Page 31 of Out of Bounds (Atlanta Demon Series #4)

Tossing my head back on the headrest, I groaned.

Man. If I could go back and do some shit over, I would’ve pushed for Ashton to have a fucking abortion.

Masai made this co-parenting shit easy, and maybe that was because we had history.

It could’ve been that she knew how much my kids meant to me.

Ashton, on the other hand, had been keeping me from KJ since she saw pictures online from Aurora’s birthday party.

She was pissed off that I hadn’t included KJ.

I understood a little of what she was saying, but she had to realize that I couldn’t and wouldn’t force KJ in Masai’s face.

That day wasn’t about me or her; it was for Aurora.

I wasn’t about to do shit to put Masai in her feelings and ruin my baby’s day.

Ashton’s ass acted like my kids hadn’t been in the same room together before.

Anytime I spent time with them, I made it my mission to have him around.

I fucked up the first few months of his life and kept him a secret, but now that it was out, I wanted him to grow up knowing his siblings.

It had been a month since I’d seen him, and since it was my weekend with the kids, I begged her to let me get him.

Last night, she finally agreed, so we were supposed to meet up to do the exchange.

The bitch played in my face and hadn’t answered any of my calls today.

I was trying to keep shit amicable, but I was so close to taking her ass to court.

She thought I hadn’t peeped her game, but I was the furthest thing from a fucking fool.

She was in her feelings, and instead of acting like an adult, she was using my son as a pawn.

And that was some shit that I wasn’t about to tolerate.

Soft taps to the window had me rolling the window of my truck down. “Hey, baby.” I smiled at the sight of Charleigh Anne standing near the truck.

“Hey, Daddy.” She beamed. “Mommy said you can come inside.”

“I can come inside…” I repeated and watched her nod her head. Imagine that. Me being given permission to enter a house that I paid the mortgage on. “Yeah, aight.” I snorted. I hit the locks and stepped out. “Y’all bags not ready or something?”

“She’s combing Sophie’s hair and still has to do Aurora’s.”

“Oh, aight.”

When we made it to the front door, Charleigh Anne pushed it open and ran inside, leaving me standing in the foyer.

I laughed a little when I noticed that our family pictures no longer lined the walls.

Masai’s ass must’ve been trying to wipe my ass from the memories because for as long as I remembered, this wall held years of memories that we’d made as a family.

Finally entering the living room, I hugged the rest of my kids before they slipped off and headed back upstairs.

Taking a seat across from Masai, I watched her braid Sophie’s hair for a few minutes before saying something. “I see you’ve made some adjustments to the crib, Sai.”

She furrowed her brows. “Adjustments?”

“Yeah… The pics.” I pointed toward the hall.

“Oh.” She giggled.

“ Oh . What’s up with that?”

“Nothing.” She shrugged passively. “Can you take them to school on Monday?”

“I can… But I thought I was bringing them back Sunday night?”

“I have plans and don’t know what time I’ll be home.”

“Cool. Yeah, I’ll drop ’em off.” Reclining in the chair, I sighed. “What you and Koya got planned?”

“Koya?” she queried.

“Yeah, you said you got plans.”

“Oh.” Masai waved me off. “I’m not going out with Koya.”

“Fuck you going out with then?”

“Not that it’s any of your business, but a friend.”

“Better be a female friend ’cause I know you ain’t just ask me to watch our kids ’cause you going out with a nigga.”

Masai stopped braiding and cocked her head to the side. “And if I am? I am very much single, in case you somehow forgot.” She chuckled to herself and held her hand up.

“You know what…” I caressed my chin. “You right.”

“I know.” She huffed before going back to what she was doing. “You trying to check me when you need to be worried about what you got going on?”

“What that mean?”

“I heard about your baby mama drama.”

Fucking Deuce. I knew ain’t nobody told Masai shit but Koya, which meant Deuce’s hoe ass had been pillow talking. I knew better than to vent to that nigga. “What you done heard, Sai?”

“That ole girl over there giving yo’ ass the blues.”

“Man.” I sucked my teeth. “You have no fucking idea.”

“That’s what yo’ ass gets. I told you them hoes be out for one thing.”

“I hear you talking.”

