Page 42 of Maybe I’m the Problem

“I have one.”

“Yea, my girl been sick so we up here until she has our daughter. I come to stand here at least three times a day just watching the babies, waiting for my turn to be a father.”

Hearing him explain his excitement for his daughter made me a little jealous. I wanted my first child to be with a woman that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, but Lana fucked my life up completely.

“I hope everything works out for you. Make sure you take care of both of them.”

“I appreciate that. As soon as she feels better, I’m going to marry her.”

“Congratulations,” I choked up before I walked off.

I wanted to tell him it was me that she runs to when he acts up. I wanted to be a sucka for just a few seconds and tell him that I knew about him and my sister. She tried to keep that shit away from me but she texted him one day around me and I saw it. Pinkie was so pissed that he didn’t respond that she left their text thread open.

My shift ended so I rushed home to shower so I could make it to Serenity’s spot to enjoy dinner and her. My plans were altered when I noticed Lana parked outside my apartment. We were not supposed to be in contact with each other without Pinkie being around or her mother. Every time we got around one another, it ended with us fighting.

“Fuck you doing here? I’m not about to go back to jail because of you. I just got my shit together.” I walked towards my apartment door.

“I need your help.” She grabbed my arm. When I turned around, she had tears running down her face. “I need you to get your child. I can’t take care of her anymore. I’m not in the right headspace.”

“What you talking about?”

“I’ve been doing a lot of shit that I’m ashamed of and I can’t raise her. You’re her father and I can’t trust her with anyone else but you.”

“I don’t have the money to take care of her. You get all my money.”

“I’ll go back to the courts and have it reversed. Please help me.”

She wiped her tears and I noticed the bruise on her hand. Lana always loved to get her ass beat by a nigga but now she found her match. I looked around before I nodded my head.

“Go get her.” Lana rushed to the car to get her. “She hasn’t eaten anything. I’ll go to the courts first thing in the morning. I may not come around much, but please let her know how much I loved her.”

“Fuck you mean loved? What you about to do?”

“I’ll be fine, Trey. Just take care of her.” She ran off and got in her car. With one last glance, she pulled off.

What the hell was I supposed to do with a little girl? This shit was new to me. I loved my daughter but the only time I could spend time with her is if her mama wasn’t acting like an ass. She stared up at me with tears in her eyes like she was afraid. I picked her up and walked into my apartment.

My apartment wasn’t furnished for a child, but I guess that was about to change. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to call Serenity. I didn’t want to stand her up but she didn’t really know my situation. It was personal and I vowed to never let another woman get close to me like Summer did.

“Hey Trey, are you coming?”

“I umm, something came up and I won’t make it.”

“Is everything okay? I know we both said we didn’t want to be in a relationship but…” My daughter started crying as Serenity was trying to finish what she was saying. “Is that a baby?”

“She’s not exactly a baby. She’s one and her mama just dropped her off and told me she can’t take care of her any more. I’m sorry but I got to tend to her. Maybe we’ll link up some other time or if not, I understand that too.”

“Trey, it’s okay. I’ll…”

“I get it. It was good while it lasted. I’ll see you around.”

“Trey! I wasn’t about to stop what we were doing.” She screamed in the phone before I hung up. “I was going to say. I’ll wrap the food up and bring it to you so you guys can have something to eat.”

“I’ll appreciate that. I don’t know what the hell to do.”

“Give me an hour and I’ll be there.”

Serenity came over and did everything for me. We ate and she was now getting my daughter ready for bed. I was cleaning up the kitchen when she came from my bedroom with a smile on her face.