Kacey didn't even have to turn around to know exactly who was at the door. She could hear Kori's voice and she already decided she wasn't going to greet her. Kori was still salty about their last conversation together and Kacey wasn't going to keep kissing her ass. Every time she texted her she never got a response. It wasn't too long before Kacey noticed she had been blocked.
Cassandra walked back into the kitchen but there was no sight of Kori. "She went to go change so we can all be in matching pajamas." Kacey looked up from her phone cutting her eyes at Cassandra. She already knew what that meant. "Be nice." She told Kacey, walking over to the over to take out the burgers.
"I'm always nice." Kacey rolled her eyes before looking back at her phone. Cassandra didn't have to worried about Kacey because she wasn't going to speak to Kori at all. She didn't know why Cassandra invited Kori. It was obvious if she had told her about another guest she most likely wouldn't have shown up.
Cassandra called over Jace to get some of the burgers also. The burgers were just a now snack since Cassandra had some of the other food still being prepped. Kacey brought along baked Macaroni and cheese and cornbread.
Kori joined everyone in the kitchen shortly after. She made sure to keep her distance from Kacey. She was on the same timing as Kacey. No greeting. She was aware that Kacey was going to be there, but she only came because Cassie wanted her to be there.
Everyone ate the little burgers in silence all in their own worlds. Jace took a couple burgers that could fit in his hand and left out of the kitchen leaving the women. Cassandra looked between Kacey and Kori who were stuck in their own worlds.
Cassandra cut the thin air when she spoke up catching everyone's attention. "So how has everything been with you, Kori. You know it's been a while since we've all been together in a room." Kacey fought the urge to roll her eyes at the sound of Cassandra including her in the conversation.
"Everything hasn't been great but I'm taking it one day at a time." Kori said, glancing over at Kacey before finishing her sentence. "You know I had my abortion not too long ago and it honestly feels great knowing I'm not bringing a baby into this sick world considering my circumstances." Kori replied, taking a bite out of her burger, throwing shade at Kacey who sat on the other side of the island.
Her saying that kind of put Cassandra in a uncomfortable situation. She really didn't know how to respond. Of course she knew about the abortion but she didn't expect for Kori to say anything about it in-front of everyone so casually.
Cassandra cleared her throat. "Well yeah I know you're being going through a lot and I'm happy to know you're getting by day by day. I didn't want you to be alone for Christmas so I'm glad you joined us. Can't you say the same, Kacey?" She wasn't trying to be messy but she wanted the sisters to at least acknowledge each other. She wanted Kori to know that even with their differences Kacey still cared about her.
"I guess." Kacey shrugged her shoulders avoiding eye contact with the two as she ate her burger. "You almost done cooking the other food?" She looked up at Cassandra with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah just now." Cassandra looked between the two and noticed how hard Kori was staring at her sister.
"Not even after mentioning my abortion you still can't find a way to admit you were wrong about what you said."
Without looking at Kori, Kacey responded, "Well if you answered my texts and calls maybe this could've all been avoided. And what exactly was so wrong about what I said? The truth?"
"Telling me that I was pathetic all because I didn't want to have a baby and then sitting up in my face judging me. Who does that to someone?"
"Okay, Kori I get it." She dropped her phone on the counter to face Kori. "You wanted to have an abortion that's your decision. I get that now. But don't be mad at me because it took you this long to realize that you were never the one. I've never been the person to sugarcoat anything even if you are my sister. You were better off going to Cassandra if you wanted someone to make you feel better."
Kori scrunched her face up in disgust. "Do you hear how disgusting she sounds." She looked at Cassandra pointing at Kacey. "My mom told me that she even told you I had the abortion and for you to maybe check up on me and you had yet to do that. You're acting like you were the one getting the abortion. Yeah it was my decision to get the abortion but it fucking hurt me too!
You want everyone to stop their shit and be there for you but you can't ever do the same."
"You know what goodbye I ain't got time for your bullshit." Kacey waved off her sister gathering her things before she stood from the island. "You wanna have a whole lecture and screaming match and that is not what I came here for. You're mad at the wrong person."
"Kacey. Where are you going?" Cassandra sighed watching as Kacey headed to the front door.
"Yeah walk away cause you know I'm right. You swear you're this changed person but you're not a good person at all!" Kori yelled standing up from her chair. "No matter how much you try to tell yourself that you're the same fucked up person from before. You're not a good friend, you're not a good sister, you couldn't even be a good wife! All those vows you swore to just to turn around and cheat on the person who you were supposed to spend the right of your life with. You couldn't even be good to him. You're a piece of shit!"
Kacey stopped in her tracks after hearing what Kori said. Kacey's mouth dropped as she turned around dropping her purse on the couch. "Excuse me." It was something about the way Kori said her words that brought fire out of Kacey. She wanted to kill her.
Kacey dropped her bag by the door, walking over to the kitchen but Cassandra grabbed her arm pulling her away from her sister. Kori stood across the table in front of them with her hands folded ready for anything. She didn't care anymore.
"Let go of me!" Kacey said, turning around trying to pry Cassandra's hands off of her. Cassandra had a pretty tight grip on her arm and was not letting up. Both Kacey and Kori were her friends and most importantly they were sisters. She didn't want to see both of her close friends fighting. "Cassandra."
"Kacey it is not worth it. She's your sister!"
"Half sister." Kacey corrected before she shook her head. "Matter of factly she ain't no sister of mine." Kacey chuckled, turning her head to look over at Kori. "You don't know shit about me. You don't know nothing about me and Montana's relationship. So you and everyone else need to just shut the fuck up. You and me may share the same blood, but I'm done with you. My daddy kept you a secret and it should've stayed that way. Daddy died and it took you and your mom ten years to come looking for me and my momma? You should've stayed a secret. You added no value to my life then and you still don't!"
