Page 23 of Phone On DND
“Whatever, Cruz.”
He didn’t seem to notice my irritation as he resumed flipping through the mail. Lifting up one in particular, he studied it for a second before separating it from the others. “I’m bouta go in here for a minute,” he said, disappearing into the office without looking at me. Childishly, I made a face at his closed door before getting back to work.Fuck Cruz!I still had a lot of paperwork to do anyway, and I didn’t need him distracting me with his fineness.
He was barely in there for ten minutes when I heard him talking loudly. A part of me wanted to be nosy but didn’t want to take the risk of getting caught. I couldn’t help feeling like he was in there talking to another woman, and I wondered if he’d been fucking her since my access was denied. I tried hard to focus on my work, and when Cruz finally came storming out, I didn’t evenlook up. He barely tossed out a be right back on his way out the door.Asshole!
Cruz never came back like he said he was going to, but I’d already gotten used to that over the last few days. After locking up, I headed to the store for a few last-minute food items for dinner. I’d finally gotten my link benefits, but I hadn’t had time to fully go shopping yet. I planned to go on the weekend though, when I was off.
It was a surprisingly quick trip, which I was grateful for because I still needed to get the kids from Ms. Anna. I loved my kids, but I really couldn’t wait until school started back up. Having to figure out what to do with them was getting exhausting, but Ms. Anna was a godsend.
She came to the door all smiles, even though I knew she was tired as hell, and the twins were right on her heels. “How were they today?” I asked, accepting the bag she held out to me.
“They were perfect angels, but I do think their old good-for-nothing daddy was trying to call them,” she grumbled lowly so the kids couldn’t hear and I rolled my eyes. I had no clue why Javon had decided to bother my kids out the blue, but I hoped it wasn’t for any bullshit.
“Hmmm, I don’t know what he’s thinking when he ain’t talked to them in all this time, but he better tread lightly.” I rolled my eyes and ushered the kids out the door, but Ms. Anne stopped me with a warm hand.
“You know you’re doing a good job, right?” She smiled, looking up at me sweetly. “You’re raising smart, well-behaved children, and considering how much crap has been thrown your way, you still hold your head up and do what needs to be done. I just thought you should know that. I see you, honey.” She had my eyes misting from that random encouragement, and I almost didn’t know what to say.
“T-thank you, Ms. Anne,” I choked out, making her rub my hand softly.
“You’re more than welcome, honey. You know, sometimes it helps us mothers just to hear that, and I thought you ought to know.” She gave a nod and finally shuffled back inside. I waited until she was safely behind her door before walking away as I blinked back tears. She’d certainly been right; hearing that had me feeling good. Sure, I knew I was doing everything I could as a mother, but there were always doubts about if it was enough. I felt more guilty about the things I wasn’t able to do rather than being proud of what I was doing, more than I cared to admit. It also didn’t help that I’d picked Javon to be their daddy. I often wondered if they would grow up with issues because of the bad choices I’d made, but I also prayed every night that they wouldn’t.
Ms. Anne probably didn’t know it, but she’d made my whole week, and I was going to make sure I picked up a little something for her the next time I was out. I was sure she appreciated the money I’d pay for babysitting, but she’d love a cute gift.
When I finally got the kids settled down inside, I went to clean up and change so I could start dinner. It was still pretty hot, so once I got out of the shower, I threw on a pair of biker shorts and a cropped t-shirt, then made my way down to the kitchen, making sure to stop and check on the kids in the living room. Thankfully, they were still watching TV quietly and not arguing or flipping around the house.
I cut on some music in the kitchen as I started prepping the food, and when “Butterflies” by Queen came on, Cruz instantly came to mind. Despite his distance the last couple of days, he’d been showing me a different side of himself. He was still crazy for some of the shit he said, but damn if he hadn’t shown up for me and the twins more than Javon ever had in just the span of two days. I felt like everything he said he meant, which was morethan I could say for any man I’d come in contact with in the last seven years. And the way he’d done my body, I was still having flashbacks. I knew that he’d put our shit on the back burner until I got shit together, but I planned to have a serious talk with him about how I really felt, even though he’d already read me like a book. Not getting my feelings involved had been a defense mechanism that I’d picked up over the years, but maybe it was really time to let that go.
