Necessity

Chapter Nine

The next morning, I drove with Zonnique to Chresanto's house. I still don't know what to expect from Chresanto when I get there or what to expect on this trip at all. Although my overall goal should be to ensure that my son has the best birthday imaginable, I would be lying if I said that was my only goal. I needed to know where Chresanto's head was. Is he even thinking about getting back together? Is he regretting inviting me to Orlando? The more I tried to calm my nerves, the harder it became for me to think straight.

"You're quiet" Zonnique said as she pulled down the passenger mirror and began applying her lip gloss.

I shook my head. I honestly had too much on my mind to say anything. My thoughts were all over the place.

"Just thinking" I mumbled.

She twisted the cap back onto the lip gloss and turned toward me.

"You okay?"

After last night when I basically broke down in front of Zonnique, I was convinced that she now saw me as less of a human and more of a fragile vase that was teetering on the edge of a table. And sometimes that was exactly how I felt but I did not need anyone else convincing me of it.

"I'm fine. I just want everything to go well is all"

"And it will. You just have to be patient. He can't be an ass to you on his son's birthday weekend"

"Yeah but that doesn't necessarily mean he's going to play house for the sake of his son's birthday either" I said being realistic. "We've finally reached a point in our co-parenting where we can be cordial and I don't wanna mess that up by pressuring him to be with me"

Zonnique rose a brow at me.

"Sounds like you're giving up"

I just shook my head.

"I don't know, Nique. All I know is that I just want to give Deon the best birthday he's ever had. And one of the best ways I know I'm going to do that is if me and Chres don't fight today or any other day out of this trip. I'll worry about the rest later"

She stared at me a bit longer like she couldn't believe that I was saying any of this but eventually she sat back in her seat and shrugged.

"Well I got your back regardless. Just know that" she said pushing the mirror back up.

I couldn't help but smile a little bit. Zonnique was always that friend to back you up no matter what even if she completely disagrees with your decisions. It was one of the many things I admired about her. After a while, we finally pulled up to Chresanto's house and I saw him and Cedric in the driveway loading up the trunk of his dark blue Escalade. Zonnique didn't waste any time getting out of the car. She hadn't seen Chres since we left New York but she always had love for him for helping me get out of the club. Chresanto turned around upon hearing the car door slam and smiled at Zonnique. This might be the first time I've seen him genuinely happy since we separated.

"I know that ain't my girl, Nique" he said with a chuckle.

"You already know" she replied before embracing him. "Happy to finally see you on the outside"

While they took the time to catch up, I got out of my car and popped the trunk. I was lowkey annoyed that Zonnique just ran over to Chres' car without even getting her shit. 

"Need some help?" I heard a deep voice say from in front of me. 

I looked up and saw Cedric walking over and I couldn't help but smile. It meant a lot to me that throughout this entire situation, he never felt the need to choose sides. I definitely expected him to stop talking to me or something but then again, Cedric was never one for pettiness. And honestly, it wasn't until now that I realized how much I had missed him. Ever since I moved out, I hardly ever see him anymore.