Page 17 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)
Wrangling five kids had always been a task in itself.
Kreed being around made it a lot easier.
Nowadays, I was having to do it on my own, and boy, was it taking some getting used to.
Last week, I’d told Kreed I would arrange for the kids to come see him at training camp and at first, I had no plans of showing up.
He’d called and talked to the kids a few times a day, so when Maddie Claire begged me to take them, I decided to put my pride to the side and show up for the kids.
It took us a few hours to get dressed, but after making sure I had everything that I would need, I got everyone settled in the truck and took off for the stadium.
I didn’t tell Kreed today would be the day they would come.
I wanted to surprise him with them just showing up.
The only people who knew we were on the way was Koya and Jream.
Since I still had access to the facility, instead of parking with the general public, I pulled my truck into the private lot.
Grabbing my phone out of the cupholder, I dialed Jream and she answered on the second ring. “Hey, Sai.”
“Hey. How is it in there?”
“It’s going good. The guys are on the field right now. Koya just walked off to talk to her dad. Are you guys here?”
“We are.”
“Yay!” she cheered. “I’m gonna come out and get you.”
“Thank you. I can use the extra hands.” After ending the call, I rested my head back and closed my eyes. I felt like I was in uncharted territory, and I couldn’t understand why. I’d visited these camps faithfully in the past. Hell, I’d made this man a training camp basket every single year.
When the girls realized that I wasn’t going all out for their father’s stay, they took it upon themselves to make the basket.
Of course, I had to take them shopping for everything they needed.
The day he had to report, he stopped by the house to see them, and it was then that they’d presented him with the basket.
Naturally, he thanked me for allowing them to do it, but I explained to him that it was their idea and I wasn’t trying to make anything between him and his kids hard. The goal was to minimize the separation as much as possible.
“Mommy…” Aurora called out, forcing me to turn in my seat.
“Yes, baby.”
“There’s Auntie Jream.” She pointed.
Hitting the button to unlock the door, I undid my seat belt and hopped out of the driver’s seat. “You look cute.”
“Thank you, boo.” She smiled. “ I wanted to show my man that I was still his number one fan.”
“I heard that.” I chuckled.
“How are you? I know this is a lot, but you’re doing a good thing, Sai.”
“I’m okay,” I lied. I was anything but okay.
There were several media outlets at training camp.
Everyone had been trying to figure out what was going on in my marriage.
Kreed and I had both tried to keep things under wraps, but I knew it wouldn’t be too long before it was out there for the world to know, especially since I was the president of the WAGS Association and had missed a few meetings.
Thank God Koya had stepped in on my behalf because I wouldn’t dare sit in a room with half of those hoes and air out my business.
“You’re lying.” Jream giggled and tossed her arms around me. “I love you, Sai.”
“I love you more, Jream.”
“It’ll be okay.”
“I know.” I sucked in a deep breath. “Let me get them out so they can go see their father.”
“Yes, please.” Letting me go, she sauntered around the other side of the truck and opened the door. “Masai!” she shrieked. “They look sooo cute.”
“Thank you.” I giggled. I was in jeans and a T-shirt, but I’d made sure to dress the kids up in their Demon apparel. I’d even combed the girls’ hair up into ponytails and tied red and black ribbons around it.
“Kreed will be happy.”
“I bet.” I snipped. Grabbing the bookbag out of the trunk, I pulled the stroller out and unfolded it. At some point today, Kree would tire himself out and need a nap, so I made sure to come extra prepared. Once we’d gotten the kids out of the car, I said a quick prayer before entering the facility.
“Mommy, Mommy!” Aurora rushed out while patting my arm.
“What, Buttercup?”
“There goes my daddy.” She smiled and pointed out to the field where Kreed was standing. “Daddy!” she yelled, garnering his attention.
I swear he took one look at us and immediately ended the conversation he was having. Jogging over to us, he swiped her from the ground as soon as he was near and tickled her belly.
“Aurora Dai…” he sang in between pecks to her face. The way she was giggling and carrying on, I knew I’d made the right decision by putting my own issues on the back burner so my kids could be there for him.
After greeting the other four with the same enthusiasm, he held Kree in his arms and leaned over to peck me on the forehead. “Thank you so much, Sai. This means the world to me, you just don’t know.”
