Chuck E. Cheese, the damn mouse that walked around this stupid establishment, was currently in a headlock while Haze paced in front of the jungle gym. Kids cried as they watched Chuck E. Cheese get manhandled, and parents tried to usher them away and calm them down while eying Haze.
It all started when Haze brought Hazel to play on the jungle gym. She was shy to go play in the toddler section at first. Sheclung to Haze, but he encouraged her to have some fun. And she finally did . . . until that fuckin’ rat showed up.
His anorexic looking ass walked by waving at the snotty nosed children and scared the shit out of Haze’s baby. Hazel screamed when she saw Chuck E. Cheese and climbed up out of the ball pit she played in. The way Hazel cried and clung to Haze made a protectiveness come up out of him he’d never felt before.
“Aye, nigga, move from ’round here. You see she ain’t fuckin’ wit’ you,” Haze snapped as the rat walked by.
Chuck E. Cheese looked at Haze and waved. Hazel cried harder, which sent Haze into a rage. He waved Devyn over. She sat at the table he’d reserved for them but hopped up at his signal. As soon as she was in arm’s reach, he handed Hazel over to her and squared up with Chuck. E. Cheese.
“Haze, what’s going on?” Devyn asked hesitantly.
“My daughter don’t fuck wit’ rats. I gotta show this nigga somethin’ right quick.” Haze threw a punch. Chuck E. Cheese stumbled backward after being hit square in the nose. A collective gasp sounded through the space, but Haze tuned them out as he threw another punch. “Yeah, nigga, you thought shit was sweet? You thought you could walk around here scarin’ my daughter?”
He swung again. The rat seemed disoriented, so Haze took that moment to put him in a headlock. He wrestled with him for a moment before the large head started to come loose. He saw some employees running around frantically and trying to call out to him, to talk some sense into him, and that was when Haze paused, just for a second. His anger subsided slightly, and that was when he paced the length of the floor with Chuck E. Cheese still in a headlock.
Haze tried to calm himself down while Devyn held his crying daughter and tried to talk him off the ledge.
“Haze, it’s not that serious. Come on, let’s just go,” she urged as she patted Hazel on the back. Her touch brought him all the way back to reality, and he snapped completely out of his rampage.
He let the rat go and allowed him to drop to the floor with a thud. The large mouse head rolled off the man, revealing an elderly white man. Now Haze just felt like an ass.
“My bad,” he muttered before he took Hazel out of Devyn’s arms and the toddler immediately stopped crying and laid her head on his shoulder.
Shame flooded him. The lectures from his mom over the past few days hit him right in the chest. He thought he understood them before, but he realized it wasn’t until that moment that he truly did.
It was no secret that Haze flew off the handle whenever he felt like it. If he thought someone needed to be taught a lesson, Haze was right there to teach it to them. He was loud, a shit talker, and not afraid to be the center of attention. But the way Hazel clung to his neck at that moment melted all that other bullshit away. Although what Devyn did was dead ass wrong, he could understand now why she had her reservations about him as a father.
Nobody else in Haze’s life could ever get it through his head that he needed to straighten up and mature. Nobody else could stop him from being a rebel and doing whatever the fuck he wanted without reservation. This little girl had done what others had been trying to do his whole life without even speaking any words to him.
With his free hand, he grabbed Devyn’s hand and guided them toward the exit.
When they got to her car, Haze did something he rarely ever did. He apologized.
“I’m sorry. I ain’t mean to get out of control like that.”
Devyn peered up at him reluctantly, and then she sighed. “You love Hazel. I get it. You only act on the things I wish I could do. You know how many times I wanted to beat a little kid up for pushing Hazel during playtime? I get it, trust me, but you have to learn to control it. Keep them as thoughts. They don’t need to turn into action. You’re the example now, and if we want Hazel to get through life in a healthy way, we have to set the standards high.”
Haze soaked in everything she said and knew he had no choice but to agree. “I got you. I promise I’ll work on it. But check it. I know we have a lot to talk about. I don’t want shit to be off between us. I ain’t gonna lie. I still got feelings for you, but I need a bit of time to sort all this shit out in my head. In the meantime, though, I do want to bring Hazel around my people. They ain’t gonna let too much time pass without meeting her.”
Devyn nodded as she chewed on her lip. “We can talk about it. I just . . . Will she be safe with you, Haze? Like, really? I know you don’t understand why I kept her away. Hell, I don’t even think I understand it anymore, but I know the core of it was her safety. I need to know she’s always going to be taken care of.”
“I need you to hear me when I say this, Thicka. Ain’t shit ever gonna happen to Hazel when she’s wit’ me and my people.”
“Shit,” Hazel mumbled sleepily into the nape of his neck. Luckily, she said it so softly that Devyn didn’t hear her. He knew he needed to work on his cursing so much. Hazel really was like a sponge, and she was also a little lady. She didn’t need a damn potty mouth because he couldn’t keep his swearing under control.
“Okay,” Devyn said softly.
Haze wanted to reach out and pull her into him so he could protect her from all the evil in the world. As pissed as he was and as big of a secret she had held from him, his heart still beat for her.
Instead of responding to her, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. There were too many emotions floating around in his mind to speak at the moment.
“Show me how to buckle her in,” Haze said as he opened her back door. Devyn instructed him on how to buckle Hazel in. Poor baby had run herself tired, and she was halfway asleep by the time he buckled her in fully. “Send me a list of things I’ll need for her, like a car seat and shit. I don’t know anything about kids, man. I’ma need yo’ help on a lot of this shit.”
Devyn nodded. She twisted her hands together and looked at the ground as she spoke. “I’m sorry, Haze. I-I know we have a lot to talk about, but I need you to know that I’m sorry for all of this. I thought I was doing the right thing, but I can see now that I was wrong.”
Haze appreciated her words more than he could convey right now because anger still simmered beneath the surface. More than the anger was the hurt. The thought that he could have spent the last three years with Devyn and knowing his daughter. That time stolen would take him some time to get over. Devyn had no idea how the moment Haze laid eyes on her, the world shifted. He would do anything for her. All she had to do was ask. That right there was her biggest mistake, but she would understand it one day.
“Get home safe. I’ll text you.” It was all he could say.