"And you think you do something for me? From the moment I met you I knew you would be a pain in the ass and that's exactly what you are. Fuck you."
"No fuck you!" Kacey yanked her arm from Cassandra running over to the table as she threw the a bottle full of red wine sitting there at her sister. Kori moved to the side in time as the glass cup hit the floor as the red wine stained the floor and refrigerator. "I'll really fuck you up, bitch!" The wine must've been getting to her. "You wasn't shit before I came into your life! I bring value to your whole existence!" She shook her body.
"Who do you think you are, Kacey?" She tilted her head to the side, squinting her eyes. "Value? You wanna talk about value? You don't even bring value to your own life. You only have value because of Montana. Your whole life consists of something a man had to do for you. You ain't work for nothing and you look for handouts. I ain't have to suck dick or flaunt for social media just to get myself out there."
"Oh no," Kacey faked like she was hurt before clasping her hands together. "You're just upset because my momma actually had a plan for her child. You're mad because you couldn't suck dick well enough to be where I'm at."
"And what was her plan? To pimp out her vulnerable daughter for a check? Mother of the year." Kori gave a round of applause.
"Shut the fuck up fore' I really come over there. Cause Cassandra ain't stopping nothing for real. I'm just sparing you. My momma ain't pimp me out to nothing. I made the choice to marry him because I wanted to. My mother brought up the idea but I said yes at the end of the day. You literally know nothing about my life, Kori so stop acting like you do. Your mother ain't so much mother of the year either I can tell you that right now."
"Oh but she is." Kori chuckled with an eye roll. "I can tell you right now she is. Your mother barely even checks up on you. She too busy creating her future life with her fiancé. My momma actually gives a damn about me. She got everything done on her own to provide for her child not have her child provide for them. You were your own mother and that's why you act the way you do. You seek attention from everyone because the right attention was no never given to you."
Kacey chuckled. "Never in my life have I sought attention from anyone."
"Yeah you do! You wanted it so bad from Montana and he didn't give it to you and you wanted a divorce. The nigga was sparing you the whole marriage because in reality he been left you. What man really want a bitch who gave it up to another nigga!"
Kacey chuckled. "Now you're talking just to talk dummy."
"Am I really though? Every chance you got you were throwing your pussy at him because that's all you could offer hoping it would keep him and even that shit ain't work. You wanted all these different things from him and he didn't give it to you because he knew he didn't want you. He only dealt with you for so long because he pitied you."
"You're such a weird bitch." Every thing Kori happened to mention she only knew because Kacey confided in her about it. Kori talked about feeling not so close to Kacey because she always kept her wall up and when she finally decided to put her guard down, Kori brought up most of the shit she told her.
"Not as weird as an attention seeker. You seek attention from everyone and you want everyone to drop all their shit to tend to you. The world does not revolve around Kacey Hines. And the shit is sad because it's all because of your mother. Hell that's probably why she's so scared to tell you she's pregnant now."
Both heads snapped in Kori's direction. Kori definitely regretted what she said but it was no turning back from her sentence. Kacey could feel her anger rising but instead of acting out of impulse and being any more aggressive than she was in front of Cassandra's brother she turned on her heel storming out of the house.
Kacey was already pissed off because of the way Kori kept bringing up her mothers name and talking down on her and it was another thing to maliciously tell her something that was supposed to come out of her own mothers mouth. Kori had her all the way fucked up and before she committed murder she became the bigger person and walked away from the situation.
"Yo all of that was so unnecessarily called for." Cassandra closed the door behind her as she stood in front of an upset Kacey who paced the porch back and forth.
"You should be thanking me right now cause the way I'm feeling right now that bitch is finna meet the lord on his birthday." She sniffled hard enough to control her emotions.
"That's your sister! Like wassup with you bro?" Cassandra frowned with a hand on her with and her head tilted a little.
"Okay and?" Kacey snapped her head, looking at Cassandra as if she had two heads. "She ain't been in my life long enough to try to read me down on what the fuck I been doing. The fuck is you talking bout? You wanna stick up for her go back inside." She yelled, pointing at the door. "She started with me. I was being the bigger person and walking away! This was supposed to be our night but you bring this girl here and she come with all that sob shit. Nobody wants to hear that."
"But that ain't right though." Cassandra shook her head not agreeing with Kacey. "That's your sister and she came to talk to you about how she felt. It's wrong for her to express herself and tell you that she didn't like something you said?"
"No it ain't wrong." Kacey said, frustrated. "But, she had every opportunity before today to do that. I'm not kissing her ass and chasing after her."
"That's not kissing her ass though. She got every right to feel a way just cause you ain't support her decision. No matter if you didn't like her getting an abortion, that's her decision. Get over that shit and be there for her."
"Oh my gosh so because I wasn't able to be there for the abortion means I don't be there for her? When she and Kapri got into it I was the first person she called. I stopped everything I was doing and I was there for her."
"It's not that serious. Y'all both in the wrong and acting like children."
"She get to say hurtful shit to me and I can't say anything back? I was gonna apologize until she started talking all that bullshit. And now that she said all of that she's dead to me. Bitch is mad cause she fucked herself over."
Cassandra sighed rubbing over her temple. "Can we just go back inside and talk this out? Please."
"Talk what out? There ain't nothing I wanna talk out with her. She could suck my dick. There's nothing she could say to retract what she said."
"It's Christmas bro." Cassandra exclaimed with an eye roll. "Come on. And y'all having an unnecessary screaming match while my brother in the next room."
"Exactly it's Christmas so why would you bring her here to be on some bygones be bygones."
"Why would you not want that? On Christmas?"
"It's not that I don't want it! I was over the whole abortion business. Like you said it's her decision. I know I was wrong for tryna make her feel bad and shit just because I wouldn't do it. I know that already. But she came here on the rah rah shit, not me." Kacey folded her arms across her chest.
