#3 :: Royal By Name, Loyal By Blood Pt. 3

5.

She Was Everything I Wanted

MAINE.

Life has been crazy, and for once it's not me. In a way I guess it is. It hurt me to know that Layla was pregnant and that that son of a bitch killed her fiancé. Layla wouldn't eat or sleep and she needed to. Doctors said her baby was too small. She ate for the baby if we reminded her but most times she just stared out of the window.

Nayah was another one, she lost her two brothers, her best friend and her niece, and I knew she also wasn't coping. I had the kids most of the time because I knew they would need attention; something she was finding hard to give. I didn't mind though, I loved having the twins. Now they were walking they were busy causing so much problems.

It was crazy how they looked exactly the same. We had to put RJ's hair in one and Romayah always had girlie hairstyles or else other people couldn't tell them apart, especially if Romayah wasn't wearing girly clothes. They loved their little sister Hope who had turned one recently. I took her Disneyland with all the kids and Coco, Lisa and Robin came along.

Things with Lisa and I had improved, everyone loved having her around. West too, he was always visiting us, spoiling Layla buying her whatever she wanted. We finally had our family, it took a while but we eventually got there.

The day I left Nayah's after she told me she was pregnant and wasn't sure who the father was; I think I shocked myself more than I did her, with the things I said. I meant every word, I did want to build on something with her and our kids, I still wanted that family I had always dreamt of with her. However, it burnt to know she could be carrying a next man's seed.

"What you out here looking so hurt about?" D'jon asked taking me out of my thoughts.

I was at the back of the house, that's where I go most times to think. Him and Kyle came and sat with me.

"Just a decision I made, not sure if I really thought it through."

"About what?" Kyle asked.

I sighed.

"Nayah is pregnant, but she was with the dread at the time and I messed around with her. Now she don't know who the father is. I can't be mad because we weren't together. But she still shouldn't have let him go raw in her. Anyway she found out that ole boy has a wife, of ten years. So you know Nayah, she ain't finna stick around, she left him. I told her that I wanna be with her and with the kids and have the family that we s'post to. She accepts Hope as if that's her own. So, even though she reckons it's the other guy's... Even if it is I'ma be grown and will accept the child if it's his. As I say it I think I'm doing the right thing but I'm still salty over it."

"Damn." Kyle said.

"I have always admired you bro, you know when you done wrong and you own up to it. You keep it real even if we don't like it, and you always help others. That's why I ain't even surprised you made that decision. Ain't a bad one either. You ain't far from thirty bro, you should be married with the girl you love, and we all know you love her or else we wouldn't be living seconds away from her..." We all laughed as D'jon continued. "But fo' real though, if I'm half the man you are in a few years' time... I would be made."

I smiled at my brothers. We never really had heart to hearts.

"I know I'm doing the right thing because I love her and my kids, I just feel some type ah way that another nigga hit it. Plus she said he was better than me. Sheeeeiiitttt I don't know if she said that to make me mad but it did the job, and I did hear Layla on the phone one time talking 'bout her sister got some bomb ass sex and how he used ice cubes on her. One. Layla don't got no sisters, so I know she was talking about Nayah. Two. I ain't never used ice cubes. So I'm here feeling like you know...maybe she meant it."

My brothers laughed.

"You ain't used ice cubes before? Bro you need to, ice cubes and honey. That shit is cray." Kyle said.

I laughed but made a mental note. We ain't had sex since the kids' birthday party but the next time we do she GONE learn ain't nobody's sex better than mine.

"Aye Maine, we need to talk to you bout su'um." D'jon said.

I looked at them both.

"Wassup?" I said.

"I'm finna go college. Other than this lifestyle I gots nothing. You see how quickly this lifestyle can get you killed. I told D'jon I wanna go back and he's finna do the same thing..."

"That's cool. You know I'ma always support y'all." I told them.

"...the thing is bro, it's in New York." I turned to them.

"New York??? What's wrong with the colleges down here?" I asked.

"There's more choice, more variety in what we wanna do out there. It won't be for now we looking to go by next academic year. But we gon be taking trips to New York to feel it out and find cribs for ourselves."

I looked at my brothers and smiled. I was proud of them. You don't get much hustlers telling you that they want to get out the game and go college, it's usually the other way round. I wasn't feeling New York because I've never been that far from them but I couldn't stop them, they were grown.

"Whatever makes y'all happy makes me happy. Just make sure if y'all don't live together, y'all live near. And make sure me, Layla and the kids have a room."

We all laughed. For the rest of the day we just chilled, smoked and drank. Coming to the end of the night I texted Nayah letting her know I was outside.

Lately I would go over to hers and we would fall asleep together. We didn't speak, we just laid together. She was everything I wanted. I knew that, I had always known that.

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