Product of Love

Graysons Story

⚠️Trigger Warning ⚠️

January 29th

It started with the yelling. All of their mornings started with yelling. In his ears it was not the typical I'm upset with you and I need to vent my frustrations but it was the I'm trying to hurt you, hurt your feelings and hurt everyone in my path type of yelling. Seemingly, it was the I'm hurting yell that usually woke Grayson up in the middle of the night.

The now four year old Grayson sat up in the crib that he had been sleeping in, because that was the only space available in the home for him to sleep. His oldest sister Amina was sleeping on the couch on one end and his other "sister" Amaya slept on the other whenever she came to see her dad. His mother Dominique and putative father Isaiah, slept in the only bedroom in the apartment and Grayson continued to sleep in the crib. He pushed the worn Southern Regional blanket from his torso down to cover his cold feet. It was midwinter in Atlanta and the gas bill hadn't been paid, leaving the small apartment ice cold.

The cough building in his chest released from his lips making both adults stop arguing and glance in his direction

"You see what the fuck I'm saying; this nigga is still fucking coughing. You need to take him to the damn clinic or something Nique!"

Dominique looked up from the card table and continued to press the stolen maxed out credit card against the substance, creating a line with prison. "So take him Zay, you the nigga daddy ain't chu"

Isaiah looked down at Grayson and shrugged "He'll be aiight" he smacked his lips together before lighting the blunt in between his fingers "And stop saying I'm that nigga daddy. You ain't showed me no fuckin paperwork"

Dominique ignored his remark and inhaled in a straight line before leaning back in the kitchen chair she stored in her room. Her eyes closed and Isaiah watched her closely to make sure she didn't OD. When her eyes shot open and she started laughing, his posture relaxed. Slowly she rubbed over her protruding belly as she felt the flutters of the baby in her stomach.

Grayson peered over the chewed on bars of his crib and started coughing even harder when the cloud of smoke filled his tiny lungs. Isaiah laughed and slapped Grayson on his back before releasing a cloud of smoke into his face "You gotta learn how to breathe motha'fucka. If you got my blood in them soft ass veins, you gotta know how to smoke."

Graysons finger slipped into his mouth as he retreated towards the back of his crib with tears in his eyes "Don't start that soft ass shit nigga. Ain't no body even fuckin hit you yet and you crying!" He yelled making the tears fall down the cheeks of a scared little boy.

The increase of his cries slowly infuriated him more. "The fuck I just say" He gritted, reaching down into the crib, picking Grayson up by the front of his t-shirt, dangling him over the torn mattress "I ought to drop your crying ass back in there." Fearful eyes met a distant and angry eyes and Grayson retreated into his safe space; his own mind.

Every hit to his body he could feel but was mentally distant from the situation at hand. In Graysons mind, he was wrapped in a warm fluffy towel after a warm bubble bath and his mom and dad were waiting for him to put his clothes on and so they could watch his favorite movie with him.

When the hits ceased, Grayson was tossed into his crib again before both adults left the room, leaving him to cry alone against the only blanket he had. A few minutes later the door knob jiggled and Amina popped her head into the room. She only had a few minutes before she had to return to the couch but today was important to her.