Page 14 of Until the Ink Dries

She ignored me and continued to scroll through her phone. I stormed into the bathroom and snatched her phone out of her hands. She jumped up, ready to fight, but I wasn’t having that. I held her phone up high and stepped back.

“Don’t piss me off. Can you hear me now? Why the fuck were you just sitting here?” I asked again.

I rarely raised my voice at anyone, but the more I thought about my daughter sitting here crying, the more pissed I got. Who knew how long she had been crying and that didn’t sit well with me.

“I told you I didn’t want her!” Tierra cried.“You forced me to have her, so you take care of her. She is not my problem. Not to mention, she fucked up my perfect body!”

“Don’t piss me off, Tierra. You thought having her would give you me. I clarified that if you didn’t want to be a mother, I would take her. I can take her and go!”

Any attraction that I felt for her previously had long since gone away. It made me feel worse that this is the woman I chose for my daughter to look up to. But, I wouldn’t make that same mistake twice.

“Well, get all of her shit and get the fuck out! Take her with you. I hate you and her!” she yelled as tears rolled down her cheeks.

I stood grounded as she continued to shout while pointing at the door. A bottle of pain medicine was next to her. She reached over to grab the bottle before taking a few.

“You will regret this one day.”

PRESENT

“Honey, did you hear me?” my mother called out.

I ran my hand over my face, then glanced up to see she had fixed my plate with a few pieces of baked chicken, rice, cornbread, with baked macaroni and cheese. I picked up my fork and nodded my head.

“I hear all of that, but I try not to make waves. I don’t want them trying to put my daughter in the system. Tierra never signed over her rights fully to me, she just washed her hands with her. But every chance she gets, she pops back up, wanting money from me. She needs help, mom, and I hate to say it, but we’re all she has. Even with everything she has done, I have to try for Charlie.”

“You don’t think I love Charlie and want the best for her? What child doesn’t want her mother? I could see how much it bothered her when you brought her by today. This is harming her more than it’s doing any good. Listen to me real good. You need to nip this in the bud before ruining more than just Charlie’s life, but yours as well. I want to see you happy again.”

I opened my mouth to object but closed it. I understood where my mother was coming from, but I needed to figure this out, and soon. I don’t know how much longer I could take this shit with Tierra.

“I hear you.”

My mom wiped the counter off after putting the food away, then walked over to wrap her arms around me. I laid my head against her shoulder as she placed a kiss against my temple.

“You head on home and get some rest. Charlie will be okay here with us; plus, she is asleep. You can come back to get her tomorrow. Take some time for yourself, son. I know I gave you a lot to think about.”

I heard her loud and clear, but all I could think about was Charlie. I needed to see her.

“I think I’m going to stay here tonight. I don’t want to leave Charlie all night,” I told my mom.

She patted my shoulder, then leaned down to kiss my cheek.

“You never have to ask me to stay here. You know where you can find more blankets if you need them. Goodnight, baby.”

I continued eating the food my mom placed onto my plate, then rinsed the plate off before placing it into the dishwasher. I took the stairs two at a time, then strolled down the hallway. My mother’s muffled giggles caused me to shake my head as I continued to the room my mother put together for Charlie.

Her starship nightlight cast a glow all over the ceiling as she lay snuggled beneath her covers in the middle of a queen-sized bed. I smiled to myself as I kicked off my shoes and sat against the edge of the mattress. When Charlie slept, she looked like an angel. I leaned over and placed a kiss against her cheek.

I stood and walked towards the door when her little voice called out to me.

“Daddy, where you going?” she asked.

I paused and then looked over my shoulder to see her pulling the covers back with her face scrunched up in confusion.

“I’m going to sleep in the other room, baby. Go back to sleep.”

She sat up fully and held her arms out for me with her bottom lip poked out. She knew I could never resist her when she did that.

“I wanna sleep with you,” she whined.

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