3 weeks later....
"Ma'am, the superintendent will be right with you."
I clicked her phone call over to the superintendent and let out a sigh. This was my second week on the job and I was already over dealing with angry parents calling in ranting and raving about their children being mistreated.
I decided to take my thirty minute break now. I went in and checked in quietly with the superintendent before grabbing my lunchbox and making my way to the break room.
"Hi, Jeannie."
I looked up and gave my coworker a small smile. "Hello."
I kept the greeting short because after the fiasco with Paige I wasn't too keen on friendships with coworkers anymore. I went and sat down at the table all the way to the back and pulled my phone out, surfing Instagram.
Like a robot, I went straight to Tiana's page. No activity. I had been trying for what seemed like years to contact her but it was nothing. No interaction whatsoever between us. I went to the house but the gatekeeper was informed not to let me in. I called Kevin numerous times and left even more messages. I had cried over and over to Keon about it but he told me sometimes people outgrow friendships as adults. I just couldn't wrap my mind around that.
For now, I was worried but once I knew she was okay I was never going to speak to her again.
Exiting out the app, I went to check my messages.
Keon💏: Babe, did you leave the door unlocked?
I rolled my eyes at his message. For the past few weeks, he had been so over protective and extra tight on security. He demanded I call or text him on every break and I call him before I leave work and as soon as I get home. He even had someone follow me to work to make sure I got there safely. I was pretty annoyed because he wouldn't tell me what was going on.
I knew it had something to do with his friend Shooter because he had fell off the face of the Earth. I don't know why Keon thought I was so naive I couldn't pick up that there was some type of tension between them.
Me: yes baby! I always do! That's the same answer as the thirty million other times you ask.
Keon💏: just tryna make sure everything is safe. Are u ok
Me: of course
He didn't text back for a minute and I sat my phone down to focus on my food but to also brainstorm ways that I could get him to open up to me about his little problem. Maybe a date. We had only been on one official date and I was dying to spend some quality alone time with him.
Me: we should go on a date baby. To a nice restaurant or a movie or something.
Keon💏: I don't feel comfortable right now baby. I'll set something up inside the house.
I rolled my eyes and exited our message thread, irritated by his unwillingness to go out. I went to Javi's thread to see what she texted me about earlier.
Javi: Did I leave some of Elli's toys over there?
I scoffed and locked the phone, annoyed with the both of them. We had both decided we needed space from each other so I was annoyed she was breaking our rule. I needed to breathe and work on me and Javi didn't contribute to my self-progress. I missed her and I know she missed me too but our pride wouldn't show it.
I looked over at the phone and saw my thirty minutes for break was up. I threw away my trash and packed up, mentally preparing myself to return back to work. When I walked into the lobby, I was ambushed.
Paige grabbed a hold of my blazer and from instinct, I slapped her.
"You have to help me, please! I'll tell you everything just listen to me."
I sat there in awe because I had no idea what she was talking about. It took me a while but my mind wandered back to me when I remembered the situation and I charged at her.
"You bitch! You tried to ruin my fucking life."
The security that guarded the door grabbed a hold of me.
"Jeannie, please! You have to listen to me. You have to listen."
I looked at her appearance. Her hair was all over the place and her face was pale, gray almost. Her eyes were red and her lips were chapped and breaking. She looked horrible. Something inside my stomach moved and I knew it was my intuition.
"Let me go. I'm calm."
Paige stood there holding her fist up to her mouth.
"Let's go,"I said motioning to outside. I would just have to explain everything later to my boss. I was feeling like fuck my job right now because whatever Paige had to say seemed to be important.
**Javi's POV**
I looked at the message and saw Jeannie had yet to text me back. I sighed and rolled my eyes. This was hard for me.
I wasn't used to chasing after anyone or putting my pride to the side so me sending the first message was a sign that I was ready to talk and leave the bullshit behind us but obviously she was still on the space shit.
