RULES AND ROSES II

XVIII

The car came to a screeching halt before I hit a tree. I clutched my chest as I heavily breathed in and out. I sat there until I caught my breath. I pulled out my phone and called Kev to come pick me up.

15 minutes later he pulled up and opened my car door. "Man, what the fuck? It's late as hell" he said. I stumbled out the car but Kev caught me before I fell. He locked my car and carried me to his car. I fell into the backseat and he closed the door behind me. He pulled off and dropped me off at my place. "I'll have some guys go and bring you your car in the morning" he said. I nodded and slowly walked back into my house and fell asleep on the couch.

Next day
I woke up to my head pounding. I rubbed my temples and got up to get some water from the kitchen. I heard my front door open and looked up to see who it was.

Nicki came in with a plastic bag in her hand and some food. I smiled. "Hey Nick" I said. "You good,  drunky" she asked with a chuckle. I nodded. She walked over to me and handed me the bottle of Tylenol out her bag. "Here" she says and pours some in my hand. I take the medicine. She takes out a plate from the cupboards and starts fixing my plate. "Go sit down" she says. I oblige and go sit at the table.

She brings over my food and sets the plate in front of me. She then takes a seat across from me. I looked at her. "Kev called me" she said breaking the silence. I nodded. "What were you thinking Don" she asked with concern written across her face. I sighed and looked down ashamed of myself. "I don't know ma, I was just going through it" I confessed. "Have you been taking care of yourself" she asked. I shrugged. She walked over to me and embraced me. My head laid on her soft breasts and I inhaled her sweet vanilla scent. She rubbed my back as she held me. "You got to get it together Don. If not for yourself, for the kids" she said.

"I'm sad without you mama. I fucked up. I did things I can never take back and it kills me inside. I love you and I hate myself for hurting you. I wish I could take it all back" I said. She kissed my cheek and let me go. "You got to move on. Focus on yourself and the kids. We can always be great friends but we can never be together again. I can't do it anymore" she said. I quickly wiped my tears before they fell down my cheeks. She sat back down in her chair and we ate in silence. After I was done, she cleaned up my plates and washed my dishes. She even did some cleaning around the house. Damn I love this woman, I thought.

I went upstairs and took a long hot shower. When I got out, I put on some boxers and crawled into bed. I heard a knock at the door. "Yo" I called out. Nicki appeared from behind the door. "I just wanted to say bye and that Im heading out" she said. "Alright cool. Thanks" I said. She walked over to the bed and kissed my cheek. "I love you" she said. I smiled. It felt good to hear her say that. "Love you too ma" I said. She got up to walk away. I grabbed her arm. "Thank you for everything Nicole. You've always been good to me" I said. She smiled and blew me a kiss then walked out.

Nicki's POV

I hated seeing Don so down. I did my best to help him and cheer him up. It surprising to see how hard he has been taking the breakup. Its been over a year and he's still seems so sad. I'll always have love for him since he's the father of my kids but I'd never go back to him. He's caused me too much pain. I pulled up back at home and walked inside.

"Hey baby" Omari said coming down the stairs. "Hey boo" I said and kissed him. He grabbed my ass and then spanked it. I giggled and walked into the living room. "Where you go" he asked. I sighed, "I went by Don's. Kev called me and said he wasn't doing well" I said. Omari nodded. "He's still going through it, huh" he asked. I nodded. "Yea, Kev had to go and get him late last night because he was driving drunk and almost killed himself" I said. "Damn. Maybe he needs to talk to somebody" he suggested. "Yea, he really does. I don't need my kids around that shit. I feel bad though" I said. "Why" he asked. "Because I feel like I did this to him" I said.