His Side Chick III (But I Love Him To Death)

Chapter 12 (Micheal)

The ringing of my phone woke me from a much needed sound sleep. According to the clock that rested on the wall, it was almost eleven in the morning, which only gave me another hour until it was time to check out. I’d spent yet another night holed up in a hotel with Kayla. I lost count of the many times she begged me to come to her house, but I always refused. There was no way in hell she was ever coming to mine. I wasn’t trying to lead her on and make her think that what we were doing was nothing more than sex because that’s all it was. As long as we were on the same page it was cool. I made sure I was honest up front. That way she had a choice of whether she wanted to stay or go. It didn’t matter to me one way or the other because I already had enough on my plate. My family was problem number one. They were pissed about me bringing Kayla to their house last night. My intentions were to pick her up and go straight to the hotel, but a call from my father changed my plans. He needed me to sign some papers that had to be faxed right away, so I really didn’t have a choice. I didn’t know that Beyonce was there, or I would have left Kayla in the car. Even though she did me wrong, I still loved her, and I was still in love with her. Stressing her out was the last thing I wanted to do especially since she was pregnant. That was another thing that was bothering me. I was really torn when it came down to this whole pregnancy thing. As much as I wanted to say "fuck it" and move on, I just couldn't do it. The fact remained that there was a possibility that I could be the father just as well as her ex. That was the main reason I made sure to be at every doctor’s appointment. If I was the father at least, I can say that I was there every step of the way. On the flip side, it was going to kill me if I’d been there all along only to find out the baby belonged to someone else. “Yeah Ma,” I said answering my phone. This was the fourth time she called this morning, so I know she was pissed. “Don’t yeah Ma me. Did you forget that I told you I wanted to talk to you today?” She asked. “No, I didn't forget. You never gave me a time,” I replied. “ Well, the sooner, the better,” she said. “Alright, let me take a shower and eat. I’ll be there when I’m done.” “I cooked and your daddy is grilling so you can eat when you get here.” “Cool, I’ll see you in a little while,” I replied before disconnecting our call. I sat up and swung my legs to the side of the bed. I never brought a change of clothes when we stayed at the hotel, so I needed to go home and change. “I hope you’re not trying to leave without me?” Kayla questioned as she sat up in the bed. Her timing was perfect because I was ready to bounce. “Nah, but I need to be somewhere. Get dressed so I can take you to your car,” I told her. Kayla and I never came to each other’s houses. We always met up at a neutral spot. She would park her car somewhere safe and ride with me. That was my suggestion, and it was working out pretty good thus far. “Are we hooking up again tonight?” She asked. Every time we were about to go our separate ways she always wanted to know how long it would be before she saw me again. I gave her the same answer every time. “I don’t know. We’ll see how our day goes,” was my generic answer. “Can I ask you something?” She said. “What’s up?” “I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but I need to know about us. What are we doing? I mean, do you even see us having a future together?” She was rambling on even though I raised my hand to stop her from talking. “From day one, I was straight up and honest with you. I’m not looking for anything serious. I just got out of a serious relationship that didn’t end too well,” I replied. “You still love her don't you?” She asked lowly . “Yes, and I’ve told you that several times.” “Even after everything she ’s done to you? You caught her cheating or did you forget?” She asked. This was the reason I never told anyone my business. I hated for someone to throw something I’ve told them back in my face. “Not that it's any of your business, but I can’t turn my feelings off like that. I can’t love somebody one day and stop the next. That’s not how it works,” I replied. “You’re going to be stupid and go right back to her,” she said just above a whisper. If the room wasn’t so quiet, I probably would have missed it. I noticed that she’d been in her feelings a lot lately, and it was time for me to put her in her place. “I see you don’t know how to fuck without catching feelings, so this here is a wrap,” I said standing to my feet. “I’m just afraid of being hurt in the long run if you end up getting back with her,” she said hurriedly. “You don’t have to worry about that happening. Like I just said, it’s a wrap. I have enough to deal with without worrying about all the added drama,” I replied. I grabbed my clothes that were scattered on the floor and proceeded to