I missed her and I know Elli did too. I shook the thoughts of my sister away and went to text Herbert back since he had been calling me over and over again. Jeannie's words rang over and over in my head and I wanted to take her advice.
Me: I'll call you later. I'm spending the day with Elli.
Herbert💚💚: Tomorrow's my last day here. I wanted to spend time with you. Elli can come along.
I bit my lip and sighed loudly. Herbert and I had bonded in such a short time and I did want to see him but I had to admit that Jeannie was right.
Me: I guess I'll catch you next time.
I didn't want to come off harsh or uninterested but I just couldn't see him today not after I promised Elli that we would go out and do all of these fun things. I had to put my daughter first and learn to put my relationships on the back burner for now. I locked my phone as I heard a loud crash coming from the hallway.
"Ellijay! What are you doing?"
I heard her giggles and her laughter coming seconds later. My face immediately lit up, hearing my baby. "Mommy, it's nothing."
"Hm, sure didn't sound like nothing."
She laughed and put both of her hands over her mouth, "Okay, okay. You're right."
We both laughed as I tickled her. "How about today we go and watch Toy Story 4? And afterwards, we can go eat at Chuck. E. Cheese's?"
She laughed and jumped up and down and ran to her room. I instructed her on what not to wear and to make sure all of her clothes matched, and didn't look tacky. I was in the midst of getting myself ready but I kept hearing my phone go off. Once I discovered all of the messages was from Herbert, I put him on 'do not disturb'. He was really turning me off with this clingy shit.
I was done getting ready and peeped my head around Elli's door.
"You ready, ma-ma?"
"Yes mommy!"
I scanned her outfit and saw we both looked cute and decent. I scooped her up, placing her on my hip and was ready to start our day.
*Tiana's POV*
I listened to my grandmother as she scolded my kids in her native language, tanoan.
She shook her head as they ignored her fusses and proceeded to trample all over the plants she had just dug out. She sighed loudly and sat down and I couldn't help but laugh. She snapped her heads toward me.
"What are you laughing at? Your kids are rotten."
I laughed even harder because I knew it was true, it was a fact I had to face. Maybe that's why Kevin was such an asshole. I couldn't do anything right. "I know," I said a little too sad.
She sucked her teeth and swatted me with her gloves. "Don't you start."
I blinked back tears and shook my head at my harsh reality. I couldn't believe all of this was happening to me and I knew it was partly my fault for sticking around too long.
"It's just hard, grandma."
She threw the gloves down and threw her arms around me. It felt like old times. I only had my grandma, ever in life. She never abandoned me. She never abused me nor down talked me like everyone else has.
"Of course it's hard, baby. You have three kids and one on the way with a grade-A asshole. Trust me, I been there but kids are kids baby. They don't know any better."
I swallowed the knot in my throat and nodded my head. Her words did the trick but I knew deep down inside I had to get my shit together for my kids. I had to leave Kevin. It was no around it anymore.
I blew a big breath out and looked around the yard as the kids played. I made up in my mind that I didn't want another one and I didn't know how I felt about keeping this one that I was expecting now.
~
I sat with tears in my eyes listening to Paige's story. I couldn't take it anymore as sobs rocked her body. I couldn't believe this person was so heartless to kill a child. I got up from the dining room table, sickened to my stomach. I ran to the bathroom and threw up everything in my stomach.
A voice boomed behind me. "You good?"
I didn't say anything. I just ran to him because right now all I wanted to do was be held. I let out the cries I was trying to silence as he shushed me.
"Now do you see why I was so hard on protecting you? This shit is no joke. Whoever this is, has no regard for my life or anybody around me. I have to get my kid, Annie."
I listened to him silently. All of this scared me. I had to warn Javi and Ellie. Tiana, too. Even if she wasn't talking to me.
I watched as Keon called LuLu over and over, to no avail. I was so scared for him and I couldn't believe she let her jealousy and childish ways let it get big like this. He walked out of the bathroom speaking Spanish.
