Page 47 of Falling for Autumn
“Gon’ and ask him how he whupped his baby mama’s ass and got locked down behind that shit. Ask him how he ain’t even in shorty’s life right now. Everybody knows about that shit.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” I growled, trying not to curse. I wanted to go off, but Auburn’s arms around my neck tightened, and she pressed her face into my neck.
“Is it true, October?”
I wanted to bust that nigga in his shit. He had no idea what he was talking about, and here he was talking shit to my baby about me. The shit he was talking about was the rumors that circulated on the street, and none of that had a grain of truth to it. Almost none of it, anyway.
“Is it true, October? Did you serve time for beating a woman?”
“Yes, but?—”
“Do you take care of the child?” she asked, looking at that nigga Wilson, who I knew as Terence. We didn’t call him by his last name.
“No, but she ain’t mine.”
“You still on that stupid shit. How you gon’ not claim that kid? She looks just like you.”
“I need some space,” Autumn declared in a quiet voice as she reached for Auburn. I wanted to hold onto my girl, and she clearly wanted me as her grip tightened. But I would never fight her mother over her or put her between us like that.
“Sweet girl, go to your mama,” I instructed as I kissed the side of her face and removed her arms from around my neck.
“Come on, baby,” Autumn stated.
“Listen, Autumn, you need to hear the?—”
“Not right now, October. I need some time,” she declared.
“Time for what? You’re gonna take this nigga’s words over mine?”
“It’s not about that. It’s about finding out things from someone else when you’ve had more than enough opportunity to tell me,” she declared in a heated tone.
I reached for her, but she snatched away and ran inside her house with Auburn crying.
I turned around and ran up on Wilson. Shoving that punk ass nigga in his chest, I demanded, “Nigga, why don’t you run back to your wife and take care of her? We don’t need you over here.”
“Clearly, she doesn’t need you either. And I don’t know if you forgot or not, but I put that seed up in her. That’s my DNA running through that baby, not yours.”
I hit him in the mouth, causing him to stagger backward. He held his mouth and looked at me as though I’d lost my mind. Blood poured from his mouth, and he stepped back further.
“Nigga, the fuck is wrong with you? How you gon’ fight me over my seed?”
“You fucked up the day you weren’t there when li’l mama was born. Autumn and me might have some shit to work through, but nigga, step. Ain’t no room for you here.”
“Yeah, we’ll see about that.” He walked around to the front of the house, and I followed to make sure that nigga wasn’t going back into her place.
When he jumped into his car to drive away, I turned around and banged on the door with my fist. I alternated between ringing the bell repeatedly but got no answer. I ran inside and grabbed my keys. She had given me a key to her place a while back.
Letting myself inside, I called out to her. “Autumn! Autumn, where are you?”
She came storming into the living room from the kitchen with Auburn in her arms. Her eyes were red as she glared at me.
“Why did you hide that from me, October?”
“I planned to tell you, but it wasn’t easy. There’s a lot more to the story.”
“You should’ve told me everything. You came into my baby’s life, and all I asked was that you not hurt me. Why didn’t you tell me?” Autumn cried.
“Because of how you’re looking at me now, and how you’re judging me now. I get tired of that shit, and I can’t take it in my own home too.”
