TOMMIE (COMPLETED)

TWENTY-THREE

The sound of kids running past Scrapp put him at ease. He watched his son King, high off ice cream, cookies, and cake, bounce from video game to video game. He was in charge of keeping track of King's hundreds of prize tickets, and he guarded them with his life.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" a young hostess asked Scrapp.

"Oh, no, I'm good." He kept his focus on King who was making friends with kids all over the game room.

"You sure? Let me get you some more credits on your Fun Card. My name is Betty by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Scrapp said nonchalantly.

"I get off at 10:00 p.m., just in case you're interested in hanging out," she said passing him back his card with her number written on the back.

"Dad, Dad," King yelled running to the front of Chuck-E-Cheese, "They have two player games. Let's go."

"Ok, King, here I come."

"So will I see you later?" A line started to form but Betty's attention was elsewhere.

"Naw, I have plans, little mama," Scrapp said walking with King back into the arcade,
"Thanks for the credits though."

After he found out King was actually his son, it put his whole life into perspective. The transition came easy for them. He finally got the chance to be the father he never had. When he wasn't working, he was with his family.

Scrapp wanted to make up for the past eight years to King, and the cost was never a concern. They spent the rest of the afternoon racing cars and motorcycles, killing aliens, shooting basketball, and riding rides.

Ten-thousand tickets later, King walked out of Chuck-E-Cheese with a bag full of toys.

"You ready, man?"

"Yeah, Dad," he said excited about his winnings.

After picking up dinner from Pizza Hut, Scrapp and King finally made it home. King rushed into the house to find Tiarra.

"Mom, Mom," he yelled.

"I'm in here, baby."

King ran into the living room to show Tiarra what he had won. He emptied the giant plastic bag onto the carpet.

"You won all this, King?"

"Yeah, Dad helped a little bit though," he laughed.

"Is that right?" Tiarra asked kissing Scrapp on the lips.

"Go put your toys in your room and get ready for dinner."

"I'm taking it ya'll had a good time?"

"Hell yeah," Scrapp laughed, "Me and King were in there putting in work."

"I got some more work for you later tonight," Tiarra said winking.

"Do you now?" he asked pushing her down onto the couch.

He covered her neck and face with kisses and small bites until she begged him to stop.

Tiarra was the complete opposite of Tommie, and he loved that. And now that she and King were in his life, he wanted to be around for them. His son gave him a second chance to do everything right. He knew he needed to get out of the game before it was too late.