Page 150 of Own It

Gripping my jaw and making me look at him, he said, “She not worth it. If anybody knows how unworthy she is, baby, it’s me. I love you. Nobody else matters to a nigga when it comes to you.” He kept his eyes trained on mine to be sure I understood, and though I knew everyone in the section could hear them, it was apparent that his words were only intended for my ears. “You the queen, and she irrelevant. Love don’t mean shit to me unless it’s coming from you.”

I nodded, calming down completely, which was something I’d never done when I was prepared to battle. The patrons in the section seemed to all silence themselves as Rakim spoke to me, despite this message not being for them. He had that kind of power though.

Seemingly snapping out of the trance, now that Rakim had finished speaking and subduing me, Ayan screamed, “I knew it, you dirty ass bitch! I also know them kids ain’t mine! They his!” He pointed at Rakim, making my stomach drop and everyone’s else mouth fall ajar even more.

“No—”

“Yeah, Daylin! Yo’ nigga got two kids with my bitch! He ain’t tell you that shit, huh? He been fucking her the whole time!” Ayan started toward me, running his mouth and cutting LaMia off.

“Take another step and you dead, nigga,” Rakim warned, and Ayan stopped coming toward me so abruptly it appeared as if he’d hit an invisible wall. “Come on,” he told me, so I stood up once I was sure he’d put himself away.

“Fuck! I can’t even enjoy my first birthday without my twin!” Josias roared, plopping down while Tarin massaged his neck to which he nudged her off.

The party below was still in full effect since they had no idea what had been going on in Josias’s private section. Rakim and I made our way to the bathroom to clean up, pee, and then wash our hands before leaving out to the car.

Once we were both inside and on the road, I asked, “There is no way her kids could be yours, right?”

“At all, Baby. If I even thought they were or that there could’ve been a chance, I would’ve tested them a long ass time ago. I don’t play that shit,” he voiced, and I relaxed against the heated seats.

“When was the last time you were with her?” I asked, stomach queasy because I didn’t know if I wanted to know. While I believed Rakim, his timeline could be off.

“Couple weeks after I got out, but I wore a condom and didn’t even finish. Not to mention she was around four months pregnant about seven months after that shit. It ain’t possible, Day.”

I nodded, because according to that math, he was right.

“Why would he say that then?”

Rakim shook his head, eyes on the road and face filled with distress.

“Can’t say, love. But Ayan always been a fragile ass nigga. Fragile ego, fragile ass self-esteem, fragile mindset, and at one point, a fragile ass jaw.”

I was quiet, pondering on everything. I knew it was very likely that Ayan was only talking shit to mess with what Rakim and I had, but I was still feeling uneasy, and I couldn’t say why.

“Okay,” I stated instead of spilling my thoughts.

Reaching over, Rakim interlocked his fingers with mine, making me look at him.

“If you want, I can get a DNA test to show you I’m the uncle and not the father.”

“If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t.” He shook his head.

“They do have your eyes,” I joked to lighten the mood. I didn’t want him to think I didn’t trust him, because that wasn’t quite it. I just didn’t like the thought of the possibility being in the air.

“He is my brother, baby.”

“I know, I’m kidding.”

“Only kid I got is the one probably swimming inside you right about now.” He smirked, making me suck my teeth. “Shit was a lot, love. Think I put triplets in you back in that club.”

“Ugh.” I scoffed, laughing with him. “Thank you though.” I reached across to toy with his healthy and moisturized beard.

“For?”

“Always making sure I’m comfortable, even emotionally.”

“That’s my fucking job.”