Page 97 of Intercept My Heart

By the time we made it to our room, Sunny’s light snores filled the truck. I planned to lay her down before I headed to the gym. I still had a lot of energy built up, so I figured I would get a workout in. There were a lot of things unfolding in my life right now that I needed to sort through. Sunny thought my hesitation to break things off with Harper was due to my feelings for her. Unfortunately, it was much deeper than that. There were a few things I needed to get to the bottom of first.

“Daddy, I’m worried.”

“What are you worried about?”

“Money hasn’t been right since we got back together. I don’t know what to do.” I paced around his office, praying he would be able to give me some insight into how to fix all of this.

“What has he been doing? He isn’t putting his hands on you, is he?”

“No. Money would never harm me, but the energy is off.”

“I’m sure things will be fine. The wedding will be here before you know it, and he may have cold feet. There is no need for you to worry.”

“I don’t know, Daddy. Things have been so weird lately. He never comes home anymore. Every time I turn around, he’s with that bitch and her bastards. I’ve been doing everything I can to keep his attention, but nothing is working.” I was fuming.

“I understand this is frustrating, but you have to relax. Have you been taking your medicine like we discussed?” My head dropped to avoid eye contact. We were outside discussing the current status of my and Money’s relationship, but I wasn’t expecting him to ask me about my mental health. I still didn’t understand why my parents were so worried about it. There was nothing wrong with me.

“I-I take it. Sometimes, I might forget a day or two, but for the most part, I’m fine.” His concerned eyes lingered on me for a while longer, disappointment reflecting through his orbs.

“Harper, you cannot go off of your meds. You know what happens when you go too long without taking them. We are almost at the finish line, sweetheart. Take your meds and do your part.” I nodded, not wanting to let my father down any further.

“I’ve got it.”

“Okay, now let’s get back into this house. There are a few things I need to talk to Money about.” We walked into the house together. His sons were here for the weekend, and I was patiently waiting for them to go back home. Only one of them seemed to have any manners, and the way they looked at me made me uncomfortable. They may have been children, but they carried themselves in a mature way. I didn’t know how to explain it.

After dinner, we returned to the house, and my father and Money headed down to the basement. At one point, they had a father-son relationship, but after Milani passed away, their relationship became strained. They still interacted with one another, but I’d noticed a distance between them over the years. My father acted as if it didn’t bother him, but I could tell it did.

“Aye, where’s the ice cream at?” I heard an irritated voice behind me. When I turned around, those boys stood in front of me.

“Who are you talking to?” I spat, annoyed by their presence. The only reason I stayed home was because Money mentioned how I usually disappeared when they were around. I wasn’t trying to do anything to rock the boat, so I tried to do what I could to accommodate him. Plus, I wanted him to see that I was serious about us making things work.

“You’re the only other person in the kitchen. I’m not the smartest, but the answer seems simple. Do you know what happened to the ice cream? We bought it last night, and it’s gone.” Moolah’s tone was as if he was interrogating me, and I didn’t care for it. At the end of the day, I was the adult in this situation.

“You might want to fix your tone talking to me. I’m not one of your little friends.”

“I’m aware. None of my friends have bags under their eyes or a dry scalp,” he retorted. I’d never put my hands on someone else’s child, but I wanted to beat him over the head with something heavy.

“Do you want me to ask the question slower?”

“Listen here, you little fucker. I don’t have to explain a damn thing to you in my house, but I’m tired of you being in my space. The ice cream is in the garbage with the rest of the junk food you brought into my house. We don’t eat that trash, and I won’t have it in my home. If you want to eat that ghetto, processed bullshit, you can do it at your mama’s house,” I shot back.

“We eat more than snacks at my mama’s house because she actually knows how to cook. I’ve never seen someone burn spaghetti before, but I guess that must be a special skill.” My jaw dropped as the smart-mouthed ingrate stood there while eating a handful of Skittles. Money pretended that his children were innocent, but all I saw were two demons sent here to ruin my life.

“Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“Naw, but it looks like you could use the beauty rest more than us. Are you what they call a cougar or something? Maybe you should talk to my mom to see what kind of products she uses because she looks way younger than you in the face.”

“Bro, chill.” Casper, or whatever his name was, snickered, which only pissed me off more.

“Well, I’m sure your mother does look more youthful from all those years of living off of Section Eight and government assistance. Real women who go out and work are built differently.”

“Oh, is that why you have that little hump on your back? Dang, all this time, I thought you had a disability or something Send me the fake women, if the real ones are built like llamas,” Mooshu replied back.

“My mother taught us that we should always respect our elders, so I will never disrespect you. She has a very successful career, and she takes good care of us. I understand your jealousy because our father loves her more than you, but please don’t talk about her. Come on, bro. You already know Pops will replace the ice cream; don’t even trip.” Casper reasoned with his brother. While his comment gutted me, he seemed to be the most reasonable of the two.

“It would be in your best interest to go to your room before I tell your father about this.”

“Go right ahead and tell him. He already knows how his son is. If I don’t like something, I’m gonna speak on it. I respect the adults who deserve it. You aren’t one of those people. My father may feel bad for you because of your history, but I can see right through you. I hope you can get a return on your wedding dress because I bet you won’t get to use it.” The two of them walked away while I remained in the kitchen with a thousand thoughts running through my head. Had Money been talking to them about our relationship? Was he planning to leave me? My father kept telling me not to worry, but I didn’t agree. I grabbed my purse and headed out the door after texting Money to let him know I would be back later tonight. My spirit was unsettled, and I needed a release.

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