~~~Chapter 15~~~ #2
“As far as I know, they’re still together. We got a DNA test, and the results came back earlier today. He texted and said that he was going to tell her the truth.”
“Well, I’d love to be a fly on that wall.”
“Tell me about it—”
Ding-Dong
“The fuck?” I mumbled, as somebody unexpectedly rang my doorbell.
Lifting my phone, I scrolled through it and checked out my ring surveillance.
“Oh, he’s getting too comfortable already. Just popping up over here,” I fussed, while sliding off the couch.
“That nigga at the door?” Tootie nosily questioned.
“Girl, yeah.” I rolled my eyes, before glancing over at Khari who was quietly sitting in her swing, sucking on her pacifier.
“I’m surprised that you aint at ya mama and daddy’s,” Tootie commented, as I was jogging downstairs.
“Shit, me too,” I admitted, before opening my front door.
“What’s up?” Malice questioned, as he stepped inside, with noticeable fresh scratch marks peppering his face. Clad in a muscle shirt, basketball shorts, and Jordans, he was dressed down, but smelled delightful. “Who you on the phone with?” He peered down at my hand, while I held it near my mouth.
I frowned. “Excuse you?”
“You heard me,” he claimed, before boldly grabbing my phone. “Who is this?”
“Shit, nigga, who is you ?” Tootie feistily rebutted.
“Oh, this a broad,” he mentioned, before handing my phone back to me.
I arched a brow. “And if it wasn’t?”
“Then I was cutting that shit short. Daddy’s home.”
I could hear Tootie snickering, before I abruptly ended the call.
“I see now that we’re gonna have to set some boundaries. Why did you just pop up without calling?”
“Because I wanted to.”
I turned to head back upstairs. “Okay. Don’t say nothing when you be looking stupid, making a blank trip. I was just about to pack it up and head home.”
“Home?”
“Yeah. I go back and forth between here and my parents’. This is frankly the longest I’ve ever been here. I honestly spend more time over there.”
“Okay. That was then. I’m here now. And you don’t need to run to ya mama and daddy’s when I’m trying to build a bond with my daughter.”
I sighed. “Whatever.”
“I’m serious,” he insisted, as we made it to the second floor, and he immediately approached Khari, and removed her out of the swing.
Saying nothing, I sat on the sectional, while quietly observing. He handled my baby with care, as he cradled her, and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, mama,” he spoke softly, as she was gleefully cooing.
Sitting there, something stirred in my stomach, as I witnessed something I thought that I never would.
I had never romanticized this situation and had accepted things for what they were.
So, this was unquestionably a curveball I didn’t see coming.
Malice was here, and he wanted to be father to our child.
And I wasn’t mad at it, but I still had questions.
“So, are we gonna talk about what happened to your face?” I asked, as he sat not too far away from me with Khari in his arms.
He smirked, while gazing at me. “When I told Paisley everything…she didn’t take it too well.”
The back of my neck grew hot, as I felt a flash of guilt.
I already hated how I’d intentionally placed some distance between myself and Paisley, and had basically ghosted her.
No, I hadn’t blocked her, but I would ignore her calls, and leave her texts on read, until she eventually stopped reaching out.
We hadn’t had one conversation, after I realized that Malice was her Khamere, and I felt bad about that.
“I would lie and say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. Did you tell her that it was me?”
He shook his head. “It never got to that. She was already on ten…so had I actually told her that it was you…she probably would’ve tried to kill my ass.”
“Yeah,” I inhaled. “No matter what you say…it’s gonna be about how it looks.”
“Exactly.”
“Right,” I concurred, while becoming lost in my thoughts.
“So, what’s Khari’s full name?” He decided to ask.
I twisted my lips. “Khari Tye Braxton.”
“Braxton, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Then we need to change that. ASAP. She gotta have my last name.”
“Alright,” I easily agreed, because the request was reasonable. “We can do that.”
“And…I wanna do my part financially. So, we need to discuss her expenses.”
“Umm…” I had to think about it, because I honestly didn’t keep up with what I spent on Khari. “She’s only six months, Malice. So, I…I don’t know what I need you—”
“I didn’t ask what you needed me to do. I don’t care if you got a billion dollars. Let me do my part,” he persisted.
“Okay,” I sighed. “Well, maybe you can pay the nanny.”
“The nanny, huh?”
“Yeah. Shelia works five days a week, and there’s another lady named Tia on call for the weekends.”
“Damn. You that busy to need all that?”
I gave him a look. “What you trying to say?”
He lightly chuckled. “I aint mean it like that. I’m just curious.”
“Oh. Well, basically I use Ms. Shelia more so as a helper. Usually, I’m never far away, and she’s around to make sure that I’m not overwhelmed.
I can cook in peace. Do light cleaning, in between the cleaning services.
Go work out. Go have a little lunch with my girls.
Outside of that, she normally just tags along, while I deal with my day-to-day stuff. ”
“Okay. Well, I’ll be paying that ticket from now on.”
I shrugged. “Fine by me.”
“And…just so you know…I’m here, and I’m never going anywhere.
If I say it, then I mean it, because I’m a man of my word.
That also means that you can lean on me too, because I understand that you being alright or not will impact my daughter.
So, don’t hesitate to call me. Even if you think it’s small or insignificant. ”
I nodded. “I hear you. But…you know what I’m nervous about?”
“Nah, what’s that?”
“How we’ll figure out a healthy rhythm. She’s so small…and I’m uncomfortable with the thought of you wanting to take her for extended periods—”
“I don’t want to take her from you, Jaylah.
I also understand that this is a fragile time.
That’s why I mentally accepted that my relationship wasn’t gonna work.
I’m not finna take a fresh baby, and have her around somebody who’s got resentment in their heart.
I would prefer to spend time with her in your presence. At least until she’s older.”
I squinted. “You don’t think that will be weird?”
“Nah, I don’t. Cause like I said…neither of us should be focusing on dating people or shit like that. We gotta find our footing first.”
“Hmm…I wonder, Malice. Are you saying this because you’re just sensible? Or is it because it’s me, and you don’t want to see me dating?”
He shrugged. “A little bit of both. Don’t act like you didn’t feel something when we did us. Like that shit didn’t cross your mind.”
I thought about it at least once a day, but my business wasn’t his business. “What’s your point?”
“My point is…I don’t believe in shit just happening. Khari is here, because it was me. And I didn’t hesitate, because it was you.”
Hearing that, my clit thumped, causing me to cross my legs. “Okay, I hear you.”
“Alright, since you hear me, then be prepared to get up bright and early. We gon get the ball rolling on the name change, and putting my name on her birth certificate.”
I arched a brow, wondering if he was gonna just take it upon himself to spend a night. Then when he eventually fell asleep on the couch with Khari on his chest, I no longer had to wonder.