Page 141 of Own It

“What nigga you had over here, Kasia?” I was seething by this point, lowering my arm and allowing her to grab onto the can to rinse out and toss into her recycling bin.

“Why couldn’t it have been a friend, Josias?” She turned to me, hands clutching the edge of the sink as she eyed me.

“You don’t have fucking friends no more. Closest you got is Daylin, and she been up under my brother too much to have come over here to kick the shit. Don’t play with me.” I was getting heated the more she danced around the fucking question.

Expelling a breath, she replied, “Yeah, I had some male company, if you must fucking know. It’s truly none of your business though.” She folded her arms as if she were tough or some shit.

Hopping in her fucking face and making her tilt her head back to look up at me, I shouted, “I know damn well you ain’t had another nigga in here while I pay yo’ fucking bills!”

“You offered to pay! I can pay the shit my fucking self if you think you’re gonna be dictating who the fuck I bring into my home!” she shot back, causing me to take a few breaths to calm down so I wouldn’t knock her fucking head off.

I wasn’t my father.

This was the shit I couldn’t stand about Kasia. She stayed hollering about how she didn’t need me. Tarin wasn’t like that. She didn’t have many positive traits, but one thing I could say was Tarin made a nigga feel wanted. Everything with Kasia was like walking on eggshells. A nigga could never fully settle and relax in her presence, because I always had to put on a fucking show or else.

“You can’t date. You my baby mama.” I shrugged, voicing my true feelings.

Kasia laughed.

“I will do what I want to do, Jojo, even if it literally costs me and I have to pay all my own bills.”

Scoffing, I paced a little bit, fired up and failing at trying to calm my-fucking-self down.

“How the fuck you diss me but go out and get a whole nother nigga?” I snapped, gesticulating because I was so up in fucking arms.

“I didn’t diss you! You lied to me and purposefully played me, even though I told your ass I would be done if you lied again! You couldn’t leave Tarin alone, so I’m leaving your ass alone.” She shook her head, visibly upset. “You swore you weren’t fucking with her knowing the whole time that you were!” Her eyes misted over, and when I made a move toward her, she threw her hand up to halt any comforting or consoling a nigga had planned on doing.

“So what was last week?” I questioned, referencing to us having sex.

“You caught me at a bad time, and I felt bad for you seeing you cry over Zaire. But it was nothing.”

Damn.

“Fuck it. You wanna date a nigga, then I’m gon’ kill him.” I shrugged, staring Kasia down so that she knew I was deadass.

“You better not!”

“Just like I can’t tell you what to do, baby, you can’t tell me what the fuck to do either.” I smirked, seeing the distress in her pretty chocolate face.

“You just need to focus on Divine, JJ, and Julianna. Shit, focus on who Tarin is dating or whatever other bitch you have, but leave me alone, Josias.”

“Nah. I’m gon’ do both. Kill yo’ nigga and worry ’bout my kids.” I stalked out the kitchen and went to scoop my daughter up carefully since she hadn’t woken up yet.

“Josias . . .” Kasia called out to me as I bypassed her, baby girl in my arms.

“Enjoy that nigga while he still alive ’cause I promise you when I find out who he is, he dead.” I spoke with my back to Kasia as I left her house, heading straight to my whip to buckle my daughter in while ignoring her mama’s ranting.

Kasia knew me and knew it was nothing for me to body whatever nigga she was messing around with, so I hoped she took heed to my threat and stopped engaging with the nigga, for his sake.

* * *

DAYS LATER . . .

“And why do you need a babysitter?” Shardaya, my cousin’s wife, asked as she held Divine’s hand. “My own damn kid ain’t even here. He in class.”

“It’s just for a couple of hours, aight?” I shook my head then pinned my attention on my baby girl, smiling. “Daddy will be back, and then we gon’ go to the movies, okay?”

“Yay!” Divine shrieked, making Shardaya laugh at the interaction.