#FREE READ Sunday! Crossroads…a Butterfly Memoir Mini- Chapter 10
Alright everyone, the time has finally come for the final chapter! Enjoy!!!
*Just tuning in? Catch up by following these links to the previous chapters!*
Previous Chapters:
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Trevon
I entered Applebee’s through the kitchen door in the back and slipped into the small office shared by all the managers. I reached behind the door and grabbed the dress slacks, shirt, and tie I kept for emergencies.
Changed, I adjusted my tie, then headed toward the dining area and to the bar.
“Gary?”
The bartender looked up, then angled his head in the direction of the booth sitting in the rear of the restaurant. The woman’s back was to me as she stared out the window.
I put on my best customer service smile and pushed the thoughts of my conversation with Kai aside.
“Ma’am, were you looking for the manager?”
The woman turned to look at me, a tentative smile on her face.
“Trina?” I stopped in my tracks and stared at my ex-girlfriend.
She pushed short, cropped hair behind her ear as nervous laughter escaped. “Surprise…”
It was hard to tell whether her smile was genuine or fake. We hadn’t parted on good terms.
“You called me down here?”
“Sorry, there was no other way to get in touch with you. Your cell number has changed. You moved after our lease was up so I had no clue where you live. And…I didn’t want to cross paths with your boys.” She shrugged. “I knew you’d still be working here.”
What in the hell was going on with the women in my life? First Kai, and now Trina.
I forced a calming breath to keep my sanity.
“You found me. What do you want?”
Trina stared at me. I could see the internal struggle on her face. Part of her wanted to come back with a sarcastic response. The other kept her mouth in check.
“Trevon, can you sit down for a minute? This is serious…”
I appraised her, and yes, her body language said she meant what she said.
I slid into the booth across from her, and steeled myself for whatever she had to say. “What’s the problem?”
Trina took a deep breath and placed both hands on the table. “I need you to help me keep a promise.”
“A promise?” I sat back, ran my hand over my face, and sighed. “What promise?”
She sat silent for a moment, which drew my full attention.
“To my son.”
My eyebrows rose. “You have a son?”
She nodded.
I shrugged. “What does that have to do with me?”
Trina’s attention went to her hands. “He’s been diagnosed with Sickle Cell Anemia. The doctors have been managing his care for the past year, but they feel he’s eligible for a bone marrow transplant. If it works the way they think, he’ll be practically cured. But first he has to survive the operation.”
“Damn. Trina, I’m sorry to hear that.” I meant it. “But what does that have to do with me?”
She put up a hand. “For days he’s been talking about his father. Kids at day care talk about their dads all the time. Now I’m afraid he’ll die and never know who his father is.”
My brain went blank. “And what, you want me to play daddy?”
Trina looked me in the eye and shook her head. “No, Trevon. I want him to meet his father. Justin is your son.”
I stared at her.
She stared back.
Somehow I managed to breathe. “Come again?”
Instead of responding, she dug into her purse and retrieved her phone. She pushed a few buttons and slid it across the table.
“Justin was born July twelfth, two years ago.”
“We broke up a long time before─”
“I found out I was pregnant after I left you.”
My brow creased. “And you didn’t tell me?”
“No. I couldn’t…didn’t want to deal with you. I didn’t want you to try and make things work because of the baby.”
Not knowing what else to say, I forced myself to look at the screen.
The bright-eyed kid who stared back at me was a dead-ringer for the pictures my mom had of me.
This wasn’t a joke or a lie.
I forced myself to swallow. “God, Trina…I have a son?”
“Yes, you do.” She smiled a little.
I was a father.
I placed my elbows on the table and stared at the screen again, studying everything about the little boy. Disbelief made my mind blank.
I had a son, a two-year-old son…no, I have a two-year-old son.
One I never knew existed. Yet, he asked for me.
Anger rose in my chest.
“How could you keep him from me, Trina?” My voice rose.
Trina glanced over her should as if trying to see who could hear our conversation. “Look, now’s not the time to─”
“The hell it isn’t!” I spat, leaned forward and pointed in her face. “You’ve kept my son from me! You had no intention of telling me so I could be a part of his life because you’re selfish!”
Her jaw clenched. “I didn’t tell you because I was hurt and angry, Trevon. You cheated on me! We had something special! I gave you my heart and your promised to love me! But then you threw it all away!” Her voice trembled. Trina sat back and glanced around to see if anyone was listening. “So excuse the hell out of me for doing what felt right for my own sanity!”
“But two years, Trina? Two years? I don’t give a damn about your personal feelings. I screwed things up, I was an ass, but that does not give you the right to keep my son away from me. A boy needs his father!”
Trina’s hands went up to her face. I could barely hear her muffled voice. “You don’t think I know that?” When she looked up again, tears shown in the corner of her eyes. “I wish I were telling you this and that everything was okay. Instead, I’m telling you because he could die and never know…” She covered her mouth, closed her eyes, and tears rained down.
I sat back in the booth, my chest heavy and mind spinning. The phone was in my hand so I stared at my son.
Justin was two years old.
I’d missed everything.
His birth. Watching him learn how to walk…talk. Hearing him say Da-da. All the things Andre talked about when his first child was born.
Moments I could never get back.
And now, because of his illness, I could miss out on his future.
The only thing I had was now.
“Take me to my son.”
The End
Or rather…
The Beginning…
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Want to know what happens next? NOBODY’S BUSINESS will be available on JULY 2nd!!! Follow this link to PRE-ORDER your copy and have it when you wake up on Thursday!
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Trevon Campbell’s world changed the moment his ex-girlfriend announced he was a father. Determined to make up for his past mistakes, he gives Trina what she wanted before their breakup, what feels like his soul, which means forgetting the woman he had a one-night stand with, the woman who stole his heart.
Kai Malone doesn’t want to play by her family’s rules. Instead of working for the family business, she became a firefighter. Being a female of multicultural descent, working in a field dominated by men, Kai focuses on her job to ignore the infidelity of her fiancé. Tired of his deceit, she gave in to a one-night stand with a complete stranger, someone she’d never have to see again…or so she thought.
When tragedy strikes, their worlds collide, leaving them no choice but to deal with each other again. It doesn’t take long for them to realize the attraction that brought them together the first time is stronger than ever, forcing Trevon to make the biggest decision of his life.
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