Page 34 of Out of Bounds
“I hear you, but it’s still hard.” She pouted.
“Girl, go to the dinner.” I giggled. “Besides… the kids will need someone there to keep them from bouncing off the walls. He’s going to have his hands full. I appreciate you for being a rider, though. That lets me know that if I killed his ass, you would be down to do a bid with me.”
“I sure the hell would!” she swore, and I knew she meant every word. That’s just the type of person Koya was. It spoke to not only her character, but her heart. Even if I wasn’t fucking with Kreed in any capacity, I couldn’t police their interactions with him, nor did I plan to. I’m a grown-ass woman. I’m perfectly capable of keeping my issues with him and only him.
“Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, tell me about your first day. Can you see yourself being a permanent fixture there?”
And just like that, the conversation was directed away from my marriage and onto something more positive. Continuing to talk about something that no longer held value in my life was meaningless, especially now that I was officially moving on and living for myself.
Knocking on the door,I stuffed my hands into my pockets and stood off to the side. I’d called and let her know I was a few minutes out right before I pulled up, so I prayed this exchange would go smoothly.
A few seconds later, I heard the locks being undone. “Hey… he’s almost ready,” Ashton said. “You can come in.”
“Nawl.” I shook my head. “I’m good right here.”
“Oh my God, Kreed!” she complained. “You act like it’s a problem for you to come in my house.”
“It is. All of this is a problem, but I’m dealing with it.” Instead of arguing with her, I said, “I’ll be right here waiting.”
“Yeah, whatever.” She hissed and walked away from the door.
Since the day she’d run her mouth to Masai, I ain’t had shit to say to her. The only time we communicated was for pick-ups and drop-offs. If she needed anything, she reached out to my attorney, and in return, he reached out to me.
I was dead set on keeping my business out of the public eye, so I’d set up an amount that was deposited into her account monthly for child support, which was really nothing but moneyfor her to do whatever she wanted to do with. Kreed Jr. went to a private daycare that I paid for. I’d also added him to my health insurance now that Masai knew about him. Ashton really got a sweet-ass deal now that I thought about it. She might not see it that way since she thought keeping him was a way for her to gain access to me. I was the one thing she really wanted, and since she couldn’t have me, she wanted to be bitter and run to Masai. That shit ain’t go the way she thought it would because I still wasn’t fucking with her.
She thought showing up at training camp was going to do something, but the minute I was alerted of her presence, I had her ass put out. The bitch then ran to the blogs with some pictures of Kreed Jr. and me. That pissed me off on a different level because Maddie Claire and Charleigh Anne saw that shit and started asking questions.
Instead of telling them, I decided to sit them down and show them, which is why I was on Ashton’s doorstep now. Today was the day I was going to sit my kids down and explain everything to them. My plan was to lay it all out on the table, be truthful with them, and take whatever came with that. I knew without a doubt that my oldest two would be hurt the most, and I was prepared for whatever came next. On top of that, I would do all that I could to assure them that I was sorry and never meant for any of this to happen.
After standing on her doorstep for what felt like hours, Ashton finally came back to the door with Kreed perched in her arms. “He’s had a bath and a bottle. He might fall asleep on the ride, but once he’s awake, he should be good. His formu?—”
I cut her off by holding my hand up. “This ain’t my first rodeo.” Grabbing him out of her arms, I laid him over my shoulder and took the diaper bag from her. “When I’m on the way back, I’ll hit you up.” There was no need for formalities; her ass already knew this wasn’t that. On top of that, this wasn’t thefirst time that I’d had him alone. I’d spent plenty of alone time with him after the DNA test confirmed that he belonged to me. Her ass was just dying to get some conversation out of me. No cap—the day she did that shit to Masai, I almost made her ass a distant memory, but I couldn’t fathom looking my son in his eyes knowing I’d killed his mama.
Strolling away from the door, I walked down the driveway so that I could get him situated in the back seat. I was so busy strapping him in that I’d failed to realize that her ass had followed me. It wasn’t until I heard what sounded like a camera that I turned around.
“Fuck you got going on?” I all but shouted after noticing she was standing there with her phone up, snapping pictures.
“Taking pictures of you with KJ. What does it look like?” She frowned.
“Yeah, we not doing that.” Snatching the phone out of her hand, I brought my arm back and launched that bitch toward the trees. God forbid she post that shit and try to twist the fucking story. “You not ’bout to keep hopping online, talking shit like I won’t cut you off. I play nice because of him, but don’t ever get it twisted. I don’t like you. We willneverbe a family. I fucked up that night, and I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”
Leaning in, I got close to her ear so I could make myself clear. “Leave my wife out of this shit. You can say what you want about me, but don’t keep bringing up my wife.” Using my elbow, I nudged her back a little so I could hop in the truck. My eyes rolled up and down her body before I scoffed. On God, the mere thought of touching her had me feeling dirty as hell.
On repeat was the night I made the worst decision of being out with Jordan and them niggas. Something in the back of my mind was telling me to stay my ass in the crib with my family. My ass didn’t listen and had signed myself up for an eighteen-year bid with a broad I couldn’t stand the sight of.
Ashton stood her ass in the driveway and watched me pull away. I knew she wanted to say something smart, but refrained, and I’m glad she did. I wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her feelings if she came out of pocket and said something that pissed me off. The easy part was done. Now, it was time for the hardest shit I’d ever had to do. I was headed across town to the house that my family resided in so that I could grab my kids. When I pulled up, I peered in the back seat at KJ to check and make sure he hadn’t woken up. After confirming that his little ass was still asleep, I hopped out of the truck.
Before I had the chance to knock on the door, my Buttercup was pulling it open. Perching her little hand on her hip, she fussed. “You’re late.”
“Nawl, Buttercup, I’m on time.” Kneeling in front of her, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into my chest. “Daddy didn’t say what time he was coming,” I told her before kissing her temple and releasing her. “Where yo’ sisters at?”
“In there.” She pointed behind her.
“All right.” I stood and grabbed hold of her hand. The two of us walked into the house to the living room, where the rest of my kids were.
“Daddy!” they yelled when they saw me. The three of them hopped off the couch and immediately ran into my arms.
That was the reaction they gave me every time I popped up, and every single fucking time, it grounded me. It gave me a sense of purpose and made me feel like, regardless of what was occurring between Masai and me, I was still their hero.
