Page 77 of Truce Of The Matter

“What?”

“I need this money. Twenty grand and I’ll leave. I won’t ever call, text, or try to see Aryel again. You can have her,” she says and I swear I blank the fuck out.

The little space between her and me is instantly destroyed and I’m in her fucking face. Truce tries pulling me back but fails. Aria is so close that I can feel her heart bursting in her chest.

“I knew you were something when you left her with me but I didn’t think you could be this fucking low. But let’s get something clear, right fucking now. I have Aryel; I have always had her. You barely being in her life was because I made a stupid ass mistake to allow that but that shit ends fucking now. As far as my daughter is concerned, you don’t exist anymore.”

“B-b-but…I can…take you...t-to court,” she stutters.

“And do what? Get custody? Visitation? No judge alive will take her from me and give her to you.”

“Fuck you,” she yells then jumps back. “Fuck you and fuck Aryel. I never wanted to have a baby any?—”

Aria’s words are cut short by Truce’s hand slamming into the side of her face. It happens fast and hard, catching all of us off guard, especially Aria. With a look of horror and pain on her face, she raises her hands to the spot.

“You don’t deserve Aryel!” Truce grits, speaking up for my baby girl.

That shit is sexy as hell and I just want to pull her feisty ass into my arms but it’ll have to wait because the nigga Brown makes the stupid ass decision to step over to us.

“Nigga, check yo’ bitch,” he has the nerve to say.

I’m taken aback at first because just fifteen seconds ago he was falling back when I only said one fucking word. But now his ass found some courage somewhere and has the nerve to step. So I give him just what the fuck he’s asking for, a two-piece combo.I jab him with my less forceful left and he yelps like a wounded dog. Before he can recover, I lay his ass out with a rear uppercut from my right. I grin internally at the satisfaction of hearing something crack in his mouth on contact.

Aria screams as soon as his bitchass hits my pebbled driveway. She rushes down next to him and leans in to see if he’s still breathing. When she realizes that he is, she jumps up and angrily screams, “You could have killed him!”

“And I will if you or him ever come back here,” I warn, meaning every damn word. Without saying shit else, I step around her and over the nigga, grab her bags and roll them to the trunk. I leave her with Truce, grinning as I do. When I slam the trunk, Brown starts to move. Grunting, he clumsily lifts up on his knees. Aria rushes to him, drapes his arm over her shoulder, then struggles to help him up. “Leave, my nigga, and stay the fuck from round here,” I tell him. Then I look at Aria and shake my head in disgust.

I step to Truce and she walks into my arms and latches her arms around my neck. With my arms resting on her lower back, I embrace her as I watch Aria help him into the passenger seat then get into the car and drive off.

“So that’s her?” Truce asks, sarcastically.

“Yeah.”

“Wow,” is all she says but I know that one word covers many more adjectives. Her arms fall from my neck then she lightly grabs my left arm. “Does it hurt?” she asks with so much concern.

“Does this, slugger?” I counter with a grin while grabbing her right hand. “I didn’t know you were a fighter.”

“She was foul as hell and I got tired of her mouth. What kind of shit was that for her to say about Aryel? I wanted her to shut up.”

“Thank you,” I say and she shakes her head.

“Don’t thank me for that ’cause I should have beat her ass. You ready to go in though?”

“How bad is she?” I ask.

Aryel’s tears fucked me up. I knew then I was going to cut Aria off. Her stupid ass words and only confirmed that shit. Monday morning, I will go see my attorney and do what I should have done when she left, terminate her parental rights. I want her all the way out of Aryel’s life.

“Calm but upset. I took her upstairs. She’s in her room. She was crying because she thought she had to go with her.”

“She doesn’t have to worry about that.”

“So go tell her that.”

We walk back into the house and Truce walks to the family room while I head upstairs to my baby girl. She’s laying across her bed so I walk over and sit next to her. When she lifts her head, her little swollen eyes damn near break me. I lean in, kiss her forehead, then lift her. As soon as she’s on my lap, she throws her arms around me and cries on my shoulder. Gently, I rub her back and try to soothe her.

“Don’t cry, baby girl. Everything is fine; you don’t have to cry,” I say and she nods.

“I don’t want to go with her, Daddy,” she cries.

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