She began chuckling thinking back to what Kori said to her earlier. "No cause did you hear what she said. She called me a piece of shit with her chest. She meant that shit too and she could never speak to me again. On my Papá she can't."
"So her calling you a piece a shit is that bad that you don't wanna talk to her again?"
"Yea because who is she talking too? That nigga gets to cheat on me but because I had one mistake and I'm the bad guy. I'm all of a sudden this horrible person?"
"Y'all all y'all got. That's your sister."
"You keep saying that and I couldn't care less!" Kacey raised her voice with an eye roll, irritated. "She's not all I got. I don't need her. I was good before I even met her. Like I said she adds no value to my life. You were better off inviting Dakota then her."
"So what you really gonna let her make you leave. This was supposed to be a day for us."
"Yeah us." Kacey pointed between the two. "Not us." She pointed between the two again including the door. "This whole thing just blew me and Christmas for Kacey is over. The only ones who need to be having fun anyway are my kids. I'm going to my mothers house. Thanks for what could've been a good night. Love you."
Cassandra sighed. "Kacey." She watched as she walked towards her vehicle. It was no stopped her once she began pulling out of the driveway.
She waited until Kacey's car was out of her sight before going back inside.
*****
"Hey baby." Athena opened the door surprised to see Kacey. She could've sworn she was spending the night with her friends. She did invite Kacey over days prior but she already had plans. "What a surprise to see you here." She closed the door behind Kacey as she walked in. "I thought you were gonna be busy tonight."
"Yep we'll change of plans." She walked into the living room, taking a seat. "Where's Derrick?"
"He's upstairs. We were watching a movie but he fell asleep. We had been running errands all day so I don't even blame him." She chuckled, sitting down next to Kacey. "How's your day been going? I see you in your Christmas pajamas."
"Awful." She revealed.
"Really? I saw your Instagram story earlier. It didn't seem that awful to me." She chuckled.
"Yeah it's awful because I just found out something really interesting and I don't know if it's true or not so I wanted to get confirmation instead."
"Really? From who?"
"You."
Athena tensed up, looking at her daughter. "What do you mean? Like there's something I need to tell you?"
"Yeah. Exactly that."
There was something she needed to tell Kacey. The way Kacey was acting she wasn't sure if she knew already or not. Athena already had something she wanted to tell her daughter but she figured she'd wait to tell her further down the line.
"Mom..." Her voice was soft but you could hear the defeat in her voice.
"Do you know already?" Athena questioned clasping her hands together.
Kacey shrugged her shoulders.
Athena rubbed her lips together and sighed. She was going to have to tell her anyway so why not get it out the way. Kacey's heart sped up as she waited for her mother to spill the truth. "Honey... Derrick and I are having a baby. You're gonna be a big sister." She smiled lightly, looking over Kacey's facial expression.
Kacey felt her body over heating. Her body temperature felt like it was on 90 degrees as those words spilt out her mothers mouth. Kacey covered her face and laid her head on her knees. The tears rolled down her face as her shoulders hunched up and down.
Athena got up and got on her knees as she was in front of Kacey. "I was scared to tell you because I didn't know how'd you react. I know that I should've been stopped having children but this baby wasn't planned at all. It just happened, Kacey. I'm sorry."
"For what?" Kacey sniffled, holding her head up. Her eyes were red and there was tears still spilling out of her eyes. "What are you sorry for?"
"I-I don't know." She shrugged. "I just felt that maybe I owe you an apology. You're upset for a reason and I'm just sorry."
"Yeah I am upset for a reason." Kacey sniffled, looking at her mom. "I'm upset because that baby will grow up with a mother I yearned for since I was a little girl. I'm sorry that you have to hear that every once in a while but I can't control how I feel." She expressed, closing her eyes to take a deep breath. "You knew why you were so scared to tell me. It's hurts to know you were so scared to tell me but everyone else knew before me. You told Hope..."
"She was the only one I could think of. I needed to tell someone and she was there. She's my friend, Kacey."
"Whatever." Kacey scoffed, shaking her head. She stood up from the couch with her bag in her hand. Athena reached out for Kacey's hand but Kacey moved from her arms reach. "Congratulations. At least you got your happy ending."
Athena sighed not knowing how to feel. "Kacey where are you going?" She watched Kacey walk towards the door.
"Home." She answered. "Merry Christmas, Mommy."
*****
Back on Montana's side of town he had all his kids with him at his newest home. New York was his hometown and he stayed regularly. He had a few kids and he was finally able to purchase a home. He could've done it a long time ago but he felt it would've been a waste of money and a home when it would only be him living there.
"Who do you think the surprise is?" Maia nudged Major's shoulder as they sat on the couch talking to each other. It was almost midnight and Montana was going to allow them to open a few gifts but he had told them he wanted to introduce them to someone first. Kaija was already fast asleep so Major and Maia would be meeting his guest first. Maia was excited to know who it was but Major just wanted to open his gifts.
"My mommy, duh." He replied, continuing to play Mine craft on his newest I-pad.
"No it's not." Maia frowned, looking at him as if he had two heads. "She would be here already if it was her."
"Mommy and daddy are back together. That's the surprise you idiot. They gonna be here together so we can open gifts as a family."
"No it's not. I think he's gonna bring a fake Santa clause." Maia snickered, thinking she already knew what the surprise was. She knew he father and knew he was cliche. He probably still thought they were excited about Santa at ages five and seven but they weren't.
"Wanna bet?" Major questioned, not looking up from his I-pad.
"Bet what?" Maia raised her eyebrow, staring at her brother in confusion. "You don't have any money."
"My mommy and daddy got the money, so..." He shrugged his shoulders.
"It's still not your money though."
