You're My Little Secret 3 (25 page)

KENNEDI

I
walked into my living room and resisted the urge to walk right back out. That’s
how much of a mess it is. I’m so happy that my dad has Starr because I’m not in
the mood to deal with a
two-year-old
on
top of cleaning up this mess. He’s been good
with
helping me out with her, but that’s about it. He doesn’t give me any
money,
and he buys whatever my daughter needs
himself. I took a leap of faith and decided to try a relationship with Scott.
That was clearly the worst mistake that I’ve ever made in my life. He started
out being the perfect mate. He was attentive and treated me like a queen.

That
all changed when he gave up his apartment and moved in with me. Things were
okay at first until I noticed that he was always drinking. He couldn’t go one
day without a
drink,
and he hated to be
called out on it. It got so bad that he eventually lost his job. He went to
work drunk and ended up having an accident in the company truck. He was fired
after he failed the sobriety
test,
and he
wasn’t eligible for unemployment. I started working as a teller in a bank about
a year
ago,
so all of the bills are on
me. Thank God for my uncle Thomas and the money that he gave me from Tiffany’s
life insurance. If it weren’t for
that,
I
would probably be broke and homeless. I never told Scott about it because he
would probably drink it all away. I couldn’t believe that it’s been two years
since my cousin was killed. Starr and I visit her grave and talk to her often.
I’ve been coping with it one day at a time, but it’s still hard.

“Get
your ass up,” I yelled as I kicked Scott’s legs. He was sprawled out on the
living room floor with an empty Jack Daniel’s bottle right next to him. I wanted
his ass to get out of my house so bad, but I made a stupid mistake and put him
on my lease. His mother has been paying his half of the rent since he’s been
out of work, but that’s still not enough.

“What?”
He asked groggily barely able to stand
to
his feet. I don’t know what the hell made me even go there with him. If my
mother had something to say about
Dominic,
who was damn near perfect, she would die if she sees what I’m dealing with now.
I missed my mother so much that it often brings tears to my eyes. She was given
a
ten-year
sentence for the many charges
that they had on her. She probably would have gotten more if my uncle Thomas
hadn’t paid for her an attorney. I hate that she has to see her one and only
grandchild from behind the prison walls.

“Get
up and help me clean up this mess that you made. You need to find your ass a
job because your time here is running out. I’m not putting you back on my lease
when it’s time for renewal,” I fussed.

“Bitch
you should be happy that I’m still here. It’s not like you’re a catch or
nothing. We don’t
fuck,
so it’s not like
I’m missing some anything. Shit, I see why Dominic left your ass for his new
wife,” he slurred. He’s always throwing the fact that Dominic left me for
Brooklyn in my face.

“And
that’s why he beat your ass for telling me about it. Your nose is still crooked
from that beat down,” I laughed.

He
had
looked
at me with fire in his eyes
before he staggered upstairs. He hates when I remind him of the time that
Dominic broke his nose. Just thinking about Dominic had me missing how things
use to be with us. I never had to worry about anything when we were together.
All of my bills were
paid,
and I had
money for whatever I wanted. Now, I barely have fifty dollars to spare after
paying all of the bills and making sure Starr is straight.

Lately,
I’ve
been thinking
that it’s time for me
to find another sponsor. I need a new man with
money,
so I don’t have to spend my own. Of course, I can’t do anything until my broke
ass baby daddy is gone. I can’t wait until it’s time for me to renew my lease
so I can take his name off it. Unfortunately, I have five more months of hell
to live in before that time comes.

DOMINIC

“Alright
Brooklyn, work it
bitch
,” Co-Co yelled
through the bullhorn that he was holding. We’re all seated up front cheering
for Brooklyn as she received her degree. We have the first three rows of the
auditorium on lock with all of her family and friends. It took Brooklyn two
weeks of begging her classmates to be able to get enough tickets for everybody
who wanted to attend. Even DJ was standing
in
the chair screaming when he saw his mama walking across the stage. He used to
be my shadow when he was younger, but he’s a straight up mama’s boy now. He
still hangs out with me all the time, but he loves Brooklyn to death. Dominique
clings to both of us, but she’s more of a daddy’s girl. DJ is four and
Dominique
is
two,
and they’re both spoiled rotten. I told my wife that
I’m
ready for another one, but
she’s not having
it.

