Debt

44: Call Me

Shawn saw Abrielle talking to CoCo with the baby in her lap. He was sitting with Shayla watching Hector and Francis talk. Shayla was glaring lasers into Hector like she could set him on fire.

"Shay," Shawn called, snapping her attention back to him.

"What?"

"Why you lookin' at that man like you wont him dead?" he asked her.

"I hate him," she told him.

"I understand that, Shayla. But if you ain't go do nothing about his existence, let it go. He giving yo son the opportunity to do what he wonna do. And Larielle would be crushed if that man came up missing."

"You don't even care about Larielle."

"Yes I do. But even if I didn't, you do, Shayla. That's your daughter-in-law. I would love to wipe that nigga off the face of the earth. But you know how the girl carrying your grandchild is going to feel about that. Just let it go."

Shayla looked up at her little brother. "I know. But you don't understand, Shawn. He was supposed to be my friend. I trusted him. And when I was having a child, suddenly our friendship was bad and Brisa didn't like it. I was thirteen and naïve. I raised a child alone. Without his father. Why could he raise one and not the other? Why did my son have to meet his father through a chance meeting set up by his girlfriend? I hate him, Shawn."

"I hate him with you, Shay. But what is putting your energy on him go solve? 'Cause we cain't kill him."

"I don't want to kill him, Shawn. That would mean that he doesn't have to think about the first eighteen years that he missed."

"You said he wanted to meet Evan four years ago."

"How would you feel if you were me, and your son went fourteen years not knowing his father and then suddenly I put this man in front of you and say this is your father?"

"Well, Shayla, they met. There's nothing we can do about that."

She just got up and went to her son, putting her arm around his shoulder, smiling and talking to him.

Shawn sighed, shook his head, and turned, bumping into Pedro. "Sorry," Shawn told him, trying to walk around.

"You're related to Evan?" Pedro asked.

"Who's asking?"

"Oh, my name is Pedro. I'm Larielle's friend."

"Oh. My name is Anonymous, and I'm not your business," Shawn said, shaking Pedro's extended hand before he walked off.

Pedro looked at Shawn's back, knowing something about him was off. He went and sat with Abrielle kissing her. He'd heard that Abrielle had had a child, but he didn't believe it until he saw it in the flesh.

Abrielle smiled at whatever Shawn was saying to her. Pedro wasn't worried about that, though. He saw Larielle over getting food and went to her.

"Hey, Lari, congrats," he told her with a smile on his face. He wasn't happy about her marrying Evan though.

"Thanks," she said with a bright grin on her face, her eyes bright, a glow in her skin. She was so happy. And for that, he didn't hate Evan. He made Larielle happy, and even if he had to watch someone else love her, he was glad to see her smiling.

"So you're pregnant?" he asked. She knew people were saying it although she hadn't announced the news.

"Yea," she admitted. No point lying or evading it. "I hope it's a little girl," she said with a grin.

"Well, I hope that whatever you have, the baby is born healthy."

"Thank you."

Evan came over before Pedro could say anything else, and he wrapped his arms around Larielle, whispering in her ear. "Okay," she agreed. "I'll see you later, Pedro," she told him, giving him a side hug and heading off with Evan who looked at him over his shoulder. Pedro glared at him, but Evan just smiled, his hand on the top of Larielle's ass.