I'm so sorry for the late update. Excuse any mistakes. Adrian in the mm.
Calabasas, California
Same morning
"We know the road to freedom has always been stalked by death."
Angela Davis
—
"Why are you quiet?" Adrian stops eating his food and looks at Nia.
Nia looks up from picking at her eggs, and gives him a small smile. "Just thinking."
"Well just because you got a lil boyfriend or whatever doesn't stop me from being your best friend. Talk to me."
Adrian puts down his fork and gives Nia all of his attention. Nia looks at him, then sits back. "Uncle Amir is back."
Adrian shrugs. "And? Ain't you glad?"
Nia nods. "I'm just so mad at him. Not even the fact that he cheated. Sure I'm disappointed, but I fought so hard for him."
"He let you down?"
"Precisely." Nia nods again. "Yes."
"Unc is human baby girl." Adrian says. "Shit, I know I disappointed you a few times myself. What makes him different from me? The fact that he's your uncle?"
Nia thinks about it, unsure of how to answer the question. She really hadn't thought of it like that.
Maybe she did hold certain people in high regard. But it was definitely not on purpose.
Adrian lifts his eyebrows, looking at her expectantly. Nia sighs and licks her lips. "I knew his potential. I saw him in a different way. Not the real him."
"Rayne did too. Women tend to do that shit alot. I think y'all need to stop." Adrian says, picking his fork back up and resumes eating. "Y'all just end up hurt in the end."
"Since when are you a feminist?" Nia jokes.
Adrian shrugs. "Ion know. Savannah got me looking at things differently. I want you to actually meet her."
Nia lifts up her eyebrow. "Really? Me?"
Adrian nods his head. "Of course. Your opinion means alot to me NiNi. If you don't like her, I'mma definitely look at her differently. You don't dislike alotta people."
Reaching over, Nia picks up her glass of water and takes a sip before responding. "I don't mind. I kinda already know her from track. You seem to like her alot."
"This is gonna sound cheesy." Adrian looks at her.
"What?"
Adrian wipes his hands with a napkin. "She reminds me of you."
Nia looks at him. "And that means what?"
"You not like a sister to me because that'll be weird as hell. I can't really describe it." He sighs softly. "You're like a romantic partner, but you also can be a non romantic, imitate friend. I did have feelings for you. I can't lie, but if it would have went bad, it would have ended our friendship. I would prefer to have your friendship forever over that."
Nia nods her head. "I can agree. It's not that I couldn't see myself with you. I just hold our friendship so dear to my heart."
"And I just told myself that my girlfriend will have to have some of your qualities. Savannah reminds me of you, but she is still her own person."
Nia smiles a little at the soft blush that appears on Adrian's face. "You really like her."
Adrian fights the growing smile on his face. "I do."
"I'm glad you've found someone who likes you for you. Because I couldn't stand that trash you used to associate yourself with." Nia rolls her eyes causing Adrian to laugh.
"It was just sex to me."
Nia turns up her nose. "Yuck."
Adrian sits back. "How's Shiloh? What is he like?"
This time, it was Nia's turn to blush. "He's great. He's an onion, though. Everyday, I'm pulling back a layer."
"He damn sho gonna protect you. I never liked that nigga Leon."
The mention of Leon's name made Nia a little uneasy. "Yea." She says distantly.
Adrian looks at her, seeing that her body language changed. "Oh damn. My bad NiNi. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"It's cool. I just don't want to see him, but I know that's not realistic. Then I have to keep Shiloh from doing anymore damage."
"Has Leon pressed any charges?"
Nia shakes her head. "Not that we know of."
"I hope not cause he was just defending his girl. No lie, I would've did the same thing."
"I hope not either." Nia agrees. "He already has a court date next week. Hopefully Scarlett can get him out of that since it wasn't his fault. The cop was just meddling."
Adrian shakes his head. "I don't even know if I was just privileged, but I ain't think cops did that foreal."
Nia looks at him, and smirks. "Your privilege is definitely showing. But that cop could have done the same thing to us a while back. I literally watched my mom get beat by a cop."
"It's so fucked up." Adrian looks at her. "And ya mama look good. Ain't no hope."
Nia kisses her teeth and throws her toast at him. "Boy."
Adrian laughs, and dusts off the bread crumbs. "How's training?"
"It's going. I'll be done today then I'm headed to Seattle to spend time with my dadddyyy." Nia dances in her seat.
"Shiloh going?"
Nia halts her movements and looks at Adrian like he lost his mind. "Ashton Brooks not going. Period."
Adrian laughs again. "Ashton don't like Shiloh?"
"It's not that he don't like him. I'm just his babygirl. Seeing me date is a little weird for him. Plus, he wants me to himself."
"Well, he gonna have to get used to it."
"Facts." Nia points at him. "What are y'all doing for Thanksgiving?"
"Probably be in Seattle, too. We spent last Thanksgiving here in Cali so we gotta switch it to my dad's side. Then we'll spend Christmas with my grandparents here."
