Page 13 of Ride

“The nurse will watch him. If you skip out, be prepared for the consequences.” Virgil yanked open the door, slamming it against the wall, and my son started crying again. I rushed to pick him up and rock him back to sleep.

* * *

“Amena, did you hear me?”

I smiled, tossing the rest of the trash in the garbage and letting go of the memories of my marriage. “No, sorry Budda.”

“Where is your head?” He twisted up his nose, leaning against the counter.

“Is my car ready?”

“Changing the subject won’t work, lil sis.” Brett had tried many times to harp on me about the men that I dated. The reason I never told him about Virgil and me was to avoid the interrogation we were having right now.

“Budda, my head is fine. I need to start looking for a place to stay and get back to work.” He hated it when I called him by his childhood nickname.

“Are you going to tell me why your ex-husband keeps calling my phone?’

I groaned. “We’re divorced, so block him.”

“Divorced and you kept the wedding day a secret from your family.”

“This is why I hesitated to come here.” I reached for the soap and sponge to clean up the dishes after I made lunch.

“Amena, stop playing. Did he hit you?”

“Budda.”

Brett shut off the faucet, grasped my hands, and turned me around to face him. “Aye, what did I promise you?”

The mental obstacles of my marriage had really put a strain on my communication with my family. Growing up, Brett was my hero, and I had shut him out, along with my parents. “You promised to always be here for me as my big brother.”

“Exactly, which means if a motherfucker hurts you then…”

I laid my head on his arm for a brief second. “You hurt them.” We both smiled and hugged for a moment, then he released me.

Kayne shouted, “Hi Laikin!”

Brett and I were startled at the surprise pop up of voices coming from the living room. We headed in the direction of my son letting somebody in without waiting for permission.

“Where’s your uncle, lil man?” Laikin seemed to get even more handsome as he aged.

I closed my eyes, stomach clenched at hearing his voice.

Brett kissed my forehead. “We’re going to talk about this later on.”

All I could do was nod and follow his lead, letting the conversation hold until were alone. My brother worked as a gaming designer, and I was in fashion. Our parents had reservations about our careers, but once they saw how accomplished we had become, they dropped their concerns. Kayne held one of his toys in front of Laikin’s face.

Kayne pointed at Laikin. “Mommy, my friend, Laikin, is here.”

“I see that, sweetie pie.” I smiled, admiring Laikin’s attention on Kayne. Based on his dark tinted shades, black jeans, leather jacket, and jewels around his neck, he must be ready to hit the streets with a woman.

Laikin and Brett did their signature handshake and watched Kayne. I reached down to start cleaning up my things to prepare to leave.

“What’s up with you?” Brett wondered, waving at him to take a seat.

“About to head into a commercial shoot.” Laikin stretched his legs out wide.

“For whom?” Brett snatched up the remote to change the channel away from Blue’s Clues.

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