BAD REPUTATION.

18

Brandy Mae

I find him leaning against the closed metallic door. Without giving him a chance to speak, I push him hard against the door and pin him there.

"What the fuck was that Noah?!" I scream at him.

"It was the only way to get you to talk to me." He says as he struggles against my hold.

Even though he played basketball in highschool and he's 6'3, we both know that I'm very capable of beating the shit out of him. He's always been on the soft side.

Using his red bomber jacket, I pull him forward only to push him against the door again. He winces as the back of his head hits the door. "Don't you ever try shit like that again!" I release him.

"Can you please just listen to what I have to say. It's really important." He says, wincing when he rubs the back of his head.

I snort indignantly. "Important is the last thing I expect from you."

"I want us to be together!" He blurts out.

My jaw might actually be sweeping the floor. My eyes dart all over his face, trying to see if I can identify what kind of prank he's playing on me.

"What?"

"I have..um.." He clutches the back of his neck and tilts his head upwards... "I've been thinking and I want us to be together. You, me and Romeo."

If I didn't know that Noah does not possess a single funny bone in his body, I might have thought he's trying to joke with me.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glare at him." Look. I don't know what kind of stupid game you are playing here but I don't have time for it so.."I waggle my hands in a way that shows I want him to skidaddle.

He does the opposite of going. He leans against the door and crosses his long legs at the ankles. "It's not a game. I now know Romeo is my son and I want us all to be together again." He says in his low appealing voice which he uses to convince the church ladies that he's trustworthy.

Once, he might have used it to weave his way into my pants(I made it way easy for him) but not anymore. Now all it does is make me mad.

My eyes blaze with anger. I clench my fist, resisting the urge to knock his teeth out."Your son?! Romeo is not your son."

He opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off. "Your son was taken care of with that one hundred dollar note you threw at me! The one you are talking?! That Romeo is all mine. ALL MINE!!" I emphasize.

His eyes dart all over the street, fearful that someone might hear our conversation. "Hey, can you not shout? I just want us to have a conversation." He tells me in a condescending tone.

Oh, this boy has some fucking nerve. Who the fuck does he think he's patronising?

I purse my lips and in a very thin voice tell him. "We had a conversation." I place my forefinger under my chin and feign a contemplative look. "Almost five years ago was it?" I brighten up like a million megawatts bulb has gone off in my head." Yes! It was that short conversation where I told you I was pregnant and you laughed, called me a stupid, a slut and slammed your door in my face-Ah!" I laugh mirthlessly. "Fun times. Really fucking fun times."

Noah narrows his eyes at me quizzically, trying to see if I'm really amused or I'm just a psycho and might at any moment now claw his eyes out.
Whatever he sees must give him the assurance that he's safe because he takes a step closer to me and with his eyes trained to the ground he says, "I'm really sorry about what I did and what I said. I just got scared and said all those horrible things to you. Please give me a chance to correct my mistakes. " He says pleadingly.