“What you plan on doing about it?”

“You asking like you care.”

“You’re the father of my children. Of course, I care about your mental health. You can’t take care of them if you’re not at your best.”

“I’on know, Sai.” I scrubbed my hands down my face. When I had an issue in the past, Masai was the person I depended on to help me solve it. We weren’t together anymore, so I knew I couldn’t depend on her to be there for me like she had been. Instead of venting, I just hunched my shoulders.

“What is it?” she probed.

“Nothing, Sai.”

“You better tell me while I’m being nice. This might be the last time I extend you this service.”

“Aight, fuck it. She mad ’cause I ain’t bring him to Aurora’s party. She ain’t let me see him since then, and the bitch lied about meeting me with him this morning. Ain’t heard from her ass all day.”

“The party? Is she aware that I was going to be at the party?”

“Come on now. She knows I’m not throwing no party for one of the kids and you not be there.”

“Interesting.” Sai nodded. “Let me ask you this. When KJ turns one, will y’all have a joint party or are you doing it separately?”

“She gone have her own shit, and I’ll have mine. We not no fucking family, so we not ’bout to be doing joint shit.”

“Oh!” She laughed. “That’s why she feels a way. She loves you, and she thought that us getting a divorce was her way in. The fact that you’re keeping her at arm’s length is pissing her off. It could’ve very well have been about you not including the baby, but something tells me it’s deeper.”

“I really don’t give a fuck what she thought. I told you, it was never nothing like she made it seem. But he’s mine, and I’m not gon’ treat him any differently than I do the rest of them. I don’t have to be with her to spend time with him.”

“If you feel like that, why haven’t you handled your business?”

“What business, Masai?”

“Take her to court. Get your visitation schedule on paper. That way, if she violates, they can hold her in contempt of court.”

“I been thinking ’bout that shit more and more.”

“Then that must mean something is telling you to do it.”

I ain’t wanna say the reason that I’d been hesitating on involving the courts, but shit, at this point, it was what it was. “Me filling anything through the courts means putting the shit out there.”

Tossing her head back, Masai laughed harder than the last time. “Oh, baby… if that’s what you’re worried about, then newsflash, playboy… it’s already out there.”

“Yeah, but I’on want you to see the shit and have to deal with the public opinions.”

“That’s what you’re worried about? Me?”

“When am I not?” I countered.

“I mean… I could name a few times. However, baby… I’m the last person you should concern yourself with. I’m not a pushover and can hold my own against anybody. Don’t ever mistake my silence for weakness.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, Sai.”

“I hear you, but I keep my mouth closed because a digital footprint is real. I will never get on the internet and bash the father of my children because that shit won’t go away.

I’ll never let them hear me talk down on you.

That’s never been my thing, and I’m not about to start now.

If she’s making it hard to see your son, then take her ass to court. It’s as simple as that.”

“I wish she was more like you.”

“No,” she protested. “You absolutely don’t.” Standing from the couch, she patted Sophie on the shoulder. “Go tell Aurora I’m ready for her.” When baby girl left the living room, Masai continued speaking, “You had me, but that was more appealing.”

“You ain’t never thought no shit like that.”

“Aye.” She held her hands up in mock surrender. “It was something you saw that had you risking fourteen years. But that’s neither here nor there. Take her to court and see don’t shit change.”

“On my kids, Masai… it wasn’t shit ‘bout that girl that had me wanting to be where I’m at right now.

But I hear ya.” I could’ve pushed to try and get Masai to understand that the situation with Ashton was nothing like she thought it was, but that ship had sailed.

There was nothing Ashton had that I wanted or desired.

I fucked up by being drunk at the wrong place and time. That truly was all there was to it.

Instead of trying to make her see it from my point of view, I just told her that I would reach out to an attorney so I could try and get shit in writing to prevent any issues further down the road concerning KJ. Once she nodded, I sat back and waited for the girl’s hair to be finished.

After leaving Masai’s crib with the kids, I decided to take them to the aquarium and the World of Coke.

Football had been occupying a lot of my time, so I wanted us to do more than kick it at the crib.

I’d worn their asses out so bad that all five of them had fallen asleep on the way back to the crib.