What troubled me most was Lucas. Our romantic relationship was over but I couldn't believe he would actually harm me or somebody around me. I couldn't believe the person he was now. Keon walked back in, clearly upset.
"This bitch won't answer the phone. She probably knows by now."
I nodded my head, as if to confirm it. "We have to call Javi. They could kill my sister."
Keon nodded. "I have somebody waiting at Javi's house. He's gonna get her and Ellie bring them here."
I looked on as Keon tried calling Lea but I knew she wouldn't answer. None of them would.
I replayed what Paige had just told them and I couldn't believe it. Lea, Lucas, and Shooter had come up with a plan to take Keon out and weaken him, but why? What was the reason? They used Paige as a pawn once they saw that we were getting close. My head started to hurt from all this worrying and I walked back in the dining room where I saw Paige crying.
Even though I still didn't trust her, I hated to see anyone suffer like this. I wrapped my arms around her and she fell into me. "Why, Jeannie? Why my baby? I can't believe they did this to him, to me. Lea is my cousin. Why would she approve this? I don't understand."
I shook my head. "Me either."
For a moment, it was silent between us except for Keon's voice yelling out a mix of Spanish and English.
"Paige, who was the friend? Was it shooter?"
She sniffed her nose and sat up to look at me. "I don't know, I never seen him. Always on the phone. Whoever he is, he doesn't want anybody to know his identity. Only Lea."
I nodded as the wheels in my head started turning. We had to come up with some kind of way to make sure all of us was safe in the end.
~
Ellie and I had just got finished with our ice cream date and I looked down at her ice cream covered face and smiled seeing how happy she was. I turned my attention back to my phone and kept clicking through the different stories on Snapchat.
I felt a presence over me and I heard Ellie wasn't laughing anymore and I looked up.
I can't believe Herbert was standing in front of me after I told him not to come. I guess he saw the look on my face because the smile on his dropped.
"I wanted to surprise you and Ellie."
My body started to heat up. "Motherfucker if I wanted you here I would've invited you. I told you no and you came anyway, you're a fucking creep."
I wasn't in the mood for ice cream anymore so I snatched Ellie up and asked for a to go cup for her ice cream.
"I'm fucking trying with you and you're pushing me away."
I whipped my head around to him. "Pushing you away?! I just spent a fucking week with you! I didn't want you around my daughter and you can't fucking handle that! Just leave me alone."
"Leave you alone? Oh now it's leave you alone? When I was spending money on you, you was fine with it."
"Bitch, I don't need your money. Fuck you and everything you bought."
At that moment, I felt myself getting angrier so I grabbed the ice cream and threw it right at him.
"Now clean that up bitch."
I walked Ellie through the door and didn't take another look back. My phone was ringing off the hook now. I looked down and saw it was Jeannie calling.
"Hello?"
"Yeah, Javi, don't panic but when you get home it's someone waiting on you to bring you here. Leave with them and don't ask any questions. Just pack a small bag for you and Ellie and leave with them."
My face immediately scrunched up.
"The fuck is going on Annie?"
"Just fucking do it, Javi! Please, I'm trying to protect all of us."
I had never been through anything like this before and my heart was in my ass. I heard my sister's tone and I knew whatever it was, it was serious. Instead of responding back I just hung up the phone and sent her a simple text message back saying, "Ok."
"Mommy, I wanted my ice cream," Ellie said in a whisper.
I bent down to be level with her and kissed her forehead. "I'll buy you another."
She was happy with this response and a smile spread across her face. I picked her up and walked her to our car and buckled her in. I couldn't help but to worry if everything was going to be ok. I started the short drive to the house and turned the music up to drown out the thoughts in my head.
~
Thoughts about this chapter?
How do y'all feel about Paige? Y'all trusting her or nah, lmfao?
What about Keon not getting in touch with Kiari?
How do y'all feel about Gherbo/Herbert??
What about Tiana?
Thank y'all for reading. 💗