Page 48 of I Need It

My nose twitched, and I was about to grab her ass again. Jakari snatched me by the shirt and pushed me against my vehicle. “Are you crazy? Let that shit go. You tryna go to jail?”

“She put her dirty ass hands on me.” I jerked away from him. “She deserved everything she got and what she was about to get. People need to learn to keep their fucking hands to themselves!”

Uncle Storm put his arm around me as Pop stood next to me. “It’s cool, nephew. She gon’ get what she’s searching for. Think about your lady and the baby she’s carrying.”

I rolled my eyes as Pop’s eyes widened. “Baby?” he asked.

“Let me fill this cop in on what happened, and then we’ll talk to y’all. Uncle Storm, keep yo’ two cents to yourself.”

“I always got more than two cents, nephew. I’m a fucking dollar bill.”

I knew he was fishing, and I gave him the answer he wanted. He was good at that shit. He didn’t know shit for sure, but this was an example of how he found out everything he was questioning. I went to the cop and gave him blow by blow details of what happened today, what has been happening since I reconnected with Courtney, and how we knew each other.

After he filled out his report and I filed a restraining order against her ass, he left. She would probably be charged with harassment, but I was pretty sure she would be back on the streets Monday morning, since it was the weekend.

I made my way back to the house, and when I got to the porch, Mya was standing there with a towel. She gently put it to my face as I stared at her. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“You have no reason to apologize, Christian. Come on.”

I followed her inside as Rylan asked, “You didn’t see that cop pull his weapon? It was like you didn’t hear any of us yelling at you. You didn’t release her until Mama yelled. Uncle Storm eased the cop’s trigger finger.”

I slid my hand down my face then sat on the couch. I dropped the cold towel to the coffee table and rested my face in my palms for a second. “I’m sorry, y’all. Mama, it had to be God speaking through you if I didn’t hear anyone else. I don’t know why she insists on fucking with me.”

“Christian, like you said, she only remembers the cool Christian from school. That is not who you grew up to be. I honestly think you need to talk out your anger issues with somebody, because since the situation with Avery, you haven’t been the same. When we all released forgiveness and moved on, you didn’t. That’s not healthy, man. You can forgive him without having a relationship with him, but you have to let that shit go before it destroys you,” Jakari said.

I slid my arm around Mya and kissed her head as I noticed the tear slide down her cheek. She placed her hand on my cheek, right where that bitch had hit me, and gently caressed it. I rested my forehead against hers and then kissed her lips before pulling away from her.

“I know I have to get it together, especially for the sake of Mya and our unborn child. Mya’s pregnant. That was what today was supposed to be about. I’m about to be a father.”

My mama’s hands flew to her face, and I could tell she wanted to be happy, but she didn’t know if she should be, given what had just happened. Jakari frowned slightly, but he didn’t say anything. Rylan and Pop were the first to congratulate us. Afterward, everyone followed suit. After handing Renzo to my mama, Angel hugged Mya tightly, and when Mya started crying, she only held her tighter.

I was worried about how she was feeling. As I was about to try to comfort her, she sprang to her feet. I knew what that meant. I quickly led her to the bathroom. She slammed the door behind her, shutting me out. I didn’t know what to feel in that moment. For a second, my mind wondered about how she felt about what she saw. I was more than sure she was scared.

If I could snap on Courtney like that, she probably suspected I could do the same to her. I closed my eyes and silently prayed that everything would be fine. I felt a hand on my back, and I knew it was my mother’s touch. Her touch could always soothe me. I turned to her, and she pulled me in her arms.

“Everything will be fine, baby. Congratulations. You’re going to be a wonderful father, and if what I’m seeing is accurate, you’ll be a wonderful husband too.”

I didn’t respond to her words. I just held her tightly. When I released her, she smiled at me. “Don’t let what happened today dim your light. You’re gonna be a daddy!”

I smiled slightly. When the bathroom door opened, Mya’s face was red as hell. I went to her and kissed her forehead. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m just a little embarrassed about my emotional breakdown. I don’t even know where it came from.”

My mama smiled slightly. “Girl, pregnancy will have you a bundle of senseless emotions. This evening has been full of stuff to trigger them though. You have no reason to be embarrassed. Come on here so we can talk about this baby!”

Mya smiled and gently stroked my cheek then followed my mama back to the family room. I stood in the hallway, trying to pull myself together. Just that quickly, the anger had left me. I was way more concerned about Mya and how she was feeling. I knew we would talk later when we were alone. As I walked down the hallway to join everyone, Jakari was coming my way to check on me, I assumed.

Sure enough, when I got to the end of the hallway, he slid his arm around my shoulders. “Are y’all a couple?”

“Yeah. We just became a couple, although I’ve been wanting her for the past three months practically.”

“Are you sure she’s accepting that for the right reasons now?”

I frowned slightly as he lifted his hands. “Yeah. Why?”

“Isn’t it my job to look out for my lil brother?” he asked.

Suddenly, my irritation was coming back. “You mean like you looked out for Rylan against Decaurey’s punk ass?”

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