“I’m good, but I want you to be on your best behavior when we get to the hospital,” I said smiling at her.
“What? I’m always on my best behavior,” she replied.
“Tiffany is up there,” I said looking at her for her reaction.
“I’m not worrying about her. I have two kids that depend on me. I don’t have time to be out here fighting with nobody. I’m here to support you everybody else is irrelevant,” she replied waving me off.
That wasn’t the reply that I expected, but I fell in love with her new attitude. We pulled up to the hospital and took the elevator up to the maternity ward. I saw my mama standing in the hall talking on her phone, but she got off when she saw us walking up. Tiffany and her father sat in two chairs outside of Kennedi’s door, but nobody said anything. My mama hugged Brooklyn and Candace and told me that I could go into the room to see the baby. I wanted my wife to come with me, but I know that wasn’t a good idea. I opened the door slowly and walked into the room. Kennedi looked at me with a frown on her face as soon as our eyes connected. She was holding the baby, but she had her wrapped up in a blanket with a little pink hat on her head.
“How do you feel?” I asked only because I really didn’t know what else to say. We didn’t divorce under good terms, and we’re far from being cordial with each other.
“I just had a baby. How do you think I feel?” She snapped with her usual nasty attitude.
I ignored her and walked over to get a good look at the baby. She tried to protest, but I took the baby out of her arms anyway. I looked down at her and put my index finger in her tiny little hand. She gripped my finger tightly just like all babies do at that age. I couldn’t deny the fact that she’s a beautiful baby, even though, her mother was a royal bitch. Holding her reminded me of the first time that I held Dominique, and I started to feel kind of emotional. Kennedi is watching me intently, but she never utters a word as she wipes away the few tears that fell from her eyes.
“You can’t be a bitch all of your life Kennedi. The least you can do is call the man and let him know that he has a daughter. He has a right to know, and he needs to be in her life,” I said while looking over at her. She didn’t reply, but she broke down crying when I finished talking. She can never in this lifetime or the next try to convince me that this is my baby. She’s every bit of Scott from her sandy brown hair to her almost white complexion and light hazel eyes. God must have heard my prayers even when I didn’t think He was listening, and I’m so grateful.
KENNEDI
“Dominic I swear that it only happened one time,” I lied. I’d actually slept with Scott a total of three times, but we only used protection twice. I never would have thought that the one time we didn’t use protection I would get pregnant. I slept with Dominic the same day and two days after that. I just automatically assumed that he was the father. I was so embarrassed when the nurse came back into my room with my baby and Mrs. Liz saw her. She looked at me like I was crazy and laughed right in my face. She didn’t even attempt to hold my daughter before she walked out of my room.
“One time is all it takes Kennedi. There’s no need to apologize to me. You just made me one of the happiest men in the world,” he said seriously.
“I never meant to hurt you Dominic,” I cried feeling like a damn fool.
“What part don’t you understand? I’m not hurt I’m relieved. Both of my kids are with my wife, and that’s all I’ve ever wanted,” he said.
I cringed when he referred to Brooklyn as his wife, even though, that’s who she was.
“You don’t have to say it like that. She’s an innocent baby, don’t act like she’s a disease,” I snapped.
“This has nothing to do with your baby. This is about me finally being rid of you for good. That’s what I’m happy about. As far as your daughter, you need to call Scott and make him man up and handle his business,” he said seriously.
I didn’t want any advice from him, and I was about to go off on his ass until Mrs. Liz walked into the room. I don’t have a problem with her, but it’s who came in with her that I had the problem with.
“Who told you to bring her into my room?” I yelled angrily when I saw Brooklyn walk in. I don’t know why, but looking at her always made me feel so ugly. She had her long hair curled and flowing down her back while the dress she wore showed off her almost perfect shape.
“She’s here for her husband, but you better watch your tone with me. I’m done being nice to your stuck up ass,” Mrs. Liz replied.
“Bring me my baby,” I demanded as Dominic stood up with my daughter. He walked over to let Brooklyn get a good look at her. She looked at my baby long and hard before she laughed and shook her head.
“What’s funny hoe?” I snapped as I felt my pressure start to rise.
“I’m a hoe, but both of my kids are with my husband. I didn’t have to wait until I had them to know it. I knew it from the start. Give her back her baby and let’s go Dominic. That’s one birth certificate that you won’t be signing,” she replied before she walked out of my room.
Dominic handed me my daughter and followed behind his wife like a little trained dog. Mrs. Liz looked at me and frowned before she walked out on me as well. Tiffany came rushing back into the room and sat on the side of my bed.
“Are you alright Kennedi?” She asked right before I broke down and cried. She held on to me and let my liquid pain fall onto her shoulders.
Aside from her and my new bundle of joy, I feel like I’m all alone. Sad thing is I don’t have anyone to blame, but myself.
