Page 20 of Girl, We Go Together
I had some sweatpants dangling over the back of the chair in the room. Since I barely left this room, I dressed comfortably within these four walls. But I did make sure to have something presentable on standby just in case I had to leave the room for something. I stood, slipped on my sweats, and grabbed the hoodie next. Orion sat up like he wanted to come to my aid, but I nodded my head to let him know I had it. Too much was on my damn mind, and honestly, I hated that for me.
The echo of that woman’s voice still rang in my ears, sharper than I wanted to admit. The way she banged on his door, yelling like she had every right, made me feel like an intruder in my own skin. I damn sure felt like an intruder in this home. I wondered if once upon a time she had shared these walls with him. His décor did have a touch of a woman to it. I didn’t make a big deal about that, though. I was trying not to.
I swallowed it down. If Orion noticed the tension in my shoulders, he didn’t say. By the time I turned back, he wasstretched out on the bed again, eyes closed like he had shut the whole morning off and started fresh. When he opened his almond-shaped eyes, we made eye contact. I forced a smile while tugging my hoodie down over my stomach.
“I’ll make us some breakfast. That way your son doesn’t gotta eat cereal out of the box.”
With his mama yelling at the door like that, I didn’t see her being a fit damn mother, so I doubted that he had eaten anything yet. Plus, it was early as hell.
“See?” he said with a lazy grin before closing his eyes again, “I knew you would fit right in.”
I nodded and slipped out of the room with my chest tight.
On the outside, I looked calm, collected, like I was ready to play my part. Like I was ready to hop into playhouse mode. But inside, I was screaming. Lamont and I felt like a lifetime ago, but I still held on to some of those scars. I felt sick to my stomach just thinking about how vulnerable I was in that relationship. I was so damn scared to go back to that space. I had dragged myself out of that depression filled pit, and I didn’t know if I had it in me to do it another time.
Still, I was a work in progress. I was still healing, so I wasn’t at my full potential, but I moved around the kitchen like I had everything under control, although my chest was still tight from the banging on the door. The skillet warmed on the stove, and I cracked a few eggs into a bowl, whisking like I’d done this a thousand times. Moving effortlessly around his kitchen despite my injury. When I dropped a piece of butter into the pan, the sound of sizzling filled the kitchen before little footsteps padded down the hall. When I turned, a boy stood in the doorway.
So, this had to be OJ. Orion had mentioned him before. A little version of his face stared up at me like I didn’t belong. According to Orion, OJ was five years old, full of energy, and smart for his age. And looking at him now, I couldn’t deny it: hewas his daddy’s twin. They had the same sharp brown eyes and the same stubborn set to their mouth. He clutched a toy truck in his hand, tilting his head as he studied me. I let the silence build between us for a bit, unsure whether I should speak first or not.
I crouched slightly, offering a smile. “Hey, OJ. You hungry? I was making some breakfast.”
He nodded shyly. “Yeah.”
That one word softened me. I gestured toward the table, and he climbed into a chair, legs swinging as he set his toy truck on the surface. Orion came in behind him, shirtless, just wearing a pair of checkered pajama pants. He must have slid upstairs to grab them when I came into the kitchen.
“OJ, this is Cayla. She’s been staying here. Be polite, little man.”
OJ gave me a slight grin, then turned his attention to the truck like that was all the introduction I’d get. My hands shook as I moved the frying pan around. I hated how Shenell’s anger bled right into my morning, cutting through the peace I’d just started to believe in. Still, when I set a plate of eggs, bacon, and pancakes in front of OJ, his face lit up, and I smiled back like nothing was wrong. Orion didn’t strike me as the type who lingered on shit. What was done was done. If I was going to stay in whatever this was that we were starting, I had to learn quick how to hide the parts of me that felt uneasy.
Chapter 7
Orion
Acouple of days slid by before I even realized it. Having OJ at the house had shifted everything. Our mornings were filled with cartoons and Cayla slipping into the kitchen to make breakfast before I even asked. I was warming up to her laughter mixing with my son’s. It was a strange kind of peace, one I didn’t think I deserved but didn’t want to let go of either.
Now, I was pulling up to Shenell’s apartment building with Cayla riding shotgun. OJ was in the back, clutching the toy she had bought him from the Target nearby. Once she found out that he was into Spider-Man, it was over. What was supposed to be her getting treats and toys for Mello turned into a little spree for OJ. When I told my boy it was time to go, he didn’t even want to leave, and that spoke volumes to me. I would have kept him for a couple more days if I didn’t have business to tend to.
I glanced out my passenger side window and could see his weird ass mom waiting outside the building. I could have easily taken him inside, but I knew she had decided to wait outside to be nosey. She was squinting badly trying to see through my tints. From where I sat, I could feel the heat from her curiosity burning. I hurried with OJ and his things out of the car before she could come get him herself. I walked him up, exchangedthe bare minimum with his mother, and gave OJ a tight hug before watching him disappear inside. I was due to get him back in about three days, and something told me that he would be excited to see Cayla and Mello again.
By the time I slid back into the driver’s seat, Cayla had her gaze turned out the window. Women are territorial, so I knew her suddenly rolled-down window was probably so Shenell could get a glimpse of her. Whatever she was feeling, though, she didn’t speak on it, and that was a rare quality she had that I was starting to love. Cayla didn’t press me with questions. She never did, but I could feel the weight of everything she held back. I started the car and then drove off. I started drumming my fingers against the wheel as I maneuvered my car in the streets.
“You hungry?”
She glanced over; a faint smile curved at her lips.
“Always.”
“Good. I ain’t taking you home yet.”
The place I had in mind wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t the usual hood spot either. A dim-lit little restaurant tucked on the edge of the city that most people had forgotten about. Although the place was lowkey, it had tables covered in white cloth with lit faux candles on top. Cayla walked in beside me, tugging at her sundress like she wasn’t sure she belonged, but to me, she was the only woman in the spot worth staring at. She was for sure the baddest in the room. We sat down, both with menus in hand, but I couldn’t stop watching her. The way her curls framed her face, the way her eyes softened when she finally looked at me across the table.
“Does this feel like a date to you?” I asked in a low tone as I leaned back.
Her smile grew. She had a shy smirk, but I could tell by the way the joy fell onto her profile that she was content. Her dimples deepened a bit before she opened her mouth to respond.
“It does.”
I had to ask for clarity because it had been a while since I had done one of these. For the first time in a long time, I felt it too. A real date. A real chance at something more than the damn chaos that had filled my life over the years. The last thing I wanted her to think was that I just wanted something physical. I had all intentions of seeing where things went. I wondered what things would grow into.
