Under the Influence

Stolen

Chris POV

"What?" Shawnie says, looking at her phone.

"What?" I ask

"Ammika just texted my phone and said, I'm going to take back everything you stole from me."

"Huh?" I say confused.

"I don't know. What is she talking about?" She asks me, and I'm just as confused as her. "I think she's just trying to mess with you. You're pregnant, you don't need to take any of this seriously. We have a situation right now, and all I want you to do is fix it. Because if I do it—." She cuts me off.

"I will." She says, then stands up to walk away, but it seems she's got an attitude.

"Hey?" I say, stopping her in her tracks.

"Yes, Chris?" She says, clearly irritated.

"I love you with all of my heart," I say

"I know." She says and walks upstairs.

"I think we can work this out!!" I yell so that she can hear me from upstairs.

She sticks her head over the banister so that I can see her.

"Chris, you know I'm not going anywhere. Just like you ain't going anywhere."

I laugh, "Good. Because I don't know if I can raise a kid without you."

"Mine or Ammika's?" She says

"Ours. I don't give a fuck about Ammika."

She sighs, then she disappears behind the wall. A couple of seconds later, I see her coming back down the stairs. She walks over to me and sits on the coffee table in front of me.

"I'm about to check you right quick. I don't like Ammika either, but that baby doesn't have anything to do with all of our feelings towards each other. The baby is the one suffering in all of this. He doesn't have a father because you were being irresponsible and flat-out stupid. I'm not gonna let you sit and talk shit, and you damn sure are going to take care of your baby. I'm going to do what I have to do to try and fix this as best as I can. That includes communicating with her, being nice to her, even spending time with her if we have to."

"Nah, I don't know about that," I say

"You know, I talked to her." She says

"When?"

"Before I came down here."

"What did she say?" I ask

"Nothing important. She just kept trying to talk to you the whole time. I told her she's gonna have to go through me if she wants to get anything handled. I told her we're going to get another paternity test just to be sure. She had a problem with it, but I told her that's how we're going to do things. I also told her to keep this private because she has a history of going to the media about shit that has to do with us."

"Ain't that the truth," I say

"I know we have a long road ahead of us, and I know she isn't going to be pleasant to deal with, but this is the only option we have. If you don't, you know she's going to drag your ass through the media, and that's the last thing you need."

"I know, baby. Whatever you say, I'll do. I promise."

"We'll get through this." She says

"So are you going to put my ring back on?" I ask

"Of course. I'm sorry I took it off. I will never take it off again." She says, and I believe her.