"Their money is my money. That's why I have a hundred dollars in my piggy bank and you don't."
"I don't care. I don't need to have money. I'm a child."
"A broke one." Major teased, laughing at his own joke like it was the funniest thing he ever heard.
A pillow flew across the room hitting him in the back of his head. "Shut up. That's why you still pee the bed."
"You—"
The front door opened and in came Montana holding a few gift bags in his hand. "What y'all in here talking about?" He walked with the gifts over to their tall green Christmas Tree.
"Nothing." Maia stood up from the couch. She looked towards the front door not seeing what she was looking for. "Daddy where's the surprise? We wanna open the presents." She stood with a hand on her hip. It was already past midnight and they were gonna open at least two gifts but they had to wait on the surprise in order to do so.
"I got y'all right now." Montana looked over at Major since he had the mine craft speaking loud. He frowned, looking over Major's attire. He walked over to him and snatched the I-pad out of his hand. "Go put some damn clothes on."
Major stood up on the couch with only his pajama shirt on and his brief undergarment. "I do have clothes on, yo."
"Go put yo fuckin' pants on. I just told you we got someone coming over."
"Ugh fine." Major huffed, running up the stairs to find his pants that could be located in his room. He came back down in less than thirty seconds and found his spot back on the couch. "I'm ready now."
"Aight." Montana nodded his head. "I'll be right back."
Montana walked outside to meet Wren at the door. She wore the same matching pajamas as everyone else. She was nervous a bit since she wasn't sure what to expect from his kids. "You ready?" He asked her, looking her up and down.
"Yep." She lightly smiled, holding two gift bags in her hands for the kids. Montana already offered to put them under the tree but she wanted to hold them to make sure they knew she got them presents as well. A little something to hopefully win their hearts over.
"Don't be nervous." He teased her with a smirk on his face. "They ain't gone bite."
He opened the door for her and they walked in. She stood at the door waiting for him to go in front of her since she didn't want to catch the kids off guard. She walked behind him nervously as they made their way to the living room.
"Aight y'all." Montana clasped his hands together. "There's someone I want y'all to meet." All eyes looked up at Montana. Maia saw a woman standing behind him and stood up with her arms folded together. Major sat up on the edge of the couch with his I-pad still in his hand. Montana glanced at Wren and pulled her beside him. "This is Maia and my son Major."
"Hi." Maia waved to her with a smile on her face. The woman was pretty. She wondered if she was going to be their nanny or something.
"Hi." Major stared at Wren.
"Hi." Wren spoke enthusiastically. "It's so nice to finally meet you guys. You both look just like your father."
"I get my mommy all the time." Major shrugged his shoulders.
Montana chuckled, shaking his head. "Well Maia and Major...this is daddy's girlfriend Wren."
Major stopped looking at his tablet to look between his dad and his new girlfriend. He looked at Wren getting a clear view of her this time.
"Oh my god really?!" Maia's eyes lit up. Kacey would always be a second mother to her at the end of the day but she couldn't be rude or mean to another woman all because she was with her dad and not Kacey. If that was the case she wouldn't never liked Kacey because she wanted her dad with her mother Summer. "You're so pretty. I like your dimples." Maia complimented Wren.
"Thank you." Wren was caught by surprise, glancing up at Montana before looking back to Maia. "You're really pretty too. Just like a doll."
"Thank you." Maia cheesed. She looked over at Major who paid no mind to them. "Don't mind my brother. He's really into the video games."
"No I'm not. I just thought you'd be my mommy as the surprise." He said with his eyes still trained on the I-pad as he got up from the couch running off to his room.
Wren bit the inside of her cheek swaying side to side with the gift bag still in her hand. Montana pinched his nose, taking a deep breath. He exhaled. "I'll be right back."
"Don't." Wren touched his arm. "It's okay." She reassured him nodding her head.
"Nah you cool. Just gimme a second." She removed her hand as he walked off to find Major.
Of course he wasn't going to yell at him or anything for what he said because he had every right to feel the way he did. Montana just wanted to check on his son and make sure he was okay. To see where his head was at.
When he got to his room the door was creaked open. Montana pushed the door open and closed it behind him. Major was sitting on the floor in a criss cross position next to his bed.
Montana walked over to him and took a seat. "Waddup kid?" He nudged Major's shoulder. "What's on your mind?"
"I thought you and mommy were back together." He shrugged his shoulders, sluggishly. "I thought that was the surprise not her."
"What's wrong with Wren?"
Major shrugged his shoulders once again.
"Come on, Major talk to me. I ain't gone be mad at you."
"You kissed mommy. That means you and mommy together, right?"
Montana could tell Major was nervous. He didn't stop looking down at his I-pad yet.
Montana sighed. He knew kissing Kacey at Kaija's party wasn't right but he was just tryna get under her skin. He wasn't thinking about how it would make the kids feel after Kacey already let Major know they weren't going to be together anymore.
"I ain't mean to kiss mommy. It was a accident and I apologize."
"We're not a family anymore."
"Nah, we still a family. We always gone be a family." Montana told him while looking down at his head. "Look at me, Major." It took him a couple seconds before he placed the iPad on his lap and looked up at his dad with a pout. "I'm gonna always love your mother no matter what. We're always gonna be a family. We just not compatible. I know you don't know what that mean but we like Tom and Jerry kinda." Montana chuckled a little. "Minus all the fighting. Aight?"
"Okay." Major nodded his head.
"Aight let's go back out there and get to know Wren. She brought you a gift."
"Really?" Major raised his eyebrow at the sound of a gift.
"Yeah and maybe you can show off your car collection. She got a few herself."
"Oh nah!" Major jumped up, eagerly. "Really?"
"Yeah, kid. Go get yours and meet us downstairs."
"Copy! Copy! Copy!"
