Concept : a girl and her daughter against the world with her toxic baby daddy, but she ends up finding someone who can take care of her and her daughter. He is a tall chipotle bag with dreads. She didn't know if she could trust him but she gave him...
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Hakeem lay in bed, scrolling through his phone while Amara slept beside him. Suddenly, a message notification popped up, and he frowned, seeing it was from a girl he knew, Tasha. She had been texting him sporadically, mostly about random things, but it was the middle of the night, and he was starting to get annoyed.
As he was about to put his phone down, another message came in. Amara stirred beside him, her eyes fluttering open. She noticed the glow of his phone and the name on the screen.
"Who's texting you this late?" she asked, her voice groggy but suspicious.
Hakeem sighed, knowing this conversation was inevitable. "It's just Tasha. She's been messaging me about random stuff."
Amara sat up, her expression shifting from sleepy to irritated. "At this hour? What's so important that she needs to text you now?"
Hakeem rubbed his temples, feeling the tension rising. "I don't know, Amara. I haven't been responding much."
Amara's voice grew sharper. "Why is she even texting you in the first place? You never mentioned her."
"It's nothing serious," Hakeem insisted. "She's just a friend."
Amara's eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms across her chest. "Well, it doesn't seem like 'just a friend' to me. Why is she so comfortable texting you at all hours?"
Their voices began to rise, and before long, they were both yelling, their argument echoing through the house.
"Why are you making a big deal out of this?" Hakeem snapped. "I haven't done anything wrong!"
"Because it's shady, Hakeem!" Amara shot back. "You should've told her to stop."
Their argument grew louder, waking up Namiko, who started crying from her room. Amara's heart sank, realizing the noise had disturbed her daughter.
"I'll go to her," she said, her voice breaking with frustration and exhaustion.
She left the room and went to Namiko's side, scooping her up and whispering soothing words. "It's okay, baby. Mommy's here."
As she rocked Namiko back to sleep, Amara's mind raced with thoughts of the argument. She knew they needed to address this issue, but right now, her priority was calming Namiko.
After a while, Namiko finally settled back into sleep, and Amara gently placed her back in her crib. She returned to the bedroom, finding Hakeem sitting on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands.
"Look, Hakeem," Amara began softly, "we need to talk about this, but not like this. Not when we're both upset."
Hakeem looked up, his eyes filled with remorse. "You're right. I'm sorry, Amara. I should've handled it better."
Amara sat beside him, taking his hand. "We both need to do better. Let's just get some rest and talk about it in the morning."
Hakeem nodded, grateful for her willingness to find a resolution. They lay back down, holding each other close, hoping to find a way to navigate this new challenge together.
