song(s) for this chapter: who can i run to X xscape
Three Months Later.
It'd been a long and painful three months for Nadira. Every day she was feeling the effects of her breakup more than the last. She hated herself for missing Darius, but she couldn't help it. She'd been with him for a long six years, and their breakup was nothing short of a train wreck.
She'd been going out more with her friends and seeing her family on a regular basis but there was still something inside her that felt empty.
She'd been trying to cope alone, but that wasn't helping. She found solace in her friends and family but at the end of the day, she was alone in her apartment. She was struggling with insecurity and a sadness she hadn't felt for a long time.
One thing she could count on to make her happy were her students. Waking up and seeing their smiling faces five days a week was a bigger boost than anything she could have asked for.
This morning, she woke up before her alarm, looking around her gorgeous bedroom she still couldn't believe was hers. Saija and Lourdes were more than excited to see her new place, help her furniture shop and decorate. They were also very excited she lived in Buckhead so that they could visit her more frequently. Her place was nearly finished, she just needed some more decorative pieces and her diplomas, which were unfortunately still at her ex boyfriend's house. She still had a few things there but hadn't mustered up the courage to go and get them.
Before Christmas, she convinced herself, over and over.
Getting up from her plush queen sized bed, she set her feet down on her shaggy rug, and made her way into the master bath, which was still one of her favorite places to be in the whole apartment. She took a calming hot shower and proceeded to wash up, thinking about what she was going to buy all of her friends for Christmas. Especially Gionni,
Xavier and Vincent since they were newer friends.
Gionni can have my ass wrapped in a bow, she mused to herself stepping out of the water and preparing herself to do her skincare routine for the morning. Gionni then overtook her thoughts, as he usually did when she thought of him.
They'd become extremely close over the last few months, he'd become a shoulder for her to lean on in her time of need once he learned of her breakup. He was a great friend to her, always checking up on her, bringing her food and taking her to eat, even just sending her a text to let her know he was thinking of her.
She couldn't come to terms with her unnaturally strong attraction to Gionni. She'd just gotten her heart stomped on with a pair of size 11 timberlands, and she was already liking someone new? She felt like that could never be the case, but there was something about him that she couldn't stay away from.
Once she finished her skincare, she tied her loose pineapple up into a proper puff, slicking down her edges and tying her satin scarf around her head before going to her walk-in closet to pick out an outfit for the day. It was finally actually cold, or at least what was considered cold in the south, in Georgia, so she was excited to break out her cardigans and boots. For the day, she pulled out an oversized striped sweater and black jeans with some black booties. She slipped her clothes and a pair of socks on, grabbing her phone for the first time that morning and headed to her living room, waking Chanel.
"Good Morning pumpkin! You hungry, stinka butt?" she cooed to her puppy, giving her some affection. After filling her bowl with breakfast and changing her water, she toasted a cinnamon raisin swirl bagel with some cream cheese for herself, and resolved to grab a iced coffee from the shop downstairs which she'd come to adore.
"Morning Vannah!" she called to the young concierge who gave her an enthusiastic greeting back as she exited the building walking straight across the street to get her coffee.
Once that was done, it was 7:15, a new record, she thought. She sat to decompress for a moment in her car, responding to various texts.
saijabae🧚🏾♀️: suh, you always going to sleep early damn, im tryna tell y'all about how i got the best dick of my liiiife
dessypooh🧜🏽♀️: aht aht she gon wake up tomorrow tell me bih
She laughed at her friends, bidding them a good morning, moving on to her brothers messages.
bigboss🤩: bug when you gon let me stay at your apartment mane, im sicka yo mama and daddy.
bear🧸: she not, hungry ass. you gon eat all my sister groceries n shit just like you do mine
bug🦋: you can come over tomorrow night boss. leave my baby alone kareem
Lastly, she opened the messages between her and Gionni with a small smile on her face. She'd been looking forward to talking to her friend.
gionni🍫: you keep playing im returning your christmas present lil girl
: stoppppp okay im sorry 😂 your head only a lil big
She laughed aloud, finally pulling out of her designated parking space, 009, and headed off to work. When she made it, she quickly headed to her classroom, knowing there were students who arrived a bit earlier than others, and she got a giddy feeling seeing all of the Christmas decorations that the kids helped her put up. It was a pick-me-up and a good motivator for everyone to have a good day.
"Alright my lovelies, does everyone have their coats on? It's time for dismissal," she asked, as the last students shimmied their coats on. As per request of many parents, she made sure they all left with the hats and scarves they came in with.
