She’d made it in town yesterday morning, and Taniya had been with her since then. Over the past few months, I’d become so fond of Taniya. I actually wasn’t ready for her to go back home when her mom eventually leaves Washington. Being around her just reminded me of the innocence of a child. I loved children when they were that age because they were so sweet. Vonte was the sweetest when he was Taniya’s age. That little boy stayed glued to my hip, and I loved every second of it.
With Taniya, it was different because she was a girl. Therefore, she wanted to do everything that I was doing, like wear make-up, well in her case play in it, putting on lip gloss, wearing cute outfits, and she’d even gone with me a couple of times to the nail salon.
“Ummm, what does Tahira like? We’re meeting so that she can meet me,” I chimed in, halfway paying attention to the conversation because I was too busy working on this damn report.
“It’s what you and my son want, shorty. You want seafood?” he asked.
I laughed in the middle of typing away on the computer as I listened to what he said.
“You’re delusional, like real damn delusional. Yes, I want seafood,” I let him know.
“Nahhh, you’re fuckin’ delusional. I can just feel that you’re pregnant. I swear I feel it. Plus, your auntie flow didn’t pop her ass up today, so I know we in there,” he said, and I rolled my eyes.
“The day isn’t over yet. Anyway, make the reservation at Flemming’s. Jabari took Mahogany there the other night, and she went on and on about the surf and turf that she had. I’m going to try to be out of here by five, so you can make the reservations for eight. That way, I have time to come home, take a shower, and everything. I don’t know why the hell I’m so nervous. Not nervous to meet your baby mama, of course, but just nervous that we won’t click. Granted, I’m not trying to be her best friend, but for the sake of Taniya, I want to be able to like her. Was she bringing her boyfriend as well?” I asked.
“She’s supposed to. Ultimately, as long as my daughter likes you, that’s really all that matters to me. At the same time, I don’t want to be that nigga whose girl and baby mama don’t get along. Tahira moved on, and so have I, so y’all really have no reason not to get along. We’re going to be straight, alright?” he asked.
“Okay, baby. I’ll call you when I leave here. I love you,” I cooed into the phone.
“Alright, Choc, I love you too. Be safe,” he said, and then we hung up the phone.
For the remainder of the workday, I placed my cell phone on do not disturb because I didn’t want to get too wrapped up in another phone call and start slacking on my work. With the speed that I was going right now, I could have it completed and still be able to get out at my usual time.
For the next two and a half hours, I sat in front of my desktop with soft music playing in the distance. At exactly 4:57, I submitted the report to my boss. Like my ass was on fire, I shot up from the chair that I was sitting in and gathered all my belongings, so I could get out of there. I speed walked all the way over to the room for me to sign out, and it was by the grace of God that my boss didn’t stop me and try to get me to stay because she was known for doing that.
Getting on the elevator, I saw a few other people who worked on the same floor as I did, and we all got off at the same floor, which was the main floor in the garage parking lot. My purse was on my shoulder. I had my blazer draped over my arm, and my keys were in my hand. As I got closer to my car, I noticed a small figure pressed against my Lexus.
I assumed that maybe that wasn’t my car, but the closer I got, and I saw the pink license plate, I was able to tell from the tag number that the car belonged to me. I knew then that my mind wasn’t playing tricks on me. I sighed because I did not want to tell this little girl to move away from my car. I would just go ahead and say it nicely. I mean, she was really leaned against my car like she was waiting for me.
Now that I was just inches away from her, I saw a duffle bag by her foot, and she had a small backpack on. The clothes that she wore looked as if they belonged to somebody older and bigger than her. Her hair resembled mine when I was younger, and my grandmother would take my braids out right before she washed my hair. Whoever had taken out her braids had done a half ass job because they hadn’t even fully taken them all out yet.
I approached her from the back, and she must have felt me because she turned around to face me. When my eyes landed on hers, I noticed the dried-up tears that were on her face along with the fresh ones. She looked scared for her life. I bent down in front of her. My face was calm as if I was talking to my baby. I didn’t want to scare her more than she probably already was.
“Where’s your mommy, pretty girl? Who are you out here with?” I asked.
She shrugged while using the bottom of her shirt to wipe her dirty face. She looked so familiar, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I’d seen this little girl before. I stared at her long and hard, trying to figure out where I had seen her, and that’s when it clicked. This was Krystal’s daughter. This was the same little girl that she was posting on her page. I hated trifling ass, social media parents. You really would have thought that she was the MVP of mothers by the way she portrayed herself online.
“Are you Krystal’s baby girl?” I asked.
It took her a while, but she eventually nodded her head up and down that she was. I didn’t even see how I wasn’t able to notice it upon first glance because she looked exactly like her mother.
“Who brought you out here? Did somebody leave you out here?”
I was trying to understand what the fuck was going on. Why the hell would Krystal’s daughter be left with her bags outside my damn job? I was trying to make this shit make sense, but I couldn’t. This was crazy to me. The little girl was so shaken up that I really couldn’t get answers from her. She was looking at me as if I was a ghost.
“Mmm… myyy… da… daddyy’ss mmm. Mammaa,” she stuttered badly.
My heart broke when she spoke. I just wanted to reach my arms out and hug her, but I didn’t want to scare her with it. She was scared enough. I think any little girl her age would be scared shitless if they were just dropped off somewhere without even a clue of where they were.
“Cccc. Cannnn. Yyy… youuu… hee… helppp… meee?” she cried.
My eyes watered up too because she was a fuckin’ baby, and someone had just dropped her off in this garage like her life meant nothing! Anything could have happened to her! Jackasses speed through this garage every day, and she could have been standing in the wrong place. Her little body could have been run over.
So many questions that I needed answered, like how long had she even been out there? Was this Trip’s daughter? Was that the daddy she was referring to? If so, then it meant that Trip’s mother left her at my job. I just didn’t see the part where I fit in with all of this.
With nothing but pure confusion on my face, I stared up at her with emptiness in my eyes, thinking that this little girl being dropped off right in front of my car at my place of business was just the start of some deep shit. This wasn’t going to end well. I could feel it in my soul.
To be continued
Join Our Mailing List!
Join our mailing list to get a notification when Leo Sullivan Presents has another release!
Text LEOSULLIVAN to 22828 to join!
To submit a manuscript for our review, email us at [email protected]
Get LiT!
Download the LiT app today and enjoy exclusive content, free books, and more!
sharethis-inline-share-buttons">share
Down With the King of the South 2 Page 19
