13. Maddox Creed #2
“Then what did you know?”
Ma looked past me toward the window, her eyes settling somewhere out in the backyard like she was staring at memories instead of trees.
“Your father mentioned a situation.”
I sucked my teeth as I huffed out a heavy breath.
“There go that damn word again.”
She pressed her lips together for the briefest second before the sadness settled back over her face.
“He said there was something he was handling.”
My jaw tightened.
“Handling, huh?” The word tasted bitter coming out of my mouth.
Apollo had spent years handling shit that never should’ve been his decision to make in the first place.
Apparently, that included his kids life.
“I asked questions,” she went on to say, looking me dead in the eyes. “He didn’t answer them.”
That sounded exactly like Apollo.
The man loved being in control. He loved being the one with the information, deciding who needed to know what and when they needed to know it. The realization made my stomach turn because, for the first time, I wasn’t looking at him as my father.
I was looking at him as a man—a man who made a decision and kept making it year after year while a little girl grew up without her father.
The room fell quiet until Ma reached over and rested her hand over mine. The gesture caught me off guard more than I expected. Truth was, I wasn’t used to letting people comfort me.
Neither one of us said anything for a while.
Apollo had made his choices, and now both of us were sitting in this living room trying to make sense of decisions neither one of us would’ve ever made.
“I don’t understand that nigga,” I admitted, rubbing a hand across my jaw. “I keep trying to figure out what the hell he thought he was protecting.”
Ma looked down at the table before slowly shaking her head.
“I don’t know.” Her voice was barely above a whisper. “I’ve been asking myself that ever since you walked through that door.”
I watched her for a second.
The woman sitting across from me wasn’t defending her husband.
She wasn’t making excuses for him.
She looked just as hurt as I was.
“I would’ve never agreed to something like this,” she said. “Not if I’d known there was a child involved.”
“I know.”
The words came out without hesitation, and I believed her.
After everything I’d uncovered over the last few weeks, I still believed Ma had been kept in the dark.
She let out a slow breath and looked at me.
“I wish I had answers for you.”
I nodded and told her, “So do I.”
Apollo had taken his reasons with him, and the only people left behind were the ones trying to clean up the damage.
I kicked it with mama for a while before leaving. By the time I walked outside, the sun was going down.
As much as I hated admitting it, Ma had been right. The past wasn’t changing. No amount of anger was bringing those years back, and no amount of frustration was going to rewrite the decisions Apollo and Luciana had already made.
The only thing left to do was move forward.
I climbed into my truck and tossed the folder onto the passenger seat. Somewhere along the way, the damn thing had become a symbol of everything I couldn’t fix, everything I couldn’t change, and everything I couldn’t get back.
My phone buzzed before I could start the engine.
I glanced down to see that it was a text from Gia.
HER: We’re coming Friday.
I stared at the screen for a few seconds and read it twice just to make sure I wasn’t seeing what I wanted to see.
Friday… Not maybe. Not we’ll see. Not we’re thinking about it. Friday…
They were coming.
Another text popped up almost immediately.
HER: Nylah already packed.
I let out a real laugh because, I believed that shit without question.
The child had probably packed enough clothes for three months and every stuffed animal she owned.
My thumbs were moving before I even thought about it.
ME: Tell her she better leave room in that suitcase for all the stuff Ma gonna buy her.
Gia’s reply came almost instantly.
Her: Too late.
I shook my head, still smiling.
A few minutes later another message came through, but this one wasn’t from Gia.
It was a picture.
Nylah stood in the middle of her bedroom holding up a pair of sneakers while making the most dramatic face she could manage.
The caption underneath made me laugh before I even finished reading it.
HER: Dad, do people wear these in Atlanta or y’all old?
I leaned back against the seat laughing so hard I had to wipe at my face.
For the first time all day, Apollo wasn’t on my mind.
Neither was therapy.
Neither was Luciana.
All I could think about was my daughter, my boys, Ma… and Friday.
The thought of all three of my children being under the same roof settled deep in my chest.
My thumbs moved across the screen.
ME: First of all, watch your damn mouth.
The three dots appeared almost immediately. They disappeared. Then came back again.
Finally, her reply popped onto the screen.
HER: So that’s a yes on the shoes?
I laughed again as I started the truck.
The smile never left my face as I pulled off
My focus wasn’t on everything that had been taken from me anymore. It was on everything that was finally making its way back.