Chapter 7 #2
“And do. That’s daddy’s baby girl. If she wants to be held all day and night, then that’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”
“I know Tyeis is tired of your ass.”
“Naw, she’s spoiled too. Hell, everybody in my house is spoiled. All they gotta do is ask for something, and I’m gonna make it happen,” he boasted proudly.
“I can’t even talk shit because Ciyani is spoiled, and so are Cayden and Cartier.
Everybody keeps asking when Ciyani and I are gonna have kids, but I keep telling them I already have some.
Cayden and Cartier run my pockets the way we used to do Pops.
Last week, Cayden asked for a Lambo for his birthday.
I swear I miss the days when the only thing they wanted were video games and snacks. ”
Justice’s wife, Ciyani, had been raising her two little brothers since she was a young girl, so they were basically her kids.
Everyone wanted them to have children of their own, but I understood why they weren’t in a rush.
Ciyani had been caring for children her whole life.
It was time for her to live for herself.
“I feel you. Once Danae graduates and goes to college, I’m throwing a party to celebrate my freedom. I’m already a bachelor, but I’ll finally get to live like one.”
“Yeah, right. You’re gonna be in this house, miserable, when your sisters leave. You’ve been taking care of them for most of their life. Once they leave, you’re gonna be lonely as hell.” Loyal challenged.
“No, I won’t. There are too many bitches out there for me to ever be lonely. I might actually take a few solo trips or some shit.”
Everyone cracked jokes about how I worked too hard, but no one understood what I had been through. On the outside, everyone praised me for stepping up to take care of my family, but they had no idea what kind of pressure had been placed on me since the day they lowered my father into the ground.
We said our goodbyes, and after I got dinner started, Dana came, kidnapped Promise, and took her upstairs.
My sisters loved kids, so I wasn’t surprised to see them take to her the way they did.
Dana started her daycare service a couple of years ago, which was mainly for friends and family, so I let her use our basement as her center.
It was completely furnished and filled with everything you would find in a classroom.
She was in school to become a teacher, so it gave her practice.
Plus, she had a nurturing spirit, which made kids love her.
“Alright, pretty girl. Say goodbye to Doe.” Dana snickered while holding baby girl in her arms. She was half asleep, but she perked up at the mention of my name.
“Her momma outside?”
I hadn’t received a text from her, but I shouldn’t have been surprised. When I told her we needed to talk a few days ago, she had been doing her best to avoid me.
“Yeah, she asked if I could bring her outside.”
“I’ll take her.” I lifted Promise out of her arms and threw her bag over my shoulder.
Promise wrapped her arms around my neck as we headed outside.
Her momma was testing my patience, something I didn’t tolerate from anyone.
I sauntered over to her car and opened the back door.
Once I made sure baby girl was strapped in, I glanced up at Peace, who purposely tried to avoid eye contact.
“Get out of the car. We need to talk.”
My tone was final because I wanted to make sure she understood it wasn’t an option. I held Promise’s door open until her mother obliged my demands. Her stubborn ass rolled her eyes as she stood next to her door. Her arms were folded across her chest with her lips formed into a pout.
“I don’t give a fuck about your little attitude. You’ve been ducking and dodging me for the last few days. Your time is up, ma.”
Her eyes were focused on the ground as she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
“What do you want to talk about?” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
“How long have you been living at the woman’s shelter?”
“A few months.” I could tell she was uncomfortable, but I needed to get to the bottom of things. Based on how we met, I knew she was having some financial troubles, but when she gave me the address to the shelter, I realized it was much deeper than I thought.
“You don’t have any friends or family you can stay with? What made you come back home if you didn’t have a place to live?”
“Because I had nowhere else to go. I came home from jail with nothing except my clothes and a few dollars. Life has been giving me its ass to kiss, and I’m just trying to survive. The women’s shelter is temporary until I get on my feet, but it was a better option than sleeping in my car.”
“Well, what about her father? He doesn’t have any family that could help you?”
“Do you think I would be staying in a shelter if I had another option? I understand someone like you probably has no idea what it’s like to struggle, but some of us aren’t so lucky.
My mother is dead, my father is unknown, and my daughter was conceived from a one-night stand with a man I don’t know.
Do you have anything else you want to know? ”
“You’ve got a lot of mouth for someone who needs my help. I was trying to better understand your situation. Promise is young, and I don’t like the idea of her being raised in a shelter. No child should have to live like that.”
“And you think I don’t know that? Don’t you think it kills me to know my child has to go without because of the choices I made? I barely sleep at night because I’m too busy watching her sleep. What do you want me to do? Give her up for adoption?”
“I never said that. I was only expressing my concern.”
“Well, you can keep your concern to yourself. This is the reason I didn’t want your help in the first place. People think they can judge you or tell you what to do when they help you.”
“You’re taking this the wrong way. I’m not even the type of person to go out of my way to help people. I’m doing this because I genuinely care about what happens to you both.”
“Well, I never asked for that. I don’t need you to take pity on me or try to insert yourself into my personal life. That’s not your place,” she huffed with her chest rising up and down.
“Don’t you think that’s selfish. I mean, you have a daughter to think about. Everything isn’t about you and what makes you comfortable.”
“You can save the lectures for a bitch who wants to hear them. I don’t want your charity, pity, or anything else.
Everybody wasn’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth, so excuse me if I don’t have it all together.
I appreciate the job, but what goes on in my personal life is none of your business.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get going.
Curfew is at eight, and I’m not trying to miss it. ”
Peace walked back over to her car and climbed back into the driver’s seat. I didn’t like the way she was talking to me, but I decided to let her make it because she had enough on her plate. If she didn’t want my help, then I would let her figure things out on her own.