*****
Alyssa scrolled through her timeline and happened to fall across a Instagram post by a popular blog. It was no surprise to her that the post involved something with her brother Montana. Everywhere she looked it was something with him. It seemed like lately her brother was the main topic on social media.
Alyssa read over the Instagram post and scrunched her face up. She never personally met the girl before but she looked definitely looked like Montana's type. He didn't know how serious he was with this girl but if he was purchasing something as serious as a vehicle, they had to have been very serious.
She asked about the Wren girl all the time but Montana never made time for her to officially meet her along with their grandparents. She definitely felt it was a little too soon for him to be jumped in a committed relationship but he was a grown man and moved at his own speed.
She curiously read over some of the comments where people expressed their opinions both negatively and positively.
Curiously Alyssa exited out of Instagram and went to Twitter. She typed in Wren's handle and rolled her eyes realizing it was private. She definitely wasn't going to request to follow so she went back over to Instagram and typed in her username again. Successful she found an account that matched the name. She clicked the profile and it had a couple thousand followers. It was obviously a Finsta; a fake instagram.
She scrolled through her page, pressing on random images tryna get a good fill out of Wren. She was pretty, she'd give her that of course. She posted a lot of inspiration Twitter quotes along with daily pictures of herself. It looked like she traveled a lot due to her highlights.
"What you out here doing?" Kapri said, sliding the door closed as he walked outside the patio.
"Just scrolling through one of Montana's girlfriends pictures."
"One of?" He reiterated with a chuckle as he moved her feet off the seat and then sat down placing her foot in his lap.
"Yeah I'm sure he has plenty of other chicks and she's just one of the many. Probably the main one since he's been real public with her. Trust me I know my brother and before Kacey he was a whore so he's definitely having his cake and eating it too now. Have you met this one yet?"
"Nah." He shook his head. "He told me bout her though. Seem like a cool chick."
"Yeah she's pretty. Hopefully she's not a air head like that other girl."
"Which girl?"
"The one he brought to Kaija's party. I got secondhand embarrassment for her." She laughed. "I'm sure everybody did."
"Oh yeah." He rubbed his beard, remembering the girl. "Shorty was definitely a little off."
"Yeah..." Alyssa twisted her lips to the side. "So how did everything go with, Kori?" She questioned. "We're you able to talk to her?"
"Not so good. I think it's safe to say she hate me. She don't really want nothing to do with me and I can't blame her. I fucked up."
Alyssa didn't know much about why they weren't together but the way Kapri worded to her made it sound pretty dumb. She wasn't aware of exactly why they were broken up but it seemed pretty serious now if Kori actually hated him.
She shifted her body to look at him properly. "Hate is a really strong word and if a woman says that then I think she may really mean it. What the hell did you do for her to hate you?"
"Nothing you should worry about."
"Oh no don't try to say that now." She shoved his shoulder, playfully. "You making me think you definitely did something terrible. It's all in your body language." She looked him up and down. "You cheated on her, didn't you?" She folded her arms across her chest.
"Nah."
"Then what, Kapri? If you didn't cheat on her then what could be as bad as that?"
"I told her I wasn't in love with her."
"What?" Alyssa's mouth gaped open slightly as she stared at him. "Why would you tell her that?"
"Cause I ain't." He glanced at her. "At the time It just slipped out. Like I love her and I got mad love for her...I just...I don't know." He sighed, rubbing a hand down his face. "I'm fucked up I know." He laid his head back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.
"I don't think you're fucked up. You can't help how you feel and that's fine but if you felt that way why didn't you just let her know from the start? That's the fucked up part about it."
"Shit I don't know. I was feeling her at first fo' sure but it's like over time my feelings started to redevelop. I ain't know how to tell her because I ain't wanna hurt her feelings. I know how she is and I ain't wanna be just another nigga that hurt her. I'm just in a complicated position."
"How? You were unhappy and you told her how you felt. At the end of the day you did both yourself and her a favor. She gets to go on with her life knowing she doesn't have to be led on and you get out of a relationship that you didn't feel was right. What else could be the complication?" She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.
"You."
Taken back by his statement, Alyssa sat up straight looking at him as if he had two heads. She chuckled in confusion. "W-what are you talking about?"
Kapri picked his head up to look at her. "I can't find myself to be in love with Kori cause—" He hesitated and then forced his words out this time. "I'm in love with you."
Alyssa's sat there frozen out of shock. Her heart sped up a little and she could feel the butterflies in her stomach forming. She sat there shocked at his confession and he had her stuck on what to even say.
"Huh? What, Kapri?" She blinked her eyes a few times trying to wrap her head around what he just said.
"It's been weighing down on a nigga and I had to get that off my chest. You ain't gotta feel the same way and that's aight but I needed you to know how—"
Alyssa wasn't hearing anything he was saying. It was like everything was muffled except for the part where he confessed his love for her. Swiftly, Alyssa smashed her lips against his, pressing her body against his. Kapri returned the same energy and pressed his hand against the back of her head, deepening the kiss. Butterflies exploded throughout Alyssa's stomach as her reality finally settled in. She didn't have to keep hiding her feelings anymore.
Alyssa pulled away from the kiss first and they both stared into each other's eyes. "I love you." Alyssa said, tears forming in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck for a hug, laying her head on his back. "I love you so much."
She was emotional because she didn't have to keep hiding her feelings for him. All the couple of dates she went on were to just try to get rid of the on going feelings she had for him since before she got pregnant. She didn't have to keep hiding how she felt from him anymore. She didn't have to feel guilty about her feelings anymore, knowing they would never be a thing and it felt good to know he felt the same way all along. It had always been Kapri and no one else.
