I looked at him with a surprised expression.
"What'd she want?"
"What else? To stay with us as a family again and convince me that she's changed"
"And you didn't let her?"
"Jacquees, you witnessed everything between me and your mother. I'm sorry but I just can't seem to accept and understand her as easily as you can"
"Because you don't want to!" I exclaimed.
"Jacquees, she was my wife for well over 20 years! I would love nothing more than for her to be back in my good graces but I just can't take that risk"
"What risk?"
"Of putting a woman back into your life who's been hurting and disappointing you since birth!"
"Yo, the only person who's been hurting and disappointing me lately is you! I see Mom this weekend so I'll talk to her. I can only imagine what you might've said to her. What'd you call her this time: A goldigging junkie or a deadbeat mother?"
"Neither, Jac! I just told her prove herself better"
"What the fuck else can she do to prove herself, Dad? Get a job? Oh, she has one. Get a place to stay at? She's got one of those too. Get clean? She has been for 5 years! So tell me what else she can do, Dad!" I shouted getting more upset by the minute.
He just stood there with a dumb look on his face left speechless.
"Exactly! She can't do anything else because she's already done all that she could. So just admit it: you just don't want to get back with her because of the scandal that you would have on your name"
This is what Nicole meant when she said that her mother was all about her image. My dad really did want to get back together with my mother. He just didn't want to risk everybody finding out that he got back together with his junkie ex-wife and it really pissed me off. You choose the public's opinion over the strength of your family? And I knew that I was right becaus he wasn't denying it.
"Look, is that all 'cause I'm pretty sure Mrs. Melvin has lunch made and I'm starving" I said annoyed.
"When are you coming back home?" My father asked with a worried look.
I looked at him surprised that he would ask me a question like that as if what he did should be overlooked.
"Stop doing that Jekyll and Hyde shit! Being all nice to me like you're never gonna do anything to me anymore and then when I go back home, we're back to square one! I'll come back when I feel safe and when I feel like you've changed. So, you'll have an idea of how it feels to want to change but the person who you want to prove yourself to keeps pushing you away!" I yelled.
I left my father standing in the same spot as I walked into Tre's house and locked the door behind me. I saw Tre eating a bacon and cheese sandwich with another one on the same plate.
"Hey, come get some of this" he muffled with a mouthful of food.
I smiled and grabbed the sandwich and started to eat it.
***Nicole's POV***
The entire ride home, I did my best to keep my mouth shut about Jacquees meeting my mom. She tried to engage me in small talk on the ride home. I did talk to her but I was still upset about yesterday. We finally got to the house and my mom unlocked the door. At the same time, my phone began to vibrate. I looked and it was a text from Lyric with a video clip attached to the message. We entered the house and I went to my room as I clicked on the video clip. It was a video of me beating up Keyana. I laughed to myself. When the video was done, I called her.
"Really, Lyric?" I chuckled.
"Hey, now you have something to look back on when you get older. You can show your kids how you whooped some chick's ass for messing with you" she laughed.
I laughed as well.
"I would've showed you sooner but I didn't get to talk to you because that officer pulled you away.Then I found out the you have detention for the rest of the week and knew that I'd never get to show you so I just sent it" she added.
"Well, thank you!"
"Hey, you want me to come over to your house and pick you up so we can go to the mall! They have some new stuff in Papaya!" she beamed.
"I wish I could but I can't. I can't go anywhere after school for the next 3 months" I said rolling my eyes at the thought of the punishment.
"3 months? That's a prison sentence in this case. Your mom found out about the fight?"
"Yeah" I sighed. "She also made this punishment up specifically to keep me away from Jacquees. But she doesn't know that we go out now"
"Ya'll do?!" she asked.
"Yeah. He purposely got into detention for me and now we go out!"
"Wow, Nic! And how is that so far?"
"It's actually going great. We went out for ice cream yesterday and I've devised a plan for him to meet my mom"
"Plan for what?"
"For me to get a smaller punishment when she sees how much of a good guy he is!"
"Good idea, girl!"
"I just hope it all goes the way I want it to" I sighed.
Me and Lyric just kept on talking. She told me about class and I told her about detention and Jacquees. Thinking about him made my heart flutter. I wish he was here with me now but this stupid punishment is keeping us from doing anything! But that'll change soon.