Page 42 of A Player's Prayer
Frowning, I placed my fork on the plate and glanced over at my mother. I was trying to calm myself before I spoke because I didn’t want to disrespect her. The way she was talking and looking at me was pissing me off.
“Mama, I didn’t do anything but love that girl. She caught me in a compromising position, but it wasn’t my fault.”
“Good riddance to her,” Harley said as she looked over at me. “She almost shot my friend, hit her in the mouth with a pistol, and sent her from your house naked! She better be glad?—”
“She better be glad what, Harley?”
“Aye, bro,” Uno based his voice and eyed me with a warning expression. “Chill out.”
“Nah, nigga. She wants to address me and talk about what my girlbetter be gladabout, and I want to hear it.” I leaned forward on the table, and all eyes landed on me. “I told you clear as day I loved my girl. I told you to let your friend know to leave me alone because I wasn’t playing about her. What does she do? She pulls up at my crib on some hoe shit. I know what type of nigga y’all think I am, but I changed all of that shit for Kodi.”
“You’re ruining Ava’s life!” Harley shouted. Uno tried to calm her, but she snatched away from him. “You ruined her house, had her beat up, and now she’s in legal trouble with the hotel she was staying in. All because of a misunderstanding?”
“Bruh, get your girl because I’m about to get real disrespectful.” I chuckled frighteningly, standing from the table. “Your hoe-ass friend knew I had a girl and showed up at my house to get fucked. Did you know she was coming?”Silence. “Bet. When I put hoes on my bro, I want you to take that shit to the chin like my girl did.”
Grabbing my shit to leave, I heard my mother call my name, but I ignored her as I walked through the house. I was ready to put my hands on everybody who was pissing me off, and it was best I went on about my business before I fucked up the family dynamic.
“Aye, nigga! Wait.” Skip called out behind me. “Adrian!”
“What, nigga!” I shouted as I stepped onto the porch. “Why the fuck nobody wants to see this shit for what it is! I lost my girl, and everybody assumes I cheated, fucked over her, or just had girls out here doing the most just to spite her. I love the fuck out of Kodi and nobody knows how bad a nigga is hurting without her!”
I felt like a bitch for how emotional I was becoming. That girl was my fucking life, and it was frustrating that she and nobody else could see that shit.
“I get it, man.. I do. I would have put a bullet in Ava if I’m being honest.” He shrugged, taking a seat in one of the rocking chairs. “You ain’t wrong for feeling how you feel.”
“You need to look at it from Dakota’s point of view, baby,” my mother spoke up as she stepped onto the porch. The look on her face was serious, but I could see the empathy in her eyes. “She loves you, but she feels betrayed. No, you didn’t cheat on her, but as a woman, she feels like no one should be able to put you in a compromising position, especially not another woman. Ava shouldn’t have been able to step past your front door. You should have stopped her once her foot touched your hardwood floors.”
“Mama—”
“Excuses, son. That’s what they are, and Dakota doesn’t want to hear it. I heard about the girls who approached you in the club. They should have been excluded from the party so that there was no room for error. I’ve spoken to Dakota on a few occasions without you, and I know I shouldn’t say, but sheneeds reassurance, love. Her father is in prison. Her mother and grandmother are deceased. The ones she thought were her friends and had her best interests had been plotting against her. She’s fighting battles she doesn’t want to speak on, and the man she loves isn’t making things easier for her. I’m not saying you’re completely to blame, and I’m not saying that Dakota is or isn’t overreacting. What I’m asking is, do you love her?”
“More than I’ve loved anyone in my entire life,” I replied honestly. Uno mugged me as he stepped outside with his wife behind him, but I didn’t give a fuck. Harley was on one about her friend, and as far as I was concerned, I’d shoot her ass right after I handled Ava if I needed to. “I’ll kill about her with no questions asked.”
Hearing my mother say Kodi had people plotting on her was news to me, and I needed to dig deeper into that shit. I wanted to ask Mama about it, but I know she will never tell me out of respect for Kodi. She’d already said too much as is.
“Then you will do whatever it takes to make her listen to you, baby.”
Leaning against the column, I stared off into the yard, thinking of what I could do to make Kodi hear me. She was stubborn as hell, but I know she was worth every headache she gave a nigga.
“Adrian, I’m sorry,” Harley spoke lowly as she came and stood beside me. “Disrespecting your relationship was wrong. I honestly didn’t know Ava was going to come to your house. I should have because when I told her that you seemed happy, she thought it was a joke. I would never condone her doing something like what she did, despite the short stint y’all had.”
“There was no stint, Harley,” I stated dryly without looking at her. I didn’t want to hear shit she had to say. “She was a hoe that I fucked. She was nothing special. I didn’t treat her like the rest out of respect for you. That was my bad.”
“Are you going to kill her?” she asked in a sad tone—I wish I cared. “Please don’t.”
“Depends on what Kodi says.” I pushed off the porch column. “If my girl wants that bitch to die, bring out your best black dress.” She gasped at my words. “When I get my girl back, if she wants me to cut you off, I’ll do that too.”
“Wild—”
“How would you feel if one of Uno’s old hoes pulled up on him, knowing y’all are together, but still tried to fuck?” Her eyes turned to slits, and I placed my hand behind my ears. “I don’t hear you…”
“He and I are married, that’s the difference.” The anger on her face was evident from my question. “He wouldn’t do that to me.”
“Hopefully, he’s never in that predicament.” I winked at her mad ass. Giving my attention to my mother, I pulled her into my arms and hugged her. “Sorry about cussing, Ma. I’m going to get out of here, though.”
“Are you okay, baby?” She eyed me with worry. “Where are you going?”
“I’m about to pull up on my girl like I always do.”
