𝚍𝚛𝚞𝚗𝚔 𝚝𝚎𝚡𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 - 𝚛𝚘𝚍𝚍𝚢 𝚛𝚒𝚌𝚌𝚑 (on hold)

00:29

cassius d'angelo
i paced around my room for a minute with my phone in my hand, contemplating my next move. i took everything india said the night before into consideration. i knew i owed nastasia more than an apology for my actions. she told me that she's carrying my child, and the first words come out of my mouth were beyond insensitive. i felt bad as soon as i said it, but i just couldn't put my pride aside. when india brought it back to my attention, i knew something had to give. i knew i had to go and be a man. i unlocked my phone and started a text to nastasia. sure it was a simple text, but i can assure you it took me about 15-20 minutes to press send.

To: Stasi 🧸
- hey .. you busy?

i stayed in the message thread until she read it. i watched as the floating ellipses appeared and left multiple times, until it finally stopped.

From: Stasi 🧸
- no. what's wrong?

To: Stasi 🧸
- can i come over? so we can talk.

From: Stasi 🧸
- yeah.

i locked my phone and slipped on my shoes, grabbing my keys and heading towards the door. i ran into jasmine on the way out the door. "um, where are you going?" i asked her. i looked at the time, then i looked at her outfit.

"um, to a party?"

i cocked my head to the side. "um, no you're not? momma said you can't go nowhere."

she rolled her eyes. "what she don't know won't kill her." she started to open the door. i placed my hand on it and closed it.

"cuh, i'm not finna keep getting myself fucked up over yo dumb shit. you're staying." i put my foot down.

she rolled her eyes once again. "what makes you think i won't leave when you go see yo baby momma?" she pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

damn. she was right. she could just up and leave right after i did. "you're right. i don't know that," i opened the front door, "you're coming with me." she opened her mouth to protest but quickly shut it, walking out of the door. i closed it behind us and locked it before walking down to my car. i watched as jasmine rolled her eyes and got in the back seat. "why are you sitting in the back?" i asked as i sat down.

"because i don't feel like looking at you." she laid out on the backseat and reached for her phone, turning away from me.

i sighed deeply. lord what did i do to deserve this? i contemplated making a hard turn so she would bust her ass one time, but i didn't wanna hear her run her mouth anymore. i backed out of my parking space and headed to stasi's house.

i always adored stasi's house. she lived in this cute two bedroom townhouse in culver city, it really suited her well. i pulled up and parked next to her car, cutting the engine. i turned back to look at jasmine. "stay in the car." i opened the door.

she scoffed. "at least keep the ac running." i turned the car back on before i got out. i walked swiftly to stasi's front door and knocked a few times. she answered within a few seconds, stopping to look me up and down then behind me.

"you know your car is still running, right?"

i nodded. "jasmine's in the backseat."

her facial expressions showed that she wanted to ask more questions, but she held her tongue. instead, she stepped to the side and let me into her house. i looked at her, my eyes immediately drawn to her stomach. damn, i thought to myself. it had been less than a week since the last time i saw her, but she was showing a lot more than she was then. she gestured for us to sit down on the couch. i followed her actions and sat down. "so, what did you wanna talk about?" she asked. that's the one thing about nastasia, her facial expressions always give away her ulterior motive. she knew what i came over here to talk about. whether india told her or not, she still knew. she just wanted to hear it come out of my mouth.

"i'd feel a bit more comfortable if you sat down, too." i laughed dryly. she sighed and sat down, leaving space between us. she turned her body towards me. she waited for me to speak again, but she didn't say anything. she didn't make any excessive gestures. she just looked at me, waiting for me to move forward. i took a deep breath before i spoke again. "i came over here to apologize." i started.

nastasia nodded, gesturing for me to continue. i knew i had to continue, but i didn't know what the hell to say. or how the hell i'm supposed to say it.

"i'm sorry for what i said earlier this week. about the baby. okay, it was really insensitive of me to say because i didn't try to take how you were feeling into consideration. i can only assume this has been hard for you, i should have thought about that."

"no i don't think you understand how much your words hurt, cash."

"i understand what i said was wrong, wholeheartedly—"

she cut me off. "stop. please. let me say what i have to say. i don't know how much i can reiterate that we are equally responsible for this child. so yes, you were wrong. but don't think that this half ass apology is gonna make up for anything. your actions gotta speak louder than anything. you're not about to sit here and apologize and think you can still neglect my baby because that's not gonna happen."

"nastasia, i didn't come over here and apologize just to say i did it. i wanna do right by our baby, okay? the apology was for how i acted towards you, my actions moving forward are for the baby." i simply stated.

stasi's face softened. "that means a lot. thank you. so do you wanna begin discussing co-parenting, or do you wanna wait?" she asked.

i shook my head. "it can wait. when's your next doctor's appointment?" her eyes lit up in shock. i started to laugh. "i told you i'm gonna do better. now when is your next appointment?" i asked again.

"next friday."

"okay, well i'll be there." she flashed a small smile at me. i jumped when i felt my phone vibrate in my hand.

From: Jas ⛈
- if you're not out here in the next 5 minutes i'm stealing your car.

i really hate this little girl sometimes. i rolled my eyes. "i gotta go, she's threatening to steal my car." i sighed. we both stood up.

"lemme walk you to the door." she led the way. she stopped at the door and turned back to look at me. "so, i guess i'll see you next friday?" i nodded, holding eye contact with her. i leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead. she placed her hand on my chest and looked up at me. she looked me in my eyes and didn't say anything else. she didn't move her hand either. for once, i couldn't read her facial expression. i placed my finger under her chin and lifted it up, bringing my lips down to hers until they met. she slowly kissed me back before we both pulled away. she opened the door. "bye cash."

i nodded one last time before i walked out the door. maybe i shouldn't have kissed her. i turned around to see her hovering in the doorway, waiting for me to get to my car safely. i got to the door to see jasmine sitting in the driver's seat. she rolled down the window. "move." i said and tried to open the door. it was locked.

"you move. i'm driving us home."

i laughed a lot harder than intended. "i'll let yo little ass walk before i let you drive my damn car. move." she didn't budge. she just continued to look at me while she adjusted the seat. i rolled my eyes and walked over to the passenger seat. "i liked it better when i thought you was moving in with india." i muttered under my breath.

"shut up, you love me."

i rolled my eyes once again and sat back, looking out the window as she drove us home.