Put Your Love On | obj | ✘

eighteen.

"Can I ask you a question?" Omari blurted out as Dione opened her mouth, making her raise a 'brow.

"Feel free, I'm here to answer any questions you have," she assured him, reaching over for her clipboard and a pen.

"What's his name?" Omari questioned, "I was told by the mother it's Brandon, but she wasn't sure because she didn't name him."

A slight chuckle, that seemed a bit bitter, escaped Dione's lips at Omari's statement, "His name is Brayden. When he was going through his withdrawal of the drugs, the nurses hated having to refer to him as Baby Jones, so they all decided on the name Brayden. It means brave, and the fact that he was still holding on during such a tough time let everyone know he was a very brave boy."

"Brayden," Omari mumbled, "Okay, thank you."

Dione offered him a small smile, "Now, I have some questions for you if you don't mind."

"Of course," Omari nodded his head, "Ask away. I'll be honest with you, I don't have anything to hide."

Diona pressed her pen against the clipboard that had a white sheet against it, prepared to ask the list of questions she typically was required to,  "Were you always aware that you were Brayden's father?"

"No, I was just made aware that there was a possibility I could be his father yesterday afternoon," Omari answered, his thumbs fiddling with one another, "Which is why I made the call to get a DNA test done for us both."

Dione nodded, "Are you and the mother now in a relationship?"

"No," Omari answered quickly, shaking his head, "I don't want anything to do with her."

"So, if you are the father you plan on taking full custody of the child in question?" Dione's pen scribbled against the paper effortlessly.

"Yes, those are my intentions," Omari confirmed, "Is there any chance that Evelyn can fight me on that and get him back?"

"The only way she can is if decides to go to rehab and get clean and prove she's been sober for over three months. She'd then have to undergo house checks as well as random drug testing for the safety of Brayden, but I don't think that should be a concern of yours," Dione looked up at him, "For as long as Brayden has been in here, and as much as she has cried about wanting him back, there hasn't been an attempt to visit any rehab center or contact any of the resources I've provided for her. Ms. Jones wants Brayden, but she doesn't want better for herself."

Omari was a little shocked to hear that because for a minute, he considered helping Evelyn get clean because of how much it had changed his life.

"Ms. Jones, or Evelyn as you call her, may be a fully functioning addict, but that doesn't excuse her from the things that child had to endure while in her womb," Dione's tone was laced with disgust, and it made Omari stare up at her with knitted eyebrows, "All of those drugs was like she didn't even care she had another human growing inside of her. Instead of prenatal vitamins, she was popping xannys."

"It wasn't just cocaine?" Omari jerked his head back, face scrunched in confusion.

"When a baby is exposed to cocaine, or crack for lack of better words,  in the womb, it doesn't become addicted. Birth defects can occur, but addiction does not," Dione took in a deep breath before continuing, "When a baby is exposed to an opioid, such as heroin, that is when they become addicted. As soon as the umbilical cord is cut, most babies experience withdrawal, and that was the case for Brayden. Cocaine, as well as traces of heroin, were found in his system which was why withdrawal was so tough. In all honesty, that little boy should be dead."