The woman looked at me with a smile on her face.
"Hi, Imani," she said.
A whirlwind of emotion built up inside of me after she spoke those words. I honestly didn't know what to feel at that moment.
Was that really her?
"Mom?" I finally spoke.
"Yes, baby it's me," She replied. Artificial tears ran down her cheeks.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked. I was getting very emotional. Tears were on the verge of being released from the ducts of my eyes but I stopped them. I wanted to cry but at the same time, I wanted to be angry.
I wanted to slap this woman and never see her again but she's my mom.
Why was she here?
I was doing fine all these years without her and all of a sudden she shows up at my doorstep, playing with my pregnant emotions.
"I wanted to see my daughter. I haven't seen you in 15 years," she said.
"What's going on?" Blue asked as she stood beside me.
"Nothing. I'll take you to mom's place another time. Go back inside," I said and Blue obeyed.
I stepped outside and closed the door behind me.
"Where's Kacey? I want to see her. Is she here?" She asked.
"How did you find out where I lived?" I responded, ignoring her questions.
The woman frowned. "A mother should always know where their daughter is living," She replied.
"You're not my mother though Janine," I said. The woman looked heartbroken after hearing those words.
"Yes, I am. You were in my uterus for 42 weeks. See, I remembered that you were 2 weeks late," She responded.
"Yes, biologically you are but the day you signed those abandonment papers, you gave up your right to call yourself my mom," I said.
"Imani, I think you were old enough to understand that I didn't have a choice," She defended.
"Enough with the excuses, Janine, You did have a choice," I said. "Even after you signed. You could have still been in my life and in Kacy's life but you weren't," I continued. The woman who calls herself my mother remained silent.
"I understand that you were not in a good place but that doesn't excuse you from fulfilling your duties and responsibilities as a mother," I said.
"Imani-," She started but I quickly cut her off. "No, shut up. You don't get to speak, you don't get to show up on my doorstep when you see that I'm doing good and ask me to forgive you," I said. My fists were now in balls.
"Stop being rude Imani! You don't know the whole story! That's why I'm here...to explain to you what happened," she rose her voice at me.
"15 years later! I think it's a little too late for that!" I yelled back at her.
"You no good, unappreciative little bitch. I knew I should've aborted you," she said.
"Then why didn't you!" I replied.
"Because I love you! You're my child!" She broke down crying.
"Everyone told me to do it, especially my bitch-ass sister. I'm glad that bitch died. She took you away from me so she deserves to rot in hell," She said.
I scoffed.
"Your crazy and sick," I responded as I looked at her in disgust. "You need to leave right now before I call that cops," I continued.
"For what?"
"This is private property and right now you're trespassing," I replied.
"Imani, Please, Listen to me. That was the past. I'm clean now. I've changed," she pleaded.
"You're stressing my baby out. See, I prioritize my child over anyone or anything else. You should take notes," I said.
"Now leave before I call the cops. I'm serious. I don't want to see you ever again and you better not go see Kacey either. The last thing she needs is to learn about you. There's nothing left for us to discuss, so bye," I continued before heading back into my house.
I entered the house and looked out the window nearest the door. I watched as she stood there for another minute before finally leaving.
I stepped away from the window and walked back into my living room.
"Who is she?" Blue asked when I entered the room.
"She's nobody," I replied as I sat next to her on the couch.
"She doesn't seem like nobody. She's claiming to be your mother," Blue said.
I looked to the ground and stayed silent, trying to dead the conversation but Blue continued to speak.
"You're not denying it. You know her, don't you?" She continued. "Is she your biological mom?"
I stayed silent.
"Imani answer me," Blue said. "Who the hell is she? What the fuck is going on? I thought your parents died in a car accident 11 years ago," Blue continued on.
"I told you already that she's nobody! She's not important, Okay! Don't worry about it or her!" I yelled as I stood up.
I was started to get a migraine and I felt a sharp pain in my lower abdomen, causing me to sit right back down on the couch. I started to hyperventilate.
Blue took notice of my recent action and came closer to me.
"Imani, Are you alright?" She asked.
"Get away from me. I'm fine," I said as I pushed her away.
I took several deep breaths before finally catching a steady one. I sighed and laid my head back against the couch.
I held my head, my stomach, and my chest.
"I can't be stressed like this. It's not fair to my baby," I said before standing up again.
I walked over to the front door and felt Blue following me.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"Somewhere where I can be at peace," I replied before exiting my house.
