Page 152 of Save Room for Us

“Things were fine for a while, but they slowly started to change and only got worse over time. What I should’ve done, in hindsight, was leave my ex but take more time to get to know Cedric. Had I done that, those dark qualities of his would’ve shown up sooner. I was so afraid that would happen to her, andthat is not saying anything about your son, because I didn’t know him.”

Laying me back to rinse the conditioner, Lisara looked into my eyes and said, “You’re a good sister, just traumatized. The best part is, Analicia knows that. Bashar knows that, and now I do too.” After a few moments, she said, “What gave you the courage to shoot that big ass man? ’Cause girl, if you didn’t do it right…”

We cracked up.

“I know. The officer telling me that a restraining order was pointless on a man like that and that even if they arrested him, he wouldn’t be in jail long. Then, he’d be madder when he got out. I realized then it was him or me.”

Lisara nodded before leading me to her station.

“Well, you were right about one thing: Jarrio was a better man than his ass.” She chuckled, and I followed suit. “Even though he tried to kill my baby.”

She and I chortled together.

For the next hour and a half, we chatted while she did my hair. When done, Asif had food delivered to us so we could continue our time over lunch.

Somehow, this man always knew what I needed, no matter how simple.

SOME DAYS LATER…

I grunted as I listened to my mother answer the front door,knowing it was Cedric’s father here to see Sophie. While Cedric’s family had always treated Sophie well, they were never as interested in her as they had been since Cedric’s and my relationship blew up. They typically would only see her if Cedric and I took her over there, but they’d never walked out of their home and made a trip to ours to see her, so I knew all of this shit they were doing now was a charade.

“You look so cute.” I kissed Sophie after putting the last bow in her hair. “Now, you’re gonna go see your grandpa while I stay back here, okay?” I told her, hoping she understood.

Sophie was very smart, but at only two and a half years old, there were things she didn’t quite understand still, as expected.

As I spoke, a sunken feeling came over me that Gabriel, Cedric’s father, was the only grandfather Sophie would have or know. My father was an amazing dad and probably would’ve been an even better grandfather. I wished he could’ve met her and Benton—Brisa, too, who I often forgot wasn’t my sister’s baby because of how blended they were.

“Okay.” Sophie nodded, smiling.

Taking her hand, I walked her to my bedroom door, cracking it to see the older but shorter version of Cedric seated on the couch. Though his ex-wife was a deadbeat and wrong for leaving Cedric in the dust, I often wondered if she had good reason to wanna get away from Gabriel. If he was anything like his son, and judging from the way he reacted to me exposing Cedric’s behavior, I could surmise they weren’t too different and therefore didn’t blame her.

“Hey, sweetheart!” Gabriel beamed when he noticed Sophie.

“Go ahead.” I nudged Sophie, but she wouldn’t go, even shaking her head to confirm.

My mother raised an eyebrow at me that I knew meant to play along for her sake and to keep shit smooth until the trialconcluded. Sighing, I took my baby’s hand and walked her into the living room, her eyes plastered to her paternal grandfather.

“You are getting so big now. Can I pick you up?”

“Sif say no.” She shook her head.

“Huh?” Gabriel inquired, chuckling but clearly confused.

“Sif say no?—”

“Okay. Come here.” My mother saved the day, picking Sophie up and sitting beside Gabriel.

I could tell he was trying to figure out what Sophie was alluding to, and had her tiny voice not been slightly hard to understand, I think he would’ve been able to figure it out.

Asif, on many occasions, had drilled into Sophie not to allow men to pick her up, kiss her, put her on their laps, or engage with her in any way that involved touching pretty much. And if they did, she was to tell him, so I knew she would be blabbing about this incident to him as soon as she saw him. She enjoyed having something to report to him, and he liked that she would tell on any man attempting anything.

Gabriel tried to tug Sophie into his lap, but she refused, staying planted in my mother’s.

Seeing my mama had it all under control, I made an about face to go back to my bedroom before his gravelly voice halted me.

“Cat got your tongue, Anastazia?” Gabriel queried.

“Hi, Gabe.” I nodded and tried to keep going.

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