Page 45 of Still Yours

“Woman? That's not what I heard. Last I saw, you were with Lunden, his best friend, so you’re a hoe now, Prissy Pretti? You went from a virgin to fucking best friends at the same time? Bitch, you’re trash just like me, little orphan girl. Tell her, Dexz. Tell her how you told me all her business. How her mother left her at a police station. Bitch, you are nothing!”

Before Kayla could get another word out, Pretti punched her in the face so hard she fell onto the bed. She didn’t take insults about her parents lightly. It was still a touchy topic.

“Bitch, you don’t know my life!”

“Oh shit,” Dexz said as he watched Pretti step out of her heels and get on top of Kayla to fight her. She started punching Kayla in the face repeatedly until Kayla pushed her away. Once Kayla was on her feet, they started boxing. Dexz let it go on for a minute, seeing Pretti was handling herself. As they were fighting, he spotted a little boy sleeping on the other.

“Aye, y’all chill. Shorty over here sleep.” Dexz broke them apart.

“Bitch! I owed you that ass whooping. I don’t give a fuck who I’m with, bitch, Dexten is mine. So try me over my dick, hoe! I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off!” Pretti shouted over Dexz’s shoulder. Her lip was bleeding, and her nails were broken as well from punching Kayla in the face.

Dexz pushed her towards the door aggressively so she wouldn’t be close to Kayla.

“Go wait for me in the car. I gotta handle this kid situation,” he said calmly, hoping she would calm down. He handed her the pair of heels she stepped out of.

“That’s right, bitch. I had his first kid, little ugly. You think you so pretty? Somebody lied to you! Remember I had Dexz first. He never wanted your funny-looking ass, crossed-eyed ass!”

Pretti laughed. “Try again, bitch, Dexten always wanted me. He just never wanted to treat me like a rag doll like he did you. You can’t break me by calling me ugly. I may not be as pretty as my name, but at least my attitude and life ain’t trash like yours. Have a nice life, Kayla, with your junky, fish-smelling ass!”

Pretti stormed out of the room and slammed the door. Kayla broke down crying and screaming while Dexz glared at her lying on the floor in fetal position. He looked over at the little boy sleeping peacefully on the bed and was surprised he hadn't woken up from the commotion.

“Kayla, I know you mad, but you brought me here for a reason. If that’s my son, we need to make sure, so I need a test.”

“He’s deaf, and he has Trisomy 21. I did drugs my whole pregnancy, and he is going to be delayed for life. I can’t take care of him. I don’t have the money. His medical bills are through the roof, and the state wants to take him again, so I fled here. You have to get him. I can’t do this anymore!” Kayla cried out at his feet. She was giving him an earful, and he didn’t know where to start.

“Why the fuck did you do drugs while you were pregnant, Kayla? Didn’t I tell you to stop doing that shit when we were together?” Dexz looked down at her in disgust.

“Shit got fucked up when you went to jail, and I should’ve never broken up with you. I was stressing, so I smoked up all the money and dope you left at my house. Ever since then, I’ve been addicted.”

“You were addicted before I was locked up, Kayla. You need help, but I can’t take him until I know he’s mine.” Dexz started heading for the door.

“Wait, I have a test already. All I need is your saliva.”

Kayla stood and got the test. After Kayla opened it, she woke up the baby boy.

When he woke up and Dexz got a good look at him, he saw so many features of himself in the boy, but he could tell something was wrong. He was angry at Kayla for doing drugs with his child. He knew if he had been out of jail, he could have maybe prevented his child from being born with disabilities. Dexz started feeling bad. The pit of his stomach turned because he didn’t understand what the kid was going through.

“Don’t look at him like that. He’s normal like any other kid, and he looks like you.”

Dexz sighed, agitated. “He’s going through some shit I don’t understand, Kayla. What the fuck do you want me to do?”

“Love him once you find out he’s yours and learn to understand him. He is such a sweet baby and deserves a better life. Do you want him to end up in the system like you did?”

“What’s his name?” he finally asked because he was at a loss for words.

“I named him Ethan Dexten Kingsley. I know you hate your real name, so I put your middle name first and your first name second, like you wanted your name to be.”

Dexz shook his head. “Why would you give him my name, knowing I hate it then? He better be mine, or you’re going to change his fuckin’ name, you hear me? You did some stupid ass shit, but I'm not going to chastise you. If he’s mine, I'm taking him, but I never want to see you again.”

“We got a fucking deal. Now get the fuck out of my room. I’ll be here until the results come back.”

Dexz left her room, full of thoughts. Just looking at Ethan, he knew he was his baby. His only concern was caring for a child with special needs. Money was no issue, but he knew he was going to need a support system and probably take some parenting classes because he knew nothing about children.

When he got to his car, Pretti was in his driver’s seat on the phone. He got in the passenger seat, and she dismissed her call.

“You fucked that bitch up, babe. When you learn how to fight?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood. Truthfully, he thought his new situation was depressing.

“Storm takes me to the gym, and we box, but she had us fucked up. You’re my best friend. I’ll knock a bitch out over you,” she expressed boldly.