get dressed. Kayla grabbed her things and stormed off to the bathroom and slammed the door. I had a feeling that this was going to happen, but I was putting a stop to it before it got out of hand. After dropping Kayla off to her car, I went home and took a shower, before getting dressed to go talk to my mother. It was crazy for me to feel this way, but I was hoping Beyonce was still there. She should have been the last person on my mind, but she wasn’t. I pulled into my parents’ driveway, but I didn’t see Bey's car there. That didn’t mean anything because I didn’t see her car last night, but she was still there. Since my pops was grilling. I decided to enter through the yard instead of the front door. When I entered the yard, I saw my sisters and Kelly sitting at the table playing cards. My pops was on the grill, but I didn’t see my mama or Beyonce anywhere. “What’s up y’all?” I greeted everyone as I made my way into the house. I walked into the kitchen and found my mama standing at the stove cooking. “I see you finally made it,” she said when I leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I told you I was coming,” I replied. I wanted to ask her where Beyonce was since I still hadn’t seen her. Before I had a chance to ask she came strolling into the kitchen with the phone up to her ear. She looked so cute in a colorful sundress that put her tiny baby bump on full display. She has always been pretty, but the pregnancy gave her a glow that she didn’t have before. “Is the food done?” She asked my mama, completely ignoring me. “In about ten minutes it will be,” my mama replied smiling. I felt some kind of way about her acting like I wasn’t in the room. Then she was on the phone laughing with somebody and that made me just as mad. My sisters kept telling me she wasn’t dealing with her ex anymore, but that was the only person I could think of that would have her smiling so hard. I no longer had the right to question her, but I really wanted to know who she was talking to. I’m happy I didn’t have to wonder for long because my suspicions were quickly put to rest. “Arleen, my mama said hi and to send her a plate,” Beyonce said as she laughed along with my mama. They went back and forth for a little while before she finally disconnected the call. Even after getting off of the phone, it still seemed as if I was invisible to her as she continued talking to my mama like I wasn’t even in the room. “Well damn, hello to you too Beyonce,” I said after feeling like I’d been ignored long enough. “Oh, so now you see me? You sure didn’t seem to see me last night,” she snapped right before she walked outside. “That must be those damn pregnancy hormones getting to her,” I said shaking my head. “That has nothing to do with her attitude. She’s right; you came in here last night and didn’t bother to acknowledge any of us,” my mama said jumping to her defense. I didn’t pay much attention to it until she brought it up, but it wasn’t intentional. “So what’s going on with y’all?” My mama asked me. She caught me off guard with the question, but I had no problem giving her an answer. “Nothing is going on with us. She cheated, and I’m done with her. She can do her, and I’ll do me,” I replied. “I hope you are not talking about doing you with Kayla’s crazy ass,” she said turning up her nose at the thought. “Hell no, I don’t want her either.” “You can play hard all you want to, but you love Beyonce. Your ego is bruised, and you’re letting your pride get in the way of being with her.” “This has nothing to do with pride. I caught her in bed with another nigga, and I’m supposed to take her back after that?” I said getting upset. “She made a mistake Mike. People do it every day. I’m not saying its right, but it’s done and it can’t be undone,” she replied. “You like her, so I expect for you to say that.” “Do you know why I like her? Because she reminds me a lot of myself,” my mama said asking, then answering her own question. “I don’t see how,” I said as I started eating the food that she sat in front of me. “You and Bey are nothing alike.” “Don’t be so quick to speak until you know all of the facts,” she replied. “Whatever. If this baby is mine then, that’s the only thing we’ll have to talk about. Other than that I’m done with her. I refuse to take care of another man’s child,” I said seriously. “You’re upset right now, but you don’t mean that. You are your father’s child, and you are just like him in every way,” she said. “What do you mean by that?” I asked. “I asked you to come over here because I wanted to talk to you about something important. It may or may not change things between you and Beyonce, but I just want to tell you my story.” I was curious about what she was about to say, so I sat up straight and gave her my undivided attention. “Your daddy and I got married when you were only two years old. During that time, he was just starting to get his business off the ground, so he worked long hours and was hardly ever home. After