Page 38 of Passion

“Okay!”

“Some secrets aren’t good to keep. I think your mom needs to know everything you told me.”

She lowered her head. “Will I get in trouble?”

“Not at all. There are some things that she needs to know though. I’ll let her explain it to you. I’m not the greatest at explaining things to kids, because I’m never around them.”

She giggled. “Okay. I’ll tell her when she gets out of her shower.”

I nodded and went back to loading her up with jewelry. Giselle was gonna blow a fucking fuse.

When we left IHOP, I noticed Kizzie was extremely quiet. She was always talkative and inquisitive, so her silence put me on edge. I glanced at Gentry as he drove then turned slightly and asked, “Kizzie, what’s the matter? You’re really quiet.”

“Should I tell her now, Mr. Gentry?”

I frowned. What the hell was going on? I turned to him, and he said, “Yeah, sweetness. Tell your mom the things you told me.”

“Okay. Mommy, I know who GloRilla is. Daddy told me not to say the bad words though.”

“He listens to that in the car?”

“And at home. When his friends come over to play, he turns the music up loud.”

She put her finger to her chin like she was thinking. “Well… he doesn’t do that when Paul comes over. Only when Stacy, Lauren, and Monique come over. He never has time to play with us because he’s always playing with his friends.”

My face had to be red as hell, because it was so hot. It felt like my makeup had melted and was boiling on my damn face. “So he turns the music up loud when his lady friends come over? Where do they usually play at?”

“They go in his room. One time, I peeked through the crack in the door, and they were wrestling under the covers. It looked like Daddy was winning, because he was on top of her, and she was screaming.”

I glanced over at Gentry, and his eyes were wide like he didn’t know she would say that. When she said, “I didn’t tell you that part, Mr. Gentry,” I knew why his eyes were wide. I slid my hand down my face.

“Mommy, are you mad at me?”

“Not at all, baby. I have to talk to your daddy about this.”

“No, Mommy. He told me not to tell. I’m gonna get in trouble.”

“No you won’t, beautiful. Okay? Your daddy shouldn’t do those things around the two of you. I’m mad at him.”

I grabbed my phone and immediately sent him a text. You muthafucka! How dare you fuck women with my kids in the house? Have you lost your entire mind? You have the audacity to keep them from me because you said you didn’t know Gentry, but you’re bringing random women around them without my knowledge! I’m keeping my babies. Fuck you!

I was fuming. When Gentry grabbed my hand, I almost popped the shit out of him. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my hand at you. I’m just so pissed. How dare he?”

“I know, baby. I didn’t know that last part.”

I slowly shook my head and laughed. Nothing was funny, but if I didn’t laugh off this aggression, I was gonna kill his ass whenever I saw him. I had been taking his opinions into consideration, and the muthafucka was playing in my face the whole time. “Can we go to my parents’ house?” I asked Gentry.

“Yeah, of course.”

It was only ten, but I needed my mama to talk my ass down. I wanted to go to his house and fuck him up. I honestly believed Gentry would let me too. He’d drive me right over to Clayton’s house and help me fuck him up. I started taking deep breaths because I could feel back spasms coming on. I used to have them after my accident. I learned they were anxiety attacks. That shit hurt like hell. Deep breaths only slightly helped once I was in the middle of it, but if I could catch it before it got started good, it helped tremendously.

When Gentry turned in the driveway, Kizzie looked around and said, “Yay! We get to see MoMo and PaPa!”

I tried to smile at her, but my lips would not curve upward unless I pushed them up with my fingers. Even then, it would be a struggle. Before I could get out, Gentry grabbed my hand. “At least you know, baby. Now you can take your babies out of that environment.”

I nodded as he leaned over and kissed me. He allowed the kiss to linger, and I could feel the ice melting from my exterior. The passion in this man could calm a fucking blizzard. When he pulled away, Kizzie said, “Mr. Gentry is gonna marry you, Mommy.”

Deciding to be honest with my child, I turned in my seat and lifted my hand. “Mr. Gentry and I are already married, baby. Y’all have been staying with your dad because he didn’t like that I got married without telling him.”