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Chapter Fourteen

SORAYA ‘YAYA’ CRAWFORD

I ran up the stairs, with my phone in my hands, and my airpods in my ear, ready to barge into Creed’s room, and curse his ass out.

It was Friday morning, and he was the only child home with me today.

There wasn’t any school, and because the job had been kicking my ass, I decided that I would take the day off as well.

Legend wasn’t here. The STEM organization that he was a part of at school, they were going away for the weekend.

It was some weekend camp that was taking place in West Palm beach.

With him away, it left just Creed and I in the house, and the second I woke up this morning, I immediately started cleaning up.

I tackled my bathroom, cleaned my bedroom, washed the bedding, and I dusted in the guest bedrooms that were upstairs.

Before I started cleaning, I’d already told Creed to take the trash out downstairs, and to wash those dishes that he’d put in the sink this morning when he made him cereal for breakfast. I’d just come downstairs, and I saw that he didn’t do any of those things, and I was literally racing up the stairs, ready to let his ass have it.

Mind you, there was gospel music playing in my ear, but there wasn’t going to be anything Godly that was going to come out of my mouth.

I stormed to his bedroom door, that he had closed, and instead of knocking like I usually would because I was that mom that would give my kids privacy, I just barged in.

I barged in, and he had shoes laying around, so I trampled over a big ass Timberland boot that was near the door, and I fell on my ass.

Not only did I fuss at him about taking out the trash, and washing the dishes, but I told his ass to clean his room, and to take his bedding off, so that he could wash that as well, but he literally didn’t do shit.

He was sitting on top of his bed, with his shirt off, wearing just his gym shorts that he was sagging low in.

His headphones were over his head, and he was locked into the game that he was playing on his big, flat screen TV that mounted to the wall.

Dirty clothes were on his bed, that was supposed to have been sorted out for him to do laundry. I mean, this room was a mess.

“Ma, chill out. Ima clean the room,” he stood up, controller still in his hands, paying attention to the TV, but still stealing glances at me, as I was still on the floor. It’s like his ass wanted to help me, but I’m sure he didn’t want to lose whatever dumb ass game that he was playing.

“Turn that fuckin game off before I lose my mind! I told you to take out the fuckin trash, and you didn’t do it.

I told you to wash the dishes that you left in the sink, and you didn’t do it.

That was three hours ago, Creed! I even told you to clean up your room, and you didn’t do that either!

” I yelled, picking up my airpods from the floor because when I fell, they flew out of my ear, and my phone fell out of my hands, too.

As if I was the one that was in the wrong, he sucked his teeth at me.

“Ima do it, ma. Hold on. You be spazzing, ready to run your blood pressure up for no reason. It’s only 11. I don’t leave to go with pops until after six. I got all the time in the world to do my chores!” he had the nerve to say.

The game held his attention, and that just sent me through the roof.

He had no kind of urgency to do what I told him to do, and because he didn’t, I walked over to the wall, where the game station was mounted, and I just started unplugging shit, not giving a damn what I was unplugging, not even knowing what I was unplugging, but I wanted that game to cut off, so that he could do what I told him to do.

“What the fuck, man!” he snapped, and I walked over to him quickly, and I pushed him with all my might, but my son was solid, just like his father, so he didn’t move. He looked angry. Like, if I wasn’t his mom, I’m sure he probably would have tried to hit me.

“Watch your fuckin mouth before I slap your ass in it! You think I care about that fuckin game, when it’s shit in this house that I told you to do from well over three hours ago?

You got all these shoes on the floor, to the point that I almost broke my damn neck.

These dirty ass clothes on the bed, and you haven’t started one load of laundry.

Do the shit now! The next thing is going to be me throwing that game out of the fuckin window! ” I yelled.

“Aight bruh,” he snapped, aggressively pushing past me to the point that I stumbled back a little bit, but I was able to catch my fall.

“You not going to have me in jail today. I’m about to call your daddy. I bet he’ll handle it,” was all that I said, right before I walked out of the room.

I loved Creed to death, but Creed was that child of mine that was going to try me, and I would find myself having to slap his ass down.

