𝙶𝙴𝙽𝚄𝙸𝙽𝙴

³⁰

TREMAINE A.

I finished up a girls sleeve and she thanked me, a little too excited I'll admit. But, whatever. She left since you have to pay when you come through the door, and I went into my office. I didn't get any sleep since I argued with Camille.

I wasn't in the wrong at all. She never should've been ignoring me for a full damn week and none of this would've happened. I know that baby is mine though, because she isn't like that. I'm really going to be a dad, and I ain't speaking to my baby mom now. Damn, life a fuckin' movie for real.

"Boss, you got a guest", my receptionist, Jerry, said, poking his head into my office.

I walk out, expecting another appointment, but I see Camille with a large box. I look at her suspiciously as she talks to Starr, another one of my tattoo artists. She made eye contact with me, and she looked like she had been crying for hours. And she looked exhausted, and a little sick. But still beautiful.

"The keys to your apartment are in here as well. Along with those seven hoodies, four shirts, five pairs of sweats, and your black basketball shorts", she said, handing me the box.

I was stuck speechless and she gave me a dark stare. She nodded at me and waved at Starr before walking out of the door, the bell going off. She got into her Audi and drove off, rather fast. Everything was tense, and I went to put the box in my office.

I touch the chain with our initials on it, thinking of all the time we spent together. All because she didn't want to let me in.

The rest of the day went on kind of slow, and I was all too eager when five o'clock hit. I clocked out and drove back to my apartment, the box in my trunk. Not gonna lie, it felt like I just got kicked out of my house. But, whatever.

When I got off the elevator and walked down the hallway towards my place, I seen my mother standing outside of my door.

"Mama, what are you doing?", I ask her, and she slaps the back of my head.

"Boy, I had a dream about fish. And then, come to find out you and Camille broke up. You must've lost yo' monkey ass mind", she said, and she dragged me into the house by my hair.

"Ah! Ow! Got damn", I wince, dropping the box and following her.

"Look here, you damn baboon, she was a nice girl. Sweet, kept you in check, and loyal. Plus she wasn't one of them dumb tricks you used to mess with. She had a brain, and she is doing something with her life. So, imagine my surprise when Daviontae bring his goofy behind over my house and start tellin' me y'all broke up", she ranted, pushing me on the floor.

I stood up and sat on the living room couch, crossing my arms. Of course Tae said something, because Chastity talked about it no doubt.

"Okay, but I didn't do anything. She stopped speaking to me for an entire week, the she out of the blue tells me she's pregnant. I thought the worst", I tell her, and she sighs.

"I'm not saying she's completely right, but you ain't right either. Y'all both wrong as hell, but you more than her. She's young, and she probably didn't know how to deal with the fact that she is carrying a life inside of her. She's the oldest out of her siblings, meaning she deals with things differently than you do. She's probably scared out of her damn mind, and you put more stress on her because you aren't there for the child you helped her create", she lectured, and I felt my stomach drop.

Okay, I definitely didn't see things that way, and it definitely sounds like something Camille would do. She still should've at least let someone know she was alive.

"You a grown ass man, I ain't gonna force you to talk to that girl again. However, I suggest getting back into her good graces very soon, especially now that you have a kid forming inside her", my mom says and I nod.

"Now, where the snacks at in this motherfucker? Had me standing outside that door for thirty years and shit", she walks into the kitchen while talking shit.

"I don't got none, momma", I tell her, which was a lie.

She pulled out a box of honey Graham crackers and threw them at me after taking a pack out.

"Boy, don't play with me. I'll beat your little ass", she says seriously, even though she was smiling.

We sat and watched soap operas, or her "stories". I watched because all this damn drama was lowkey entertaining. When she went to grab something to drink, I put on BGC season 9 because that was the best one in my opinion.

"So, wait, girly boo had beef with Rema for what?", she asked, and I shake my head.

"Just watch the show, mama", I sigh, sipping my tropical punch kool aid.

Do I want to talk to Camille again? I don't know, honestly. Even though I should apologize for the shit I said, I'm too prideful and stubborn to do so. Therefore, if she don't talk to me, then we won't speak unless I crack. And this baby better be a boy, cause I can't deal with a girl with her attitude.