Tough Love

Chap. 65 • "Tension"

Trimester 3
Month 7, Week 2
Christopher Brown

"Alright, stay close, and don't talk to strangers. I'll be sitting right over here." I told Royalty. I was taking her to the park because we honestly both needed some fresh air. I haven't been outside much.

She ran off and I turned my head towards the bench, seeing Aya sitting there texting somebody on her phone, constantly looking away from it to watch Kenya. Sighing deeply, I took a seat next to her, but she didn't even notice me. She didn't even try to.

"Be careful, baby!" She called out to her. I expected her to turn her head or something, but she just went right back to her phone. She laughed at something, biting her lip.

"Hey." I spoke up. She looked up in my direction. I expected her to frown her something, but she still had a twinkle in her eyes and a slight smile tugging on her lips.

"Sup." She nodded and went back to her phone. I tapped my foot impatiently, still staring at her.

"So you're having a boy?" I said, trying to make small talk.

"Yep." She answered simply. Her brows furrowed as she read a text message, then it curved into a wide smile. She always does that when she's trying to read something and doesn't have her glasses on.

"What are you naming him?" I didn't take my eyes off of her, while she wouldn't put her eyes on me.

"Ayden Jakhari Weathers." She mumbled, glancing up to check on Kenya.

"Weathers? So you still haven't got in touch with his father, I'm guessing." I said. I expected her child to take the father's last name, not hers.

"Why would I look for what's right in front of me?" She chuckled, shaking her head.

"You're still stuck on that? I told you—"

"I know what you told me, Chris. But I also know what I told you. I haven't made any efforts to reach out to you regarding my since that day, you ain't gotta worry about me, cause I'm sure as hell not worrying about you. For the sake of my health, I don't think good conversation should be continued." She rubbed her stomach in circles with furrowed brows.

"Not worried about me, huh? So you just don't care anymore?" I shook my head, trying to make sense of all of it. How did she go from crying on my doorstep to not giving a single fuck about me?

"What part about 'me and my child' did you not understand? Are you gonna put some bitch over your child? I really wanna know." She turned to look at me, but the face she was giving me wasn't pleasing.

"No, but—"

"That's it, Chris. You wouldn't. So why should I? Maybe I'll start caring when it's safe to care. Until then, you and your stubbornness aren't getting an ounce of my time." She shrugged.

"I'm not—"

"Christopher, please. I absolutely can't afford to start stressing right now, and you're really not helping." She kept touching her stomach.

"I miss you..." I mumbled. It fell silent for a moment as she stared down at the ground.

"You don't miss me. You miss the thought of what I was before the mess. You miss what we used to have. You're only saying that because you're upset that I'm not hurting the way you are. You're upset that I'm moving on faster than you are,"

That's the thing about Aya. She could read me like a book in the spew of a second. I miss the old Aya, and this isn't it. I guess at some point in time, you learn to let shit go. Does that apply to everybody but me?