****
I stayed in the hospital for four days before Starr, and I were released three weeks ago. I had a fever that wouldn’t go away, and I stayed in a little longer than usual. I finally called Scott and told him about his daughter. He came to the hospital with his mother and aunt who demanded a paternity test. They paid to have it done at the hospital, and the results came back two days later. He was upset when I told him that I wanted to name her Diamond because he thought that it was too close to Dominic. We agreed to name her Starr instead. Since the paternity test proved that he was the father, he signed her birth certificate and gave her his last name. He’s been talking about us being together, but I’m kind of unsure about that. Scott is very handsome, but he can’t afford to give me the life that I’m accustomed to living. He has a job, but he’s barely making it on the little money that he’s being paid. His family seems nice, but I can tell that he’s not very close with them. They’ve been going crazy buying Starr all kinds of clothes and everything else that they can think of. Tiffany laughed when I referred to them as trailer park trash, but that’s what they seem like to me. Family or not, Starr would not be associating with them too much if I can help it. His mother was always asking when she can come and get her, but I didn’t want to hurt her feelings.
“Please tell me that you’re not going to meet up with Kyle again,” I said as Tiffany walked into the kitchen. I stood at the counter making Starr’s bottles when she walked in fully dressed.
Tiffany stayed at the hospital with me the entire time that I was there, but she was always on the phone with Kyle. Her black eye had finally healed, and I would hate for him to give her another one. He’s been wining and dining her trying to get her back, and I could tell that it’s working. She had her hair and nails freshly done yesterday, and I could see that her outfit was new. He’s buying his way back in, and she seems to be for sale.
“Yes, I’m going to meet up with Kyle again,” she repeated sarcastically. “What is your problem with him anyway?”
“My problem is that he uses you like you’re a human punching bag. Then he comes around and sweet talks his way back into your life like nothing happened, and you let him,” I replied.
“We’re not getting back together Kennedi. I’m not even moving back in with him. We need money, and he’s going to help me get it. We’re both unemployed and damn near broke. Your plan to get child support from Dominic backfired since he�
�s not Starr’s father. Scott is broke as hell so he can’t help you with too much. I’m doing this for the both of us, not just for me,” she rambled.
“I still don’t like it Tiffany. As much as I don’t want to, I’ll call my father for help if it means that you don’t have to do anything illegal. He’s less than a man to even have you doing that shit.”
“Just trust me Kennedi. Two more days and we’ll have enough money to last us for at least four months.”
“Yeah okay,” I said brushing her off.
“And you need to stop being so mean to Scott. I know he’s not paid like Dominic, but he really does love you. That’s more than you can say for your ex-husband. He’s been here every day since you and Starr came home, and you won’t even let the man stay the night over with his daughter.
“Don’t try to take the focus off of you. We’re continuing this conversation whenever you come back,” I replied.
“Okay, I’m out of here. I’ll be back later on tonight to get fussed at,” she said as she kissed me on my cheek.
“Yeah right, just like the last time,” I yelled after her.
She told me a few days ago that she would be back later and didn’t come back for two whole days. I don’t know what kind of hold Kyle has on her, and I don’t want to find out. I finished making Starr’s bottles and put them in the refrigerator just as someone started ringing my doorbell.
I peeped out of the window and saw Scott standing there in his work uniform. For the past few days, he’s been coming to see the baby right after he got off. He would always ask to stay the night, but I never let him.
“Hey,” I said when I opened the door for him.
“Hey. Is she up?” He asked referring to Starr.
“Nope, she never is when you come over so stop asking,” I replied nastily.
“Why do you always have an attitude? I just asked a simple question,” he said shaking his head.
I didn’t mean to snap like I did, but this is not how I pictured my life. It’s not Scott’s fault, but he’s the only one here for me to take it out on.
“Look, I’m sorry for going off, but I’m just aggravated.”
“You’re not aggravated you’re miserable. You’ve spent your whole life getting your way, and you can’t handle the fact that things have changed. I’m trying to help you with Starr, and you won’t even let me do that. I’m cool if you don’t want to be with me, but at least let me be here for my daughter,” he ranted.
I stood there in shock. Scott has never spoken to me like that before. He’s always been so passive, and I took advantage of that. I guess he must have a backbone, after all.
“I appreciate you wanting to help, but she’s too young for you to take her to your house. And honestly, you need to clean that place up before I ever allow my daughter to even visit.” I had been to Scott’s house a few times and it’s no place for a baby.
“Well, what’s wrong with me staying over here once or twice a week? I can sleep on the sofa or the floor if that’ll make you feel better. I’m not trying to get close to you, I’m trying to get close to my daughter,” he said.
“Maybe you can stay over tomorrow night Scott,” I offered.
“What’s wrong with me staying tonight? I can run home and pack a bag right now,” he said sounding hopeful.
My mind was telling me to say no, but my sleep deprived body screamed yes.
“I guess it’s okay,” I replied sounding unsure. He jumped up and left as soon as the words left my mouth. I just hope I don’t regret it.
Scott is cool, but I don’t want him to get the wrong impression about us. Me sleeping with him was a mistake that I didn’t want to happen again. He caught me at my most vulnerable time, and he took advantage of it. He would always tell me something about Brooklyn and Dominic and then turn around and tell me how much he’s been feeling me. The first time we slept together was when Tiffany and I ran into him outside of Starbucks. That was the same day that he told me about Dominic buying Brooklyn a car. He invited me to lunch, and we went back to his place after that. The whole time that we were there he kept telling me how much Dominic loved Brooklyn. He made me feel like a fool for being faithful to a man that he said was not faithful to me.