He thought that he was grown, and he hated being told what to do.

Before I had to tackle his ass, and attempt to knock his teeth out, I was going to call his daddy and let him handle it.

As I was walking out of the room, I could hear him mumbling shit up under his breath, but I didn’t pay it any attention because I was already going to Law’s contact in my phone, dialing him, as I made my way back down the stairs.

“What’s up?” he answered on the second ring for me.

“Call your son and talk to him before I slap all of his teeth out of his mouth!” I got right to the point when he answered the phone.

“What he did?” Law barked, already ready to tackle Creed without even knowing the details.

“I told him three hours ago to take the trash out, and to wash his dishes in the sink. I told him to clean his room, and it’s shoes and shit all on the floor.

Clothes on the bed, and he on the fuckin game.

I unplugged his game, and he cursed at me, and when he walked to get away from me, he aggressively pushed past me-

“Man, what? Ay, I’ll be there in fifteen minutes! Fuck that lil nigga got going on? Why you even let three hours go by? He should have been did that shit!” he snapped at me.

“I was upstairs cleaning up, Sevyn! I didn’t know that he didn’t do it!” I yelled back at his ass.

“I’m pulling up in fifteen minutes!” was all he said before he hung the phone up on me.

I went downstairs, and I started cleaning up in the family room area.

I fixed up the big, decorative pillows that were on the couch, fluffed them, and I sprayed Febreze spray on the couch, along with the pillows.

There was a basket where I would store all the throw blankets, so I took them out, sprayed them down, and folded them nicely, so that I could place them back inside the basket.

I dusted the entertainment center off, cleaned the glass that was on the entertainment center doors, and as I was dusting the ceiling fan, standing on the mini step stool, I could hear Law’s truck rumbling.

Security wasn’t even supposed to let his ass through the gate without calling me first. There was no telling what he’d managed to tell them, that allowed him to get inside without a call.

Before I could even process that he was here, there was knocks on the door, and I stepped off the step stool, and I made my way to the door.

He walked in, and he was in his baby blue button-down shirt that was tucked into his navy-blue slacks, so that let me know that he was coming from the office.

His office was only twenty minutes from here, but Law was a fast driver, which is why it only took him fifteen minutes.

“Where he at?” he asked the second he walked in the house.

“Still in his room,” I replied, reaching behind him, so that I could close the door.

“He took the trash out, yet?” he asked. It’s like I was scared to say that he didn’t. I was tough on my boys, but only to a certain extent. I still babied them at the end of the day, and that’s one of the things that me, and Law would go at it about, especially in our marriage.

“No, but he’s probably cleaning the room,” there I was, trying to defend him, and when I said it, Law turned to look back at me like I was crazy, as he went up the stairs.

“You about to start making excuses for that shit. The trash should have been taken out last night if you want to be technical,” he replied, and he took the stairs up two at a time, and I was on his tail.

He walked through the hallway, once we were up, knowing his way around the house because this used to be our home.

When he made it to Creed’s door, he aggressively opened it, just as I did a few moments ago, when I barged in.

Creed had picked the shoes up from the floor, placed them in the closet, and now he was sorting out the clothes on his bed, so that he could start on his laundry.

He no longer was shirtless. He threw on a white wife beater.

When he saw that I had his dad with me, he sucked his teeth.

“Suck em’ again and watch I leave you with no teeth to suck.

What you got going on, man? It’s damn near twelve in the afternoon, and you still ain’t take the trash out.

What’s up with that?” Law asked, stepping closer into the room.

I stood by the doorway. I really was just standing here, in case Law had to jump on his ass. I would be the one to break it up.

“She act like I wasn’t going to take it out. Dang. I get one day off from school, and practice, and she nagging me about taking the trash out. I don’t take the trash out one time, and she make me out to be the worst kid in the world-

“Creed, I just got on you two days ago about the trash! What are you even talking about?” I screamed at him.

“Why you ain’t get on Legend about doing it?” he questioned me.

“Because he was outside washing my car!” I had to let him know.