Kross:
Today was visitation day; and unlike all the other visitation days Taylor had with Skylar, today had my nerves at an all time high. This would be the first time since Taylors spiral which led to her treatment— that Skylar would be staying overnight with her. Though Taylor has proven the changes needed to be shown in order to keep Skylar overnight, Kross couldn't help but be anxious.
"Babe, Taylor's downstairs." Destiny came walking into their bedroom. Kross sat at the edge of the bed on his side with his head down. He let out a tiresome sigh before holding his head up to look over at his wife. She read his eyes just as she did any other time she sensed something was on his mind or bothering him. Destiny took a seat beside Kross on their bed.
"Talk to me." She rubbed his back in comfort. There were a few minutes of silence. "I don't wanna sound paranoid, but what if something happens?" He looked at Destiny, fearful and hopeless. She exhaled understanding her husbands concerns. She too, had some of her own but she had faith in Taylor for some reason.
"We've prepared for this. We're only fifteen-minutes away from Taylor's place. Sky has both of our phone numbers and we assured her to call us at any point of the night if she feels she wants to come home." Destiny reassured him on some of the things they sat Skylar down and talked to her about.
This put Kross at a slight ease. He leaned in forward, pecking his wife on the lips. He honestly didn't know what he'd do without her. If it were anyone chosen to be his better half; it was Destiny. Kross swore of this. "Thank you, for always keeping me out my thoughts." He slipped Destiny a charming smile, making her heart flutter. "I didn't vow to do anything otherwise." She smirked.
"But you did vow to frustrate me." He chuckled humorously while rising from the bed. "You know you love it here." She waved him off before standing to her feet. The two grabbed the kids from their rooms before going downstairs to meet with Taylor. "Mommy!" Skylar jumped once she noticed her mother's presence. "Hey, sky-bug!" Taylor picked her daughter up from ground, attacking her face with wet kisses. Destiny smiled at the scene.
"Alright. Go tell daddy, Destiny, and Kaleb goodnight so we can get going." Taylor placed Skylar back on her feet. Kross bent down reaching to pick Skylar off her feet. "You gonna have a great time with mommy?" He asked, gently brushing her cheek. "Mhm-hmm. We're gonna play dress-up." Skylar nodded, sounding overly excited. This made Kross content with the overnight stay at Taylor's.
"Sounds exciting! Be a good girl for mommy. Daddy loves you, and I'll see you tomorrow." He gave his daughter a big kiss and a tight squeeze. "Put it here, my girl." Destiny kneeled to Skylar's level while holding her hand out and wiggling her fingers aroud. Kross laughed just as he did any other time the two did their infamous hand shake. He also thought they looked cute doing it.
Skylar giggled feeling Destiny's fingers wiggle with her tiny ones. "I miss you already. Have a blast, kiddo." Destiny hugged Skylar's small frame tight before allowing her to hug and kiss her baby brother. "Alrighty then. We'll see you guys tomorrow afternoon." Taylor waved bye as she grabbed Skylar's bag.
Kross and Destiny watched as the two disappeared through the front door. Kaleb could be heard whining seconds later. "Aw. It's okay, papa. Your sister will be back tomorrow. You'll see her soon." Destiny tried soothing Kaleb. Apart from seeing Skylar leave, she knew it was time for his bedtime which is also why he was a bit cranky.
"Let's eat some food little man." Kross scooped his son off the floor before heading into the kitchen. Destiny warmed up a plate of mash potatoes and chicken strips for Kross to feed to Kaleb. Moments later, she stood admiring the sight of her husband feeding their son. It was always the simplest things for her— whether it be the way Kross tended to the kids or how even after an exhausting day at work, he'd still come home ready to hear about her day. She loved each part of this man with every aching bone in her body.
"So, how you been feeling lately?" Kross questioned while continuing to feed Kaleb his dinner. Destiny sighed heavily. "I don't know. I, I just feel like I'm drowning. At work, I'm constantly feeling forced with all these bookings. Don't get me erroneous, I enjoy my job and being blessed with all these wonderful opportunities— but, I want more free control when it comes to my work schedule." She explained.
"I find it fair that you're feeling like this baby. Have you spoken with your manager, the agency even?" Kross looked in her direction for a brief moment. "No, it's pointless. I'm in a ten-year contract with Fine Fitness. That'll be hard to get out of and Lynn... has my best interest at heart, I know that, but sometimes she sees more dollar signs than my integrity."