She walked the kids out to their waiting parents and guardians, seeing them all off, not before noticing Nayeli running back to her with a panicked expression on her face.
Much to her dismay, Nayeli hadn't made any positive progress in regards to her sudden change of character. If anything she was more shy and withdrawn than before. Gionni expressed to her that he'd been trying to figure out what's wrong with her but to no avail.
"What's wrong, Nayeli? Are you okay?" she asked frantically, as the four year old clung to her legs. She lifted her up quickly, and Nayeli wasted no time wrapping her arms around her neck.
"I don't wanna go with him Ms. B, he said my mommy said he could come but-but I don't wanna go," she mumbled in a scared voice. Nadira was immediately on alert, watching the man who approached them. He was tall with light skin and dark eyes, searching for Nai, apparently.
"Nai! Thank goodness, don't run away from me like that," the man spoke, in a voice laced with false concern.
"Hello, I'm Nayeli's teacher, may I ask who you are?" she asked getting straight to the point, stepping back with Nayeli still in her arms.
"Oh, I'm her mom's boyfriend, Keith. She told me I should come get Nai today," he said. That raised a red flag in Nadira's mind because for one, everyone who was an authorized pickup was in the files she kept and managed to memorize in her desk. She kept keen eye on everyone her students left with just in case, and two, if there were to be any adjustments there should be a phone call to the teacher, and that wasn't done.
Plus, Nayeli was scared shitless. She couldn't let her go.
"I'm sorry sir, I wasn't made aware of you coming to pick her up today and you're not authorized, at that. I'll have to contact Ms. Slater and Mr. Cartier myself," she said in a professional tone. Before he could protest, she marched back into the school and hurried to her room, trying but failing to get in touch with Ameera.
Nayeli was now crying for her father, so Nadira thought it best to just give Gionni a call.
"Hey Dira-"
"Gionni come down here, now please," she cut him off, making him scrunch his face up on the other line.
"What's wrong? Is she okay?" he asked, a twinge of fear laced in his voice.
"No, G, she's not. Some random man just tried coming up her and taking her home and she ran back over to me scared as hell, and I told him no. I don't know if he left but she's crying for you, she won't let go of me, Gionni I'm scared," Nadira spoke to him, tears now forming in her own eyes as she listened to her young student cry out in pain.
"What the hell...Aight I'm gonna be up there in ten minutes please try to calm her down," he spoke, ending the call.
In the meantime, Nadira rocked Nayeli back and forth, trying to sooth her.
"I-I want my daddy!" she wailed, breaking Nadira's heart all over again.
"Shh, I know baby, I know. Your daddy's coming okay? He's coming for you right now, don't be scared baby, he's coming. I got you, mama" she whispered to her, holding her against her chest as she continued to cry.
As promised, in what felt like the longest ten minutes of her life, Gionni appeared in the classroom. He could hear his daughter crying from the hallway so he was terrified of what was wrong. Upon entering, he saw Nadira clutching her tightly as she cried, running her hand over her head, shedding a few tears herself.
"Daddy," Nayeli whined, once she noticed he entered the room. He quickly lifted her from Nadira's lap. She continued to cry loudly, and he felt awful, not even knowing what was wrong.
"It's okay baby, daddy's here babygirl I have you, it's gonna be alright," he whispered, bouncing her around like she was still a baby in need of comfort. His heart was broken over the pain his child was feeling, and he only hoped it was something he could fix.
Once she calmed down, Nadira excused herself so that they could talk. She went to the bathroom to clean up her face, but the entire time she couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario. What if someone had violated her? What if her mother hurt her? She didn't know what was wrong but she knew it wasn't good.
Inside the classroom, Gionni sat face to face with his daughter so they could talk about why she was so scared.
"Nayeli," he started gently, lifting her chin which was beginning to fall. "Talk to me, baby. What's wrong? Who was the man Ms. Berkley was telling me about?" he asked bluntly. He knew beating around the bush wasn't going to work with her since she was already so shook up.
"Mommy said don't tell you 'bout him," she said in a small voice, angering him. He didn't want to lose his cool in front of her so he took a deep breath and moved along.
"Well I'm saying you can tell me, baby. I can't help you unless you tell me the truth, okay?" he asked her, using his thumb to wipe another tear that fell from her eyes.
"He-he's mommy's boyfriend," she began. "He sleeps over sometimes," she added, making Gionni's heart rate speed up dangerously, automatically assuming the worst. He could feel his hands start to shake at the thought that someone was hurting his daughter in that way.
