“Jeez, knock much?” she squealed as she turned around and stuffed her arms into her blouse.“Shit, sorry. I thought you’d gone already,” Royal apologized. “Keshaun gave Precious a juice box and she squeezed it all over my shirt.”She looked over her shoulder to note the bright purple stains on his pale blue shirt. She waved to the sink, “go ahead, clean off. I’m almost done.” She buttoned her shirt up, grateful she had pants on. He had seen her in her cheap cotton bra. He’d probably also seen the stretchmarks on her tummy. She wanted to melt into the floor in humiliation.He grabbed a bunch of paper towel and began dabbing the shirt with water. He was silent as he worked, and she reached past him to collect the make-up she’d left sitting on the counter. “Excuse
Royal stared at the woman he’d been dating off and on for the last three years and wondered what it was which had attracted him to her. She was beautiful on the outside, there was no doubt, but the ugliness inside was currently blazing forth making his stomach churn with revulsion. His friends and family had never hidden their dislike for Ambrosia, but he had ignored their complaints because she had suited his lifestyle, and she wasn’t bad in bed.Keshaun had never failed to bash the woman and had said more than once he did not like the way Kara behaved in the presence of the domineering bitch. He had always laughed it off but right now, the rage boiling in his blood at her behavior today had him reeling.As he noted the little girl standing there with tears in her eyes from watching the scene unfold, he felt nauseated. “Leave.”“Excuse me?”“I said leave. I don’t care where you go, how you get there or how
By the time she got to the diner she was a certifiable wreck.Prince and Mindy were dead. Precious was the child she’d carried. Royal Robinson had known who she was before even coming to the gas station, of it she was certain, which meant it was highly probable so did Keshaun. Had it all been an elaborate ruse to fuck with her?And what was the craziness about Prince leaving a letter declaring his love? It had to be a misunderstanding. She forced herself to forget the one time he’d kissed her out of the emotions of finding out they were having a girl. He’d wanted a girl desperately and Mindy had been feeling under the weather. She hadn’t attended the ultrasound. When the technician had told them it was a girl and had left them alone, he’d been so excited, he’d kissed her full on the mouth. It had been less than a
She knew she had rendered him speechless as she sat waiting several long seconds for him to respond.“Why didn’t he tell me?”“I don’t know,” she drew her fork through the potatoes and grimaced. “I can’t begin to understand their minds. They lied to me so much it bordered a work of fiction.”“What do you mean?”“For starters, I thought they were from Pittsburgh. I had no idea they were from out of state.”“Mindy was originally from Pittsburgh. He met her when he’d gone to a football game.”“I knew how they met but I didn’t realize he had simply been visiting.” She shuffled, “they told me his brother’s name was Rick.”“Rick?”“Rick. You
A week later, Famke entered her apartment and grimaced at the mess of the kitchen table. “Bram?”“In here,” he called from down the hall in his bedroom.“Why is there white stuff all over the kitchen table?”“Because I’m stupid,” he grunted as he came back into the space tugging a shirt over his head. “Part of my midterm assignment for chemistry is to write about the reactions of certain products. I put a bit of vinegar into baking soda and instead of doing it in the sink, I did it on the table. I thought it would be a small reaction. I was wrong. It bubbled everywhere.”“Great,” she grimaced at the sight.“Don’t worry about it. It’s my mess. I’ll clean it. You got a parcel today. From New York.” He made wide
My dearest Famke,There isn’t a day which goes by I don’t think of you. The time we spent together were the happiest days of my life. Watching our daughter grow within you was the most incredible experience I’ve ever had. I only wish I had told you how much I loved you when I had the opportunity. Your selfless heart and kind soul was a true testament to the beauty you possess inside and out. Every day I watch our daughter and wish you could see how amazing she is. She is four now. There is you in her. I see it every day. She has a habit of pulling her lower lip, right in the center, between her teeth. You used to do this when you were thinking hard. She also has your dimple on her right cheek.I know taking her from you caused you pain. Forcing Mindy to raise a child which was not hers will remain my greatest regret in life. Despite how much she wanted a child, she wanted one of her own. Do not fret, my love. She
Famke knew the man was bound to show up sometime and when he arrived at her workplace six days later, it was while Kara and Keshaun were in the middle of another one of their fantastic arguments about him not appreciating how she needs the finer things in life.“Famke, weigh in here,” Kara dragged her into the argument. “If you could do Christmas in New York, you would right?”“You are asking the wrong person,” she shook her head. Avoiding the gaze of the man approaching the counter. “I have never been out of Pittsburgh, let alone the state. With my luck, I’d get pickpocketed or mugged within ten minutes of being in the Big Apple and lost within twenty. I once got lost in IKEA. New York does not appeal to me.”“If you could go anywhere?”“But I can’t
She flung herself into the chair opposite the desk as Royal followed close behind her and firmly shut the door.“You can’t keep coming to my work and harassing me.”“So where can I harass you?”“Very funny.”“You can’t keep avoiding me, Famke. We need to talk about this.”“Why? Why do we need to talk about anything?”“I’m angry.”“I did nothing to you!”“I’m not angry at you. I’m angry at my brother. I’m angry at my sister-in-law. I’m angry they left me with this mess to clean up.”“You mean raising your niece?”“No. I mean sorting through the mess of their marriage and their bullshit. My brother,” he s