Love Don't Live Here Anymore (The Love Collection Book 3) (16 page)

On the way to Moet’s house, Summer gave Abaki an overview of her friend’s toxic relationship. As soon as they exited the car, they could hear yelling and screaming. Summer didn't even bother ringing the bell, she just barged right in, with Abaki fast on her heels. When they entered, Kareem had Moet bent over the dining room table, yelling in her face and slapping her.

Summer charged toward him and pushed him off her. Kareem, just noticing the two of them, directed his anger toward Summer, but before the thought left his brain, Abaki's fist had already made contact with his face. Abaki knew it wasn't his place to intervene, especially since his wife had asked him to relax with the save-a-woman super hero thing but this situation was different. A man he didn't know was directing his anger toward his sister-in-law and that was something he couldn't have. Kareem cocked his hand back and swung at Abaki but missed. Abaki grabbed him around his neck and talked calmly in his ear.

"Now, look, my man, I don't know you and you don't know me. Summer is my sister and she is here to help a friend. From my understanding, you are no longer wanted here. From man to man, I suggest you just get your things and don't make this worse than it needs to be. I’m going to let you go but please don't do anything irrational. Your beef is not with me or my sister and I have none with you. We cool?" Abaki asked.

It must have dawned on Kareem that he was pretty much helpless in the hold he was in, so he slowly held up both hands in surrender and Abaki released him. He stepped out of Abaki's reach and turned around quickly. While Abaki briefly looked away to inspect his hand, Kareem swung and sucker punched him in the jaw. Abaki didn't need long to recompose as he punched Kareem in the face with his left hand, in the gut with his right, and used his left to jab him in the ribs. That blow put Kareem on his knees. And just for sucker punching him, Abaki kneed him in the face, causing blood to splatter all over.

Summer told Moet to call the cops. She was not about to have her brother-in-law go to jail over some punk-ass woman beater like Kareem. If he wanted to get froggy again, he could do so with the officers. Moet called the authorities and she and Summer spent the next five minutes gathering all the stuff he had at Moet’s place and bagging it up. As soon as the cops showed up, they arrested Kareem and told him he could get his few bags from the property upon his release.

Summer helped Moet straighten up the house while Abaki made some minor repairs to her furniture. There was a big hole in her dining room wall that Abaki offered to repair. Because she didn’t have the materials needed to fix the hole, he told her that he had to go to the hardware store and get the things. 

“Moet, can you take him? My sister is at the house with the three kids, plus Akia is coming in a little while and I need to be there when she arrives.”

“Yes, sure. I really appreciate you guys coming over here.”

The three of them left Moet’s place at the same time and Abaki rode with Moet so he could do what he needed to do the repair and get back to his wife and kids.

When Summer entered her car, her cell phone rang. “Hey, Aut.”

“Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, sis. That fool acted out and you know Abaki handled him.”

“Oh God. I was hoping nothing like that happened. Where is he? Is he okay?”

“Yes, he’s fine. Kareem was arrested and we stayed to help her get her place back in order. There is a big hole in her wall, so Moet took Abaki to the hardware store to get some stuff so he could fix it real quick. He said it should take no more than a half hour.”

“Oh, okay. Yeah, he will have that done in no time. Okay, sis. Where are you?’

“I’m actually on my way back home now. Aut, this is Larita calling me back. I’ll see you in a few,” Summer said to Autumn and answered her other line. “Larita, girl, you missed some shit.”

“Summer, my fucking head is spinning so fast. I went to check on my mother like I do every few days, and I found her unresponsive on her living room floor. Summer, she was so cold and skinny,” Larita cried.

This was the first time Summer had heard Larita show any emotion regarding her mom. Normally, she was so despondent when it came to their relationship, so Summer felt like Larita couldn’t care less about what happened to her mom. But now, hearing her friend weep made her feel so bad.

“Is she okay?” Summer asked.