I was singing along to some Kiana Lede when the doorbell went off. Knowing that the twins wouldn’t hesitate to answer it despite me warning them not to, I tried to rush and move the chicken off the fire. When I passed the living room and saw they weren’t on the couch anymore, I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t you open that door, Kari!” I shouted once I found them preparing to unlock the door. I damn near tripped over my own feet to get to them, but it was already too late. Javon and his fiancée stood there looking like she was ready for a girl fight, in some sweats and comfortable sneakers with her under-the-wig braids exposed.
“Bitch, did you really put Javon on child support like he ain’t already giving you money every month for these kids?” she spoke before he did, probably getting amped up just to be able to say that shit. I had only ever been around the woman a handful of times, but considering how she was coming at me, Javon had been filling her head with bullshit.
“Oh, you send me money every month, lying ass dummy?” I swung my head over to him and watched as his face reddened under my gaze. I couldn’t believe he was lying to her ass, but then again, it was Javon, and all his ass knew how to do was the exact opposite of what he was supposed to do. He sucked his teeth but knew better than to call me a liar.
“Watch your fucking mouth!”
“Girl, fuck you and this stupid ass nigga!” I snorted, riling her up. Neveah lunged for me, but Javon held her back like he hadn’t brought her over here for this bullshit. Shoving my shocked kids behind me, I went to close the door on them both, but he quickly stuck his foot in the way.
“Why you put me on fuckin’ child support, bro! You know how much they gone be tryna take out my check! You a petty, bitter ass bitch for this shit!” He was yelling loud as hell, unfazed by the kids being right there, screaming and crying in terror. I’d never hated his ass so much! If my kids hadn’t been there, I would’ve certainly gone upside his and his bitch’s head. They were my first priority though.
“Kids, please go upstairs!” I shouted once Neveah began helping him push against the door. They seemed frozen, unable to move their feet as their daddy acted crazy. “Go! Now!”
They both took off, feet barreling down the hall to do what I said. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard them on the stairs and tried to put all of my strength into holding the door. “What the fuck goin’ on!”
I gasped, hearing Cruz’s voice over the ruckus, and their weight against the door suddenly went away, causing it to slam shut. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and my body shook as I went to open it back up. Cruz had Javon hemmed up against my porch while he held a feral Neveah off at gunpoint.
“Oh my god! Cruz!” fell from my mouth, drawing his eyes to me. He grinned coolly, hoping to put me at ease, but I was far from calm. I looked around to make sure no one was out watching and cringed when I saw Ms. Anne’s nosy self sitting in the window.
“It’s cool, baby, go back inside with the kids.” Cruz’s voice was just as calm as his demeanor, and I started to do what he said.
“I knew you had this nigga over here with my kids, triflin’ ass!” Javon had the nerve to talk shit like he wasn’t at a disadvantage. He glared at me as he struggled to get free, but Cruz held him firmly without breaking a sweat and grinned sinisterly, smashing him in the face with the gun quickly before returning it to Neveah.
“Yep, and I be eating their fruit snacks and shit, pussy ass nigga! Shit, I be eating Keyani’s too!” He smirked salaciously and winked my way. “I definitely understand why you so fuckin’ butt hurt. I only had it once and I’m feignin’ like Jodeci. I know damn well this bitch pussy probably weak as fuck in comparison.” He took a shot at Neveah, and while I normally wouldn’t have appreciated how vulgar he was being, my ass blushed from the compliment. His crazy was obviously rubbing off on me.
“You just gone let him talk about me like that, Von!” Neveah shrieked, waving her arms wildly.
“Shit, he know it’s true, that’s why he ain’t said shit.” Cruz shrugged then looked down into Javon’s contrite face. “Gone, try and validate this hoe feelings, nigga,” he encouraged while Javon remained silent, jaw tight and eyes blazing, making Cruz laugh.
