Page 61 of Love Always, Nova Black
Holding up her hands, Mrs. Cole said, “Okay, Mr. Desaun, we’re going to get this figured out. Are you sure there isn’t some way that her mother—”
“I’m positive! She’s in prison for murder. They’re not letting her ass walk the streets, trust me.”
Fear swelled up in her eyes, which gave me great pleasure. I wanted her to be scared.
Pacing the floor, I called my mother. “This shit doesn’t make any sense. Now, they're trying to tell me that Kierra picked her up and I know that isn’t possible.”
“Kierra?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t think…”
“Hell no! If she was out, I would know it.”
“Mr. Desaun,” Mrs. Cole called out while waving me to the other side of the desk. Pointing to a figure on the screen, she said, “Is this not Dakota’s mother?”
I leaned in, trying to get a better glimpse of the person that was holding my daughter’s hand. When the image became a little clearer, and I recognized who it was, my rage multiplied by ten.
“That’s not her damn mother. That’s Aunie, her aunt.”
Sighing in relief, Mrs. Cole pressed her hand against her chest. “Oh, thank God. I’m glad she’s with someone that she knows.”
“Someone that she knows?” I frowned, and then returned my attention to my phone call. “Mama, I’ll call you back.” I didn’t even wait for her to respond. Ending the call and shoving my cell into my jeans, I looked at the old woman. “First of all, just because she knows her doesn’t mean I’m comfortable with my daughter leaving with her. Second, she’s not on any list to pick her up. Third, why the fuck did you guys allow her to walk out this door with my child just because she said she was her mother? What kind of establishment are y’all running up in here?”
“Sir, I sincerely apologize,” the young girl stepped in. “Like I said, it’s my first day. I’ve seen so many kids walk in and out of here—”
“That you just let them leave with whoever, huh?”
Lifting her hand to make sure that the young girl didn’t say another word, Mrs. Cole said, “I truly apologize. This shouldn’t have happened, and the proper precautions should’ve been taken. I assure you that this will never happen again.”
“You damn right it won’t. I’m never bringing my daughter back to this shithole,” I replied before storming out of the building. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I called Aunie. But after the first ring, it went straight to voicemail.
“What the hell?”
I called again, but it was the same thing.
This was exactly why I didn’t fuck with her. She did shit on her own terms with no regard for anyone.
But she had another thing coming. I knew where she lived, and I had no problem making the long ass drive to her house. But before I could start the car, a text came through.
“I’ll bring Dakota home in an hour.” –Aunie
“No. You need to bring her home now.” –Don
I waited for her response, but nothing came through, which wasn’t surprising.
The moment I arrived at my place, I expected to see her waiting outside, but in true Aunie fashion, she didn’t take heed to a word I said. I tried to keep my cool and be at ease with the fact that Dakota wasn’t with some random stranger. But it grew harder by the second.
I dropped down on the couch and rested my head in my hands. I’d never been so scared in my life.
As soon as I heard a knock at the door, I jumped to my feet.
Taking a deep breath, I tried to pull myself together, so I didn’t act a complete fool in front of Dakota.
Just be cool, Don.
But the rage within me didn’t feel like it was going to allow it. At this point, all I could see was red, which meant Aunie was about to get the worst of me. But knowing her, that meant we were about to go round for round, and I was ready.
