13. Reiana
Reiana
same day…
Ipulled out of the parking lot with my mind everywhere except where it needed to be.
Out of all the things I expected to happen when I walked out of work today, seeing Lennox Steele damn sure wasn’t one of them.
Eight years had passed since I last saw that man, and I thought I had done a good job of leaving everything connected to him back in Cannon Hills where it belonged.
Seeing him brought back shit I hadn’t thought about in years.
Not just how everything ended, but everything before that, too.
Lennox had been such a big part of my life at one point that losing him felt like somebody ripped a piece of my heart away from me.
I eventually learned how to live without it, and once I had Rhyse, I didn’t have time to sit around mourning what could’ve been.
My focus became my baby and making sure we were good.
Now the same man I spent years convincing myself I no longer cared about had popped up asking questions about my son.
That part pissed me off all over again because he had stood there looking genuinely confused when I told him I had already informed him I was pregnant.
Either Lennox had become a damn good liar over the years, or I was missing something.
I knew what I sent to his phone, and I damn sure knew what I got back, so there was no way he could stand there and tell me he didn’t know.
I grabbed my phone and called Taryn while I drove. She answered after a few rings, and I didn’t waste any time with our normal greetings because I needed both of my girls in one place before I started losing my shit.
“Meet me at Mona’s,” I said as soon as the call connected.
“What happened?” Taryn asked immediately, and I could already hear her moving around.
“I’ll tell you when you get there,” I replied. “Just meet me over there.”
“Ree, what the fuck happened?” Taryn questioned again as her voice got more serious. “You sound stressed.”
“I am, but I’m good,” I assured her as I kept my attention on driving. “I just don’t feel like telling the story twice, so I’ll explain everything when we get to Mona’s.”
“Aight, I’m on the way,” Taryn agreed before hanging up.
By the time I pulled into Mona’s driveway, Taryn was pulling in behind me.
I got out and grabbed my purse while she hurried out of her car and caught up with me before I reached the front door.
Mona opened the door a few seconds later and looked between us like she was trying to figure out how serious the issue was for her to be on her doorstep.
I’m pretty sure Taryn called her and let her know something was up.
“What’s wrong?” She asked as she stepped aside to let us in.
“Bitch, I need a drink,” I stated as I headed straight toward the kitchen without answering her question. “Preferably something strong because wine ain’t doing shit for me right now.”
“Well, damn. Hello to your rude ass too,” Mona complained as she followed me into the kitchen. “The tequila is where it always is, but now I really wanna know what happened.”
I grabbed the bottle while Mona got glasses, and Taryn took a seat at the island. Neither one of them said anything while I poured myself a shot and tossed it back.
“Okay, you done took your shot… so talk. You called me sounding like somebody died and then wouldn’t tell me shit,” Taryn expressed after I downed my second shot.
“Nobody died,” I assured her as I poured some juice into my glass to mix with the tequila this time. “But I saw somebody today I never thought I’d see again.”
“Who?” Mona asked as she placed her glass on the counter.
I took a sip before answering because saying his name still felt strange after all these years. “Lennox,” I revealed as I looked between them. “He was outside waiting on me when I left work.”
“What the fuck is Lennox doing here?” Mona asked as she moved closer to the island. “How did he even know where you worked?”
“I didn’t ask him,” I replied as I shook my head. “I was too busy trying to figure out why the fuck he was standing in front of me after eight years.”
“What did he want?” Taryn questioned as she reached for the tequila and poured herself a drink.
“He asked me if Rhyse was his son,” I answered as I rubbed my hand across my forehead. “He didn’t even seem to be asking either. It was like he already knew and was waiting for me to confirm the shit,” I explained, getting irritated all over again.
“How the hell does he know about Boosie?” Mona frowned.
“I’on know,” I admitted as I took another sip. “According to him, he saw me at breakfast with Dorian and saw Rhyse and wants to know why I never told him.”
“So what did you tell him?” Taryn asked.
“I told him not to worry about my fucking son now when he didn’t want him then,” I replied. “Then this nigga looked me dead in my face and asked how he could want a child he never knew about.”
“So, he’s saying he didn’t know about Rhyse?” Mona asked for clarification.
“He claimed to not even know I was pregnant,” I corrected as I looked at her. “According to Lennox, he never knew shit about a baby.”
“But you said you told him,” Taryn pointed out as she looked between me and Mona.
“I did,” I replied as I set my glass down. “I told him that shit too. I told his ass even after he broke up with me the way he did, I still felt like he deserved to know, so I texted him and told him I was pregnant.”
“What did Lennox say when you told him that?” Mona asked. She had actually been there when everything happened. She remembered what shape I was in after Lennox ended things, and she knew about the pregnancy from the beginning. She was the only one in my corner.
“He kept saying he didn’t know what I was talking about,” I explained as I grabbed my drink again. “He swore he never got a message from me saying I was pregnant, and he kept acting like he was just finding out about Rhyse.”
“Did you tell him about the response you got?” Taryn asked with a frown.
