Ebony

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Ivory rode in the car with Safari in silence. She knew she would have to talk about her past eventually, which was only fair since he told her about his.

"So, how do you know that sleazy ass nigga?"

'Here we go', Ivory thought.

"He's an ex from high school", she responded, hoping that he didn't pry for more information.

Safari nodded his head

"That's all he is right? Just an ex? ", he asked.

Ivory nodded her head

" We dated for a while, but it didn't work out so", Ivory said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Good ", Safari said

Ivory closed her eyes, knowing that she would have to tell him the truth eventually. The baby wasn't the only thing that happened with Michael and she didn't want Safari to turn around and kill him.

'I'll just wait until Michael is a safe distance away from Michigan ', she thought.

"Have you thought of any names yet? ", Safari asked, changing the subject.

" No, not really, but I do want something unique", she said, thinking of Safari's family.

"What about Sahara? ", he asked.

Ivory thought of her child being teased for having the same name as a desert. Although, Sahara was a pretty name.

" Hmm, what about Jionni or Johnna ", she said, thinking of her late father Jonathan.

" You want your dad's name in there? ", he asked softly.

Ivory nodded her head, keeping herself from crying as she thought of her best friend.

" We can do that", he said, grabbing her hand.

They decided to go to Safari's instead of the cafe. He could tell her father was a hard pill to swallow, so he wanted to make her feel better. He decided to cook for her since it was something he did well.

Upon arrival, Safari made Ivory comfortable sitting at the island. Watching him cook was something she used to enjoy.

Ivory looked around and noticed that the pictures of Kiyanne and the baby were gone.

"I need to move on", Safari spoke, noticing Ivory's gaze.

Ivory nodded in understanding. A familiar thought crept into her mind and she decided now was the time.

"Michael was more than some ex", she blurted, catching Safari's attention.

He briefly stopped cutting the tomatoes before continuing.

"He was cheating on me and got both of us pregnant at the same time. I was only 16 and he was 17 going on 18 with scholarships lined up. The other girl had already graduated and made it clear that she was keeping her baby. So, Michael beat me until I gave in. I was too scared to tell my parents that he was beating me because our fathers worked together. Michael and I had known each other since I was 10 years old. With his reputation, no one believed me, not even my mother, who told me to never speak of it again", she told the story with a heavy heart.

At this point, Safari gave he his full attention, growing angrier by the second.

"Anyway, I had to tell my dad about my pregnancy even after my mom told me not to. She thought it would be best if I just got an abortion, but I just couldn't do that. I wen through my pregnancy with pissed off parents and an abusive baby daddy. I decided to give her up for adoption. It only seemed right at the time. Afterwards, Michael graduated and married the other girl. I never heard from him again up until a few days ago. He told me he was dying and wanted to make amends, but we ended up arguing. I had no idea he would be here ", she finished.