Redemption.

Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Diamond

      I leaned my arms on the rail of the balcony of our new home. It's so relieving to finally move out of Anthony's mom and dad's house. Being that the space was so small, especially having our two kids living there too. I'm just happy there's no more drama.

      "What you doin' out here baby?" Anthony asked, placing his head on my shoulder while he wrapped his arms around my waist.

      "Just enjoying the night weather." I answered, staring up at the dark, night sky.

      Anthony chuckled. "I'm so glad we moved out of my parents house, and finally have our own place to call home," he kissed my jaw line and held me tighter. My silk robe bellowed while the soft breeze of wind blew by.

      Anthony released my waist and grabbed my hand. He turned me around to face him, grabbing my other hand so that both our hands were intertwined. "You don't know how much I love you, and how happy I am we're together."

      "Me too," I said, staring into his brown eyes. Anthony cupped my face with both his hands and delivered a passionate kiss upon my lips.

      "Since this is our first night here, let's make our mark. The boys are asleep and their room is down the hall. They won't hear a thing," Anthony laughed, biting on my neck.

      I giggled and softly pushed him away. "Okay, just for one round, I'm a little tired."

      "Oh, you gon' be fast asleep when I'm through with you, so don't worry, mami," Anthony said in a lustful tone, while pulling me back inside of our bed room.

The Next Day

      My eyes fluttered open to the sound of birds chirping at the window. Anthony's face was snuggled in to my neck with his arms wrapped tightly around my body. His soft snore sounded so peaceful as he slept. I slowly removed his arm from around my body, careful not to wake him. Today was May 11th, 5 days before Owen's 6th birthday. The last time I saw him was about a little more than a year ago. We'd only Skype or FaceTime. I really miss him, the more he grows the more he looks like Patrick. 

     I had planned to take a trip back to Atlanta to be there for his birthday. We'd stay a few days after. First, I just had to get approval from Anthony. He and Patrick still have problems with each other. After all these years, they still can't seem to let things go. Yes, I have done some fucked up shit in the past, and the outcome of it all still hurts me til this day, but at least I try to leave it all behind.

      It was a little pass twelve in the afternoon when I got out of bed. I decided to try to Skype Patrick to tell him about my plans. Hopefully he wouldn't fuss too much. He's so hateful towards me, and I understand why, but he needs stop with the bitterness toward me.

      I sauntered over to my laptop that had been charging over night, and grabbed it. I glanced over at Anthony to see if he was still asleep. He was.

    I left the bedroom and made entrance in to our family room. In my mind, every negative thought about what Patrick would say to me took over. My stomach turned in a knot, my mind was totally getting the best of me. I sat comfortably on the sofa in my robe, my hair falling along my right shoulder. I opened my laptop and opened the Skype app.

     I chewed me bottom lip out of nervousness while my cursor sat on Patrick's name. I took a deep breath and called. The ringer rang a couple of times as if Patrick looked at his phone, noticed it was me calling, and hesitated to answer. After a few more seconds, Patrick's face appeared on my screen, his facial expression showed that he wasn't interested in seeing me.