Page 31 of Love At Close Range

“I made what feelings clear?” I questioned, as I frowned at her. “You keep saying shit like I know what the fuck you’re talking about and I’m telling you I don’t,” I said for what felt like the millionth time.

Instead of responding, she just shook her head and scoffed before she spoke up. “Stay the fuck away from me and stay the fuck away from my son.”

If Rhyse is mine, you can’t keep me out of his life,” I stated.

“You’ve already done that, Lennox. I gave you that chance, and you made your choice. I’ve raised that boy without you for almost eight years. You don’t get to come in and pick up the pieces.” That was all she said before she got into her truck and left.

I stayed where I was and watched her leave. None of that shit went the way I expected. I came there thinking Reiana had been hiding my son from me, but according to her, she told me. I would’ve remembered that shit. There was no way I would’ve gotten a message saying Reiana was carrying my child and ignored it. I could’ve hated her guts at the time and still wouldn’t have turned my back on my own blood. So either Reiana was lying straight to my face, or something happened eight years ago that neither one of us knew about. And the way she looked at me told me she believed every fucking word she said.

Once I got back in my truck, I grabbed my phone and called Rook before I pulled off. I needed him to help me figure this shit out.

“Wassup, bro?” Rook asked as the noise on his end died down. “You talk to her?”

“Yeah,” I answered as I leaned back against the seat. “And this shit just got even more fucked up.”

“What happened?” Rook questioned.

“I asked her straight up if Rhyse was mine,” I explained. “She got pissed and told me not to worry about her son because I didn’t want him when she was pregnant.”

“The fuck she mean you ain’t want him? That shit don’t even make no fucking sense,” Rook said the exact same shit I said.

“That’s what the fuck she’s saying,” I confirmed as I looked through the windshield. “She said even after I broke up with her, she still felt like I deserved to know, so she texted me and told me she was pregnant after telling my Mama and Lena that she needed to talk to me.”

“I remember you saying they told you that shit, but you didn’t know about a text?” Rook questioned.

“Fuck no,” I responded as I shook my head. “You think I would’ve been sitting here finding out I got a damn near eight-year-old son if I knew she was pregnant? I’ain never got no text from her saying shit about no baby.”

“That doesn’t even make sense,” Rook replied. “You can be a lot of shit, but I know damn well you ain’t no deadbeat ass nigga.”

“I told her I didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about, and she looked at me like I was the biggest muthafuckin’ liar alive. She’s sticking to her story about telling me no matter how many times I told her she didn’t.”

“Then something happened somewhere, bro. Ain’t no way both of y’all this damn sure and one of y’all just forgot some shit like that,” he mentioned.

That was exactly what had been bothering me since she drove off. Reiana wasn’t trying to convince herself when she stood in front of me. She was pissed because in her mind… I had already made a choice eight years ago and was trying to rectify the shit now.

“I know,” I replied as I rested my head on the back of the seat. “The way she came at me, that shit wasn’t no lie she just made up. She meant fucking every word.”

“So what else she say?” Rook questioned.

“She ain’t go into details,” I explained as I pulled away from the curb. “She just kept saying she told me and that I needed to keep the same energy I had back then. Then she told me to stay the fuck away from her and Rhyse.”

“Good luck with that. You know Ree always had a temper,” he laughed.

“I’on care what she has,” I replied as I made a turn and headed away from her building. “She can be mad at me all she wants, but she’s not keeping me away from my child no longer than she already has,” I stated with finality.

“I feel you, but you gotta figure out what happened first,” Rook advised. “Because right now, she thinks you rejected her and her son. You think she disappeared and never told you shit. The shit just don’t make fucking sense.”

“I hear you,” I replied, even though going back to her had crossed my mind more than once already. “I’m not trying to argue with her… I just need the truth.” I sighed.

“Aight, bro,” Rook responded. “Keep your head on straight. You got enough shit going on out there already without making another move off anger.”

“I’m straight,” I told him as the light changed. “Handle shit there, and I’ll call you later.”

“You already know I got it,” Rook assured me before we ended the call.

I tossed the phone onto the passenger seat and kept driving. I couldn’t get the conversation with Reiana out my head for shit. Rhyse was mine as far as I was concerned, but now I had to figure out how the fuck his mother could swear she told me while I knew for a fact I never got that message. What bothered me most was how certain she was. Reiana wasn’t standing there trying to hurt me with some made-up shit. She looked at me like I had already hurt her enough eight years ago and had no right to come back questioning anything now. That meant whatever happened back then was bigger than either one of us understood. I had spent years believing Reiana walked away from me to be with another nigga and never looked back. She had apparently spent those same years believing I knew she was carrying my child and chose not to give a fuck.

Somewhere between what she remembered and what I knew, there was a missing piece, and I wasn’t letting this shit go until I found it. Because if somebody had anything to do with me missing out on my son’s life… me finding out would be the least of their fucking worries.