Kapri however felt guilty after knowing about the abortion. He still felt horrible but he couldn't keep hiding how he felt. He finally sat down and thought real hard about what he wanted all along and why he wasn't as interested in Kori anymore. Maybe he knew all along that he wanted Alyssa but didn't wanna act on it for several reasons. All along he wasn't just hurting Kori. He was hurting Alyssa also. He wasn't gonna jump quickly into a relationship with Alyssa but maybe they could take it one step at a time.
Kapri wrapped his arms around her back, securely. "I love you too."
*****
Kapri walked into his best friend's house and made his way outside towards the backyard where he found Montana sitting by the bonfire, smoking a blunt. Kapri loved to pop up unexpectedly on Montana so therefore he was given his own key. He made his presence known stepping outisde, dapping up Montana.
"You got something you wanna tell me? Cause the way you steady at my crib you'd think you was my bitch or something?"
Kapri sucked his teeth, bucking at Montana. "You wish, bitch." He said, sitting down on the couch set across from Montana.
"Fruit of the loom wearing ass nigga." Montana teased, cracking up from his own joke. He held his lit blunt out for Kapri, but he shook his head no. Kapri dug into his pockets, pulling out his own pre-rolled blunt.
Once he lit his blunt and took a pull from it he started up his own conversation. "So you and this Wren chick..." He started, narrowing his eyes. "You serious about her?"
"We been going together for a cool little minute now." He had been knowing Wren for almost a year but they had only been together two months. "So yeah I'm serious."
"Aight so If you so serious bout this one why Alyssa ain't met her yet? I thought you always let ha fill em out before giving you the green light."
"Cause I ain't in high school no more." He chuckled, shrugging his shoulder, putting his blunt out. "Alyssa don't ever like any of em' so fuck it."
"I hear you." Kapri scratched the back of his neck. "You a different type of nigga, Mon. Sheesh." He shook his head, earning himself a confused expression from his best friend.
It hadn't even been a year since him and Kacey divorced and he was already on to the next. Montana was never the relationship type. He was with Kacey but eventually fell for her in their "arranged marriage". Montana didn't even allow himself to heal properly before jumping from woman to woman and then jumping into a relationship.
Maybe that was his way of healing and finding the next woman to fulfill Kacey's spot. Guess it was true when they said men moved on faster than women.
"How? The fuck I do?" Montana questioned, leaning back in the chair with one leg on the glass table in front of them.
"Yeen even give yourself time to heal and you already on to the next bitch."
"Chill with that shit." Montana warned with a blank face.
"My fault." He apologized. "You already on to the next chick." He corrected his sentence. "Wassup wit that?"
"Damn nigga is it a crime to move on? I ain't know there was a time limit."
"There ain't, but damn ain't you a fast nigga."
"Mufucka I can't help how I feel. You think I'm finna sit around moping like a lil bitch cause shit ain't work out? I've already been there and done that and I'm cool off of that."
"You know If I remember correctly you was the same nigga preaching about not getting back into a committed relationship for a while. Same nigga sitting in the studio drunk off his ass and depressed. Member that?"
"Yep and look how everything worked out. I been sober for a good minute now and I ain't depressed and you know who was there to help me out in the midst of all that? Wren."
"Aight, so what you just using the shorty to make you feel better?
"I'm not using her for nothing." His nose flared, irritated with Kapri and his dumb ass assumptions.
"Okay so you are a one woman type of man now?"
"Shit I might be nigga." He glared at his best friend before tucking in his bottom lip. "Anymore questions?"
"Nah I'm done." Kapri chuckled, holding his hands up. "You got it." He finished smoking the rest of his blunt before putting it out.
"How lil man been doing? Stressing you out yet?"
"To be honest he be chillin'. He is a peaceful baby if he ask me."
"Yeah nigga you got it good for now." He emphasized. "Once them terrible two's come in you gone be down for a ride. I'm dealing with that shit right now and Kaija ain't even two yet."
All three of his kids were different if you asked him. Maia never gave him any trouble. He only saw Maia on the weekends at the time and whenever his days came she was always chilling as long as he showed her attention and she had a few toys to play with. Major was okay. The only problem with him was the constant cursing every hear and there and not listening but they couldn't blame him too much on the cursing. Kaija on the other hand definitely showed her ass at times.
Most of the time she cried if she wasn't getting as much attention due to what people would call her being "spoiled." Montana was trying to get her out of that habit but he couldn't blame her; she was a daddy's girl. He really felt Kacey was the one who babied Kaija a lot and that's why she felt entitled to act any way she wanted.
"I could only imagine."
They spent the next fifteen minutes chopping it up about their personal life. Kapri was really trying to stall because he didn't know how to bring up what he really wanted to talk about. Montana was sort of a hot head and he wasn't trying to get into an altercation with his best friend because there was a possibility he would react the same way he did when he found Alyssa at his apartment.
He wanted to be real with Montana and let him know Wassup. He knew it was kind of fucked up trying to be with his sister but he couldn't help how he felt. He felt the same feelings for Alyssa that he had for Tiara. Montana didn't have to agree with their decision but at least know what was up.
"I wanna talk to you bout some real shit though."
"Hit me." Montana grabbed one of the decorative pillows, holding it.
"It's about Alyssa." Kapri stated.
Hearing his sister's name Montana sat up, laying the pillow over his lap, clasping his hands together. "What about ha? Don't tell me she on that bitter baby mama shit."
"Nah." That made Kapri chuckle, shaking his head. "Nothing like that.
"Aight cool." Montana sighed in relief. Sometimes his sister could be a bird and he doesn't have time to be dealing with any of her childish bullshit. "Wassup then?"
Kapri rubbed the back of his neck before looking up at his friend. His stare was intense waiting for Kapri to speak whatever was on his mind.
"I wanna be with Alyssa..."
Montana twisted his lips to the side, squinting his eyes. He didn't know if he was hearing correctly or not. "Huh? You wanna what?" He tilted his head to the side with his hands still clasped together.
