CHAPTER 21
Nathanial sat in class nodding off in English III wishing the clock would go faster. As his eyes were slowly shutting closed, his teacher yelled his name quickly awaking him.
“You’re getting pulled out of school for the day.”
“What?” Nathanial looked up slightly dazed from his boredom. “Why?”
“Just get your stuff and go to the attendance office. You weren’t paying attention anyways.”
Nathanial shrugged and walked out the class and down the hall with relief. Teacher had a point. He knew that work wasn’t going to get done until last minute.
As he got closer to the attendance office, he saw Alex standing against the wall checking his phone before looking up at Nathanial’s face. “Hey Nathanial.”
“Um, what’s going on?”
“Taking you out of school for the day.”
“Does Mama or Natasha know?”
“Does it matter?” Alex smiled.
Nathanial smiled back and they started to walk outside towards the parking lot. It was strange that Alex had only wanted to pick him up and not Natasha but on the other hand, he didn’t care. No more class for the rest of the day.
Alex hopped in the front seat and closed the door with a sigh. “Nathanial.”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. For everything.”
Nathanial looked shocked and didn’t exactly know how to respond to his father. “Um…”
“I should have checked on you and Natasha to see if you were mine. I should have did a lot of things.”
“Alex, are you drunk?”
Alex looked dead at Nathanial and laughed. “No more than you.”
“But I’m-”
“Exactly. C’mon. We’re going downtown to eat.”
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“Damn, Alex.”
“Yeah. So me and Adrian ran out the back and jump the fence but I fell flat on my face.”
Nathanial and Alex laughed as the waiter dropped off their food. Nathanial looked down and smiled. He couldn’t believe that he was actually enjoying spending time with Alex.
Of course he wasn’t about to admit it.
“Well, next question?”
“Hmm,” Nathanial responded chewing on a French fry. “How exactly did you meet Ms. Parker…Melissa…Whatever.”
“I was at a work party two years ago and she had come per invitation of my co-worker. I remember she came in the room in a tight dress that made the brothas say ‘Damn’. No lie, I was having some thoughts on my own-”
“Alex-”
“Sorry son,” Alex laughed. “Anyways, she was turning down everyone left and right and I told myself that trying would be worthless. Later on in the night I was ordering a drink at the bar and the bartender told me it was on the tab of ‘a young lady’.”
“Young? HA!”
“You got jokes But she motioned for me to come towards her and speak. We talked to each other and enjoyed the company and, well, the rest is history.”
Nathanial took a sip of his drink and nodded. He had a feeling they met at some kind of get together.
“Can I ask you a question?” Nathanial looked up at Alex with curiosity. “Do you think you’ll ever see me as your father?”
“Maybe. I know Natasha has already but I’m still trying to hold onto the concept that we have communication.”
“Explain.”
“Like, I grew up with a whole bunch of girls and was spoiled I guess cause I was one of the few boys in the family. Glad I didn’t turn out gay or anything, but it was kind of that one thing that haunted me not knowing who you were. I saw your name on my birth certificate but didn’t bother looking you up. Until that one day.”
“At the party?”
“No. I don’t know if Mama told you or not, but weeks before the party we saw the E! News special on the group and the relationship with you and Mama.”
“Oh…”
“It was kind of weird seeing what you look like for the first time. I knew the pictures were 16 something years old but I saw nothing but me there. I always tricked myself into saying that I looked like Mama but I didn’t. I’m an identical but somehow look more like you than anything. And that hurt.”
Alex could hear the pain in Nathanial’s voice. He saw no tears or emotion in his eyes but could tell Nathanial was being 100 percent real on his words. Is this what it felt like growing up without a father? Alex knew that thought haunted him a lot when some of his friends complained about living with a single parent.
He didn’t want that anymore.
For Natasha or Nathanial.
“Nathanial, I should tell you something.”
“Yeah?”
“You all are coming to the wedding.”
Nathanial looked at Alex trying to confirm if he had heard right. “What?”
“Me and Melissa-”
“Alex, I don’t think that’s a good idea. Like I said before, yo’ fiancé is mad crazy…And fake.”
Alex tried not acknowledging that insult towards Melissa...Even though lately…
“Look, I want all of us to get along.”
“With her? Alex, you don’t get it. Melissa hates all of us. She wishes we were not in the picture because she has some kind of perfect fantasy world. Even the teachers at the school say she’s obsessively perfect. “
“She’s just a little high maintenance.”
“A little? What female you know still wears 6 inch pumps around while 8 months pregnant?” Alex looked down not knowing what to say. “She gave me a DNA test to be positive that we were yours claiming it was for the school. Melissa is a control-”
“That’s enough!” Alex responded in a loud voice. He could feel eyes around him stare at the table before slowly going back to their personal business. “I’m not going to let you keep talking about Melissa like that.”
“Whatever. I’m done eating.” Nathanial looked down at his phone to avoid seeing Alex’s face. “You know, I think you’re the only guy that Mama will ever love again. She doesn’t give other niggas the time of day.”
Alex looked taken aback at Nathanial’s words. Not because of the cursing because he knew Nathanial only saw him as sperm donor, but because he never knew Nathanial might be right. Faith still loved him.
And he still loved her.
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Played Affair
RomanceWith her band-mate getting married to her high school sweetheart, Adrian Wolfe, Faith knows drama will only follow after... including her slowly falling in love with his older and more intellectual twin brother, Alex. She knows her relationship with...
