R E D E M P T I O N

Twenty Four

| Nahla Amari |

" Kain ! " I shout from the living room. " what ya need ? " he asks standing at the steps. What's gonna happen to them? " "Whatever you want done to them " he says. " Torture " " huh ?" "Torture " I repeated myself " I want to torture them , play with their life like they did mine only difference is they'll be dying " " I can make that happen let me call my uncle and let him know " he says. " No I wanna do it and before you say anything it won't harm the baby"

" How are you so sure ? " he asks " You'll be there and besides they'll be strung out " " Like tied at each end type shit ?" " Exactly like that " I smile." I fucks wit it baby " " Oh and I wanna do it On Christmas Eve around 11:30 so it can be Christmas when I get finished " " so like an early Christmas present?" He sat next to me putting my feet on his lap. " Yup " I say popping the p. " Okay but besides that how ya feelin love ?" " I'm fine just taking it day by day thank you for asking since you called yourself being rude about it at the hospital " I say crossing my arms " I'm sorry baby , I never lost someone like that before " he says truthfully.

" Can we go out today I don't wanna be in the house " " it started snowing mama but because I love yo ass how about we can go see my parents " he says smiling. we aren't even official yet and you want me to meet ya parents "" who said we ain't official ? " he moved my feet off him." Kain don't start " I sigh" you right , Ima see ya later " he says getting up.

" I didn't mean it like that it's just I didn't know okay " " I'm not doing all of this fa my health ! I take care of you cause I wanna be with you I'm too old for this shit Nahla fr " he says picking up his keys " be back later " " Don't go please " " you don't get it , I'm tryin not to snap on yo ass but you pushing it " he says in a tone. " You act like we can't talk ! " I shout " no yo ass wanna run! " " ONLY ONE RUNNIN IS YO ASS ! "

" How am I running ?! " " you what 25 still doing this talking shit I'm 29 and I don't have time for games that you wanna play ! I ain't a regular nigga shorty so either you wit it or you not I'm not finna waste my time " he says annoyed. " So what you tryna say ?"

" I'm saying that I could be giving another bitch the same treatment you getting but I wanna be with you so either we together or not cause if we not once you have Zeus you can bounce I'll always be there for our son but anything else will be dead " " Nigga fuck you ! I didn't ask for none of this shit with you son dead ass you got me fucked it ain't nothing to leave !"

" so what's stopping you seems like you ain't wanna be here anyway " " really ? " " yes really I know where I wanna be and apparently you don't " he says walking off. I blinked the few tears I had away and grabbed my keys leaving not bothering to answer him , I needed to talk to someone besides him and after this fight we had I don't know whether to leave or stay. I drove around for hours before I decided on who I wanted to talk too; I parked my car saying a quick prayer before exiting. Here goes nothing. I thought to myself , I blew out raspberry an exited the car . Being 5 and half months pregnant is tiring I wasn't even at the door and I was out of breath luckily it opened before I got to it .

" Hey Nas " I smile at him. " Sis you need help ?" He asks" Yes." " What brings you by ? " he asks helping me in the door. " Kain and I had a fight and I need advice " " What type of fight ? " he raised his brow. " Not that kind , he asked me to go to his parents house and I said we weren't official yet and he got offended and he said something that stuck to me. " " Like what ? "

" That I'm running " I mumble " What else " " that I didn't wanna be there with him and he could be giving another bitch the same treatment I'm getting but I'm who he wants so this is where he wants to be " " And what did you say ? " he asks leaning against the wall. " That I didn't ask for this and it ain't nothing to leave " "Your running " he says " your running from happiness sis and that ain't fair , he's not like Pharaoh so stop trying to make him out to be , he loves you just like you love him but you hurt him and now he feel like he invested time with you and you don't want the things he want."

" But I do " " how can you when you said and I quote it ain't nothing to leave, you let that slip out that mouth way to easily without even trying to fight for what could be between you guys , you deserve happiness sis " he says touching my shoulder " let him be that please I can promise you that you'll thank me later now go home " " thank you for that " I smile. " No need that's what I'm here for now let's get you up " he says helping me up. " Where's Nari ? " I asks. " At her dad's I'll tell her to call you when she comes home " " Aight love you " " love you too."