“Cordell
sit your ass down somewhere before these people escort us out of here,” Co-Co’s
father yelled.

“Do
y’all
hear somebody talking?” He asked in
his usual dramatic tone. “I don’t see anybody
here
named Cordell.”

“Boy,
sit down and shut up with that damn bullhorn,” Mrs. Pam fussed.

I
swear there is never a dull moment whenever our families get together. It’s
definitely going down later on tonight at Brookly
n’s
graduation party. I rented a hall and paid somebody to cater
the food and decorate it for us. Our kids are going to be with my parents for
the
weekend,
and I’m ready to turn up
with my wife.

After
the
graduation,
we stood in the front of
the auditorium waiting for Brooklyn to come out. They have a beautiful
waterfall out
front,
and Brookly
n’s
mother wanted us all to take pictures in
front of it.

“Girl
sit
down and stop waving that cheap ass
ring around,” Co-Co yelled as he pushed Taylor away from him.

She’s
so excited that Bryce finally popped the question. It happened over four months
ago, but she’s always flashing her ring in somebody’s face. Since Bryce’s shop
burned down he had it rebuilt bigger than it was before. He had the stylists
and barbers downstairs while he and the other artists worked upstairs. Business
is so good that he had to hire some more people.

David
and I are also doing our thing. Since signing with the other construction
company, we’ve signed on with two more this past year. I told Brooklyn that
even though she has her degree she doesn’t have to work if she doesn’t want to.
She’s always wanted to be an elementary school teacher, so she’s not trying to
hear that.

Surprisingly,
Candace and David are still going strong too, but they aren’t ready to make any
commitments. It’s probably because they break up every other week. She hasn’t
been home in over a year, but she still swears that they don’t live together.
Even Dwight and Co-Co are hanging in there. I just feel so bad for Dwight for
having to put up with that drama king every day of his life. Co-Co is always
embarrassing him, but he doesn’t seem to mind.

“Look
at my mommy,” DJ said as he took off running in Brook’s direction. Dominique
wiggled out of arms and took off running after him. She picked our daughter up
and walked over to us.

“Congratulations!”
Everybody yelled. She’s smiling hard from ear to
ear,
and so am I. It took a lot for us to get to where we are, but
it’s all been worth it.

“
Thanks,
everybody,” she said as she came stood
next to me.

Mrs.
Pam is dying to take some more
pictures,
so we spent the next hour doing just that. Once we finished, we all went out to
eat before going home to get ready for Brookly
n’s
party. We have a few more hours to chill before we go to the hall. I looked
over at my wife and smiled. She returned the smile, but she doesn’t know that I’m
smiling for a reason. I can’t wait until she gets home and sees her surprise in
the driveway. She still has her Audi, but I got her a brand new silver Mercedes
Benz SUV as a graduation gift. I had Tiana to wrap a red bow around it before
we came home.

“I
know you’re tired of hearing me say this, but I’m so proud of you baby,” I said
as I grabbed Brookly
n’s
hand.

“I’ll
never get tired of hearing you say that. I’m…” she started to say until we
pulled up to our house.

 
“Ahhh! Dominic I know you didn’t!” She
screamed as she jumped out of my truck. She didn’t care that the car was still
rolling when she did. I parked and got the kids out while Brooklyn ran around
her new truck like a kid. I tossed her the keys and watched as
her,
and the kids climbed inside. I laughed as
they played around with all the features like it was a new toy.

“You
like it?” I asked even though I already knew the answer.

“Yes,
I love it. You already know that I’m driving this to my party tonight. Thank
you,
baby,” she smiled as she gave me a big
kiss.

Seeing
her smile is all the thanks I need. Unlike Kennedi, Brooklyn never asks for
anything. That only makes me want to give her the world and everything in it. I
always tell her that she’s not perfect, but she’s perfect for me. She’s
not only
the mother of my kids, but she’s also
my wife. It’s kind of hard to believe that she started out as being just my
little secret.