Chapter Three

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September 7, 2021 – Houston, Texas

J. Drew’s POV

I met my mom and Kierra at Reighna’s school to see her off. I’m such a softie when it comes to my kids. I didn’t want her to see her daddy cry. After successfully getting her settled into her class and meeting her teacher, we decided to head to Kiki’s for breakfast. As I am driving, I got a notification on Instagram. Amber recently made a post so I decided to wait until I parked to look at it. Three minutes later I pulled into Kiki’s and parked; Mom and Kierra weren’t here just yet, so I decided to check out Amber’s post. I don’t follow Amber, but I have her notifications turned so whenever she posts, I won’t miss anything, and I can also see how my daughter has grown. Amber had posted a picture of Ja’Layeah heading to school. I can’t believe my daughter is five years old already. I stare at the picture in awe at how beautiful my baby is.

My mind takes me back to the fateful night four years ago. To this day, I blame myself for my behavior and the fact that I lost my privileges to see my daughter. When Amber told me to get help, I became so angry because in my mind I didn’t have a problem. After Amber’s mom threatened me, I drove to the nearby park and sat for a few hours and thought about my behavior lately. Amber was right I did need to get help. I didn’t even tell my mom or Kierra the truth about what happened that night. If they knew I had an alcohol abuse problem, they’d kill me. Instead of being truthful, I paid a couple of guys to beat me up and when I got home that morning, I lied to my mom that Amber, and her mom beat me with a bat and that Amber was keeping Ja’Layeah from me because she hated me. My mom wanted to press charges, but I told her not too, because if they found out that I lied, who knows what she would’ve done. Since that day, my mom and Kierra has hated Amber, and her mom and they have let it be known every chance they get. It’s true what they say, when you tell one lie, you have to keep telling another lie to cover the first lie you told. For the last four years, I’ve been doing just that. I’m afraid that when my lies will finally catch up with me, I won’t be able to repair the damage and the embarrassment that my mom and sister will endure on my behalf. A few moments later, I saw mom and Kierra pull so I got out of my car and my mom greeted me.

“Hey, baby boy. Sorry we’re a little late. Kierra and I had to go meet with a friend of mines really quick.” Karen said hugging Drew

“It’s all good. I was just handling some business anyways.” Drew replied

“Hey Drew. Did you cry enough this morning?” Kierra said teasing me

“Shut up Ki.” I said hitting her in the arm

“Okay, you two let’s go eat, I’m starving. Plus, Ki and I have something we need to talk to you about.” Karen said as she walked towards the restaurant.

“What do y’all have to talk to me about?” Drew asked Ki

“You’ll find out soon enough. Let’s go eat.” Ki said

When mom said her and Ki had to talk to me about something, my mind begin to wonder, and my heart started beating at 100 beats per second. My palms started to sweat too. But I couldn’t show that I was nervous, so I had to calm myself down before I got to the table. I’m sure whatever it is, it couldn’t be that bad. The restaurant wasn’t so crowded, so we were seated as soon as we walked in. My mom and Ki sat together, and I sat across from them. We knew what we wanted so we went ahead ordered.

“Okay, as I said earlier there was something that Ki and I wanted to talk to you about.” Mom said as she placed her arms on the table

“What’s up?” I asked

“Okay, well mom and I have been talking lately and with Reighna growing up right before our eyes, we couldn’t help but think about Ja’Layeah.” Kierra said

“What about her?” I asked

“Well, we haven’t seen her since she was a baby and when you told us that you went by her home and found out from one of her neighbors that she moved to Charlotte and didn’t have the audacity to tell you or me as her grandmother, that really hurt me and although you didn’t show any emotions, I know it hurt you too.”

When my mom mentioned that, I couldn’t help but think that I lied to my mother about Amber moving. The truth is I knew that Amber was moving, when she wrote a letter to my mom informing her that she was moving and she, along with Kierra were more than welcome to visit Ja’Layeah but I hid the letter from her.

“You’re right, I was hurt. But I couldn’t let Amber’s pettiness affect me. That’s why I’m glad I have Reighna. Since Amber doesn’t want Ja’Layeah to know about me or us, I can only focus on what’s in front of me, and that’s Reighna.” I spoke

“You’re right. But that’s why your sister and I took matters into our own hands.” Karen said

“What are you saying?” I asked in confusion

“I have been in contact with a lawyer friend of mine Annalise Keating for the past two years and this morning Kierra and I went to meet with her to finalize some things.” Karen said handing me a manilla folder

“What is this?” I asked as I opened the folder and looking at the contents

“We are suing Amber, and we are going for shared custody along with visitation rights. If Amber doesn’t comply, we will take it further and go for full custody.” Kierra said

I looked through the papers and I just couldn’t believe what I heard. My mom and Kierra are suing Amber. Damn! With this lawsuit, the truth will be revealed, and my lies would be exposed. To know Amber, is to know that she will not go down without a fight. When it comes to her child, she goes full blown mama bear.

“Drew, are you okay?” Karen asked

“Uh, yeah I’m good. I just don’t know how I’m going to feel seeing Amber after all of this time.” I replied

“Well at least, you won’t have to talk to Amber. Plus, you’ll finally get to see Ja’Layeah after all these years.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” I spoke

“So, Annalise wants to meet with you and get your side of the story, dating back to the night of the altercation. Once that’s over, she will have Amber served and then we will go from there with the case. Hopefully, Amber and mom will cooperate, and these proceedings won’t take long. The quicker we get a ruling, the quicker we can see Ja’Layeah.” Kierra said

“When does, she want to meet with me?” I asked

“Is Thursday at 10 AM a good time?” Karen asked

“Yeah, that’s fine.” I replied

“Okay, good. When we leave here, I’ll give her a call and confirm it with her. Son, everything is going to be okay. Just think how excited you’ll be when see Ja’Layeah.” My mom said reaching across the table grabbing my hand

Our food had arrived before I could respond to my mom. I put the papers back into the folder and sat it next me. Once, the waitress left, Kierra prayed over the food and we began to eat. I couldn’t even enjoy my food like I wanted too, because this lawsuit was hounding my brain. I just know that once Amber is served, she is really going to hate that she even met and reproduced with me. There must be something I can do. I just don’t know what I can do.

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