Page 28 of Pieces of Us

“Thank you, love. Are you all enjoying the party?”

“Yeah. This is dope. Unc crazy as hell for having all these people at his house, though.” Ruger said exactly what I said.

“My sentiments exactly. He trippin’. Did you and BB do the guest list?” I asked my sister.

“We did. We tried to tell him, but he wouldn’t listen, so here we are.”

“Shit wild.”

“We up, though. I’ll see y’all soon. Gotta get my wife home.”

“Mekai, we literally just got here,” Kenzi whined.

“Well, I told you not to wear that dress and those heels. An hour is all I had to spare. Bring ya ass.”

Chelsea and I laughed as Kenzi pouted, stood to hug us, then followed her husband out of the gates.

Chelsea sat beside me. “Cousin Ruger is a trip.”

“Always have been. Where’s BB?”

“Somewhere around here flirting with somebody’s son.” I chuckled and sipped my beer. “I saw Morgan today.”

A warm feeling washed over me. “Oh yeah? How is she? Did you speak to her?”

“I did.”

“What did she say? How does she look?”

“Dang, homie. Slow down.” She laughed.

“That was my problem before, should’ve moved a little faster.”

“Yeah… she still looks the same but gained a little weight. I’m sure because of the baby.”

My heart fell.

Shit.

“You’re bullshitting.”

Chels shook her head, confirming that it was true. “She looks to be about three or four. Looks just like a little baby doll.”

“Wow.” I didn’t know what I would expect after not seeing her for so long. I guess I didn’t expect her to have a baby on me. That only further angered me because that was supposed to be my seed.

“I fucked up.”

“It’s not your fault, Hemi. You did what your father made you do. I hate that he did it, but us seeing her only confirms that it’s time to take your life back. I could tell she was a little uncomfortable with seeing us, though. She was probably thinking about us telling you she has a baby.”

“I don’t care about that. My only concern would be if she’s still with the father. It doesn’t matter, though. That man is only about to have joint custody.”

Chelsea chuckled. “I know it was hard accepting that you’d never see her again, but like I said, this has to be confirmation that the stars are aligning again for you two. You haven’t been happy in years, and now that you both are adults, you deserve the love you’ve always wanted with her. But don’t go breaking up happy homes, Nehemiah.”

“She’s not happy…Trust me.”

Chelsea shook her head and smiled. “Let’s go sing Happy Birthday to the old man. I need to get back to the gym to shut it down.”

“Yeah…and it’s time for me to go get my wife.”

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