“You… You’re,” I stuttered before recovering and saying, “You’re welcome.”
“Mind if I take them with me?”
“No… I’ll be over there.”
“Aight. Come on, kids.”
I stood there and watched the six of them meander away. “It’ll get easier, eventually,” Jream said from beside me.
Tossing my misty eyes over to her, I chuckled under my breath. “I don’t think it will.”
“Let’s go find, Koya.” Linking her arm through mine, she steered me away from the field.
When we made it over to where Koya was standing, talking to her father, I took it upon myself to have a seat.
Being here, although for a good cause, kind of felt like I was suffocating.
I felt as if everyone was watching me and trying to put together a story or something.
In reality, no one was paying my ass any attention, and I was currently pep-talking myself out of the paranoia.
“You okay, boo?” Koya asked and took a seat beside me.
“I wish y’all would stop asking me that.” I laughed. “I’m holding it together, if that’s what you meant.”
“That’s all you can do.” She gave my hand a quick squeeze before putting her eyes on the field. “He’s an amazing father, Masai.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
“Every day he’s been asking if today was the day you were going to bring them.”
“Had I really talked myself out of it, then today wouldn’t have been the day,” I spoke truthfully.
“Well, we’re happy that you showed up,” Jream chimed in.
Watching Kreed run around the field playing with the kids made my heart smile.
I’m sure he missed them just as much as they missed him.
Hell, I missed him the same. His good-looking self didn’t help those lingering feelings, but then again, when did Kreed ever not look good?
His locs were pulled back out of his face, and the smile that was spread across it made him even more handsome.
“Yeah, I second that,” Koya added.
“And I’m sure he is too—especially since he’s so used to having the support.”
“Well… I can’t be much of a support system to him if I’m planning to leave him, Jream.” I snapped.
“I know…” She gave me a tight-lipped smile. “I was just saying.”
“I know, babe, and I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s a touchy subject right now, and I’m trying to navigate as best as I can.”
“I’m sorry for bringing it up, Masai. I have to remember that Kreed hurt you, and not the other way around.”
“It’s okay… really.”
Things got quiet for a few minutes. I don’t know what was on their minds, but mine was wondering how things would play out this season.
Kreed liked for the kids to be at all the home games.
We made good use of the suite that we paid for yearly.
In my mind, I was wondering if he expected me to occupy the space this season as I’d done in the past.
Did he expect me to show up as the supportive, doting wife as I’d done time and time again?
Those were the things I thought about at the end of the day when the rest of the world was sleeping and I was stuck in my head.
As much as I was prepared to move on, the ease or difficulty of doing so was hitting me quickly.
Time would tell because the season would be here before you know it.
Opting out of continuing to stew in my feelings, I sparked up a conversation with the girls.
The best thing to do for my mental health at this point was to pretend like my world wasn’t falling apart.
The more I focused on Kreed and my martial demise, the less chances I had of healing, and my healing was essential to my peace.
A week after my kids and I had been photographed at the training camp, the blogs had somehow gotten a picture of Kreed with his other family . Those assumptions had now turned into speculations, and now my business was really out there.
I knew without a doubt that ole girl had sent those pictures to them. She thought she was one-upping me by doing so, but she’d done the complete opposite. The blogs were calling her a homewrecking hoe, and they were right.
I could’ve popped off online, but that wasn’t in my character to do so. Besides, I didn’t owe anybody shit. Instead of saying what was really on my mind, I decided it was best if I just poured into myself and remained silent.
The first thing on my agenda was accepting the job offer I’d received from the law firm.
After accepting, I made sure my kids were set up with after-school care and even went as far as hiring a nanny to help my mom, who was going to keep Kree at my house.
My initial plan had been to wait until the kids started school again, but Mommy needed an outlet and needed one fast.
Today was my first day stepping back into the workforce, and I was nervous as hell. I’d woken up early as hell this morning just to mentally prepare myself. My mom had stayed over last night, so I didn’t have to worry about getting the kids up and ready.
Once I’d finished putting the final touches of my makeup on, I grabbed my blazer off the bed and hit the lights. When I made it downstairs, my mom was already up and standing at the refrigerator.