Page 69 of Just Listen
“Then I was cutting that shit short. Daddy’s home.”
I could hear Tootie snickering, before I abruptly ended the call.
“I see now that we’re gonna have to set some boundaries. Why did you just pop up without calling?”
“Because I wanted to.”
I turned to head back upstairs. “Okay. Don’t say nothing when you be looking stupid, making a blank trip. I was just about to pack it up and head home.”
“Home?”
“Yeah. I go back and forth between here and my parents’. This is frankly the longest I’ve ever been here. I honestly spend more time over there.”
“Okay. That was then. I’m here now. And you don’t need to run to ya mama and daddy’s when I’m trying to build a bond with my daughter.”
I sighed. “Whatever.”
“I’m serious,” he insisted, as we made it to the second floor, and he immediately approached Khari, and removed her out of the swing.
Saying nothing, I sat on the sectional, while quietly observing. He handled my baby with care, as he cradled her, and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, mama,” he spoke softly, as she was gleefully cooing.
Sitting there, something stirred in my stomach, as I witnessed something I thought that I never would. I had never romanticized this situation and had accepted things for what they were. So, this was unquestionably a curveball I didn’t see coming. Malice was here, and he wanted to be father to our child. And I wasn’t mad at it, but I still had questions.
“So, are we gonna talk about what happened to your face?” I asked, as he sat not too far away from me with Khari in his arms.
He smirked, while gazing at me. “When I told Paisley everything…she didn’t take it too well.”
The back of my neck grew hot, as I felt a flash of guilt. I already hated how I’d intentionally placed some distance between myself and Paisley, and had basically ghosted her. No, I hadn’t blocked her, but I would ignore her calls, and leave her texts on read, until she eventually stopped reaching out. We hadn’t had one conversation, after I realized that Malice washerKhamere, and I felt bad about that.
“I would lie and say that I’m surprised, but I’m not. Did you tell her that it was me?”
He shook his head. “It never got to that. She was already on ten…so had I actually told her that it was you…she probably would’ve tried to kill my ass.”
“Yeah,” I inhaled. “No matter what you say…it’s gonna be about how it looks.”
“Exactly.”
“Right,” I concurred, while becoming lost in my thoughts.
“So, what’s Khari’s full name?” He decided to ask.
I twisted my lips. “Khari Tye Braxton.”
“Braxton, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay. Then we need to change that. ASAP. She gotta have my last name.”
“Alright,” I easily agreed, because the request was reasonable. “We can do that.”
“And…I wanna do my part financially. So, we need to discuss her expenses.”
“Umm…” I had to think about it, because I honestly didn’t keep up with what I spent on Khari. “She’s only six months, Malice. So, I…I don’t know what I need you—”
“I didn’t ask what you needed me to do. I don’t care if you got a billion dollars. Let me do my part,” he persisted.
