Perfectly Mixed (6 page)

Shane placed the grocery bags on the ground, and knocked on the front door.

“Mommy sleeping,” Grayson looked up at him.

His heart melted, staring into his son’s eyes. He couldn’t explain the love he had for his little boy. It crushed him every time he had to bring him back to Liza’s home, but he couldn’t afford to give her leverage. If he was going to petition for full custody he had to have his ducks in a row. He continued knocking on the wooden barrier, he wanted to pound on the fucking door the way her brothers and bitch of a man had done on his door.

“Coming!” Mrs. Barbara, Liza’s mother yelled.

“Granny!” Grayson grinned, getting excited after hearing her voice. At least he had someone in the home watching out for him. He didn’t like the old woman, but she loved her grandson. Mrs. Barbara had stood up to Liza a couple of times because of Grayson.

She swung the door open. “What the hell,” Barbara’s lips thinned. “You couldn’t wait?”

“Where’s Liza?” He watched the older woman closely.

“She went out,” Mrs. Barbara bent down and kissed Grayson’s forehead. “I missed you. I made you some vanilla pudding.”

Grayson clapped, “Yummy.” He walked in the house, and ran back to the door. “Bye, Daddy. Love you.”

Liza was hiding from him. She started this shit, but he was going to end it. “Tell Liza she can’t hide from me,” Shane raised his voice making sure Liza could hear him. He knew she was hiding somewhere in the house. “She will pay for what she did last night.” He wouldn’t start any shit right now, because he had a date with a chocolate beauty.

“Haven’t you done enough?” She asked, “You shot at my son.” Mrs. Barbara glared at him. “Scott and Bob are sitting in jail because of you.”

“Because of me?” Shane chuckled sarcastically and then got serious. “Your sons came to my fucking house, threatening me and my fiancée while your grandson was sleeping in the next room. Liza better be thankful that I’m a fucking changed man, or else you might have been identifying their bodies at the morgue.”

Barbara covered her mouth with her hand.

