Chunk.

IV. CALIFORNIA

Miami hadn't seen a storm this bad in a while. The sounds of the heavy rain and thunder nearly muffled the weather man on TV as he reported the worsening conditions. Erik had insisted on walking Chloe inside to make sure she was safe, but the aggressive storm swirling red and green on the map let him know he wouldn't be driving anywhere else soon. Chloe was tempted to turn up the volume, but she didn't want to disturb Erik's conversation.

"Where the fuck are you, Erik?"

Erik leaned against the wall in Chloe's kitchen, on FaceTime with his baby's mother. He pulled his lips in tight and sighed. Chloe didn't care for her tone - it was harsh and pointed, so much so that it reminded her of the girls from high school. The same girls who loved Erik and tormented her daily.

"You must be at a bitch house."

The two of them had already been going back forth for so long that Chloe had time to change clothes. Apparently, Erik's voyage to Miami was completely impromptu and she had no idea he was gone. Chloe listened to them quietly as she filled up a kettle with water to make them some hot tea.

"I'm in Miami. I had a family emergency." He could have been lying, but Chloe didn't have enough information to know either way. "Why you calling? Did you need something?"

"No. I was lonely and I just wanted to see you..." The longing, desperation in her voice was familiar to Chloe, since it wasn't much different than her own. Clearly, someone else missed him as much as she did and Chloe felt like a fool for falling into his arms so quickly at the restaurant. Deep in thought, Chloe leaned against the countertop and folded her arms. Erik took a quick glance away from his screen, eyes lingering over her chest in the tank top she had changed into.

"Erik! Are you listening to me? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing, damn! My baby still up? Lemme talk to her."

"Well, I'm right here..."

He rolled his eyes. "Put my daughter on the phone please and thank you."

"Cali! Cali, it's Daddy!"

Erik's face lit up at the sight of his babygirl. She babbled excitedly on the other end almost knocking the phone from her mother's hands.

"Dada, Dada! Hi Dada!"

"There's my big girl! Hey Chunky Monkey!"

"I told you about calling her that!"

"Whatever. What's my baby doing?"

She chattered incoherently, grinning and slobbering at her father's face in the screen. Chloe was pleasantly surprised at Erik's baby voice as they talked back and forth in nonsense.

Cali was Erik's heart. After leaving Miami, he had grown an even tougher exterior and he thought he had forgotten how to be caring and how to be tender. That is, until the day he held his babygirl in his arms. Cali was innocent and pure. She had a long time before she would ever be jaded the realities of the world and if Erik had it his way, she never would.

"Tell Daddy night-night, Cali. Might be the last time you see him."

"What's wrong with you? Why are you talking like that?"

"Well, when are you coming back to Oakland?"

"In a couple days..." Or at least that's what he would tell her. Erik bit his lip. "I wanna bring Cali down here soon." It had been well over a decade since he'd been home and he missed it more than he wanted to admit. He wanted his daughter to experience it all as well.