CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Keyon
I honestly didn’t think that hanging out with Mia would even go good or that I would like it, but I was wrong. After Mia showed up at the mall and we talked for a few minutes, we took the children to the bounce house, where they had a ball. I never imagined Moni being happy about having a brother, but she was. In her words, she had a brother and a sister. Since I couldn’t play with them, I decided to take a seat at a table close enough for me to watch them. Mia joined me, and from there, we sparked up a conversation.
I didn’t know how or why Cash’s name even came up, but what she told me about Cash scared my ass to death. I had no idea that I was living with, let alone in love with, a monster. She asked me if I ever went through that, and I told her no, which seemed to sadden her. I guessed she figured if he was doing it to her, then he probably had been doing it to me, but hell no. If he had even tried to put his hands on me, his mother would’ve known where to find his ass every All Saints Day. I never played that shit with Cash, so his putting his hands on me was out of the question. I was kind of glad that she came in between what we had. I was sorry she was going through that, but I was happy it wasn’t my ass. Who knew? He probably would’ve tried that shit with me. But unlike her, I wouldn’t have stood for it.
We must have stayed there talking and watching the kids play for three hours until they came over saying that they were hungry. Since there was a McDonald’s not too far from the mall, we decided to go there. It was just our luck that the McDonald’s had a damn playground. Once we ordered their food, they were off to play once again. Poor CJ was so little and his legs were so short that he had a hard time keeping up with the girls, but once they saw him lingering too far behind, they’d stop and wait for him. I’d been watching Emoni in the mall and now here. Not one time did she go anywhere without CJ by her side. I now saw why it was so important for them to meet. Emoni instantly became that big sister CJ didn’t have, and he became the little sibling she always wanted. Now in no way did that sheer her thoughts of Ahmyri, because she was always included too. It was just that CJ was her blood. They were bonded because of their father, and that was a huge difference.
“You all right?” Mia asked, waving her hands in front of me. I was so busy watching the kids enjoy themselves that I had completely zoned out.
“I’m sorry, girl. I was just watching Emoni with CJ, and I must admit, this was really a good idea. Seeing her that way with him makes me happy about the twins. Like at first, I thought she was going to be one of those kids who would act out and always want my attention, but I was wrong,” I said, smiling. I was truly happy.
“I know, and CJ seems so happy. I’ve never seen him with this much energy before. Thank you again for doing this,” she replied. I nodded my head as I continued to watch the kids play. “Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“With everything that I’ve told you about my dealings with Cash, you know his violent side. Do you think it’s really safe for me to be out here? I mean, this is his domain. He knows these streets like the back of his hand. I know it won’t be long before he finds me here,” she said, looking a little worried. She started looking around, which made me do the same. I used to hate her, but my heart really went out to the girl. Cash had her so scared that she didn’t want to be seen in public.
“Honestly, I don’t know. Yes, Cash knows Memphis, but I’m pretty sure that he doesn’t know the whole state. Maybe you shouldn’t be here in Memphis, but I don’t think you should leave the state. As a matter of fact, tomorrow if you’d like, I can drop the girls off at my fiancé’s mother’s house. And then we can take a little trip to Brownsville, which is an hour away from Memphis,” I said, honestly trying my best to help her out in her situation.
“Are you sure? I mean, will you be comfortable enough riding an hour away in your condition?” she asked, referring to my pregnancy.
“I can’t fly or anything like that, but I’m pretty sure that an hour’s drive won’t kill me,” I said with a light chuckle.
“Okay, well, yeah. I’d be so thankful if you did that for me,” she said, getting up from her seat. She walked around the table to me and gave me a hug. Yeah, I know what y’all must be saying about me, but I was kind of happy that she and Cash had a thing. If they hadn’t gotten together, I wouldn’t have met Kane.
“You’re welcome,” I said as the kids came running back to the table.
“Mommy, we’re sleepy,” Emoni said, rubbing her eyes. I knew what time it was.
“Looks like CJ is too,” Mia said.
“Well, I guess we know what time it is,” I said as I began putting everything on the tray to throw it in the trash. Even though the kids barely ate anything, I wasn’t trying to haul any of that home.
“It’s okay. I got that,” Mia told me. She got up and quickly cleaned the table before walking over to the trash and dumping everything in it.
“Thanks,” I said once she came back to the table.
“No problem,” she said, picking CJ up. “Thanks again for doing this. I . . . well, we had a blast.”
“No problem. Text or call me when y’all make it to the hotel,” I said as I began walking away.
“I will,” she replied before we both went our own ways. Once I made it outside to the car, I placed the girls in their car seats and got in. I then cranked up the car and began the forty-minute drive it took me to get home.
Since I hadn’t heard from Kane since this morning, I decided to give him a call. Placing my phone on the Bluetooth speaker like he always told me to, I dialed his number.
“Sup, beautiful,” he said, answering the phone on the first ring.
“Damn, you must be missing me, huh?” I said, laughing at how fast he answered the phone.
“Ya damn right I am. Hold up, you in the car?” he asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Are you using the hands-free thingy like I told you to?”
“Yes, I am, Daddy,” I said, faking like I was annoyed.
“Stop all that. I’m just trying to make sure y’all stay safe. Where are my favorite girls at?”
“We’re on our way home. I took the girls to the bounce house at the mall, and they’re knocked out in the back seat,” I said, taking a quick glance at Emoni and Ahmyri.
“They had fun?”
“Shit, you don’t hear a peep. So what ya think?” I replied. Normally the girls would be in the back seat chatting about this or that, but it was quiet. “Where you at though?”
