King of Hearts (gxg)

19. Phone Calls ♔︎

"Look at Ava," Kiara said aloud, causing Monie to come back to her current reality.

Ava had left Marco and Cameron and was searching the sand for seashells to decorate their sandcastle with. She had a bucket in her left hand and her head down as she walked slowly, shuffling her feet in the sand every so often to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"Don't get too far from Marco!" Monie yelled loud enough that Ava would hear when she started to feel uncomfortable about how far she was going. Ava looked back at Monie, waved, and then turned around to walk back towards Marco with the bucket of shells she'd already collected.

They'd taken lots of pictures and videos that day too. But even if they hadn't, there isn't a chance in the world Monie would have forgotten that day. Her kids were happy, she was happy, and they were spending the entire day with someone who had quickly become her favorite person to be around. That day was perfect.

Well, it was almost perfect.

Aiden had called Monie later that day, and for some reason, she decided to answer the phone.

"Hello?" Monie held the phone between her shoulder and ear because she was using both of her hands to put her sneakers on. Everyone else had already left the condo, but she hoped they'd at least wait at the elevators for her.

Monie said she would cook dinner, but they were all hungry after leaving the beach. They hadn't eaten since Kiara cooked breakfast earlier that morning, so they decided to go out for lunch just to get out of the house. It was a beautiful day outside, and even though Monie still wasn't feeling the best, she didn't want to spend it inside moping around the condo.

"Monique."

"Yes, I said hello."

Aiden did not greet her back though, not that she wasn't expecting him to in the first place.

"So you still ain't gone tell me where y'all is at?"

"I told you I'll tell you when I'm comfortable. And I'm still not comfortable yet."

Especially not after the huge fight she had with Aiden the night before she booked three one-way tickets to Miami.

"So when you gon get comfortable?"

"Why do you need to know where I am in the first place? You gonna pop up if I tell you?"

"To see my kid, yeah. Probably."

"And I told you I'm not comfortable with that either."

Monie left the apartment and the four of them were in fact waiting for her by the elevator doors when she got there.

"You can't make that decision," he was getting a bit louder now. "You don't decide when I can see my daughter."

"I'm her mother. I'm the one who takes care of her. I can decide whatever the hell I want."

Kiara raised her eyebrow upon hearing that, but it immediately clicked that she must be talking to Ava's father.

"Monie, I ain't call to argue with you."

"Good, because I never want to argue with you."

"It's been over a whole fucking week. Put my daughter on the phone right the fuck now or I'ma be forced to get some legal action involved."