15. Lennox #3
“I am,” Lena insisted as she pointed toward the door like Kree was standing on the other side of it.
“That bitch has been in my face all these years knowing she broke my brother up with the woman he loved and made him miss his son growing up. Then she turned around and had a baby with him? Yeah, she gotta see me.”
“I already handled Kree,” I told her as I shook my head. “You’on need to go over there doing no stupid shit.”
“Beating her ass is not stupid,” Lena argued as she dropped back onto the couch. “It’s actually the most reasonable thing I’ve heard since you started talking.”
“What did Kree say when you confronted her?” Mama asked as she frowned.
“She tried to justify it,” I answered. “She said Reiana knew she wanted me first and still got with me. She still hates Reiana behind that shit. I told her she sounded stupid as fuck because I was never hers for anybody to take.”
“That girl has always had some issues when it came to you, but I never thought she was capable of something like that,” Mama said as she shook her head.
“Neither did I,” I admitted as I looked down at my hands. “She knew Reiana was carrying my child and didn’t give a fuck. All she cared about was getting her out the way.”
Lena leaned back and folded her arms. “And then she finally got what she wanted when she started sleeping with you.”
“I already owned my part in that shit,” I replied as I looked at her. “I chose to fuck with Kree after Reiana left. Nobody forced me to do that, but I did it thinking Reiana cheated on me and left Cannon Hills because she was done with me. I didn’t know Kree created half that bullshit.”
“Does Reiana know about Kree and Lennyn?” Mama asked.
“Yeah,” I answered as I nodded. “I had to tell her. Once Kree came up, Reiana started asking questions about why she was around me after the breakup. I told her me and Kree eventually started messing around, then I had to tell her about Lenny.”
“Oh, I know she was pissed,” Lena muttered as she shook her head.
“She was,” I confirmed. “Not at Lenny, but at the whole situation. From where she’s standing, her friend lied to break us up, she left pregnant thinking I didn’t want my son, and then finds out that same friend ended up having my daughter.”
“That is a lot for that girl to take in,” Mama expressed.
“It’s a lot for all of us,” I replied as I glanced down the hallway toward Lennyn’s room. “I spent almost eight years thinking Reiana walked away from me. She spent almost eight years thinking I rejected her and my son. Meanwhile Kree knew the truth the whole fucking time.”
Lena shook her head again, still looking pissed. “I swear I’m trying real hard to respect you telling me not to beat her ass.”
“It ain’t even worth it,” I told her as I gave her a look. “Lenny don’t need her mama and auntie fighting because of some shit that happened before she was even born.”
“That baby is the only reason I’m not already bashing her head in,” Lena replied. “Because none of this is Lennyn’s fault.”
“Exactly,” I agreed as I nodded. “And that’s how it’s staying. Whatever I feel about Kree won’t affect Lennyn. That’s still her mama and I’m not putting my daughter in the middle of our shit.”
“What about Rhyse? Does he know who you are?” Mama asked.
“Not yet,” I answered. “He saw me at Reiana’s house, but she hasn’t told him anything. He came downstairs while we were talking and asked who I was, then she sent him back upstairs.”
“How’d he act?” Lena questioned.
“Like me, apparently,” I replied as I shook my head with a small laugh. “Little nigga came downstairs, looked straight at me, and asked his mama who this nigga was.”
“Oh, that’s definitely your child,” Lena laughed as she shook her head. “No DNA test needed.”
“That’s what the fuck I said,” I replied as I laughed lightly. “Reiana said he acts like me more than she likes to admit. She calls him Boosie too because that was our favorite rapper.”
“I can’t believe I have a grandson.” Mama smiled to herself.
“Yeah, Mama… you got a grandson,” I confirmed.
“All this time, I had a grandson out there and none of us knew,” she sighed.
“I know,” I replied quietly. “That’s the part I’m still trying to deal with.”
“I want to meet him, Lennox. Whenever Reiana is comfortable and whenever that baby is ready, I want to meet my grandson,” she insisted.
“You will,” I assured her. “I already told Reiana I’m not trying to rush shit with him. She raised him, and I respect that. We gotta figure out how to tell him and let him adjust before we put any more on him.”
“I understand that,” Mama replied as she reached over and squeezed my hand. “I can wait until it’s right. I just need you to make sure he knows that we love him. I’on ever want that baby thinking this family didn’t want him.”
“That’s damn sure not happening,” Lena added as she leaned forward. “He’ll know how much we love him even if I gotta beat Kree’s ass every day to prove it,” she added with a smirk.
I sat there thinking about how different the last eight years would’ve been like if that one message had made it to me. Rhyse would’ve known that his father wanted him, but then Lennyn wouldn’t be here unless Reiana was her mama.
Kree had taken all of that from us with one selfish decision after another. I couldn’t give anybody those years back, but I could make damn sure we didn’t lose any more of them.