Page 45 of Mia

“Fuck that,” I said, slapping my brother’s hand away. “I want a divorce.”

Titan stopped and turned back to me with angry eyes.

“Fuck that.”

“I’m so fucking serious, Titan. I want a divorce, and I never want to see you again. Take your ring. Take your shit and get the fuck out of my house.” I took off my wedding ring and threw it at him.

He stared at me blankly, his chest heaving. I expected him to say something, but he just shook his head, picked up the ring, grabbed his keys, and walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

“What the hell is going on?” Smoke asked.

“Y’all can get out too,” I said, clutching my towel.

“We ain’t going nowhere,” Deuce said. “Now that nigga ain’t always been my favorite person, but he’s not completely wrong. You can be selfish and childish as fuck at times, Mia. We been keeping quiet about this shit because of what y’all are dealing with, but you were bogus as hell for taking your ass overseas knowing you were pregnant. Senior and Maddie never would have allowed that to happen if they knew.”

“Right,” Maceo agreed.

I scoffed at him. “You of all people can’t talk to me about what I did, Maceo. You secretly worked with another organization, which turned out to be a fucking set up by the way. You got your wife kidnapped and almost killed because you were in your feelings about not feeling needed in this family. Please be so fucking for real with this conversation.”

He raised his hands in surrender. “I’ll let you have that one. Maybe I ain’t the best person to hear the truth from.”

I laughed. “Ha! None of you are.” I turned to Deuce. “You let your wife get kidnapped and tortured for three days because you got in a dick swinging context with that councilman. And you,” I turned to Smoke. “Your wife’s baby daddy’s sister almost killed her because you wanted to play a cat-and-mouse game with her father after you killed his son. You could have ended both of those niggas, but you got a thrill out of fucking with him, and it almost cost my sister her life. So no, none of you are equipped to tell me shit when you’ve all had your share of fuck ups. Get out of my house.”

I stormed toward the stairs, but none of them moved.

“Get out!” I screamed.

They all shook their heads as they headed for the door. Smoke and Maceo walked out, but Deuce turned back to me.

“I know that’s the anger of your grief talking. Yeah, you made some valid points, but none of that erases the fact that you are the main reason we had to bury your child.”

Hearing that come out of his mouth made tears swell in my eyes.

“I know that shit hurts you, Mia. Whether you wanted her or not. Whether you were ready for her or not, she was a part of you. If I lost one of my kids, I’d be just as angry as you are right now. You need help. All this isolation and lashing out ain’t good for you, especially for your mental. Get your shit together because the more you spiral, the more dangerous that shit becomes. Don’t you want that niggas head? How are you gonna get that if you won’t get the help you need first?”

Tears streamed down my face as I stared at him, knowing he was right.

“You aren’t the only person hurting. Titan may look like he’s holding up, but that nigga is barely hanging on to his sanity. Did you know your grandfather had eight niggas jump him over this shit? You know how much guilt he feels over not doing his part in protecting you and Eden⁠—”

“Stop saying her name!”

“No. You say it. Saying it makes it real. She’s gone, Mia. Eden is gone, and she wouldn’t want her mama losing herself because she didn’t get to live. You wanna honor your daughter, get some fucking help because at the rate you’re going, you’re gonna end up in a crypt next to her.”

He didn’t say another word as he walked out the door and slammed it behind him. I stood there for a moment before collapsing on the stairs and letting out a gut curling scream.

Asoft knock on the guest bedroom door made my eyes pop open. I turned my head toward the door to see Jaeda standing there with a smile. She and my brother had so graciously allowed me to stay here the last couple of nights. I didn’t wanna go home, I didn’t want to go to my parents, and staying at Mia’s was out of the question. I really just wanted to be close to my baby. Staying on the compound meant I could go sit with her whenever I wanted, no matter the time of day.

Jaeda and Quaid were a safe space for me and one a nigga never expected to need like this. When I showed up at their door after the fight with Mia a few days ago, they didn’t ask questions right away. They just let me in, fed me, and let me be.

“Good morning,” Jaeda said, walking into the room.

“Morning, Jae.”

“You got any sleep?”

I shook my head as I sat up. “Not really. How you doing?”

“I’m okay. A little worried about you.”