I felt better after talking with Nasir about what transpired between Kain and I , I needed to apologize to him and fast. I made a few stops along the way hoping he would still be home when I arrived, I never thought I was running but he opened my eyes to something. Through all of this he has remained here every appointment every late-night snack run , cooking for me , running my bath water , rubbing my feet, telling me I'm beautiful when I feel worthless . All he wants to do is love me unconditionally and here I am running from it because I don't know how to receive it. When I arrived home I didn't see his car in the driveway, nor did I see any lights on. I sighed exiting the car with my bags in hand making my way to the front door , I unlocked the door pushing it open to see him standing in the kitchen with no shirt on and a pair of sweats , my eyes skimmed over his perfect body landing on his V Cut then down to his print. Got damn this man is blessed

" Do you need help ? " he asks. " No I got it thank you though. He nodded at me and proceeded to make his way upstairs into our room. I closed the front door with my foot and followed suit with the bags in hand ." Can we talk ? " I ask as I entered the room " Nah " he says dryly " please " " Nahla not right now okay " he says not looking at me, you could hear him trying to hide the hurt in his voice. I sat the bags down and stood in front of him with my hands on my hips

" Xavier please " He sighs putting his head in his hands. "Amari move ! " he shouts startling me a little " those bags are for you , when your ready I'll be downstairs cooking " I say kissing his forehead .Closing the door I made my way back into the kitchen, but I stopped at the Tv putting the R&B Soul station on Pandora . As Nothing Even Matters by Lauren Hill x DAngelo plays through the tv. I made my way into the kitchen so I could start cooking since I was in the mood for stuffed potatoes. 30 minutes had passed, and he still was upstairs , I sighed and continued cooking there was no point in rushing him I wanted him to talk freely and not feel like I'm making him . The Truth by India Arie began playing and I swayed my hips to the beat while singing along and I couldn't help but think of Kain while I sung, these lyrics spoke to me deeply and at this point all I want is him.

" Y'all see this ? My baby dancing and cooking say hi " I turned around to see Kain recording me smiling " y'all see that man that's my son in there. I appreciate his pops for giving me that blessing before he died y'all say hi to Zeus Dominic Romero " I felt my heart skip a few beats seeing him smile at me , my stomach filled with butterflies when he called my son his . I know he's said it before but it's just something different about the way he said it just now . " What you cookin6? " he asks " stuffed potatoes , it's almost done I'm waiting on the cheese to melt and I'll make you a plate " " What's in it ? " " Shrimp , broccoli, steak chicken "

" Come hea' " he says. "Hold on " I turned the stove down and made my way over to him resting my hands on his. " Yes " "Be real with me Nahla am I wasting my time with you? I love you no doubt, but I can't stay if you don't want this. " " First let me apologize for earlier I should have never said certain things and I regret it whole heartedly, and no youre not wasting your time I talked to my brother once I left here and he made me realize that youre the happiness I need in me and my sons life " I say truthfully.

" I'm sorry as well I shouldn't have - " I cut him off " you did nothing wrong so there's no need to apologize , you were telling me how you feel and I respect that papa " " I'm only saying this once so I need you to hear me okay? " I nodded my head. " You my woman, my baby , my shorty the mother of our son my future wife and more so don't ever question if we official again. I brought his hands up and kissed them " I appreciate you so much papa I do and I'm sorry once again " " I love you " he says wrapping his hands around my waist. " I love you too "

He had this look in his eyes and it was a pure look of love and lust. I blushed so hard I could feel my cheeks getting warm. He titled my head up some before smashing his lips into mine , fighting for dominance I let him take over giving him full access as the kiss deepened our tongues collided , I pulled back before we could go any further. " Yo lips so soft man " he says licking his lips " so are yours "

" I bet they would be even softer on ya otha pair of lips too " he smirks. I could feel my knees trying to give out " dinner is done." He chuckled and I just smiled at him if this happiness then I don't ever wanna let him go.