• M A L I K •
ABOUT A MONTH AGO
"My baby is finally home," my mama ran up to me, tears running down her face.
"Hey, mama," I uttered bending down, giving her a tight embrace. A few tears fell down my eyes as my mom cried, rubbing circles on my back. I'm so glad to be home.
I had just got out of prison, serving a few years for a charge I copped when I was eighteen. I had just turned eighteen too.
I spent a year in the county before even going to trial where they sentenced me. The system is really fucked up. They do anything to keep a nigga in jail. Why black people make up thirteen percent of the country, but half the population in jail?
To add even more insult to injury, I knocked up my sorta-kinda girlfriend at the time, and she had to raise a daughter all by herself for 7 and a half years.
She resented me for it. I understand. I left her alone with my baby girl. She had to take her daughter to meet her dad for the first time in jail. She had to be in the hospital without me. Hear the first cries without me. See her take her first steps, teach her how to read, watch her first day of school...without me. I resented myself for it. I hate myself for being in a situation where I was without them. I couldn't help take some of the stress out of her life. Even with all that, here she was with my mom, a small smile on her face; my baby girl running up to me in my arms.
"Daddy!" she hugged me tight. I picked her small body up in my arms.
"Damn, ladybug, you got big huh?" I chuckled, holding her with both arms.
"Y-yes," I could hear her voice cracking. "I—mis-sed—you—so—much," she said between tears, full-on sobbing wiping her face with her hands.
I could feel tears start to well up in my eyes. I rubbed circles on her back, as she cried on my shoulder. I rocked her back and forth, kissing her, and letting her know I'm here now. It was truly breaking my heart to see my baby like this. The fact that I fucked her up that bad by not being home. I couldn't be there to hug and kiss her, help her grow and figure out life. I'm really a piece of shit.
"I'm hur now, ladybug. Daddy loves you so much," I cried, squeezing her tighter in my arms. "I love you so, so, so much." I kissed the side of her cheek putting her down. I bent down to her level, looking her in the eyes.
"No more crying, baby girl. Daddy's home and I'm not going nowhere. You not gon' have to miss Daddy no more. Imma be hur to fight off all the bad evil monsters, okay, baby. Can I do that for you?" I said grabbing both her hands. A small smile formed, my daughter's toothless grin showing. She nodded her head, jumping and wrapping her arms around me squeezing me into a hug that was more of a chokehold.
I fell on my ass, her arms still wrapped around my neck. "Ok-okay, ladybug, you killin' a nigga," I choked. She let go, laughing, her mom shaking her head with a smile on her face. I got myself up off the ground, walking over to my baby's mother.
"Hey, Tash," Tasha crossed her arms. I licked my lips at the girl eyeing her beautiful ass face. She really hasn't aged. She still looks like she did when we were eighteen, doing dumb shit.
"Hey, Malik," she replied low.
"So we going out to eat or what?" My mom butted in before I could say something nasty to my baby mama.