doing that for so long, I started to get lonely and bored with being home by myself all the time. So on the weekends when you were staying with your grandparents, I went out with a friend of mine and I ended up meeting someone.” “Wait, so what are you saying?” I asked as I interrupted her in the middle of her talk. “Stop interrupting me and just listen,” she replied. “Like I said, I met someone. We started out talking on the phone, but after a while we started hanging out and spending time together. After a while, things got physical, and we ended up being intimate with one another.” “Man, I don’t want to hear this,” I said as I pushed the plate of food I was eating to the side. My appetite was gone after listening to all the shit she was telling me. I stood up and prepared to exit stage left. “Mike just sit down and hear me out,” she pleaded. “No, you’re telling me that you cheated on my daddy, and you want me to sit here and listen to this shit,” I yelled. “Watch your damn mouth! If you just listen you’ll understand what I’m trying to tell your stubborn ass,” she yelled back at me. I was never one to be disrespectful towards my elders, so I sat back down and allowed her to continue. “Okay, so why do I need to know that you cheated?” I asked confused. “I’m getting to that if you just shut up. So anyway, after a few months of going back and forth, your father ended up finding out about us. We separated for a little while, but I also ended the affair that I was having. After being apart for about a month , your father and I decided to work things out and get back together. Not long after that I found out that I was pregnant with Adrian. Just like Beyonce, I didn’t know who I was pregnant by at the time. When the Adrian was born, we took a paternity test and found out that she was not for your fathers’.” I swear I felt like the air had been sucked right out of me. I know she wasn’t sitting here telling me that my sister and I didn’t have the same father. That had to be a lie. He had them spoiled rotten. Hell, he damn near treated them better than he treated me sometimes. I had a million questions, but I didn’t know where to start. “So who is her father?” That was the first question that came to mind. “His name was Ivan, and he was an army vet,” she replied. “What do you mean was? Where is he now?” “He died in a car accident when Adrian was only six months old. Your daddy adopted her a few months later, around the same time I found out I was pregnant with Ardeema and we’ve been one big happy family ever since,” she replied. “Do they know?” I asked referring to Adrian and Ardeema. “No, and the only reason I told you is because I see that you’re going through the exact same thing. You would have never known had I not told you, and you never looked at me as a bad person. I just need you to understand that good people sometimes make bad decisions,” she said sincerely. “I get what you’re saying, but this is different. You don’t have to worry about Adrian's daddy coming around trying to be in her life. If this baby is Beyonce's ex, he’ll be around twenty- four seven. It’s not about the baby with him. He’s in love with Beyonce. I just can’t deal with that,” I said honestly. “I would just hate for you to give up without even trying,” she said. I can’t lie; she really gave me a lot to think about. I really did love Bey, but I didn’t know if I would ever be able to trust her again. “Honestly, I feel stupid for even feeling like I still want to be with her after what she did,” I replied. “Pride is the sign of a foolish man,” my mama said as she grabbed my hand and pulled me outside. I saw Beyonce sitting in a lounge chair reading a book on her iPad. I walked over to her and sat on the edge of the chair. I know she saw me, but she never looked up or acknowledged my presence. I grabbed her feet and started giving her a massage. “Stop,” she yelled before taking her feet out of my lap. “Sorry about not speaking to you last night,” I said as I grabbed her feet once again. This time she didn’t move them away. “It’s cool. I didn’t want you to get in trouble with your girlfriend,” she replied in her usual sassy tone that I missed so much. “That’s not my girlfriend, but let me find out that you’re jealous,” I said smiling at her. She smiled back but didn’t reply. I guess I got my answer, and she was indeed jealous. She was so pretty, and I felt like I could stare at her forever. “I find out what I’m having when I go back to the doctor next week,” she said breaking me away from the trance she had me in. “I know, I’ll be there,” I replied. I really wanted to take my mama’s advice and move forward, but it wasn’t that easy for me. Beyonce had hurt me in a way that no other woman ever has. I would hate for us to have a repeat of what happened before. I looked up and saw my sisters and Kelly looking at us smiling. I know that us being together was what Beyonce and everybody else wanted, but I just had to be sure that it was what I wanted.