“I just pulled up to the house actually. I’m about to hop in the shower before y’all get here. I’m tired as hell too. Just honk the horn when you pull up so I can come and get the girls,” he said, yawning, which made me yawn.
“All right, I’ll see you in a few,” I said, about to hang up the phone.
“Ay, shorty,” he said, stopping me.
“What’s up?”
“I love you,” he sang into the phone, causing me to blush hard.
“I love you too, zaddy,” I sang back.
“All right, I’ll see you in a minute for my kiss.”
“Boy, bye,” I said, hanging up the phone. I was smiling harder than a fag with a bag of dicks. Kane made me so happy. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t met him sooner.
I was placing my phone back on its little mount thing when Mia sent me a message saying that they had arrived at their destination. I quickly sent back an okay before I placed the thing back where it belonged. A few seconds later, she was calling my phone.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Cash is calling me again,” she replied, sounding scared again.
“I told you not to answer it. Let him keep calling. Shit, you need to get rid of that damn phone anyway,” I said truthfully.
“I know. I was supposed to do it today, but I forgot.”
“Well, tomorrow we’ll handle that first thing in the morning. In the meantime, don’t answer his calls or texts. Let it roll over straight to voicemail,” I said, hoping that would calm her down a bit.
“Okay, thank you, Keyon. I know you don’t have to be doing this for me, but I’m glad that you are.”
“It’s okay, Mia. What you’re going through I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” I said as I pulled up in my driveway. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest, boo.”
“Okay. Good night,” she replied.
I hung up the phone and sat there thinking. I honestly didn’t know that I would be helping Mia, let alone have her calling me, after what she did, but I couldn’t just sit there knowing what I knew and not doing anything to help the girl. Tay was going to have a fit tomorrow when I dragged her ass along for the ride, but she was just going to have to understand. No, Mia and I were not friends, and yes, she did pull that stunt on me at the club a few months ago, but that was in the past. Right now, I was trying to help an innocent child keep his mother, even if that child belonged to my daughter’s father.
“Why didn’t you beep the horn like I told you to?” Kane asked, scaring the shit out of me. I hadn’t noticed when he walked up, or opened the door, for that matter. “Let me guess, you didn’t know I was standing here, huh?”
“No,” I said, shaking my head.
“You’re going to have to do better than that, ma. I always tell you to be aware of your surroundings, especially when the girls are with you,” he said, shaking his head. He left me sitting there as he opened the door and grabbed each of the girls in one of his arms. I never understood how his ass did that. Emoni and Ahmyri both had a little weight on them, so they were heavy.
“I’m sorry,” I said, grabbing my phone and purse and getting out of the car. I hit the alarm as I followed him into the house. Once we were inside, I locked the door and set the alarm before following him up the stairs. Since the girls insisted on sleeping in the same room, even though they had rooms of their own, he placed them in the room he’d decorated for times like these. He then removed their shoes before placing their covers over them.
“I know you hate that, but they’re exhausted. They can take a bath in the morning. Right now, let them sleep,” he said before I could even let a word out of my mouth. He knew me all too well, and I hated when they had to bathe in the morning, but he was right. They were tired, so I guessed I could give them a pass for right now. “Come on, big mama. I already ran you a bath.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” I said, stealing a kiss from his lips as I wobbled my ass down the hallway and into the bathroom. I hated that the bathroom off our room wasn’t finished, but that wasn’t important right now. My body was beginning to ache, and that hot tub of water was calling my name.
Once I made it in the bathroom, I immediately stripped out of my clothes and hopped in the water.
“Damn, shorty, you couldn’t wait for me?” he asked as he started stripping out of his clothes.
“Hey, I thought you took a shower already,” I said, pouting.
“I did,” he said, entering the tub. I moved up so he could sit behind me. That way, I could lay my head on his chest.
“Well, why are you invading my space then?” I asked, leaning my head back on his chest like I wanted to. I closed my eyes as I enjoyed the feeling.
“Girl, go ’head somewhere. You know you want me in here anyway.”
“I don’t know why you’re laughing, because that ain’t true,” I said, trying to burst his bubble.
“All right, then move and let me get out,” he said, trying to get up.
I opened my eyes and turned around, facing him. “Hold up, where are you trying to go?” I asked.
“I’m getting out since you don’t want me in here,” he said, attempting to move again.
“Nah, you good,” I said, pushing him back down. I then placed my head back on his chest and closed my eyes once more. Yawning, I said, “You don’t have to leave, baby. You can stay in here as long as you want.”
“That’s what I thought,” he said, laughing. “Nah, but since you’re tired and falling asleep and shit, let me give you a bath and get you into bed, baby.”
“Sounds good to me,” I replied, yawning. I scooted up a little as I sat there and waited for him to bathe me. Yup, Kane had me spoiled rotten. The man did almost everything for me as y’all can tell.
Once I was finished and he had cleaned every inch of my body, he got out and handed me a towel, letting me dry off before him. When I was done, I handed him that same towel, threw on my robe, and headed to our room. I didn’t know whether I wanted to put on clothes or sleep naked, since I was always overheated. I figured I better at least put on some clothes since I was sleeping beside a man, and men can’t take it when a woman is completely naked.
Opting for just a T-shirt and some boy shorts, I threw the robe on the dresser and hopped into bed. A minute later, Kane entered the room. He turned off the lights and then hopped into bed beside me, pulling me close to him.
“I love you,” he said, kissing the back of my neck.
“I love you too,” I said, yawning once more. “Oh, I have something to tell you.”
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?”
“I’ll just tell you in the morning. Right now, I’m too tired to even stay up,” I told him. I turned and gave him a kiss on the lips before assuming our lovely spoon position. Before I knew it, I was out like a light.