“I don’t know. I had her sent to the E.R. at Emory. She still had a heart rate when she arrived, but the doctors said it didn’t look good. Maybe this is it for her. Maybe her body has finally shut down from all the years of abuse. I didn’t think her illness would impact me like this but it did. Now that I may lose her, it really shows me that all these years I did love my mom. I just hated her lifestyle and I directed that hate toward her. It’s okay though. I told the doctors that if she doesn’t come through in two weeks on her own to just pull the plug on her. No need in using valuable resources on someone who is just going to keep abusing themselves anyway.”

Summer sighed. Her heart was heavy. She was blessed to have had such wonderful parents, even if they were taken away from her too soon. “Well, Larita, I’m here for you, sweetie. Whether it’s to talk or just listen. I’m here, puta,” Summer said, mimicking her friend.

That got Larita to laugh and smile. “Gracias, chica. Te amo, siempre.”

“Ditto, boo.” Summer told her friend to call her whenever.

She walked into the house and washed her hands before kissing each of her nephews and niece. She opted to pick up Angelica first because she was the only girl and the cutest baby Summer had ever seen. When the doorbell rang, she allowed Autumn to get it because she thought it was Abaki returning. When Autumn answered the door, Summer got a glimpse at Jessica and Akia and placed Angelica back in her carrier so she could walk over to greet them. Autumn gave Summer her space and went back into the house with her kids.

Summer bent down to greet Akia. “Hi. You must be Akia. Akia, my name is Summer. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you,” Akia said in her cute one-and-a-half-year-old voice.

“Hi, Jessica. Please, you guys, come in,” Summer offered.

“Okay. Thanks.” Jessica took a moment to look around. Summer introduced her to Autumn and the two of them shook hands.

“Oh, I have to get something from the car. I’ll be right back,” Jessica said.

“Okay. Just come right in when you’re done,” Summer told her. “Akia, can I help you take off your coat?” she asked the little girl.

“Mm hm,” Akia agreed.

Summer and Autumn made small talk with Akia while they waited for Jessica to return. Fifteen minutes had passed, and Summer got up to check on Jessica. When she got to the door, Abaki was coming in, holding a large duffel bag.

“This was on the steps with this note attached to it,” he said.

Summer crinkled her nose and looked outside. Sure enough, Jessica was gone. Autumn got off the couch and stood next to Summer as she opened the note.

Dear Summer,

I’m sorry I left like that. This is one of the hardest things I ever had to do. I love Akia with all my heart, but right now I am in no position to be her mommy. The truth is I think I love my husband more. I just want her to have the best life she possibly can; she deserves it. I hoped and prayed that she would be able to get that from AJ since I wasn’t in it emotionally. But being that he is no longer here, I believe in my heart that you would be a better mother to her than I can. Please tell her that I didn’t abandon her out of hate, but love. I loved her enough to leave her in the care of someone whom I feel would raise her into a lovely woman. Akia needs things that I just can’t provide at this time. In fact, I don’t even know what lies ahead for me. Again, I am so sorry to leave like this but I felt it was the best way. She is such a sweet child. I have included her medical records and all of her essential things. Again, I am truly sorry for my departure, but it’s in the best interest of us all.

Jessica

Summer looked at Autumn and she was crying, which made her tear up. When she looked over at Akia, sitting on the floor, playing with the triplets, she shed a few tears. The poor girl didn’t even know she had just been abandoned by her mother. Summer folded the letter up and took it to her room. She got on her knees and said a prayer. She asked God to heal Jessica’s soul and for Him to provide her guidance as she walked through this parental role. She also told AJ to help guide her, as she wanted to parent Akia in the way that he would have wanted. Walking back into the front room, she saw the look on Abaki’s face and then the hurt on Autumn’s.

“It’s okay, big sis. Things will be fine. I’ll always have you, Chaianne, and Stacey to get parenting advice from.”

“That’s not it, Summer. Abaki just told me that Moet tried making a pass at him.”

“What? Stop playing.”

“I wouldn’t play with something like this. Abaki, tell her what you just told me.”

