Page 13 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)

It had been a little over two months since my husband’s secrets came out.

After the conversation he had with the kids about living outside the house, I had to do damage control.

I contemplated whether I should put the girls in therapy because everyone had lost themselves.

The first week or so, Maddie Claire and Charleigh Anne were depressed.

I couldn’t get the two of them to come out of their rooms, no matter what I promised.

Sophie wouldn’t talk until after speaking with Kreed every day, and sometimes it would be hours before she gave in.

The life had been sucked right out of them since he left that night.

My kids were hurting so bad, and I knew I had to put aside my own misery to alleviate theirs.

It wasn’t a full two weeks before I ended up calling Kreed and asking him to come home.

He wasn’t off the hook; therefore, we didn’t share a bed.

He slept downstairs in one of the guest rooms, and for a few days, things felt like they did before our worlds blew up.

I was in a fog because my kids were smiling and happy, and I didn’t have to worry about their mental states anymore.

I had started to feel better about our arrangement and slipped up by allowing Kreed back in the bedroom.

That shit lasted all of four days before my own mind couldn’t stop reeling at the fact that he had sex with someone else.

I realized I was selling everyone a fantasy, and it felt wrong.

I had no plans to reconcile with their father, so his still being in the house, and now back in our bedroom, gave everyone, including myself, a false sense of hope.

Eventually, I made him leave, and rightfully so.

I agreed that he could come to the house as much as he pleased to see the kids, but I’d made a new habit of leaving when he came.

Kreed had found him a rental, but he hadn’t set it up for them to come and stay yet, so that’s how we operated until today.

Today was the first day that the kids would be spending time with him at his new place.

Not only were they going to his house, but they were staying the entire weekend.

I didn’t even attempt to act as if I was okay.

I was anything but fucking good—I was in shambles.

My emotions had been running high ever since I opened my eyes this morning.

I’d packed their bags last night, and now we were sitting around the table while they ate breakfast. Kreed and I agreed that I should drop them off on this first visit so that I could see where he was now living.

I thought I was doing okay, but earlier this week, I’d been photographed coming out of the divorce attorney’s office, so now there were talks online about what had taken place between the two of us.

I decided the best thing for me to do was to stay offline.

I went from being active and posting daily to now going ghost.

“Mommy, are you staying at Daddy’s new house with us?” Aurora asked. Poor child was clueless about the changes going on around her. I was trying to preserve as much of her innocence as possible. The older three understood, but my baby girl was lost.

I wanted to tell her, “Fuck no, and fuck your Daddy,” but instead, I said, “No, ma’am. This weekend is just for you guys and Daddy.”

Dropping her fork on her plate, she looked up at me and smiled. “Mommy, do you miss Daddy?”

“Immensely…” I uttered truthfully. I did miss Kreed; I missed him so much that I wanted to give in so badly and try to make it work.

“I miss Daddy too. He not here when it’s Twitch time.” She sulked.

“Well, the good thing is you’re going to see him today, and you all have the entire weekend together.” I smiled when she nodded.

Standing from the bar stool, I passed Kree off to Maddie Claire and rushed out of the room. I had to get my emotions in check in order to have the strength to do this. I took a few minutes to myself, and once I was pulled together, I ambled back into the kitchen.

“Finished everyone?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Okay. Put your plates in the sink and grab your bags, please.”

Snatching Kree up, I held him to my chest and went to the garage so I could start the truck.

Once I had him strapped in his car seat, I pecked his cheek before shutting the door.

One by one, I got the kids loaded up in the truck.

After plugging Kreed’s address into the GPS, I slid my shades on my face and backed out of the garage.

Kreed’s house wasn’t far from where we currently resided, so it only took fifteen minutes to get there. When I pulled into his driveway, I dialed his number.

“Y’all here?” was how he answered the phone.

“Yep.” I popped and pressed the button on the steering wheel to end the call.

Unfastening my seat belt, I leaned my head against the headrest and sighed. This was my new normal, and I had to get used to it. I knew this was what it was, but for some reason, I was still emotional as hell.