Nia nods. "You never talk about Senaya and Brennan. Do you like them?"
Adrian laughs again. "They're my grandparents. Of course I do. I just grew up with my Papa and Nana. They're like my other parents. I only see Senaya and Brennan every so often."
"You call them by their name?"
Adrian shakes his head. "Nah. It's just weird talking about both sets of grandparents in one breath. I have to distinguish the two."
Nia squints her eyes. "You call Malia and Khari 'papa' and 'nana'."
Adrian rolls his eyes. "Leave me alone."
Nia giggles. "You had a slow moment. Admit it."
Ignoring her, Adrian finishes his food. Nia steals a strip of bacon off his plate and eats it. "Nigger." He blurts out.
"A nigger who loves bacon." Nia corrects him.
Nia's phone vibrates next to her, and she turns to look at it. She sees that it was Shiloh, and that she had a few missed calls and texts from him. She now became concerned, and decided to call him back.
Shiloh immediately answers with a little aggression. "Where the hell have you been?!"
Nia removes the phone from her ear and looks at it to see if she called the wrong person. Adrian looks at her weirdly. She places the phone back up to her ear.
"Um, is this Shiloh? Can't be." She says.
"Mane, I been worried about you. Why you ain't been answerin'?"
"Shiloh, I told you that I was gonna have breakfast with Adrian." Nia responds.
The other line got eerily quiet and if Nia couldn't hear his breathing, she would have thought that he hung up. "Breakfast kinda intimate." He finally says.
"But I told you? You didn't seem to have a problem with it then."
Shiloh clears his throat. "I mean I don't. I forgot about it. I'm trippin. I was just worried."
Nia isn't completely buying it because of his tone. "Are you sure?"
"Yea, I'm good. Enjoying it?"
"Yes, I'm about to go train now. Are you coming?" Nia decides to shift the conversation elsewhere.
"Nah, I think I'ma write today." Shiloh says lowly. "Just call me when you leave?"
"Okay."
"I lo—" Shiloh starts to say before he immediately hangs up the phone. Nia removes the phone from her ear, confused by that interaction.
"Everything okay?" Adrian asks.
Nia looks at him. "I don't know. Shiloh didn't sound like himself. I think I'm going to go check on him before I go train."
Adrian nods his head and pulls out his wallet. "I got it. You can go if you need to."
"I enjoyed this Adrian. We should make this like a weekly thing since we don't get much time together." Nia suggests.
Adrian smiles at her. "I agree."
Nia gets up to hug him. Adrian gets up as well and they both embrace one another tightly. He places a kiss on her forehead before she pulls away and walks out of the restaurant.
—
Amir watches as Storm and Sunshine run up the staircase. He really missed his kids. Time away from them was hell, but he felt like he needed to do what was best for him.
He could feel Rayne's eyes on him causing him to turn and look at her. He couldn't get a good read on her. Was she happy to see him? Was she mad at him for suddenly disappearing?
He didn't know.
"How you been?" He asks, finally striking up a conversation.
"Well." Rayne answers simply.
Amir clears his throat. "Nothing new?"
Rayne scratches the back of her neck, and sits on the couch. "Where have you been, Amir?" She cuts the small talk.
Amir sighs. "I went to therapy like I was ordered to." He snaps slightly.
"So, you had to disappear to do that?" She lifts up one eyebrow.
Amir closes his eyes and counts to ten mentally. When he reopens them, he lets out a long breath. "That's the only way I knew how. I'm sorry for just disappearing, but I'm a much better version of myself now."
Rayne sits all the way back on her couch and observes him.
"Listen, you can be mad at me. But what that's gonna solve? I'm here now. I wanna be a better man and a better father to my kids." He takes a seat beside her.
Rayne slowly nods her head. "I hear you."
"But do you believe me?" Amir looks at her.
She leans a little closer to him. "When I see it."
"I understand that." Amir nods. "I just wanna thank you though."
Rayne looks at him, suddenly confused. "For?"
"For making me be a better man. For holding me accountable. You really left my dumb ass. I woulda left me too." Amir says honestly. "You didn't deserve that shit. Then you saw what I coulda been. I'm just so sorry that I never became that man you needed."
"Can we talk about something else?" Rayne asks. "That's still fresh. I still want to stab you for cheating on me."
"I just wanna make it right."
Rayne kicks off her shoes, and turns her body towards him. "We have to be on good terms to do this coparenting thing. I am still harboring a little disdain, but I'll get over it. But those three kids should be our main focus. Amir, I need to be able to depend on you."
Amir nods his head. "No need for me to even say nothing. I gotta prove alot of shit to everybody. But I agree with you."
"I want you to be able to be with your kids. Just give me something so I can give you joint custody, okay?"
"Aight baby." Rayne blinks before attempting to get up. Amir gently grabs her arm causing her to look at him. "We done for good?"
A sudden wave of flashbacks from the night before invaded Rayne's memory before she quickly snapped back to reality.
"Yes." She says without a shadow of doubt.