“No… I wasn’t about to keep going back and forth with him over some shit he dropped the ball on,” I replied as I shook my head. “I was already pissed. I told him to keep the same energy he had back then and stay the fuck away from me and my son.”
“Did you believe him when he said he didn’t know?” Mona asked.
“I’on fucking know,” I admitted as I dropped my gaze to my glass. “That’s what’s bothering me. Lennox looked confused as hell, but I also know what happened. I know I sent that message, and I know I got a response, so what am I supposed to believe?”
Neither one of them answered immediately, which gave me even more time to think about shit I didn’t want to think about.
I had spent eight years believing Lennox knew I was pregnant and wanted nothing to do with either one of us.
That belief shaped every decision I made afterward because I knew from that moment forward I was going to be raising Rhyse without him.
“I thought I left all this shit behind me,” I admitted. “When I left Cannon Hills… I was done. I didn’t spend years looking him up or wondering what he was doing. I had a baby to raise and a life to build, so that’s what I did.”
“And now he’s popping back up like Daddy-Fucking-Dearest like everything is all good,” Mona added.
“I hate this shit,” I muttered as I shook my head and reached for the bottle. “I was doing perfectly fine without Lennox Steele popping back into my life.”
“And it still will be fine,” Taryn assured me.
Mona looked between me and Taryn before turning her attention back to me. “So what are you going to do about Lennox now that he knows about Boosie?”
I stared at her because, for once, I didn’t have an answer, and that bothered me almost as much as seeing Lennox had.
“I really don’t fucking know what I’m going to do,” I confessed.
This impromptu pop-up was weighing on me more than I’d like to admit, but I couldn’t ignore it even if I wanted to.
By the time I left Mona’s, I wasn’t any closer to knowing what the hell I was going to do about Lennox.
Talking everything out with her and Taryn helped calm my nerves a little bit, but it didn’t change the fact that the man I hadn’t seen in eight years had suddenly shown up in Arbor Point asking about our son.
I pulled up to pick Rhyse up from camp, and he came walking out with his friends, engaged in a conversation before they went their separate ways and he got into the truck.
“Hey, Boosie,” I greeted as he climbed into the passenger seat and dropped his backpack by his feet. “You have a good day?”
“It was aight,” Rhyse answered as he buckled his seat belt. “We played basketball outside, but it was hot as hell.”
“Hot as what?” I questioned, ready to pop him in his mouth.
“I said it was too hot outside,” he corrected.
“That’s what I thought you said,” I replied as I shook my head. “You getting way too comfortable with that mouth lately.”
“I hear you say it,” Rhyse pointed out as he looked out the window.
“And I’m grown as hell and pay bills,” I reminded him. “So, until you get to that point… watch your mouth before the Tooth Fairy becomes a millionaire off your teeth alone.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled. “Can we get something to eat on the way home?” he asked after a few minutes as he looked over at me.
“No,” I replied as I stopped at a light. “I’m cooking.”
“Cooking what?” He countered.
“I’on know yet,” I admitted as I thought about what I had at home. “Probably chicken tacos or something simple.
“I can do the tacos,” he agreed.
I laughed and shook my head while he went back to his conversation.
For the rest of the ride, he talked enough for both of us, and I let him.
It kept my mind from drifting back to Lennox every thirty seconds.
The problem was every time I looked at Rhyse…
I saw Lennox. I had spent years looking at my baby and seeing pieces of the man who helped create him.
Lennox didn’t have that same luxury, and now that he had apparently seen Rhyse, I could only imagine how obvious the resemblance must have been to him too.
When we got home, Rhyse headed straight for the stairs, and I was right behind him.
“Go take a bath and put your dirty clothes in the hamper,” I instructed. “Not beside it… not in front of it, and definitely not on your bathroom floor,” I reminded him.
“I know, Mama,” Rhyse responded as he continued up the steps. “You say the same thing every day.”
“And somehow I still find dirty clothes all over the floor,” I called after him as I shook my head.
Once I got to my room, I kicked off my shoes and grabbed something comfortable to put on after my shower.
Once I got into the shower, I tried not to think about anything from earlier.
I didn’t want to think about Dorian… Lennox, or why my entire life suddenly felt like it was being snatched by the edges.
By the time I got out, dried off, and changed into a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.
I moisturized, tied my hair up, and grabbed my phone before heading downstairs to start dinner.
I had barely reached the bottom step when the doorbell rang.
I frowned because I wasn’t expecting anybody.
I’d just Mona and Taryn, and Dorian knew better than to just pop up coming over…
especially how things have been between us lately.
The doorbell rang again before I made it to the door.
Whoever it was, was adamant about me opening the door.
“Damn, I’m coming,” I muttered as I walked over and looked through the peephole.
For a second, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me. I stared through the peephole again before unlocking the door and pulling it open. The shock lasted long enough for me to take in the fact that he was actually standing on my porch before irritation replaced every bit of it.
“I know you fucking lying! The fuck are you doing at my house?” I snapped as I tightened my grip on the door. This nigga really had me fucked up popping up at my house.