"And why were you so scared to see him? Has he made you feel uncomfortable?" she nodded solemnly. "Did you tell mommy?" she shook her head no immediately. "Why not, Nai? Mommy would listen to you, baby," he reassured her, making Nayeli's lip poke out like she was about to start crying again.
"Don't cry babygirl. I'm here okay? Daddy's not gonna hurt you," he said softly, wiping her face again. "Can you tell me why he makes you uncomfortable, baby?" She paused briefly, seemingly scared to continue speaking. Her father rubbed her arm up and down soothingly, trying to encourage her.
"He hits me," she whispered, looking at her feet. Gionni's eyes widened in shock, and he was seeing red. His suspicions quickly turned to anger in that second, and he wanted nothing more than to break down Ameera's door.
He took a few deep breaths in before he continued to speak. "W-where did he hit you, Nayeli? Show me," he instructed her. She first pointed at her face, then her stomach, her back, and her behind. "Let me see your back, Gianna," he said, gently turning her around and lifting her sweater and shirt, revealing her back which was marked up and had raised skin toward the bottom.
Gionni's eyes filled with tears at the sight, and he turned her back around, hugging her close to him. "Im so sorry, baby," he cried, clutching her closer to him, allowing the tears to spill over his eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered again, rocking her back and forth. He felt pain in his chest knowing that he couldn't keep his promise to keep his daughter safe from harm and from anyone who would cause her any hurt. He knew there was something wrong with her yet he couldn't protect her from it, and he felt like he failed her.
"It's okay, daddy," Nayeli said in a whisper, patting his back as he'd done for her on so many occasions. She was comforting him the best way she knew how.
After a few seconds of him breaking down, he parted from his daughter, looking her directly in her eyes, making her another promise, "He's never going to touch you again, Nayeli, I promise you that. Okay? I promise," he said. She nodded with a small closed mouth smile, jumping into his arms once more.
After cleaning himself up, he exited the classroom, seeing Nadira asleep in one of the small chairs situated outside the classroom. Nayeli let out a small giggle, and stepped up to her teacher, tapping her leg, making Nadira shoot her head up abruptly.
"Oh, you guys are okay! Thank God," she exhaled, feeling a weight lift from her shoulders. He sent her a small smile as she arose from her seat, stretching with a yawn. "I'm gonna go ahead and lock up, y'all have a good evening," she smiled, sending them a smile.
"Daddy, can we wait for Ms. B?" he looked down at her hopeful eyes.
"Of course, baby. We don't want her to be by herself," he said, more to Nadira than Nayeli. After she secured her room, they walked her down to her car and bid her a final goodbye. Gionni loaded Nayeli up in the car, and drove in the direction of his sister's home, he couldn't follow his instincts and go straight to Ameera's house because he was afraid he would do something he'd regret.
"We're gonna go see TT and Amora okay, baby? I'm not gonna take you to mommy's house," he made sure to let Nayeli know as she swung her feet back and forth aimlessly in the car. It pained him so much to know that someone went out of their way to hurt his innocent baby.
"Okay daddy," she mumbled, still looking out the window.
"Guiliana I don't know what to do. My first instinct is to go break her door down and beat the dog shit out that nigga. Like I'm itching, Tink, I want him dead," Gionni sneered trying to keep his composure.
"I know you do, but like you always tell me there's a lot on the line for you, Gionni. You have to treat this strategically. If you just go over to Ameera's house fighting, by the way she's been acting I can tell the first thing she's gonna do is file for full custody," Guiliana explained as calmly as she could. "After you present Ameera with evidence and I give you and Giovanni my full support to beat him within an inch of his life but you have to tell Ameera first,"
"But how does she not know?!" he exclaimed, standing from his seat. "She is bruised, Guiliana. She has cuts on her back! He was hitting Nayeli in her face dawg! How long does she have that bitch ass nigga alone with my daughter?!" he raised his voice, beginning to pace back and forth in her dining room. "She had to have known! She bathes her, how could she have missed it? Why is it that whenever she came by me there was nothing physically wrong with her? She was supposed to go to her mother's tonight," he began asking himself questions, trying to piece everything together in his own head.
"Gionni, you need to go talk to her, now. There's no sense in waiting, I'll keep Nai. Take Giovanni with you, though. Or X and Vinny, don't go by yourself," she cautioned her little brother. He simply nodded, getting up to call Xavier.
"Yo? Wassup bro?" X greeted cheerfully.