When I leaned my head up, I noticed Kreed had walked out of the house and was on his way down the driveway to greet us.

My breathing labored as I watched the way his muscles flexed with every step he took.

He had gotten his locs freshly twisted into ropes and had them hanging down his face and shoulders.

He had on a pair of black Nike shorts that fell to the middle of his thighs, and he was bare-chested.

He looked damn good, but he wasn’t shit, and I wouldn’t fall for it again.

Unlocking the door, I hopped out so that I could help him with the kids. Kreed took one look at me and tucked his bottom lip between his teeth. The longer he stared at me, the more uncomfortable I felt.

This shit is going to be harder than I thought.

“What’s up, Sai?” he finally said after eyeing me for what felt like forever.

“Hey…” I breathed. “They just had breakfast. I packed their tablets and headphones, in case you take them out.”

“We gon’ kick it around here. I’mma throw some meat on the grill later and let them swim.”

“Oh, you have a pool?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he responded coolly. Opening the back door, he pulled Aurora out of her seat and pecked her face, making her little ass blush. “Get out, girls,” he said to the other three.

While he got their bags out of the trunk, I went around the other side and got Kree out. “You need his car seat?”

“Nawl, I got one.” Turning to the girls, he signaled toward the house. “Come on… let’s go inside.”

The girls immediately filed behind him, while I was hesitant to move. I guess he could feel it because he paused mid-stride and waved me on. Sucking my teeth, I shut the truck door and followed them up the driveway, into his new house.

“I’mma go drop these bags off. Y’all can hang out here.”

Instead of going into the living room with the kids, I stood by the front door and checked the place out.

He’d gotten it furnished, and it looked good.

He had pictures of all of us hung up on the walls in the foyer.

The house was a good size. It wasn’t bigger than the one we resided in, but, it was big enough for the kids to be comfortable, so I was happy about that.

“They got their own rooms,” he shared, scaring the fuck out of me. I had ventured further into the house without even noticing it.

“It’s nice.” I smiled.

“It’s not home,” he responded.

“Well… you didn’t want home.” I tossed back.

“I’ve never not wanted home, Masai.”

“Okay, Kreed.” I chided. I could tell he wanted to say something else, but he refrained. Instead, he clasped his hands together and watched me until I spoke again. “Make sure you put Sophie and Aurora in a life jacket before you let them get in the pool.”

“You know you can chill out and kick it with us today. It’ll feel like old times.”

“That’s the problem. Old times would’ve been us doing this together. Now, I gotta split time with my kids because you were selfish.”

“I’m trying to make it right, Sai.”

Shaking my head, I protested. “I don’t need you to make it right for me.

Make it right for them . They’re the ones that need you.

” Paying him one final glance, I spun on my heels and walked out.

I heard him calling my name, but I didn’t stop moving.

I didn’t stop until I was safely planted behind the wheel of my truck.

That’s when it happened. That’s when I broke down and cried worse than the day I found out he had another child.

I don’t know how Koya knew I was having a mental breakdown, but my phone started ringing and her name came up on the screen of the truck.

Hitting the button on the steering wheel, I slammed my eyes shut.

“Masai…” she mewled. “What happened?”

“I just dropped them off with him.” I sniveled and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. “This is so fucking hard.”

“We knew it was going to be hard, babe.”

“I know. But I didn’t think it would feel like this.

” I sobbed until I was able to continue speaking.

“I hate him so much, Koya. I really hate him.” Glancing up at the house, I spotted Kreed standing in the doorway sporting a sympathetic look.

For a minute, our eyes locked on each other.

His were pleading with me, and mine were filled with sorrow and rage.

I was at war with my feelings and suffocating from the fact that my marriage was really over.

“If you want to work on your marriage, Masai, you are well within your rights to do so. Kreed messed up, and granted, you might feel like the situation isn’t worth redeeming, but if you love him, Masai, and you want him back… You make him work for a spot in your heart again.”

“I don’t want him back,” I blubbered. “I just don’t want to hurt anymore.”

“I’m coming to you. I’m on the way now.”

“Okay…” I breathed.

“Give me thirty minutes.”