The Preachers Daughter

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Wow, you used to live here?", Andrew said excitingly from the back seat.

I smiled. "Is it that hard to believe?"

"Not for me", Zy'Air mumbled. He'd been in some short of a funk for the past couple weeks and for the most part I've been ignoring it. When I ask him what his problem is, he always tells me it's nothing. Maybe he thinks I'm the same woman I was when he went into prison, begging and pleading with him. I appreciate him saving me, but I am still completely passed the stage of kissing his ass. If he wants to act like a bitch on her period than by all means he can have at it.

I parked my car in front of my old house and turned it off. Seeing it now has a different meaning for me. If I lived a normal life, this would be a happy moment for me. My parents would've still been married and living together happily. I would've been married to Zy'Air, and we would've been coming to town to visit them. Andrew would be younger but he'd belong to Zy'Air and I. They would've been waiting for us outside the front door with big smiles and open arms. But my life isn't normal, and it never was. I was destined for bull shit before I was even conceived. So, now I'm looking at this big house where I once laid my head, knowing neither of my parents are there. I can't call them and share a laugh or ask them questions about life. The only reason I'm even here is because legally, Shakera and her off spring cannot stay at my father's residents. He left me this place in his will as well as all the money in his account. My parents set aside so much for me financially, I'm technically set for life. However, I already made the decision to replace them as queen pin in their operation and there is no turning back now.

I could've been nice and let Shakera have the house. Honestly, this place is nothing but a constant reminder of the good times I will never have again and the bad memories that cling onto the walls like wall paper. But the woman has done nothing but try to ruin my life and disrespect my mother's name. When my father's attorney called me to meet with him and he informed me of the situation, I acted immediately and let him know Shakera had no right to anything that belonged to my father despite what she might have told them. I instructed for him to put her out as soon as possible and today was her deadline. I know she was nothing less than irate while packing her shit and dragging those boxes to the U-Haul truck that was parked in the driveway.

"I don't understand why we couldn't just sell this place and stay at the old house", Zy'Air said while leaning on the car and lighting a cigarette, a habit he must've picked up while behind bars.

"I grew up in this house. Would you sell your grandma's house?", I asked him.

"In a heartbeat. Remember, I grew up dirt poor", he said more bitter than I liked.

"Like I said, there is nothing wrong with us having both houses".

"I'm not tryna raise Drew like one of these privileged kids who don't wanna work for shit in life".

"You mean you don't want to raise him like me?".

He took a long pull out of his cigarette. "You said it, not me".

I dismissed what he said and chuckled. "I was taking care of Andrew while you were locked up. He didn't act privileged then, and he doesn't now. Remember that next time you think you want to volunteer parenting tips for a situation I've been handling for four years now".

I rolled my eyes and turned back towards the house just in time to see Shakera and Khimani come out with what I hope is their last bag of belongings. I walked up to them, trying my best to be a woman and not be petty.