“When’s it happening?” I asked, dreading the answer.
He grabbed his phone off the couch and walked to the door like it was nothing. “Tomorrow night. Stay out the way, Shay.”
He paused, hand on the knob, then looked back at me with a smirk that made my skin crawl.
“You better figure out what side you on,” he said. “Use that nigga before he toss you like trash.”
Liberty was excited about finally meeting her father and now her dumb ass uncle was about to make damn sure their reunion ended in blood.
16
Chapter Sixteen
Mel
the next morning…
I woke up alone…again. The spot next to me was cold and untouched, like it had been all week. It was becoming normal for Kilo to sleep in the guest room while I pretended it didn’t bother me. But it did. It bothered the hell out of me. I laid there for a minute, staring at the ceiling, trying to push the lump in my throat back down where it came from. I had no more tears for this situation. I was past that stage. Now the pain had surpassed to frustration and o top of being pregnant…I was over it. This shit felt like a punishment.
I got up slowly and moved through the motions like I wasn’t halfway broken inside. Tied my curls up into a puff, threw on ablack cropped tee, and a pair of gray leggings. This was my go-to pregnancy attire, and I didn’t see that changing.
I had a doctor’s appointment scheduled for today, and missing it was simply not an option. Regardless of Kilo’s desire to pretend everything was fine or to act as if nothing had changed, my unborn child still needed both of us to be present and actively involved.
I came down the stairs expecting the usual cold shoulder, but he was already in the kitchen, dressed. He looked good…real good. He wore a gray graphic tee that defined his muscles perfectly. The dark denim jeans he wore did no justice in trying to conceal my favorite part of him. I hated how my chest still fluttered for a man that had me all twisted inside.
He turned when he heard me. His eyes met mine, and for the first time in days, they weren’t guarded. “You good?” he asked as he let his eyes scan over me.
“I’m pregnant,” I said, sliding onto a stool at the counter.
He came over, leaned down, and kissed my forehead. It was soft. It made me want to fold and swing again all at once.
“How you feeling…for real?” he asked, standing with his hands on my stomach.
“Tired. Irritated. My back’s on fire. And this baby keeps kicking like he tryna square up.”
He gave a low chuckle, barely there. “Sounds like his mama.”
“And his daddy,” I shot back.
He chuckled.
“I made you something to put on your stomach.”
He turned back to the stove, grabbed a small plate, and slid it across the counter. Toast, fruit, and half a boiled egg. Simple, but thoughtful.
“I wasn’t sure if you could keep much down,” he said.
I blinked. “You been paying attention?”
“Always.”
That hit me deep, but I didn’t let it show. I picked at the toast, chewing slow, my eyes on the plate just so I wouldn’t say something emotional.
“You ready?” he asked after I finished the food.
I nodded, grabbed my purse and Stanley before I followed him out the house.
The ride was quiet, but not awkward. Like two people existing side by side with too much unsaid sitting between them. He kept one hand on the wheel, the other caressing my thigh, lightly.
