AUGUST'S POV
We're going down the exact same path. Things have to change if we're going to work it out and stay together.
"Just leave!" She snapped. "I'm DONE! I give up!"
"I'm not leaving!" I yelled. "Don't you get it?! We go through the same shit over and over again because we do the same shit over and over again! We argue, I say dumb shit, you cry, I feel bad, and then I leave! We gotta change the shit we're doing to get the outcome that we both want! I mean, everybody argues, but it's not about the argument, it's about how we handle it! Zonnique, I'm not perfect and neither are you, but we can do better than what we've been doing. You gotta stop all this crying ma'. You gotta get mad. You gotta get mean. Talk crazy to me, I can take it. It's better than you bottling everything up and then breaking down." I explained to her. "Just please don't give up on us baby. Don't give up on me. I don't know what I would do without you..."
I pressed my head up against her thigh and sighed. I just want the two of us to be happy together... I was low key panicking. She's my best friend. Even when we're not together, she has my back. She's the true definition of a rider. I want to marry her someday. I have plans for our future. If she quits, my whole world would fall apart.
She sniffled and softly tugged at my tight curls. "I'm not giving up on you August..." She sighed. "It's just that you're really stressing me out. I already have a lot to deal with and you're supposed to be the person keeping me sane, but you're just making things more difficult."
"You puttin' yourself through all this shit. Didn't nobody tell yo' overly nice ass to take in the wicked witch of the west." I scrunched up my face.
"August stop that!" She snapped. "I know she's done some terrible things, but she is still my mother! I don't want you disrespecting her anymore!"
"Aight, aight." I held my hands up. "You tell Lydia the bad witch to respect me and I'll respect her."
She rolled her eyes. "Okay."
"Now can you meet me halfway on some stuff?" I asked her.
"I'm not going to befriend Bahja." She shook her head. "I'll help with Rylei, but I'm not Bahja's friend." She crossed her arms.
"Why you gotta be like tha--"
"Because you fucking cheated on me with her!" She shouted. "August, you need to sit down and think about the kind of shit you ask you me to do! What man in their right mind asks his girlfriend to be friends with the woman he cheated with?!" She shook her head. "I'm not about to be that girl that everyone is calling a dumbass who does whatever her boyfriend tells her to."
"Why you always worried about what everybody else has to say?" I rolled my eyes.
"I was just saying. You might think I'm clueless, but I'm not. I knew you were cheating then and I just didn't want to accept it. But I want you to know you're not running game on anybody, August. If you cheat on me again, things are going to get real violent and out of control." She warned me.
"Aight, whatever." I waved her off.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." She stated before getting up. "You can show yourself out..."
"Aight, see you tomorrow."
I tried to give her a kiss, but she turned her face so I just kissed her on the cheek.
~
ZONNIQUE'S POV
The next morning, I woke up in a surprisingly good mood. I got up and took a quick shower and completed my daily hygiene before slipping on a pair of August's sweats that I still wear and a tank top. Then I pulled my hair up into a bun and went into Ava's room to get her up. She was fast asleep in nothing but her diaper. I chuckled and gently shook her while calling her name. She whined and opened her eyes. Once her eyes adjusted, she reached for me and her pacifier fell out of her mouth. She huffed and grabbed it, shoving back between her lips before reaching for me again.