"We need to ride on Ameera's dumb ass now." He spoke, teeth gritted.
"Ride on Ameera? What the hell happened now?" X asked, standing to go to his car nonetheless. He was always the type to shoot first ask questions last.
"She call herself having a boyfriend that hits my child," there was silence on the other line before Xavier spoke again.
"I'll meet you there," he replied, hanging up the phone.
He walked up to Amora's bedroom, going to tell his daughter he was leaving.
"Baby, I'm gonna be back. Be good for your TT okay?" he told her with a quick kiss to her cheek.
"Okay daddy," she said with a small smile, busy playing dolls with her cousin.
"Bye bye uncle G!" Amora called, hopping up to give him a hug. He was always her favorite uncle, she'd loved him the most since she was a baby.
"I'll be back, sweetheart," he said with a faint smile. Once he said goodbye to his sister, he hopped in his Audi and sped toward Ameera's house, calling his brother and Vinny just in case.
He pulled up in her driveway at Ameera's house, noticing only one car. He hoped that meant that she was home alone because he couldn't promise he'd be calm if he saw her boyfriend. Before he opened his door, he heard tires screeching, and saw his brother hop out of his own car, nostrils flaring.
"Where that fuck nigga at?" Giovanni asked, dressed for a fight.
"I'on think he here, Gio. We here for Ameera, X and Vin gon sit outside, if that nigga come they gon' let me know, come on," he nodded toward the door, jogging up to it, banging with the side of his fist. In a moment, Ameera threw the door open with an annoyed expression, until she saw Gionni staring back at her clenching his jaw.
"W-what are you doing here, G? You don't get Nayeli till Friday," she spoke nervously, trying to play up the fact that her daughter was actually with her.
"You know good and god damn well Nayeli isn't here. Let's talk," he spat, pushing past her with his brother and walking into her living room. Before Ameera even had a chance to speak, Gionni continued.
"We had an agreement when it came to us dating, you remember that?" He said, standing directly in front of her, fists clenched.
"G, what are you—"
"What is it, Ameera. Do not piss me off," he cut her off, making her eyes widen.
"T-that we'd meet each other's significant other before bringing them around Nayeli, b-but I don't know what that has to do with me Gionni I—"
"I said don't piss me off, right? That means don't lie in my face like I'm stupid, Ameera. She told me about your lil boyfriend. You know what else she told me? Guess what she told me?" he sneered at her, standing frighteningly still.
Ameera started to fidget, which only told him she already knew.
"Gionni it's not what you think, you know Nayeli is dramatic," she tried to make up and excuse on the spot.
"Bit—it's not what I think?! You had that nigga go to my daughter's school, Ameera! HE PUT HIS HANDS ON MY CHILD!" he was yelling now, which was rare for Gionni. He felt that most situations could be handled without being aggressive or yelling.
This wasn't one of them.
"W-what are you talking about G? She never said–he never hit her," Ameera was completely flustered by the intrusion, not expecting Gionni to ever find out about any of this. She herself had popped Nayeli more than a few times because she believed she needed it, and her boyfriend assumed Gionni's position during the week. But she never told Gionni about Keith
So she lied, straight through her teeth.
She was praying it worked and he just let it go, she look into his eyes once more and that thought disappeared. He licked over his bottom lip and took two more steps toward her, standing nearly chest to chest with her now.
"You think I'm stupid, and I can promise you I'm not. She not coming back here, and please believe I'm getting full custody. And if I ever catch that fuck nigga on the street you not gon be able to save his ass." He said darkly, never breaking eye contact.
Ameera's eyes began to water, "You can't take my child from me, Gionni!" she yelled, gripping his arm as he tried to walk away. "You don't know how she acts when I'm not here, she-she probably needed–" before she could get the rest of her sentence out, she was grabbing up by her upper arms.
"I dare you to finish that sentence. I dare you." He snarled, leaning inches away from her face. "Tell me again how my daughter needed to get beat black and blue. TELL ME!" he yelled. From his place in the room, Giovanni could tell his brother was in a dangerous place and decided it was time to get out of there before he did something he'd regret.
"Gionni, let's go! You gon' see her bum ass in court, don't do nothing stupid," he called out, placing his hand on his brother's shoulder turning him around. He could see the tears in his eyes and he just continued to pull him away. "Cmon bruh, I gotchu, let's go," he said softer, easing him out of the door where his two best friends stood. Nobody uttered a word at seeing G cry, Xavier simply pulled him into a hug, patting him on the back.
