I frowned slightly and lifted my head to see Noah in the doorway. That was why RJ was here. Noah must have had to make an appearance somewhere.
“What’s up, Noah?” I stood and slapped his outstretched hand. “What brings you to the A?”
“I had a meeting with some execs at a record label. They tryna get a nigga’s skills on a new artist’s EP. I told them I need to know that artist’s work ethic to commit to a whole EP. I’m producing one track, and we’ll go from there.”
“That’s cool. What y’all finna get into?”
“Shit. Is it cool if we crash at your condo?”
“Hell yeah. I got three bedrooms to accommodate family whenever y’all came to town. No need in y’all renting hotel rooms and shit if I’m here.”
“’Preciate you. What time you leave out?”
“Five. I only work four hours on Mondays and Wednesdays because of school.”
“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll leave you alone so you can get some work done.”
“A’ight.”
I went back to my excel sheet and began inputting numbers to see where we were on a specific contract, when my thoughts were overpowered by thoughts of Azari all over again. I huffed loudly. I was torturing myself, but it seemed that I couldn’t stop it. My thoughts had gone from just holding her hand to her sliding down my dick. This shit was out of control. Hopefully, RJ and Noah would be just the distractions I needed tonight.
“Iwon’t be able to pick him up this weekend, because I have to go out of town for work,” Fabian said.
“This is the third time in a row you’ve flaked on our son, and I’m beyond sick of it. Next time he asks about you, I’m gon’ tell him the truth.”
“Well, why aren’t you telling him the truth? What are you telling him?”
“I’m telling him that you have to work, but the truth is that you don’t want to be bothered with him. Quit wasting my damn time and just say the shit. You could switch weekends or ask to spend time with him on weekdays, but no. You too busy for him. I’m pretty sure you’re dedicating all your free time to your next victim.”
“Azari, why you starting shit? And what’chu mean by victim?”
“You don’t know what a victim is? She gon’ end up with a broken heart just like the last woman. And since yourjobsending you on all these trips, I may need to request an increase on this pitiful ass child support. Xavier is growing like weeds, and three hundred a month ain’t cutting it.”
He huffed. “I ain’t got time for your shit today. I’ll call when I want to come get him.”
“Mm-hmm. I won’t hold my breath.”
I ended the call, feeling heartbroken for my baby. He deserved better. It was only seven in the morning, and his bullshit had gotten my day off to a bad start. We were just heading out so I could get Xavier to my mom’s house before making the drive to Cove City for class. I’d put Xavier in the car and gone back inside to get my thermos. I wanted to scream, but I knew I would have him crying if I did. He was extremely sensitive to my emotions. If I even looked pissed or emotional, he picked up on it easily.
Thankfully, we only lived a couple of miles from my mama, because pretending to be happy for his sake was getting harder and harder to do. I wanted to cuss that muthafucka out. Had he heard that conversation between his dad and me, he would have been in tears. After pulling into her driveway, he said, “Momo house!”
I gave him a smile then got out of the car and helped him out of his seat. Today, I wasn’t trying to make a fashion statement with either of us. I was tired, and my leg was hurting like it had just gotten amputated yesterday. This fucking prosthesis was going to have me back in a wheelchair. It was like the cushion had worn out. I didn’t have extra money to even buy cushions. I put a towel inside it to relieve the pressure, but that shit was still hurting.
Before I could knock on the door, my mama opened it. “Hey, my favorite grandson!”
I chuckled as he hopped up and down, waiting for her to pick him up. It was too cute. He was her only grandson. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be another one, because she would have to stop saying that shit. She leaned over and kissed my cheek, then set Xavier on his feet. “Go find Papa!”
He took off toward the back of the house as my mama came to me and hugged me tightly. I took a deep breath and accepted her love. “What was that for?” I asked when she pulled away.
“You look like you needed that, baby.”
I felt terrible. Xavier still had on his pajamas, and I wore sweats and a T-shirt. I didn’t want to miss a day of classes if I felt like I could thug it out. I would use those days for when shit was unbearable. I hated depending on my parents so much, despite them saying they didn’t mind. Xavier’s father was able to pull his weight. He just didn’t want to. I almost couldn’t wait to get back home so I could request an increase.Jackass.
“Thank you. I did. My leg is killing me. I left early so I could really take my time when I get to campus.”
“I hate you’re feeling like this, baby. You need to try to make your appointments so the doctor can look at your leg.”
“Mama, I don’t even want to use the extra gas to get over there. What if something is wrong? I can’t afford a better prosthetic. This is the one Medicaid paid for. At the rate this country is going, I won’t have that for much longer.”
