𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐈𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫

1.

"Baby, mommy has to go." Makayla pleaded to her daughter, Adana. Her daughter pulling the bottom of her scrubs, she demanded for her to stay home.
"Mama!" Adana screamed with tears in her eyes.
"Ma, can you get Dana?" Makayla called for her mother out of the kitchen.

Grandma Sam runs out the kitchen and swoops her two year old grandchild into her arms.
"Adana Nova White! Hush the face. Mommas gonna be back". She smiled.
Makayla ran out of her condo before her daughters piercing cries changes her mind about going to work.

Usually, Makayla would leave around 8:40 or 9, before her daughter could wake. But yesterday, Makayla and her mother talked over wine. As usual, ending conversations with her mother takes hours. So today, on this very sunny Wednesday she experienced what she wanted to avoid each and every morning. To this very day, she honestly regrets being so clingy to her mother as a child, so now her Dana is ten times worst. Karma bites back hard.

10:49 am

Makayla hurriedly sat in her cubicle.
"Sooo...your ass is late, but had time to do your eyebrows?"

Makayla rolled her eyes.
"Good morning, Layla."

Layla scuffed.
"How late you are you minus well say good afternoon Layla...good evening Layla...hell, maybe goodnight Layla!"

"Oh, I know what it is. You had to do my first hour of codes?"
"Precisely." Layla turned back to her computer.
"Ok, well. I'm sorry, your niece was giving me a hard time this morning. And you know what the crazy part is?"
"What?"
"She actually said I want my daddy".
"Daddy!?"
"Daddy."
"We haven't seen him in-"
"I know." Makayla turned away swiftly.
"But, she's just two... I don't get it."
"Me either." Makayla sighed.

Taking the hint her best friend wasn't in the best of spirits, Layla hugged her friend and turned away to her cubicle once again.

Makayla is stubborn, over protective, an over thinker, highly sensitive, beautiful, and hardheaded.
Her brown skin, locks down her back, narrowed eyes, and full lips. Right now, she's the whisper of the office. And her female co-workers hate that. However, she has no time for blue collar drama. She has a two year old to love, bills to pay, and a dead beat baby's father to forget. Who's-dating-who office drama is not on her agenda.

5:50 pm

"Hey, how are you?" Makayla greeted the employee at the front desk.

"I'm great, Makayla. How was your day, sweetie?" The elderly lady smiled with her heart-shaped glasses on the edge of her nose.

"I'm fine Mrs. Louis." She smiled at Makayla before calling her daughter's name on the P.A system. Minutes later, came a happy Adana and her teacher. She handed her a child daily report form.

"How was she today?" Makayla asked hopeful. A few weeks ago her daughter and a child fought over a toy and Adana broke skin. Although her daughter had the toy first, she ended the fight pretty well in a less sympathetic mother's eyes. Surely, she didn't get that aggression from her mother. If you know what I mean.

"She was ok today, she didn't get a chance to eat her afternoon snack though".
Makayla placed her daughter on her hip.
Ok, no problem. Say bye-bye, mama." She asked her daughter. Adana giggled and hide in the crook of her neck.
"Alright have a nice day!" She chuckled.
"See you tomorrow?"
"Monday, I'm off tomorrow. But, enjoy your weekend!"

7:00 pm

"Mama?"
"Yes, baby?"
"Look, bubbles mama!" Adana laughed amusingly.
"I see, honey". Makayla laughed at her daughter popping bubbles off her belly.
As she gave her jovial daughter a bath she could only wonder why she asked for her father this morning. How could she possibly have known his face? (Or know he would be her father?). After Miguel and Makayla's argument she thought he got the message of his daughter's existence, but she guess not. Or, he just doesn't want to be involved in her life.

3 years ago
(Makayla's POV)

Miguel sat in the living room with a couple of armed gang members. During this time while they mixed lean into foam cups, and smoked pounds of weed. I excluded myself into our bedroom.

Our bedroom where we made passionate love on dark nights, where no bird chirp and owl hoot, nothing filled the air but our sounds of pleasure. Our bedroom, where Miguel impregnated me.

Tonight, I planned on telling Miguel about the new life we're bringing into the world in nine months. But, instead his "friends" came to play. Every so often I would go into the kitchen and pass the living room. They'd talk of nonsense and get wasted, for hours.
Here and there they'll whisper something in Spanish to each other.

"Some things I don't want you to know baby, you worry too much." He'll usually say.

However, this particular day I had enough. Maybe it was my hormones? Maybe it was my patience running thin? Or maybe it was the fact that day after day he'd allow regular murders to invade our living space. I respected his wishes for being compliant. I respected he has business he doesn't want me to be involved in. But in too many occasions he had allow dangers to come across our growing family.

With my blood boiling and frustration at its peek, I walked out of the bedroom in into the living room. Soon as I entered in, his dazed eyes laid on me.
"Do you guys mind? I can't fuckin' breathe in here, smoke outside". I said in irritation laced in my voice.
No one moved, but instead turned for Miguel's reply. Miguel looked longingly into my eyes, most likely wondering what was wrong. He knew my attitude was more than just smoking in the house.

"Yea she's right, i ain't pullin up to no hospital" He joked. The guys laughed and proceeded out the door.

He got up, and grabbed his phone. Through thick clouds of smoke, he followed me into the bedroom.

"What's wrong?" He mumbled, his eyes slightly red and glossy.

"When are they leaving?" I asked bluntly.

"Why?" He rolled his eyes.

"Because, I hate when they're over. It's something about them."

"I'm really not trinna hear your shit right now. For real, it's not that fuckin serious. Go to bed or somethin, damn." He turned to walk away.

"It's not that serious?! Being around them, my life is at risk! And now that I'm thinking about it, you probably aren't any different than them, are you? You probably don't love me at all, do you? Like them? Use bitches, and say you fucked a hoe for a slap on the back? They're fucking killers! They're thieves, what makes you think they won't rob you and hold you at gun point? They may be your cousins or whatever but, you aren't in the gang, so they won't think twice about-"

"They won't kill me Makayla!"

"How? How do you know?!"

"Because I'm apart of that fuckin family!"
Silence came between them.

"So you've been lying to me? All this time?! I told you what happened to my father! All those lies! You told me you'll never do something like that!..." tears ran down Makayla's cheeks. She paused.
"H-have you k-killed someone, Miguel?" She choked out.
Silence overcame their ears once again.

"Veronica told me you'll do this..." Miguel laughed.

"V-veronica??"

"You know, after I beat the shit out of yo friend's pussy, she told me you don't deserve me, and that she does.. she prolly ain't lyin either. First I felt guilty about that shit, but now It ain't even a big deal. Her shit was wet, and tight too... oh and shiiii she gave the greatest head. And yes, I have killed many people before. I watched as I drained the fuckin life outta them too. But I lost count on how many..." Miguel slurred

Makayla's eyes widened, she couldn't move or say anything at all. She was in complete shock. Her heart beat slowed drastically, and her vision failed. She couldn't believe she fell in love with this man. She didn't know what had changed. Makayla's head swirled with questions. And her chest hurt with heartbreak. Tears ran down her hot cheeks. Her heart beat picked up its pace and her breath in a rush she pushed past Miguel and walked out the house. She never looked back. She could never forgive him.