"It's gon' be alright, G, we got y'all," he said simply.
Later that night, Gionni and Nayeli we're preparing for bed. He wasn't used to having her on weekdays, nor was she used to being at his house so they were both happy to be together.
"Daddy, can I sleep with you, please?" she asked timidly, as he picked out a pair of pajamas for her to wear after her bath.
"Of course you can, my love," he said to her, turning to face her. "Come here, Gianna," he continued, holding his arms out so he could pick her up.
"Daddy loves you, you know that right?" she nodded with a small smile. "Good. I'm not gonna let anybody hurt you again, baby," he told her as she lay her head on his shoulder.
"I love you too, daddy," she was all smiles now, she felt so safe with her dad and she knew he would protect her from whatever and whoever.
The two finished up getting ready for bed, and Nayeli was gone before she even hit the pillow. He knew he'd be up for the duration of the night, the days events had him completely restless. He made his way to his kitchen, rummaging around for snacks. It was only 8:30, and the small dinner they had wasn't enough to keep him full.
Leaning against his counter, he pulled his phone out, seeing Nadira texted him a few hours ago. He seriously considered calling her or something of the sort. She was such a good listener, and talking to her always made him feel like there was a weight being lifted from his shoulders. He wasn't sure what it was but he could sure use some of it right now.
:you still awake?
He sent simply, praying she was up and that she'd reply.
nadira🍯: yes hello ☺️
: hey mama. you busy?
nadira🍯: no sir. Chanel fell asleep on me, you okay?
: no not really, i wanted to talk to you.
nadira🍯: what's your address?
: you don't have to do that, dira
nadira🍯: i know i don't. gimme your address gionni
He sent it to her, and she let him know she'd be there in a few minutes. For some reason he was very nervous for her to come. He didn't expect her to want to come talk to her in person, but he was kind of glad she did.
As promised, Nadira knocked on Gionni's door fifteen minutes later. He rushed to put a shirt over his head as he ran down to get the door for her. Once he opened it, he smiled at the sight of Nadira, in a pair of nike leggings, what looked to be her high school t-shirt and her curly hair in a puff ball on top of her head, with a scarf tied around it.
Beautiful ass girl, he mused to himself, moving to the side to let her in. "Can I sit anywhere? Should I take my shoes off?" she asked him, gazing around his living room.
"Uh yeah, lemme take em' you can sit," he told her, grabbing her adidas slides off the ground and taking them to the front door.
Once he returned, Nadira was sitting curled up in the corner of his couch, making him smile a bit to himself. Once she caught his eyes, she sent him a bright smile, patting the seat next to her. He took her invitation, flopping down on the couch with a heavy sigh.
"Talk to me, what's the matter?" she asked, turning face him. He let out another breath running his hands down his face, and hesitated a bit before speaking.
"I uh, I finally got to the bottom of Nayeli's problems and it's eating me alive," he told her honestly. Nadira's eyebrows shot up in surprise, that he'd be so open about his daughter seeing as she's one of her students, but she continued to pay attention nevertheless.
He told her the in and out of the story from the day and broken hearted was an understatement of what Nadira was feeling.
"I just-I feel like I failed her man. I'm supposed to be there to protect her. She was alone and scared and I wasn't there! I couldn't do a thing to help her, my baby," he broke down into tears for the second time that day, much to Nadira's surprise.
She reached out and wrapped her arm around his back, rubbing it and trying to soothe him. "I'm so sorry y'all are going through this G," she said somberly, "I know this must hurt but you didn't fail her, Gionni. There's nothing you could have changed if you didn't know, but now that you do know, you're doing everything in your power to keep your baby safe. That's a parent, Gionni you're doing everything you can do. She's young, but she's gonna remember this, you saved her from a really dangerous situation and she's gonna remember it for the rest of her life," she spoke to him, as his tears began to dry up. "It's gonna be okay. You guys are gonna be fine, I know it." She smiled, removing her arm from his back.
Gionni lifted his head, looking Nadira in her eyes, with her smile still reaching her ears and he felt something. The best way he could describe it was a spark. Something about her looked so angelic and he was so drawn to it.
Just friends, G.
hey y'all 🤗
i hope y'all enjoyed this chapterrrr. how are we feeling about my baby nayeli 😕?
how bout the song for this chapter? y'all know it 👀?
do y'all like the whole double update thing? bc i'll keep doing it 😂. let me know summmm. but anyway, thank you so much for reading, please leave me a comment (or two) and a vote.
till next time ❤️