He bent down, and picked up the bags. “And can you please ensure your daughter is feeding my son? Every time I pick him up he’s starving,” Shane placed the grocery bags on the other side of the threshold. “Now she doesn’t have any excuses,” he walked off. He prayed that soon he wouldn’t have to bring his son to this hellhole.

~~~

“Mom,” Larissa beamed.

“How are you, sweetheart?” her mother’s soothing voice asked.

“I’m getting married!” She squealed, and her mother yelled. Larissa chuckled at her mother’s antics. Her mom didn’t particularly like Shane at the beginning; he rubbed her parents the wrong way. They envisioned their only daughter marrying a black man, not a rough white man. Larissa asked her parents to give him a chance, and not to judge the book by the cover. Larissa even had to throw Christianity in the conversation. Now her parents loved him once they got to know the man she loved.

“Finally!” her mom yelled, “Honey, come here!”

She grinned thinking about her parents’ relationship. Her parents’ had been married for thirty-six years. They went through their ups and downs, but they survived. That was the kind of love she was looking for, someone she could grow old with, and she found it with Shane.

Larissa could hear her mother talking to her dad, and then her mother placed her on speaker. “Larissa is getting married.”

“He finally worked up the nerve to ask,” her father chuckled. “Shane asked me weeks ago.”

“He asked you?” Larissa was surprised; she assumed it was a spur of the moment decision. She stared at her sparkling ring.

“Yes, that boy turned out to be a very decent man,” her dad stated. “I was wrong about him, I’m glad you didn’t listen to us.”

Did her father just admit that he was wrong? She smiled.

“When are you getting married?” her mother asked.

“We haven’t set a date yet, but if it was up to Shane we’d be married tomorrow.”

“If you get married tomorrow, you better call us. We want to be there,” her mother said, starting to get emotional. “My baby is getting married.”

“Congratulations, sweetie,” her dad said.

There was another call coming in, it was important and she needed to take it. “Mom, Dad I love you, but I have to go. As soon as I know the date you’ll be the first to know.”

“Bye, love you.”

Larissa clicked over. “Hi, Tiffany.”

“You called me several times, how can I assist you?”

“I need a favor,” Larissa tapped her manicured fingernails against her mahogany desk. Liza was going pay for messing with her happiness.

“You already cashed in all your favors,” Tiffany her boss and friend responded. “What is it this time?”

“I’m getting married,” Larissa squealed gazing at her ring.

Tiffany screamed, “You’re engaged. Spill, how, when, where?”

She chuckled, “He surprised me in the bathtub.”

“The bathtub, do I really want to know?”

“I was in the tub by myself. He gave me a box of chocolate, and when I opened it, there was a beautiful ring in the middle of the box. He got down on bended knees, and asked me,” Larissa smiled, remembering Shane down on his knees; she loved that man.

“Who would’ve known that Shane could be so romantic?”

“He is romantic,” Larissa stood, looking out of her balcony doors. To the world Shane was this big bad wolf, but to her he was a gentle teddy bear. She loved him just the way he was, even with all his cussing. “I’m the happiest when I’m with him and his little boy.”

“Are you ready to be his step mom? I mean Shane’s baby mama is crazy.”

“I can handle that bitch,” She opened the glass sliding doors, and stepped out. Larissa was willing to sacrifice everything for Shane and Grayson, but she would never walk away from them. Shane became her heart’s hero; he made her believe in forever. She had a moment where she doubted they could make it, and thought her boys would be better off without her. But what woman in her place wouldn’t? Thank God Shane and Grayson made her come to her senses. “I warned her over and over not to mess with me.”

“She didn’t listen?”

“No she didn’t,” Larissa looked down at the pool in the back of the building. “And now she’s going to meet Ms. Edwards. I’m done being nice.”

“Is this the favor you’re trying to cash in?”

“Yes.” Larissa said, and balled her fist.

One week later.

Shane leaned back in his leather chair, talking on the phone. “Larissa…”

“Yes,” she chuckled.

“I need a date.”

“For?” she giggled.

“Woman, stop playing with me, I want to make you Mrs. Morgan as soon as possible.” He couldn’t wait to make her his wife, to finally have what he’d been seeking, for a family of his own. He often wondered what their baby would look like, a little girl. “I spoke to a judge this morning and he said he could marry us next Friday.”

“In a week? Are you sure you want to marry me?” She was being silly, he could hear the humor in her voice.

“I haven’t been more sure of anything in my fucking life,” his cellphone beeped he had another call coming through. He looked at the number, recognizing it, and that it was odd to be getting a call from it. “Babe, Grayson’s daycare is calling. I’ll call you right back. Love you.” He made sure to always say how he felt to the people he cared about, because you never know if you’ll ever see that person again.

“Love you back, and yes Mr. Morgan, I’ll marry you next Friday.”

“Yes,” Shane pumped his fist in the air. “I can’t wait to make you mine.”

“I am already yours.”

He couldn’t help the grin on his face, before switching over. “Hey.”

“Mr. Morgan, this is Patrice from Rainbow Daycare.”

“Yes, is something wrong with Grayson?” he asked concerned since the daycare never called him unless they couldn’t reach Liza.

“I’m not supposed to call you, but I think you should know,” she stated.

“What happened?” He demanded to know.

“We had to call Child Protective Services,” Patrice disclosed.

“Why?” Shane stood, and the other officers in the room looked at him. His happiness had officially faded away. There was only one reason why they would call CPS.

“Sir…”

“Stop fucking beating around the bush, and tell me what the fuck happened to my son!” Shane growled, he knew it wasn’t the lady’s fault, she was just doing her job.

“Grayson wasn’t himself this morning, he refused to use the bathroom.” Patrice paused. “He finally decided to go, but I could hear him crying so I went in, and Grayson’s butt and legs are covered in black and blue bruises. I lifted his t-shirt and he had welt marks across his back. Mr. Morgan they are really bad, and I knew you would want to know.”

Shane’s jaw clenched, this cycle would not repeat itself. “I’m on my way,” he said and placed his phone in his pocket. Spare the rod, spoil the child. He believed in spanking his son, but never to the point of abuse. As a law enforcement officer he knew the only spanking allowed was with an open hand on the butt. His parents had used him as a punching bag, and he vowed that his kids would never have to go through that.

“Shane, what’s up?” Lorenzo watched him.

“That fucking bitch beat my kid,” he picked up his car keys, and walked out of his office. “They called CPS. I’m not letting them take him away from me.”

“I’m coming with you,” Lorenzo followed behind him.

“No,” Shane turned around, glaring at his friend. “I’ll be fine. I promised him that I would always be there,” he cleared his throat. He prayed they were exaggerating, and that Grayson was okay.

“You’re not fine,” Lorenzo grabbed his jacket. “Remember what happened the other night with those fuckers?”

“I was making a point,” Shane ambled away. “Don’t follow me,” he opened the door, and walked out. Liza had fucking lost her mind.

