Life After | Trilogy

13

Lauren

"So you're really going to let your own mother sit in jail?"

I looked over at my mom sitting at the other table in the courtroom. "Uh, yea. Your grown ass shouldn't have done it. This is the consequences of your actions."

"I can't believe you." She shook her head

The judge walked into the courtroom and sat in her seat.

"This will be rather quick. We are here for the sentencing of Ms. Smith and Mr. Melendez in regards to a property damage case. Does anyone have anything to add to this case before the sentencing is read?" The judge looked up from her paper.

No one said anything. The courtroom was quiet.

"Ms. Smith and Mr. Melendez have been charged with criminal property damage. Both parties recklessly damaged property of the plaintiff in an amount of ten thousand dollars or more, defaced property using spray paint and tampered with the utilities of the property. Criminal Damage in the state of California is a class 4 felony and both defendants have been sentenced to 3 years in the state prison with an option of parole after serving 20 months." She hit her gavel on the pad and walked out of the courtroom with a folder in her hand.

"Are you fucking serious?" My mother stood up as the officer cuffed her. "You really going to let them take me Lauren? Your own mother."

I shrugged. "Write me?"

"Fuck you! I can't believe this shit. My so-called daughter."

"Keep up with that language and we'll be adding more time to your sentence." The officer spoke.

"You keep emphasizing that you're my 'mother' like that's going to change something. A mother wouldn't have done what you did but now you'll have plenty of time to think about that." I grabbed my bag and walked out of the courtroom with Chris behind me.

"Well she was mad." Chris laughed

"I don't care. She'll be alright."

"It's almost 3. We might as well hang around since we have to get the kids."

"You right." I nodded and buckled my seat belt. "We can go get food." I smiled

"What you want?"

"Hmmm." I tapped my chin. "Let's go to Daikokuya."

"Eat in?" He pulled out of the parking space

"Nah. I'ma order it for take out. I know the kids are gonna want some." I unlocked my phone and went to their website.

"I want the extra large spicy ramen with chicken."

"Would I be greedy for getting ramen and a rice bowl?" I looked over at him

He glanced over at me and smiled. "Nah baby, eat all you want."

I ordered food for all of us. After we picked it up and got the kids, we went home to eat.

I fixed plates for the kids first and made sure they were good at their little table before I began to eat my food.

My phone began to vibrate on the table and it was the same unknown number that's been calling me for a few days now.

"You answer it." I looked at Chris

He grabbed my phone and answered the call. "Hello?" ..... "Yea." He looked at me. "I don't know." ...... "Aight, hold on." He handed the phone to me

"Who is it?" I whispered

"Ex-husband." He stuffed noodles in his mouth

I looked down at the phone before bringing it up to my ear. "Hello?"

"Lauren, don't hang up, just listen to me for a minute. I've been calling you because I want to see my kids. I know that what we had is gone and I can't fix that but atleast let me see my kids."

I laughed at him, probably a little harder than I should've. "You been gone damn near four years bro."

"I know and I'm trying to fix this. I want my kids to know who their father is."

"I've already had the talk with Lyric, she knows the truth. Kody knows who you are as well. As far as Aiyanna, all she knows is Chris."

"Ok. I can understand that. Can I atleast see Dakota and Aiyanna?"

"I'll have to think about it."

"Come on man! I'm trying. And I'm really not trying to go about this the legal way. I'm giving you a chance to do shit like this and attempt to co-parent."

I laughed at him once more. "Co-parent? Man bye. Don't call my shit trying to demand what I do with my kids. If you felt this strongly about being in their life, you wouldn't have left in the first place. Especially when you made the decision to do what you did. Now like I said, I will think about it."

"So you keeping me from my kids but you let that nigga around them? Need I remind you, that nigga is fucking crazy and on drugs."

"And you aren't? Chris was battling a mental illness and he wasn't sniffing shit. You chose to turn to drugs instead of communicating with me like a man."

"I'm not. I been clean for 4 months."

"4 months?"

"Yea...well really like 2 and a half."

"You still using because you can't even give me a straight answer. Like I said, If you don't like it, do what you gotta do but I highly doubt they are going to give unsupervised visitation to a person on drugs. You'd probably end up making it worse for yourself honestly. Have a good night though." I ended the call