Page 93 of Girl, We Go Together
His response was completely off-topic, but I think that was his way of coping with the information I had just shared. I just stared at him because I didn’t know how to react to that. He was looking deep into my eyes, and it was making me feel… making me feel something that I couldn’t quite explain. It was uncomfortable, for sure, but it also gave me butterflies.
He turned and walked into the living room. Once he was out of my presence, I exhaled. When he came back to the kitchenentryway, he had Oriana tossed over his broad shoulder. She was still fast asleep.
“Thank you.” I finally thanked him for taking her to school.
I handed him the baby bag, and he took it.
“I miss you.”
The way he was staring into my eyes made me nervous as fuck. I didn’t know what was going on in his life that had him confessing all these things, but I couldn’t get wrapped up in his charm. I wouldn’t.
“Orion…” I whispered.
“I miss you, Cay,” he said again, but this time he stepped closer to me.
I just shook my head as he closed the space between us. Looking at him pulled at things I had buried a while ago. Before I could create some space between us, he kissed me. I stood there as our lips interlocked. I put my hand on his chest and did a light little push to make him give me back my personal space.
“You need to leave.”
Looking at him standing in my kitchen reminded me of how I wasn’t even supposed to be in this damn kitchen. If he had never fucked up what we had, I would have still been under his roof. Our family would still be whole. Now, when I was trying to pick up the pieces, I came across a man who helped me do that. He helped make me whole, and I’ll be damned if I let the nigga who had broken me mess that up for me.
“You need to get the fuck out.”
I didn’t yell because Oriana was still fast asleep, but my tone was stern. I meant business, and I needed him to know that shit as well. He squinted and stared me down. I could see a glimmer of sadness in his pupils, but that didn’t have shit to do with me.
“Cay…” His tone was pleading, but I wouldn’t allow myself to fall for that shit.
“You need to go. If taking Ori to daycare is a problem now, I will do it myself.”
“No, it’s no problem.”
I walked past him and opened the door. “Then leave.”
When he stood on the other side of the door, his ass looked like a sad puppy, but I couldn’t feed into that. He was standing there with Oriana over one shoulder and the baby bag over the other.
“I can drop her back here later, too.”
“Cool.”
Before his ass could respond, I closed the door right in his face. I stood on the opposite side until I heard his footsteps walk toward the stairs. Five minutes later, I covered my mouth as tears streamed down my face. The last thing I wanted was to do anything to betray Kassidy. He was too damn good to me. I was breathing heavily as I let my tears flow. I went to the kitchen, and then my thumb hovered over Kassidy’s name. He had to know. I wouldn’t even feel right if he didn’t.
The crazy thing is, Oriana had a Family Friday event next week, and I wanted to invite Orion so he could formally meet Kassidy. He ruined what I was trying to make a wholesome moment. He was never the bigger person with me when it came to coparenting, but I was trying to be. I was trying to make this shit work, and he crossed the fucking line. Kassidy had to know. Right when I was about to press his name to call him, Zynea’s name and picture flashed across my screen. I answered so quickly that I could have broken my thumb sliding the bar across the screen.
“Hey, girlie. Are you still packing?”
She was supposed to meet me at my place in a bit and help me box away the last of my things.
“Zyneaaaa…” I whined.
“Are you crying? Why are you crying?”
“Orion…” I couldn’t even get the shit out.
“Now what the fuck did his lame ass do now. Girl, fuck that nigga. I am so sick of that ma?—”
“He came and picked up Oriana for daycare and kissed me while we were in the kitchen,” I quickly said.
“You should have gotten a knife and sliced him.”
