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Chapter Fifteen

CREED CRAWFORD

It was after one in the morning, and I was chilling at my pop’s condo.

I loved my mama’s crib, but my pops had a condo that was right on the water, and this shit was nice as fuck.

Legend and I had our own bedroom over here, and everything, with a beautiful view of the water.

Because Legend was at a camp for the weekend, it was just my pops and I.

He was in his room though. I’m sure he was sleep.

We’d just got back to the house not too long ago.

He scooped me from my mama’s house around six this evening.

He came and got me as soon as he got off from work.

I knew my pops wasn’t the kind of person to linger on shit, so when he picked me up, he wasn’t still upset with me about the shit that happened earlier between me, and my mama.

He didn’t even bring it back up. There was no need to because the talk between us was already had earlier in my bedroom, when my mama walked out of the room.

I knew I would be eating the bottom of his shoe if I were to smell myself again and get buck like that again with my mama.

One of the many things that I loved about my pops, and that made me respect him as a man was the fact that he didn’t play that disrespectful shit when it came to my mama.

Whether they were together or not, he was going to handle anyone or anything that bothered or disrespected her.

She was barely out of my room, when that nigga barged into my room, and he checked me.

We had our little talk though in the room, so once he pulled up on me to pick me up, we didn’t have to bring it up again.

Since he was still in his work clothes when he picked me up, he took us to his condo first, so that he could shower, and change.

From there, we went out to Dania pointe, hitting up Bowlero , where he beat my ass in two rounds of bowling, and I got him on the last round.

Me, and my pops loved seafood, so after bowling, we went to one of those seafood boil spots, where we both cleaned our plates, eating like two men that hadn’t eaten in years.

I enjoyed my time with him. I missed my brother too, though.

Throughout my night with my pops, I would send videos and shit to Legend, telling my twin that I wish he was with us.

I was hard all day, but when it came to my mama, my twin, and my pops, I could go soft in a second.

Now that we were back at his crib, I wasn’t quick to get in bed and go to sleep like my pops.

I was a teenager who liked to pull all-nighters, so my headset was in my ear, and I had the controller to my PS5 in my hands, playing Call Of Duty.

This game had my attention, and a few times, I felt my phone vibrate in my basketball shorts that I was wearing, but I didn’t even bother pausing the game, so that I could see who was texting me.

About ten minutes had gone by, and I finished with the game.

Once I was finished, I removed the headset from my ear, tossed the controller down on the bed, and I checked the messages that I had.

A few girls were texting me, but the main one that was sweating me, trying to get my attention was Vivian.

Vivian was the white girl at my school that had been on my dick after me, and my team won the state championship.

Ever since we exchanged numbers, she’ll hit me, but I wasn’t consistent with my responses.

Before I could even get the chance to read through the messages that she’d sent me, she started calling me. It was a facetime call that she was putting in too.

I was off the game, it was late at night, and I was in the room by myself, so I figured that I would just answer just to see what she wanted.

I went ahead, and answered the call, and her face appeared on the screen. White girls have never been my thing, but Vivian really was a beautiful girl. I mean, real beautiful. I liked her blue eyes. Her ash blonde hair was nice on her too.

When the call connected, her hair was pulled up into a high, messy bun. It was like the way my mom would style her hair sometimes around the house.

“What’s up?” I answered.

“I felt like I was probably being a little annoying with texting you, so I figured that I would just call. Are you busy?” she had a sweet voice. Almost as if she was innocent. I couldn’t attest to her being innocent or not because I still didn’t know her on that level.

We’ve gone to the same school since we were little kids, but a personal relationship was never formed.

I knew that Vivian was popular though. I’ve seen her social media, and just like me, she had over a million followers.

I had so many followers because I was a handsome ass nigga, so a lot of stuff that I would post would go viral.

Plus, I was the son of the hottest lawyer in Miami, so I was well known from that.

Then, with my mama being in the industry, running her own PR business, it made me and my brother popular as well.

“Nah. You good. I was playing the game, so I didn’t see your messages,” I told her the truth.

“You can be honest with me though. When I text you, am I bothering you?” she asked, and I chuckled at her question.

“Nah. I’m just not a good texter. That’s all.

I do my mama, and everybody else the same way.

My grandma just called me this evening, snapping on me because she texted me two days ago, and I still didn’t reply.

I’m working on it,” I said, and as if my words had given her some kind of peace of mind, she smiled.

“Okay. That makes me feel a little better. It’s Friday night, and you’re in the house? You don’t hang out like that?” she asked me.

“Me, and my pops just got back to his crib about an hour ago. We went bowling and out to eat. I ain’t really the kind of nigga to be outside like that. If I’m not at school, or practice, then I’m in the house. I like playing on my game, and shit. What about you? Why you not out?” I asked.

“My friends are all at the movie theater, but I didn’t go.

Mother nature. I was cramping too badly to go out with them tonight,” she said.

I nodded my head to that. I didn’t know what to say.

I didn’t entertain those kind of conversations.

A nigga be ready to crash out when I’m at the grocery store with my mama, and she’ll send me in the aisle to grab her some tampons.

“I don’t want to get in your business like that, but I did see online that your parents had gotten a divorce. You just said that you just got back to your dad’s house. I’m going to assume that what their saying online about your parents splitting is true?” she wanted to know.

“Yeah. They not together anymore,” I responded, keeping it short.

“Your mom is so beautiful. Since we were small kids, I remember she would come to the school for the award ceremonies, or when she would chaperone some of the field trips, and I would always pick up on how beautiful she was. She has fashion sense out of this world, too. Her, and your dad were so nice looking together. They complimented each other well, and that’s why I was surprised when I saw online that they were splitting.

I’m not sure the details behind it, and trust me, I won’t ask.

If anyone needs to be divorced though, it’s my damn parents.

They hate each other, but neither one of them will leave,” her words surprised me.

Well, the conclusion surprised me. I guess that was just my ignorance thinking that she probably didn’t have any problems.

I knew who Vivian’s parents were. They were both snobby attorneys.

The school would highlight the big contributions that would be given to the school each year, and her family was always top of the list. For them, I think it was just an ego thing to boast about how much they were giving back to the school.

I know my pops couldn’t stand her dad and just based off shit that my pops has told me about her parents over the years, that’s played its part too in why I’ve never spoken to her.

“Why you feel like they hate each other?” I asked, really wanting to know. My mama would get mad at my pops and scream that she hated him, but I knew her ass didn’t.

“Hell, they tell it to each other just about every other day. They don’t even sleep in the same bedroom with each other.

My mom sleeps in the guest bedroom that’s downstairs.

When my mom cooks dinner, my dad will never eat whatever she prepares because he swears that she’s trying to poison him.

Both are so devoted to their careers, so they leave absolutely no time to fix their marriage.

Most kids probably root for their parents to stay together, and work it out, but me, and my brother want them to divorce already.

It’s such a toxic environment that we’re being brought up in,” she shared.

There was a sad look in her eyes as she expressed this to me.

For the first time, I wasn’t looking at her as the rich, popular white girl at my school that didn’t have any problems. In this moment, I didn’t see color.

Shit, I saw a human being that had problems. A human being that sounded relatable.

I couldn’t relate to wanting my parents to divorce, but I knew what it felt like to be the kid that has to suffer from their parents marital issues.

I’m still fucked up about my parents spilling.

Man, I’ll give up any body part for the two of them to get back together.

I wanted them to have another child, too.

I hated what happened to Sarai. Granted, another baby wouldn’t replace Sarai, but I just wanted my parents to have another shot of having another child.

“Damn. That’s fucked up. I’m sorry you gotta deal with that,” I said, being sincere.