Follow Aubrey as he tries to improve the lives of himself and his three-year-old son, Omari. Despite the difficulties he has always faced, Aubrey has never given up. However, his situation takes a turn for the better when he unexpectedly encounters...
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Being at my mom's house for the past few weeks had given me a mix of relief and confusion. Relief because I was away from the tension at home with Aubrey, and confusion because I was still struggling to piece together my feelings about everything that happened. Aubrey had been coming back and forth mostly to see Ryleigh, and I, out of hurt and a sense of protectiveness, refused to let him take her back to our house. I knew it wasn't fair, but my emotions were all over the place.
I continued my therapy sessions, but with each session, I realized that my journey to recovery from postpartum depression was more complicated than I had thought. It was like a tangled web as soon as I felt I was making progress in one area, another seemed to unravel. And now, with everything happening with Aubrey, I felt more insecure than ever. I wanted to believe him when he said nothing happened that night, but the unanswered questions about the woman who picked up his phone and his unusual texting behavior haunted me.
My thoughts were interrupted by Omari's excited voice. "Mommy!" I made my way down the stairs to see him standing in the living room, taking off his shoes. Aubrey must have just dropped him off.
"Hey, Baby!" I greeted him with a smile as he came over for a hug. "Mommy, I'm on the football team. Daddy signed me up," he beamed.
"That's wonderful, Mari! I'm so happy for you! I can't wait to see you play!" I replied, genuinely thrilled for him.
Omari went to sit next to Pooter, who was engrossed in his phone. I noticed Aubrey emerging from the kitchen, holding Ryleigh. He didn't say much but the way he interacted with her put a small smile on my face, it warmed my heart to see them together. But at the same time, I still felt some type of way.
"Wassup, Dom? You good?" Aubrey asked, breaking the silence between us.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak, and made my way to the kitchen where my mom and James were. My mom gave me a knowing look. "I'm tired of this, Dom. Let that man take his baby home. You're not like this," she chided.
"What? He has Ryleigh right now. There shouldn't be a problem," I retorted, feeling defensive.
"You won't even let him leave with his own child. He's going through it. Don't start acting like these other trifling bitches out here, just because you're mad at him," she continued, her tone stern.
Before I could respond, Aubrey walked in with Ryleigh in his arms. "Hey uh, I was just wondering if I could take her to the park with Omari and me?" he asked hesitantly.
" A damn shame, he's asking her if he can spend time with his own child." I heard my mom mumble to James.
"No," I replied curtly, turning away from him.
"Dom, come on. It's just the park. I was only going for maybe 20 minutes. Please..." Aubrey's voice had a pleading edge to it.
I walked past him, ignoring his request. As I left the kitchen, I heard my mom tell Aubrey to go ahead to the park with the kids. Climbing the stairs, I heard Aubrey tell Omari to get his shoes on.