Abaki cleared his throat and spoke. “During the ride, she kept complimenting me on how handsome I was and how strong I was and how lucky Autumn was to have a husband like me. When we returned to her place, I immediately got to work, repairing the wall and she disappeared somewhere in the back. She came back into the dining room, wearing a short bathrobe, which I thought was strange. I instantly had a gut feeling to get the hell out of there, so I just worked faster. She was hospitable and offered me something to drink but I declined. Then she started crying really hard. At first I started to ignore it, so I could leave but then she walked over to me. She placed her head on my shoulder and cried harder. I stopped doing the work and patted her on the arm and told her it would be okay. That’s when she tried to kiss me. I pulled her away from me by her arms and told her that was inappropriate and she apologized. When I was done, I started to call you or Autumn to come get me but she insisted on driving me. During the ride, she placed her hand on my lap and tried touching me in an inappropriate area. When she’d driven to a point where I began to recognize the area, I got out of the car and told her I would walk the rest of the way, and that’s what I did.”

At a loss for words and feeling like shit, Summer hung her head and shook it from side to side. “Big sis, I am so sorry. Abaki, I apologize to you as well. I would have never, in a million years, thought Moet would do something like that,” she said as she rubbed her temples.

“It’s okay, baby sis. I know it’s not your fault. I just feel stupid for being so free with my husband and allowing him to be so nice, and it backfired. Now suppose Abaki wasn’t a stand up kind of man and went for that. My marriage would be ruined all because we tried to help someone whom I thought was worthy of the assistance. Lesson learned though. Next time a bitch would need to call somebody else because I will not be loaning out my man,” Autumn stated with conviction.

Even though Autumn wasn’t mad at Summer, Summer really felt bad about what happened. She should have never left Abaki there alone. Moet had violated big time and Summer was going to give her a piece of her mind. This whole day was proving to be fucked up. First, there was the issue with Braxdon and his kids’ mother, then Moet and her domestic bullshit, Larita and her mother almost dying, Akia being dropped off on her doorstep and abandoned, and now finding out that someone she thought was a true friend had completely betrayed her trust and disrespected her and her sister.

The doorbell rang, breaking her from her thoughts. Summer was feeling all kinds of emotions. She was hurt, angry, and sad. So when she opened the door and saw Braxdon standing on her doorstep, he caught the tip of her distress.

“What?” Summer hissed.

“Oh, I’m sorry to disturb you. But I found this in my car, so I figured it must be yours. Can I come in? I wanted to talk to you.” Braxdon handed her a small cosmetic bag.

“No, you can’t come in. Thanks for bringing it. I’ll talk to you later. And Braxdon, do me a favor, and don’t ring my doorbell again.” Summer slammed the door in his face.

“Who was that?” Autumn asked.

“Nobody,” Summer said. Her intentions weren’t to get pissy with her sister, but she had so many thoughts swarming in her head; she just needed a minute to calm down. Summer walked to her room and slammed the door. She lay across her bed and closed her eyes. She wanted to cry but her anger was too prevalent. In fact, it overshadowed her sadness. Autumn tapped on the door and walked in without waiting for a response.

“Baby sis, what’s wrong? I told you I’m not upset with you about your friend,” Autumn said.

“I know, Autumn. But it’s not just that. It’s everything. So much seems to be going on at once. Akia and I barely know one another, and now the poor girl is stuck with me. I have to go to work on Monday and I don’t have a clue as to what I’m going to do with her during that time. I don’t have any daycares lined up. One of my closest friends just tried to hit on my brother-in-law. My friend’s mother may be dying. Shit, Autumn, what ain’t wrong?”

“Listen, sweetie. Shit happens, okay? That’s life. Fuck Moet. I ain’t even studying that. I am just glad Abaki told us so now I know how to handle situations of the sort. It’s simple: My man ain’t helping unless it’s someone already in our circle because I know how everyone rocks. Larita is a grown woman. Let her carry the burden of her mother. Yes, it is sad and I know you empathize with her but don’t carry that weight. Be there for her as a friend, nothing more and nothing less. Let that go. As far as Akia, we got this. Things will be fine. She is too young to be registered for school, so you can just put her in the daycare at your job. You said the hospital has a daycare facility, so just call Monday morning and see if they have openings. Money isn’t an issue, so I know you can afford the cost. So now what? Next problem,” Autumn stated.