Kross rubbed on his beard as he thought about the tricky situation his wife was in. "Well, if you really want to change some of the things written in your contract we can have the lawyers look over the paperwork. I'm sure there will be something your agency might be willing to adjust. You've made them millions in just a little over two-years. If they are truly for you, then they'll have no issues with you wanting free and creative control over your booking schedule." Kross gave his wife a bit of hope.
Destiny smiled uncontrollably, "I love you." She grinned. "I love you, too." He replied while getting Kaleb out his high chair. Destiny decided to be on shower duty tonight and Kross agreed to putting Kaleb to bed. An hour later, the house was in silence after successfully putting a cranky Kaleb to sleep.
Destiny and Kross stayed in the family room, watching one of their favorite movies— Freedom Writers. Though they both had saw the movie a-million-times, it still felt soulful each time. "How's the new project coming along?" Destiny took a sip of her red wine before looking at her husbands side profile. "It's exciting, actually. My client— she gave me full creative control on this. She wants a full up-to-date, modern home design and so far, she likes what I've sketched out." Kross sounded animated.
"Baby, that's incredible! I love seeing you passionate and excited about your work. I know you'll execute the assignment with little-to-no problems." Destiny encouraged. Kross thanked her before directing his attention back to the flat screen. "Can I ask you something?" Destiny broke their silence once again. "You know you can." He responded, waiting to hear the question.
"What was it like, growing up being the 'Kingpins son'?" She had never asked Kross about this part of his life before simply because it had ended way before they met— however, she often wondered what it must've been like growing up with a father who was exposed to such a lifestyle. Kross licked his lips then turning to face his wife. He wasn't mad that Destiny had asked, but surprised he was. He didn't think that she thought about all that stuff.
"Honestly," Kross paused to clear his throat, "I don't ever remember being put in a dangerous situation. There wasn't a time that I was shot at or had a gun pointed at me at the expensive of my father. He kept my mom and I as far as he could because he knew how the streets worked."
Destiny nodded. "So when did you get exposed to the life?" She asked. She was curious to say the least. Kross ran his fingers throughout his beard. "After I turned sixteen." He sighed, "I wanted to learn how to be a man and thought being in the street life would prepare me." He laughed at the thought now— being in present time. "My dad showed me every inch of the street life and ever came with it. I was seventeen when I saw a man die in front my eyes... nineteen the first time I took a life." Kross admitted, openly sounding ashamed.
Destiny was shocked to hear this but felt closer to her husband in the moment. "Long story short, I've experienced the thuggish lifestyle... it ain't cool. Shooting a gun doesn't make you a man and experiencing the rough street life doesn't mean you have to live life like that forever. My dad didn't expose me to any of that stuff because that's what he wanted for me— he did it to show me that there's more to life. That's when I went to school; majored in the architecture field. It's the best decision I've ever made. I managed to create a successful company on my own by the time I turned twenty-three." He didn't leave a single detail out.
"I'm proud of you. Proud that you were wise enough to choose to want more for yourself." Destiny commended him. "Nah, nah." Kross stopped her, "I'm proud of you! You're a kick ass mother and wife." He pecked her cheek. "That has to count for something because I feel like a horrible big sister." She pouted. "What you mean by that?" Kross screwed up his face.
"Darnell and I haven't been speaking lately. He has a new girlfriend and I didn't even know about it. Lani basically gave me the details. I don't know if I did something to upset him, but I feel awful for not knowing the simplest things going on in his life currently." She explained.
"Baby, you can't possibly think that's your fault. Nell is growing up— he's about to be nineteen, he's starting to get into the 'I'm a man' stage." Kross reasoned. "I'm sure he has no hard feelings towards you either. It's just him being a young adult." Destiny nodded in agreement. She didn't think about the situation like how Kross explained it— however, it made perfect sense and she may have just been overthinking.
Kross then cleared his throat, "Have you spoken to your mom since, you know?" He made direct eye contact with his wife this time. "Nope, I haven't." Destiny's shoulders went up then down. "Do you plan to? Full disclosure— I am not telling you to do so, I only want to know where your head is at so I can try my best to give you the support you need." He assured her.
There was a pause in the conversation. "No. I, I mean I'm not sure." Destiny was at a standstill. As hard as she tried convincing herself to write Trina out of her life for good; the desperation of wanting a mother in her life wouldn't allow her to walk away so easily.
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