Chapter 31-Devon
“How was your day?” I asked once Dreux got in the car.
“It was good, Dad. How was yours?”
“It was eventful, but none of that matters now.”
“Whatever it is, it will all work out.”
“Thanks, son,” I responded as I playfully nudged him in the arm.
Before Keesha popped up pregnant with Dreux, I never wanted to be a father.
It wasn’t that I disliked kids; I was more so scared to disappoint them if I did have them.
Even though I didn’t have him young, Dreux forced me to grow up. I went from being selfish, only caring about what label I was dripped in, what car I had, and how many women I could smash, to focusing solely on him, making sure that he had whatever he needed, and strategizing to secure his future.
When we made it home, I saw the last person that I wanted to see waiting on my doorstep.
“Dreux, when we get out of the car, I’m going to unlock the door, and I want you to go straight in. Okay?”
“Yes, sir.”
I waited for him to get his bookbag, and we both made our way to the front door.
“Hey, Dreux. You’ve grown since the last time I saw you,” Keesha said as she scratched her arms and pulled on the sleeves of her shirt.
“Hi, Mom,” he said dryly, continuing to walk like I told him to.
I couldn’t get my door open fast enough. As soon as I did, Dreux walked in, and I followed so that I could check the house. I heard Keesha running her mouth from outside, but I would deal with her after I made sure that my house was safe.
“Dreux, go ahead and wash up. I will be on the porch talking to your mama. When I’m done, we will order dinner.”
“Okay, Dad,” he said and headed to his room.
My daily routine was to come home and check my house.
Dreux knew to wait in the living room until I told him that the house was clear.
Anybody could have been in there waiting to catch us slipping, and I couldn’t have that.
I had an alarm, but anybody with a background of hustling could disarm that with ease.
“Keesha, why the hell are you on my porch looking like you are high out of your damn mind?” I asked as soon as the door closed.
Her back was facing me, and as soon as she heard my voice, she damn near jumped out of her skin. She tried to stop scratching herself and fidgeting, but it was obvious that she couldn’t help it.
“Hey, D … Umm … I need to borrow like twenty dollars because I got some bills to pay. Don’t worry because I can pay you back.”
“Where the hell are you staying that you can pay a bill for twenty dollars? Do I look stupid to you?”
“If you can’t give me twenty, then I will take ten, or five,” she said, still pulling on her sleeves.
I grabbed her hands and watched her eyes bulge from their sockets. She tried to pull away from me, but I was able to pull her right sleeve up, to reveal the track marks that she was trying to hide.
“So, this is what we are doing now, Keesha? You out here shooting drugs? Really?” I asked, shaking her.
“Let me go! Let me go!” she yelled as she tried to get free from my grasp.
“Man, get the hell out of my face and away from my house.” I fumed as I quickly relinquished my grasp of her, which caused her to fall to the ground.
“We have a child in there, and you come to my house high as a kite for him to see you like this . Keesha, look at yourself. Your hair is all over your damn head, you smell like ass; you look like crap, and you got these damn track marks all over your body.”
“Are you going to give me the money or not, Devon?”
“And you ain’t heard a damn thing that I said? You got sixty seconds to get off my damn porch. If I come back out here, I’m going to forget that you are the mother of my son, and I’m going to shoot you down like the trash that you are.”
I saw the tears filling her eyes as I turned to go retrieve my Glock from my bedroom.
“Tell Dreux that I’m sorry and that I love him,” she cried to my back.
I didn’t bother to respond. I gave her sixty seconds before I returned to my porch with my Glock in tow, and she was gone.
I couldn’t understand how or why she was out there doing drugs, and off of the strength of Dreux, I wanted to help her, but you couldn’t help someone who didn’t want to be helped.
On top of dealing with Renae, Richard, and Keesha, I had to figure out a way to explain to my son what the hell was wrong with his mama. I didn’t want to lie to him, but I couldn’t bear to tell him the truth either.
I walked in the house to find Dreux sitting in the living room, crying. To see my son so broken had me ready to shoot Keesha just because.
“Son, it’s going to be okay.”
“Why does she have to be like that?” he asked as he tried to suppress his tears.
I saw so much of myself in him, and it hurt me to know he experienced the same abandonment I strived to protect him from.
“Dreux, your mama loves you. She may have a strange way of showing it, but you are the highlight of her life. Sometimes people make mistakes and don’t know how to make things right. We just have to pray for her.”
He nodded, and I pulled him in for a hug, because it was the only thing I knew to do, and truth be told, we both needed it.