Amir lets her go and nods. "I really fucked up. You already got a new nigga."
Rayne looks at him. "Why do I have to have someone else to be done being treated like a side bitch? Yes, you fucked up Amir. And now you have to deal with the consequences. If I wanted to leave room for us to get back together, I would have never filed for divorce. It took the damn divorce for you to even consider therapy. And hell, that was a court order."
"Nobody just understood me, man. I wanted to talk but I couldn't."
"I was your wife, Amir. You couldn't confide in me?" Rayne asks. "These arms and ears would have been the safest place for you to do so."
Amir looks away. "I'm sorry. I know I be sayin' that shit alot but I really mean it this time."
Rayne turns his face back to her. "I love you. That'll never change. But, I was past my limit. I deserve better."
"Well let's just focus on the kids." Amir licks his lips. "How Jr? He talked you about me?"
"Well, he goes by AJ now. I think that told me everything I needed to know. He does not like being associated with your name." She explains.
"Damn." Amir runs his hands down his face. "I really wasn't gonna hurt him."
Rayne clasps her hands together. "Then tell me what you were gonna do. If you had of gotten to him, like you wanted to, what would have happened? Keep in mind, you were drunk."
"I just wanted to show him that I'm the Daddy and he the son. He not gon disrespect me, Ray."
"Show him how?" Rayne pressures him.
"Rough him up a lil bit." Amir shrugs. "Nothing too drastic. I wasn't gon beat him or nun."
"Amir, you charged at him full speed." Rayne says. "You were out of control. You was going to hurt him."
Amir looks at her. "He is my son. I don't want him to end up like me."
Rayne shakes her head. "What's your obsession with boys after you ending up being like the Amir who went to prison what? 15 years ago? You're not that Amir. AJ doesn't even know that guy."
"I was just like him at 13."
"Okay? You know the difference?" Rayne asks. "He has both parents. He has plenty of resources. He doesn't have to sell drugs to survive. AJ is a sweet little boy. You have to make it your business to get to know him. He was just trying to protect me which is natural for a son to do."
Amir glares at her. "Protect you from who? Me? You thought I was gonna hurt you?"
"Amir, you was so damn unpredictable. I didn't know anything. You are intense as hell sober. Just imagine you drunk."
"You was scared of me?" Amir turns his body completely towards her. "Be honest."
Rayne sighs softly and nods. "Yes."
"I was never gonna put my hands on you. I'm better than that. I'm stupid but not that damn stupid." Amir stands up.
Rayne got up and stood in front of him. "Do you remember that night while we were arguing about your drinking starting back up? AJ was like 3."
"What? No."
"There is a dent in that wall in the corner." Rayne points near the fireplace. "You backed me into that corner and shook me. You were drunk and Amir I had never seen your eyes that dark. You shook me so hard you put a dent in the wall. I knew you didn't remember because you were a different person after you slept the alcohol off. I never said anything because I didn't want to relive it."
Amir looks over at the wall and sees the dent from where he was standing.
"And that wasn't the last time you put your hands on me. I just happened to fight back the other times."
Amir looks back at her with tears in his eyes. A tear escapes down his cheek as he steps back, bumping against the glass coffee table.
Rayne had never told him this before. He never knew how violent he got when he drank. She just used to act like nothing happened and he never asked what did happen.
She had no bruises so he never saw evidence.
Amir was disgusted with himself. "Why you never said nothin'?" He looks at her. "Oh my God, Ray I'm so fuckin' sorry."
"I held my own." Rayne says, trying to make light of the situation.
"Did I ever like hit you?"
Folding her arms across her chest, Rayne nods. "Once or twice. I got my licks back, though."
Amir wraps his arms around her neck and hugs her tight. "That shit not cool. I apologize for puttin' you through that. You did not deserve that shit. I was takin' my anger out on you and damn.." He puts his forehead against hers. "I'm sorry baby girl."
"Just promise me that the drinking has ceased." She looks at him, wiping the tears that have fell down his cheeks.
"I promise. I'm not picking up another drink. 30 days sober."
Rayne smiles at him. "I'm glad to hear that. I'm going to help in any way I kind. I'm sure Naomi will too. I'm proud of you, Amir."
"I was proud of me too until you told me that."
"Hey," She squeezes his hand. "It's in the past. I whooped your ass." She jokes.
Amir laughs a little. "Shoulda beat me to sleep."
"I told myself if it happened again, I was either gonna leave or shoot you."
Amir stops laughing. "Glad you left."
Rayne places a kiss on his cheek. "I'm sorry for all of the things I did too. If I didn't make you feel comfortable enough to talk to me or whatever the case may be, I apologize."
"Nah, you was as perfect as a wife coulda been. This marriage failed cause of me."
Rayne pulls away and winks. "Glad you know."
Chile, what's up with Shiloh? Amir and Adrian...the growth honey! Rayne already having flashbacks.
I'm sorry for leaving y'all hanging.
Another update coming real soon. Stay tuned.