"Thank you, baby." Heather smiled as she stood on her tippy toes and kissed Amaru's lips. A month has passed and Heather was able to fully move into her new place.
Amaru had just finished putting up the bed for her. "You're welcome, mamas. You need me to do something else for you?"
"Yes, but that has to wait until later because I have to pick up Micah and take him to his dad's." Heather said.
"And I have to see if Kill's mama is going to get him today. She hasn't been responding so I might have to swing by her place." Amaru said, checking his phone again.
A couple of weeks ago, Simone stopped by Amaru's place to make a promise to Amaru and Killian to be more active in Killian's life. She was very sincere about it and it almost made Amaru cry when he saw Killian forgive his mother with a hug and kiss.
"Okay, baby. Thank you for helping me out today."
"Anything for you, beautiful. I'll see you later." They kissed again and Amaru headed out of the townhouse.
Amaru hopped in his car and called Simone's phone again, only to be sent to voicemail. He sighed as he continued to drive to Simone's place to see what was going on and why she wasn't answering his calls.
Once he got there, he knocked on the door a few times, but didn't get an answer. He sighed once again as he pulled out his phone to call the authorities.
"9-1-1, what's your emergency?" The woman asked.
"May I get a wellness check for my son's mother? She's supposed to be getting him today, but I haven't heard from her in almost four days." Amaru had to make it seem longer because he knew they weren't going to send anyone if he said twelve hours.
"Okay, what's her address? Are you there now?" Amaru told her the address and did advise her that he was there. "Okay, we have a unit in that area. They should be there in ten minutes."
"Okay, thank you." Amaru hung up the phone and decided to wait in his car until police arrived.
-
Amaru walked into Big Mama's house and sighed when he saw Killian sitting on the couch with his backpack next to him. "Daddy!" Killian shouted as he watched him walk into the living room. "You talked to my mommy? She was supposed to be here an hour ago."
"Kill, I—I—" Amaru couldn't help the tears that escaped from his eyes.
"Daddy?" Killian said. "What's wrong?"
"What's going on?" Big Mama asked as she entered the living room. "What's the matter, Amaru?"
"I'm sorry, Killian. Your mommy's gone." Amaru cried.
"What do you mean?" Killian asked.
"Hello, how are you?" The officer said. "You stated that you haven't talked to your son's mother in four days?"
Amaru nodded. "Correct, and she's supposed to be keeping our son over the weekend. I just want to make sure she's alright."
"Okay, the only thing I can do is knock on the door and peep through the windows. Because I don't have a search warrant, I'm not allowed to break down the door if there isn't an answer or if I don't see anything." The officer explained.
"Okay." Amaru replied.
The officer knocked on the front and back door first. When he didn't get an answer, he peeped through the windows with opened blinds. Once he got to the third window, he was taken aback with what he saw. Amaru noticed the officer's reaction and immediately became concerned.
"What happened?" He asked.
The officer quickly called for backup on his radio.
"I called the police and—and the officer found her on her living room floor bloody. Somebody hurt your mommy and she's not coming back." Amaru explained as he cried along with Killian. It was hurting him to tell his son this bad news.
Killian wrapped his arms around Amaru as he cried. He was very excited to spend time with his mother because she promised she would do better and he believed it. Now she's gone with a blink of an eye and his five year old heart didn't know how to accept it.
-
"He's asleep." Amaru said to everyone as they all sat in Big Mama's living room. It was currently one in the morning and everyone wanted to be there for Killian and Amaru.
"I hope they find out who did this." Mya said. "My baby should not be going through this."
"Sit down, baby." Heather said, patting the spot next to her.
"Nah, I'm about to go to the police station to see what's going on." Amaru replied.
"Amaru, sit down. You're not about to go to them folks station. Let them do their job." Big Mama said.
"My son needs answers, mama. Somebody killed Simone and he deserves answers!" Amaru snapped.
"Bro, let them—"
"Fuck that shit!" Amaru lashed out. "My son fucking cried for twelve hours straight! Somebody's gonna tell me something!"
"Amaru, listen! You can't go down there! You're just gonna slow down their investigation! Let them do what they need to do!" Big Mama preached. "I know you're hurting, but you need to be strong for little man. He needs you now more than ever."
Amaru couldn't help but break down and cry. Not only was Simone his baby mother, but she was also his first love. Even though they had their issues, the love was still there. And to think that Killian only had one parent living hurt him even more. His five year old son should not know what this pain felt like.
Heather stood up and gave Amaru a comforting hug. She wished she could take the pain away, but this was all she could do. Everyone else gathered around, hoping that they could provide some comfort as well.
-
A few days later, Amaru sat in the principal's office along with Heather and Killian. Killian got into a fight with one of his classmates on the playground and ended up splitting the little boy's lip. An incident report had to be filled out and Killian was about to be suspended for three days.
"If he offends again, then he will be expelled. We do not tolerate this behavior at Briarcrest Christian School." The principal said.
"I apologize. My son has been going through a lot this past week and hasn't been handling his emotions well. I'll be sure to have a talk with him and look into anger management." Amaru replied.
"Thank you, Mr. King. I love Killian and I know he's a sweet boy. I'll be keeping the both of you in my prayers." The principal said.
Amaru thanked her and they both walked out of the office with Heather following behind him. "I'll stop by later." She said once they reached the front door. She bent down and kissed Killian's forehead. "I love you. Be good for your daddy, okay?"
Killian nodded as tears came up in his eyes. "I'm sorry, Ms. McDaniel."
Heather engulfed him in a tight hug, making him become less tense. "Everything's gonna be okay, baby." After giving Killian a hug, Heather gave Amaru one as well. "I'll see you soon."
Amaru nodded and softly kissed her cheek. After that, they went their separate ways. Amaru helped Killian in his car seat before getting in the drivers seat. He started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, making his way home.
"What happened, Kill?" Amaru asked.
"He kept bothering me!" Killian shouted, getting amped up. "I told him to leave me alone, but he wouldn't! I was just sitting on the bench minding my business because I didn't feel like playing on the playground today!"
"Did you tell Ms. McDaniel?" Amaru said.
"No, I was trying to walk away but he shoved me and that's when I started hitting him." Killian said.
The other little boy received a one day suspension once they looked at the surveillance. Since Killian caused the most damage and did not stop when the teachers broke it up, he received a longer suspension.
"I understand you were angry, but you should've told Ms. McDaniel and she would have handled the situation. I'm going to get you into counseling to help you with your anger and emotions, okay?" Amaru explained calmly.
"Okay, I'm sorry daddy." Killian said as he began to cry.
"It's okay, son. I love you."
"I love you too."
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