless biker. Just the woman I loved, watching everything she’d worked for disappear overnight. Yeah, I understood. The problem was that understanding her pain and letting her destroy her own life were two very different things.
I took a few more steps toward Rebel before gently cupping her cheek. All I could see was the pain in her eyes, and it damn near broke me. I’d do anything to help her. Anything to keep her from making a decision she’d regret.
“I love you, and I can’t let you do this.
You promised me you were going to give us a real shot.
Even though I’d come see you every day—or even break you out of jail if I had to—I don’t think that’s how our relationship should start.
Please... let me help you fix this. I meant it when I said I’d help you invest your money.
If you need it, I’ll give you the money myself.
We’ll rebuild everything together. I don’t care how long it takes.
I just can’t lose you. Please... don’t throw your life away when we still have a future to fight for. ”
Rebel finally listened and placed the gasoline can down.
Then I pulled her into a hug before kissing her lips.
For once, she wasn’t trying to be tough.
She allowed me to hold her while she broke apart.
Even if it was only temporary, I wanted her to know she wasn’t carrying this alone.
We began to walk off when Sarah decided to let her feelings be known.
That stupid ass woman decided to open the window and cross the line.
“I’m still calling the police on you niggers.”
She slowly stopped in her tracks and then reached into her pocket and pulled out a blunt.
She really was about to light that shit like everything around her wasn’t drenched in gasoline.
Yet there she was, calmly placing the blunt between her lips as if she were sitting on somebody’s patio instead of standing in the middle of a potential disaster.
That’s when I knew she was gone mentally. Rage had grabbed the steering wheel.
“Rain,” I warned.
She didn’t respond.
She simply flicked her lighter.
Without breaking eye contact, she took the blunt from her mouth and casually tossed it toward the gasoline-soaked porch.
“RAIN!”
The second the blunt landed, flames shot up the side of the house. Instead of leaving right away, Rebel closed the distance between us and pressed her lips against mine. When she pulled away, our foreheads rested together for the briefest second before she forced herself to let go.
“I love you,” she whispered.
Before I could stop her, she turned, swung a leg over her motorcycle, and fired up the engine. The roar shattered the silence between us.
“Rain!” I yelled.
She looked back at me one last time. There were a thousand words in her eyes, but she didn’t say a single one. Then she twisted the throttle.
The bike shot down the street, disappearing into the night while I stood there helpless, praying that wouldn’t be the last time I ever saw the woman I loved.