He chuckled. “That means it’s Kilo.”
Mama gave him a sharp look. “Boy, go on somewhere before I beat your grown ass.”
Keenan held up his hands. “Say less.”
He left, taking Jace with him.
Mama turned back to me. “You got this, Mel. I raised you better than to let a man run you in circles.”
I stood up and adjusted my purse on my shoulder. “He better be ready to talk.”
“Let him know you still love him. Even if you gotta cuss him out first.”
I cracked a small smile and kissed her cheek. “Love you, Ma.”
“Love you too, baby. Go handle your business.”
And with that, I left and headed home to face my issues head on. This time, I wasn’t walking into my house as thegirl confused by silence. I was walking in as the woman who deserved the truth.
***
No sooner that I walked inside my house, I headed upstairs and took a long, hot shower, trying to scrub off the tension clinging to my skin. I wasn’t sure what pissed me off more. Shayna pulling up bold like she had the right to speak to me, or the fact that Kilo had me out here looking stupid in public. When I finally walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, he was sitting on the edge of the bed, arms resting on his thighs, head down like he was trying to collect himself.
He looked up as I walked past him to the dresser. “I called you,” he said.
“I know.”
“You ignored me.”
“I did.”
He stood. “Mel—”
“Don’t,” I snapped, voice sharper than I intended, but I didn’t take it back. “Don’t come in here acting like shit’s normal.”
“I’m not.”
“Could’ve fooled me,” I muttered, grabbing a tank top and some shorts. “You’ve been moving weird for weeks. Quiet. Off. Then I get ambushed at the damn mall by some girl you used to fuck with, and you wanna act like I’m just tripping?”
His jaw locked. “What happened?”
I turned to face him fully. “She walked up to me like she didn’t know exactly who the fuck I was. Tried to compliment my pregnancy. Then said her daughter and our baby were siblings.”
Kilo didn’t say a word. Just stood there.
“Nothing to say now, huh?” I asked, eyes narrowing.
“I didn’t know she was gone say some shit to you, Mel.”
“But you didn’t tell me either!” I snapped. “You just let me walk around looking stupid while she out here telling people we sharing baby daddies and shit!”
He stepped toward me, voice low but steady. “I didn’t know what to say.”
“You could’ve started with the truth.”
“I don’t even know if the kid’s mine yet.”
“You ain’t say nothing at all!” I was yelling now. “You’ve been quiet, avoiding me, acting like I’m the problem when you the one with secrets and shit!”