It was about two in the morning when I woke up to hear Starr screaming at the top of her little lungs over the baby monitor. Scott had her before I went to sleep, but he must have been sleeping now too. I got up and headed down the hall to her nursery. She must be hungry because she was trying to stuff her whole fist into her mouth. I picked her up and walked downstairs to warm her bottle. I saw Scott knocked out on my sofa with two empty beer cans and an empty bottle of some other kind of liquor on the floor. He must have bought it from home because I never kept liquor in the house since Dominic left.
After dealing with Starr for half of the night, I don’t blame him for wanting a drink. I sat down in the recliner next to where he slept and fed Starr her bottle. I turned on the TV to keep me company since I would be up for a while. I turned on the news just as the rebroadcast came on. I listened intently as the reporter talked about a shooting that left a man and woman dead. They were found in a car in the parking lot of a casino a few hours ago. The reporter went on to say that two masked men dressed in all black were caught on camera opening fire on the couple, but they still had no leads or witnesses. They switched the camera to the earlier crime scene, and I almost dropped my baby when I saw Tiffany’s car surrounded by yellow crime scene tape. I knew it was her silver Lexus because she has a bumper sticker with Bryce’s shop info on the back. I had called her twice before I went to sleep, but she never answered.
“Oh God no, please don’t let that be her,” I mumbled as I tried to call her phone again. When it went straight to voicemail, I really started to panic. I was about to dial her father’s number when someone knocked on my door.
“Scott get up,” I yelled as I shook his arm. It was after two in the morning, and I knew that a knock at the door was not good.
“What’s up?” He asked sitting up on the sofa.
“Somebody’s knocking, I know that something is wrong, I can feel it,” I said as I began to cry.
“Calm down Kennedi. Give me the baby and go see who it is,” he replied calmly.
I handed Starr to her father right as my phone began to ring. My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach when I saw my uncle Thomas calling.
“Hello,” I answered in a shaky voice.
“Kennedi I know it late, but I’m at your door,” he replied.
I didn’t respond before I hung up and rushed to let him in. He didn’t even need to tell me what happened. His bloodshot eyes and tear stained face was my confirmation. I dropped down to the floor and let out a blood-curdling scream that I didn’t even recognize. I begged her to leave Kyle alone, but she didn’t listen. Just like I knew it would, messing with him had cost my cousin her life. And sadly, all the dirt he’d done had cost Kyle his life as well.
BROOKLYN
Since I’m headed back to school next week, Dominic decided to take the day off to chill with me and our kids. We hit up the mall and just about every shoe store that we passed. After getting my books and school supplies, we decided to take DJ to Chuck E. Cheese to let him play for a while before we went home. Dominic held the baby while I ran around with him until he got tired. Since finding out that Kennedi’s baby wasn’t his we hadn’t heard from her anymore. We don’t have any issues at the moment, but that’s one less problem that we have to worry about. I can’t even lie and say that I wasn’t shocked by the revelation. I would have never thought that she would have cheated on Dominic with Scott of all people. Especially since she went crazy when she found out that Dominic was cheating on her with me.
I swear it’s hard finding somebody that you can really trust these days. Even Kevin turned out to be a snake. When Candace told us about him being the one to cause me and Taylor’s accident I was livid. I understood him being pissed with me, but Taylor and our kids didn
’t have anything to do with it. Dominic wanted to get at him again, but he went to jail before he had a chance to find him. He and Shannon are facing more than twenty years in jail for going around robbing people. I don’t feel sorry for his ass one bit. He deserves everything that happens to him.
“I just need to swing by the office to sign some contracts before we go home. I won’t be more than two minutes,” Dominic said as we drove towards his office. We were on our way home when David called him to come by. DJ and Dominique were both in their car seats sleeping. As soon as we got into the car they were out cold. I plan to go home and cook dinner before they get up and demand all of my attention. As soon as we pulled up to the office I got heated when I saw Kennedi standing out front. She looked a hot ass mess. Both her hair and her clothes were unkempt. I don’t know what’s going on, but David and two other employees were out front trying to calm her down. She’s screaming at the top of her lungs, but I can’t hear what she’s saying.
“Baby stay in the car and let me see what’s going on,” Dominic said.
“Okay,” I replied as he opened his door and got out. As soon as Kennedi saw my husband she rushed over to him and started screaming. I rolled my window down and listened to what she had to say.
“That bitch that you married and her brothers are going to jail for killing my cousin,” she yelled.
“Girl, what the hell are you talking about?” Dominic responded.
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Tiffany and Kyle got killed last night, and I know they did it. Bryce probably found out that they burned his shop down and had them killed,” she cried.
Hearing her say that got my attention. Dominic and I heard on the radio about a couple being killed, but they hadn’t been identified yet. We never did find out who burned Bryce’s shop down, but she’s telling it all right now. I turned the car back on so that my babies could get some air before I opened my door and stepped out.
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