"I broke things off with Kori because I got real feelings for Alyssa." He spoke up, making his words clearer. Before he could let Montana speak he explained further. "I know this whole shit may seem wrong to you but I can't help how I feel."
Montana's jaw clenched, looking down at the floor. He wasn't sure how to feel about it. He was feeling some type of way. He ain't know what Kapri saw in his little sister and vice versa. He already knew about Alyssa still having feelings for his boy but she couldn't act on those feelings because he had been with Kori, but now all of that was dead.
He relaxed his jaws, sighing. At the end of the day both parties were grown. They already had a baby which was already overboard so why stop them from being with each other if that's what they wanted. He couldn't stop them if he wanted to anyway.
Montana stood up which made sigh. He wasn't trying to fight Montana but if that's what he wanted to do, so be it. Kapri stood up right after him, backing up a little. He watched Montana hold his hand out. He furrowed his eyebrows together, glancing from his hand to his face.
"My nigga relax." Montana chuckled. "Ion' want no smoke. Respect." He touched his chest. "You straight."
"Deadass?"
"Deadass, cuz. Dap me up nigga."
Kapri smirked, dapping up Montana before they did their handshake.
"Just know Ima nigga and I know how niggas are. You break my sister heart and imma," He bucked at Kapri. "Fuck you up." He grinned, jokingly but was serious at the same time.
"Yeah aight, nigga." He playfully shoved Montana back, laughing. "That's my heart. She in good hands."
"I hear that."
*****
"What do you want?" Alyssa said once she opened the door with a bat in her left hand after she looked through the peephole, realizing who was at the door. The smirk on his face worried her. It was like every time she was in his presence she felt worrisome.
"Woah lil mama." He chuckled, holding his hands up, glancing at the bat in her hand. "Don't hurt yourself now. I come in peace."
"Seriously, Tyrone." She wasn't about to play any games with him. She didn't even want to be in his presence because in all honesty she was afraid of him. She was home alone and there would be nobody there to help her if he tried anything.
"It ain't Tyrone anymore. That's dead." He said, earning a raised eyebrow out of Alyssa. "I go by Asiim now."
"What?" She scrunched up her face.
"It means savior or guardian."
"I didn't ask for the meaning. You Muslim all of a sudden?" She questioned, looking him up and down.
"Type shit." He replied, stuffing his hands in his hoodie.
"You know just cause you change your name doesn't mean you are who you say you are. Matter of fact just because you're Muslim don't mean you're a good person. You're just using that as a facade because that's usually what people convert to once they get out of jail and turn over to a new leaf. Most of them usually are misunderstood people but you're not one of them, Tyrone."
Asiim licked his lips, nodding his head as if he was agreeing with what she said. "Okay, Alyssa. You wanna insult me go ahead. If that makes you feel better about yourself." He didn't feel like entertaining Alyssa and her antics. He only came for one thing.
"Why are you here?"
"You know why I'm here. I wanna see my child."
"She's not here." She glanced up at him before quickly looking down at the ground.
"She ain't ever here, huh."
"Nope."
"Why do you wanna play games all the time, Alyssa." He shook his head. "I just wanna see my kid. I got the right to. She belong to me."
"Don't say that as if she's your pet dog or something because she's not."
"I ain't say she was. Did I? If she runs away while she with you and twelve gotta bring her back but she doesn't wanna go back to you she has no choice but to be brought back. You wanna know why? Oh that's right because she belongs to you."
Alyssa rolled her eyes, becoming annoying by his voice. "Alright you came for what you were looking for and she's not here. You can leave now?"
Asiim chuckled, causing Alyssa's skin to crawl. The chuckle was so sinister. "Growing up I remember this girl in my elementary class. Her name was Deja. She used to push me around a lot and tease me about my haircuts. You know being mean an shit for no reason. I ain't really talk to her like that for obvious reasons."
"Tyrone."
"Let me finish I'm almost done." He held his finger up, silencing her. "I remember one day she was fuckin with me and talking all crazy about my mo-hawk. I got tired of her insulting me about the same shit and being rude for no reason. That day I blacked on her. I remember my teacher pulled me to the side at the end of class and told me she only teased me cause she liked me."
Alyssa stared at him blankly not understanding where he was going with his story or why he was even telling the story.
"...I think that's why you got all this hostility towards me. It's alright I understand. I was your first. Your first everything at that. You're confused and you don't know how to express yourself prop—"
"Stop it! Just stop it! You're so delusional." His calm demeanor kind of scared her a little bit. She wasn't used to seeing him this calm. It was probably a part of his facade.
"Just as delusional as you if you think I'm not gone see my daughter. I will sit out here on this porch all day and wait for them to arrive." At first he was sure she was lying about Mia not being home but after a while of them standing there he hadn't heard any noise. Her grandparents vehicle that was usually parked outside wasn't there either. It was a possibility that she could've been sleeping and that's why he was going to wait all day for her grandparents to show up. "Your grandparents old school and I know for sure your granny and goin' for none of that bullshit you be talking. You used to a broken home, she not."
"Fuck you." What he said hurt her feelings. For him to refer to her mom and dad's relationship as "broken" when her mother was literally killed was fucked up. Before any of that her parents had been married for 18 years and had kids once they were married. They could never be considered a broken home.
Tyrone felt bad for a split second when the hurt washed over her face. He shrugged his shoulders and took a seat right on the porch step. She could dish it but couldn't take it.
Alyssa closed the door, not caring about what he was going to do. There was no way in hell he was going to waste all his time and energy to sit there all day waiting on them. She knew him like the back of her hand. He didn't care that much to press the situation and was just bluffing to mess with her.
Once she had her way inside to her room the first thing she did was call her grandmother Joyce. The phone rang and she eventually answered on the third ring.
