𝑆𝐸𝐶𝑅𝐸𝑇𝑆 𝐵𝐸𝑁𝐸𝐴𝑇𝐻 𝑇𝐻𝐸 𝑆𝑈𝑅𝐹𝐴𝐶𝐸

Nine

I felt like the air was sucked out of the room. My heart wasn't just dropping—it was slamming into my stomach over and over again. The baby was never mine.

"Yo, what the fuck did he just say?" I barked, my voice cracking as I shot up from my seat. My chest felt tight, like I couldn't breathe, and my fists clenched at my sides.

Jace quickly ended the call, his eyes darting toward me. The whole room got quiet, too quiet, as the weight of the truth settled over everyone. My blood was boiling, my thoughts racing so fast I couldn't grab hold of a single one.

"Ken, chill," Marcus started, but I cut him off before he could even finish.

"Chill? CHILL? Don't tell me to fucking chill, Marcus! Did y'all hear that shit? She told him the same fuckin' story she told me!" I yelled, my voice louder than I even meant it to be. "She told ME I was the dad. Had me losing sleep, stressing, thinking I was 'bout to raise a damn baby—and it wasn't even mine? What the fuck is wrong with her?!"

I started pacing the room, my hands running through my hair as I tried to process what I just heard. My mind was spinning, my chest heaving as anger burned through me like fire.

"She played me, bro. She played the fuck outta me. Had me lookin' stupid! And for what? Huh? For what?!" I shouted, kicking over an empty soda can on the floor. "Fuck this shit! I gave her everything, man—my time, my energy, all that, and this is how she repays me?"

Marcus tried to stand up, his hands out like he was trying to calm me down. "Ken, I get it, bro, but—"

"You don't get shit!" I snapped, pointing at him. "Don't stand there actin' like you know how I feel! I was in love with her, man. Real love. And she—she's out here just passing out the same lies to every nigga she's with!"

I slammed my fist into the wall, the dull thud doing nothing to ease the rage coursing through me. My knuckles ached, but I didn't care. I wanted to break something, anything.

Reek coughed awkwardly, clearly uncomfortable, but I didn't give a damn. "Man, I told y'all that girl was bad news from the start," he muttered, and that just set me off even more.

"Oh, now you wanna speak up?" I turned on him, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Where was all that advice when I was out here putting my whole heart into this shit, huh? Nah, fuck all that. Don't sit there actin' like you knew shit when none of y'all said a word to me."

Jace tried to step in, but I wasn't having it. "Ken, look, man, I get it. She fucked you over. But you can't let her—"

"Shut the fuck up, Jace," I spat, cutting him off. "You don't get it. None of y'all do. She had me out here ready to step up, ready to be a fuckin' father for her—and the whole time, it was all a fuckin' lie."

I couldn't take it anymore. The room felt suffocating, the smell of weed and cheap wings turning my stomach. I grabbed my jacket off the back of the couch, my movements jerky and aggressive.

"Where you goin'?" Marcus asked, his voice hesitant.

"Out," I snapped, not even turning around. "Before I break somethin' else."

And with that, I stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind me so hard the walls shook. My mind was racing, my heart pounding, and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to forget everything about Aaliyah.

Only minutes later....

Ken's hands gripped the steering wheel so tight his knuckles turned white. His jaw clenched, his mind replaying that phone call over and over again. His heart felt like it was beating out of his chest, the rage bubbling inside him until it threatened to spill over. He couldn't think straight, couldn't calm down, couldn't stop the fire burning in his chest.