Save Me

3| Lauren

"Mama, do I have to go to bed? It's only like 8:30," Nasir whined as I tucked him in for bed.

"Tommorow's your first day at your new school and you have to be up and alert. So, yes you have to go to bed now champ."

"But Pops and Ms. Nina let me go to bed at midnight when I stay at his house last night." I furrowed my brow.

"Who's Ms. Nina, Nas?"

He shrugged me off and batted his eyes. "Pops lady friend I think. She's a nice lady." I chuckled at my son's dry snitching on his grandfather. I definitely would have to have a conversation with my father about this soon.

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to have a talk with Pops about him letting you stay up at wee hours of the night." I got up from the side of bed and glanced down at my watch to see how much time I had to get to work.

"Hey, mama can I ask you a question?" I turned back around to face him to hear what he had to say.

"Talk to me."

"When's dad coming back?" he asked for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past three months since we left Florida. I sighed deeply and crossed my arms. I was trying to avoid really telling him the situation because he's just a kid and he looks at Christian like he's a super hero.

"Um, maybe when the baseball season ends, but you know what we'll call him in the morning before you go to school," I told him.

Nasir straight face dropped to a frown slightly, but he nodded anyway in reply. "Alright, go save lives at work mama." I smiled and walked to the room door to turn off the light.

"I'll try. Night, my baby."

I shut the light off and slowly closed the door. I peeked down at my watch and started to put some pep in my step as I went downstairs to gather my things for work.

"Mother!" I called out, trying to see where my mother disappeared off to.

"Stop hollering in my house, please," she waltzed into the living room in her robe and a wine glass in her hand.

"My bad. So, I just put Nas to bed and all I need you to do is wake him at 7:30 for me. I'll be back from work by then to dress him and take him to school."

My mother shook her head and waved me off. "Yeah, yeah...I know what to do. However--" I immediately rolled my eyes when she hesitated to speak becaus eit meant a mini-lecture was next.

"However, what?" I groaned with my arms crossed.

"You wouldn't even have to go to work or find babysitters, if you didn't abruptly leave your husband. I mean, I still cannot believe you walked out on a 100 million dollar man."

"I wasn't happy," I kept my response short and sweet.

"You keep giving me that answer, but it ain't good enough. Especially, if you not trying to get half of what's yours."

I was growing tired of us constantly having this conversation, but she kept reminding me that I was making a big mistake by leaving Christian.

"Mother, everybody not like you," I said, referring to the fact that she took half of everything my father owns when he filed for divorce. I'm talking 25 million dollars of his fortune.

My mother smacked her teeth. "You're right because if you were me then you would be in Florida by your husband's side." I mentally rolled my eyes at her. "Christian is a good man, so don't roam too far away from him for too long."

"Even if he's a cheater?" I threw a question at her. She shrugged me off and chuckled.

"If he comes home at night to you, does it really matter?"