𝓐𝓼 𝓦𝓮 𝓛𝓪𝔂

Ch.17: I Fear

Maurice was laying on the bed, in his sweats & a tank top just texting & scrolling away on his phone, quiet with the News being background noise. After whatever happened yesterday at his mom's, he still hasn't told me about it. I knew something had to have happened based on how he acted when he returned.

I was sorta waking up from my impromptu slumber when I felt him climb into the bed & spoon me as I held our daughter. I could hear him sniffling after kissing my neck, so obviously he had been crying or was. He held me tightly with his chin resting on my shoulder. I reached up & held his head, gently rubbing the back of it as I tried to will myself to go back to sleep. I heard him tell me how much he loved me, me responding & letting him know how much I loved him too & it was sweet but I wanted to know what brought it on.

Even now, he called off work & he never does that. Not unless he's sick as a dog, which is rare or if something with our daughter is going on. I had just come back from dropping Nevaeh off at preschool & he still was in the same spot doing the same thing.

Having had of enough of the slight silent treatment I was getting, I climbed onto his back, laying on him & took his phone out of his hand. He scoffed & tried reaching for it but couldn't. He tried again as I moved it behind my back & huffed. With his face pressed against the comforter he said.

"What do you want big head?" he lifted slightly to look at me from the corner of his eye. I grinned finally getting some words outta his ass, before that transitioned into a big kool-aid ass smile.

"I want you to stop being in a bad mood grumpy...What's up?" I asked with my chin on his back. He rested his head on his hands, like you would on a pillow as he took a deep breath before responding.

"Nothing...." he lied followed by a pregnant ass pause, causing me to suck my teeth & him to chuckle because he knew I knew better than believing him in this moment.

"Now can you get off of me? You trying to break my back woman?" he joked, it was sort of muffled & I didn't hesitate to call him out on the lie, no way in hell I was gonna let it slide.

"Ha ha, not funny & slick calling me fat" I said as I popped the back of his neck.

"Ooow, ol' abusive ass. I'm calling APS on you Niecy Turner" he said as he rubbed his neck from the stinging

"C'mon Maurice" I smacked my lips & got off of him so he could turn & lay on his back. Once he settled & got comfortable, I straddled him & rubbed my hands up to his chest & rested them there.

"For real. What's up with you boo?" I asked leaning super close to his face. He grinned then shook his head.

"Shit....Yesterday didn't necessarily go the way I thought it would & the shit I found out ain't sitting right with me" he said as he gripped my waist. I raised my eyebrow & rolled my eyes when he got quiet again.

"And? Elaborate Maurice Jacob, why do I gotta pull it out of you?"

"Alright fine...My mother was a side bitch. Nothing more...She got pregnant with me, he gave her money for an abortion but she didn't get it...He had a wife who was pregnant at the same time & my mother knew but didn't care. She begged this nigga to leave his wife for her. To be a family with us...You know that shit never really happens in situations like that. He didn't want that so he bounced for good when I was two after trying to do right for me..." he paused, revisiting the day in his head & shaking it to bring himself back to reality.

"He never wanted me & he only came back around because now he has cancer & needs bone marrow. My sister's, that I didn't even fuckin know that I had & his wife weren't a match..."