"Sweetheart hello."
"Granny what time do you think you'll be back?" They had taken Mia out to the zoo and would be getting ice cream after. Unfortunately Kapri was there also. He had been at the house to see Onxy when Mia came rushing over to them wanting him to come with them to the zoo. He had no choice but to agree to go and brought along Onyx with them. Alyssa didn't go because she needed a break away from the kids. She just wanted peace and quiet for a few hours. They had left out almost two hours ago.
"Oh we're on our way right now." Alyssa sighed, hearing a honk in the background knowing that they were already in the car.
"Already?" She chuckled, nervously. "That was fast."
"Child the zoo ain't nothing but walking around looking at a bunch of wild animals. We're stopping for ice cream right now. Do you want anything?"
"No I'm fine."
"Well alright. Give us about twenty minutes. We know how attached you are to baby doll."
Alyssa smiled. "Have a safe drive. Love you."
"Love you too."
Fuck. Alyssa said to herself as she looked up at the ceiling. Twenty minutes wasn't that long of a wait and you could probably get about thirty minutes out of him.
Not sure if he was even outside she made her way downstairs. She had a pen and paper in her hand as she made her way to the front door. She grabbed the bat from the corner and pulled open the door. His back was facing her and she couldn't see exactly what he was doing.
"Fine, Tyrone." She rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest.
Asiim glanced over his shoulder at Alyssa, chuckling before turning his back to her.
Alyssa scoffed, walking over to him standing on one of the two steps on the porch. "You can't see her today. I will let you see her another day. I promise." She held the notepad and pen out to him. "Write a number down that I can contact you from."
Asiim looked from her to the paper. "Nah, I'm good."
"Tyrone!" She raised her voice in disbelief. Here she was trying to save her own ass and his. Kapri wasn't even aware about him being out of jail even though he was the one who put him there. To Kapri's knowledge he and Tyrone had an understanding before he went inside the pen. He would be mad to know she never got the chance to tell him about his sudden pop up and that Tyrone had the audacity to be back at Sqaure one.
"Asiim." He corrected.
Alyssa took a deep breath and exhaled. "Asiim...please." She shook the pad and pen in her hand at him.
He glared at her and she watched as he took the pen and pad writing down the number to get in contact with him. He held the pen and pad out to her before he stood up.
"I better get that call. I'm a persistent man now."
"I bet you are." She curled her lip at him, watching as he made his way off the porch.
Alyssa stood there waiting for him to get inside of the vehicle he drove there. She had to make sure he didn't try to stall and wait for them to arrive. He sat in his car for about two minutes before he turned on the engine. She walked back to her front door with the bat still in her hand. She heard a honk and turned around just as he pulled his car out of the driveway.
"Thank god." She sighed. One less thing to worry about.
*****
One Month Later...
It had been a stressful weak for Kacey but she was back on track. She had been finding new hobbies to better herself. She got into journaling, working out at six in the morning, even going on a keto diet. It was only January but she was trying to get her body right by the summer time. She had about five months to prepare herself.
It was time for a chance. She was trying to better herself and if that meant cutting out people from her life even if it was family so be it. All she really needed was her kids.
Things kind of felt unreal to her at times. Everything turned out exactly how she never imagined. She never imagined marrying a rapper and being persuaded into a fake marriage. Her mom probably thought it would be a good thing for the two even though it was. During their divorce she got half of his income. Even though she didn't need it she took it anyway. At the end of the day that was the plan her mama had all along.
Kacey have half of that money to her mother because she needed it more than her. Athena was set for life and didn't have to do anything but be a housewife and mother. That was her position before Keith passed and she liked it that way.
Kacey still wasn't sure how to feel about her mothers pregnancy. She was a little too old to still be trying to have children but she was grown and couldn't tell her mother what to do. It felt weird to Kacey. She would be way older than the child. She would feel more like their mother than sibling.
Maybe everything turned out the way they did for a reason. Keith died and Athena found her reason to love again and be happy.
Kacey went through all her trial and tribulations during her marriage. At least it was safe to say she could to experience the feeling of a being a "rappers wife". It was only supposed to be pretend but eventually falling in love with a person you're supposed to be fake married to was bound to happen.
In the end she got what was supposed to happen. She and Montana were never supposed to be. Even if them not being together was wrong she had to do what was right for herself and children. It was all about them at the end of the day.
Kacey snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a grumble from her stomach. She walked downstairs into her kitchen and grabbed a container of pineapples out of the refrigerator. The house was quiet due to the fact that the kids were over at Athena's for a while. Their grandmother missed them and who was Kacey to deny a free day from the kids. She loved them but they were stressful at times.
Once she grabbed her fruit she walked back up stairs to her bed room. She placed her pineapples on top of her dresser before walking out of her room and into her closet. It was a separate room filled with all of her clothes, accessories and shoes. It was something she dreamed of for a long time and finally got her dream closet.
Kacey got in front of her full sized mirror and pulled her shirt up over her breast. She turned to the side, looking over her slightly round stomach. It wasn't that noticeable but because she knew she could see the slight change.
It was a shock to her when she found out she was pregnant. Overall she was very confused and concerned. When she had sex with Michael they very much used a condom. She didn't know him that well to not be using a condom and she was a very clean person. It was nerve wrecking when her pregnancy test came back positive. The only reason she knew something was wrong was because she couldn't stand the smell of hot sauce when she loved it. The only time that happened to her was whenever she was with child.
Kacey sighed, trying to control her emotions. Most of the time she forgot she was pregnant. She found herself becoming real tired lately and throwing up a lot. It was too much for her. She had businesses going on and was just getting her life back on track.
She had two decisions to make. To keep it or abort it. She was going to have a hard time determining which choice was in her best interest.
The End.