~~~

Shane stormed into the daycare, knocking the door against the drywall. “Where’s my son?” He demanded to know.

Patrice rushed up to the front desk. “Mr. Morgan he’s speaking with someone from Child Protective Services,” she pointed at the office.

Grayson was being interviewed. Shane’s heart raced, and his nose started flaring. That meant there was enough evidence for him to possibly be removed from the home. What the fuck did Liza do? Shane marched to the room, and forcefully opened the door. “Who the fuck gave you permission to interview my son?”

“Daddy!” Grayson ran up to him, and wrapped his arms around his legs. “Daddy hurt… I hurt…” Shane picked him up. “Ouch… ouch…” he sat him back down on the ground.

Shane glared at the lady, and pulled out his badge showing her his credentials. “I’ll be doing the interview. Take all the fucking notes you need, because after this I’m taking my son home with me.”

“Sir,” the lady said, looking at Shane’s badge and uniform. He was wearing a red polo shirt with Federal Agent written across it, a pair of khaki pants, and boots. “This isn’t the first time something like this has happened.”

“What, when?” Shane was confused, when did this happen, he wondered. “No one called me, aren’t you supposed to call the other parent?” He counted to ten mentally, she fucking hurt his son more than once and he was none the wiser.

“Sir, we tried to get in contact with you, but his mother said you weren’t in the child’s life.” The lady stood. “The number she gave us didn’t work.”

“When?”

She searched through the file in her hands, and fingered a page, searching for the answer he requested. “A year and a half ago.”

That’s the period when she kept Grayson away from him. Every time he came by to see him, she was never home. They had shared custody at first until she got mad at him, and took him to court for full custody, and they denied her. Liza kept taking him to court until one day the judge was tired of her using Grayson to get what she wanted, and gave them shared custody, but she was the primary guardian.  He didn’t want to keep his son away from his mother, but why didn’t he fight her?

“It didn’t fucking occur to you that she lied?” he looked down at his little man. He promised Larissa he would stop cussing, especially around Grayson, but when he was angry all promises went out the window. “What were you called for then?”

“She left him home alone a few times according to her neighbors, and your son had a black eye once, however there wasn’t any way to prove that she did it.” The lady placed the file on the desk, and grabbed a notepad and pen. “When we were about to take your son out of her custody, her mother stepped up. She stated that she would be moving in to help with your son.”

Shane combed his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s why she moved in,” he said to himself.

“Daddy.” Grayson stared through big eyes. “I want home with you,” he pointed at him. “Please… No Mommy.” He shook his head.

“Sir, I need-” She closed her mouth when Shane put up his hand, ignoring her.

“Take notes.” He glared at her, and then looked at his son. “What happened, buddy?” Shane’s voice softened.

“Mommy hurt me,” he whispered. He’d taught his son to tell him everything without fear of punishment, if he told the truth.

“Why?” he brushed Grayson’s hair out of his face, and took a deep breath.

Grayson went and grabbed his book bag. He pulled out a ripped picture, and showed him.

Shane sat in the chair next to the door, and took the ripped construction paper from his son. Grayson had drawn a picture of four stick people. “Who is this?” Shane pointed at the sticks.

“Daddy,” he pointed at the biggest stick. “Mommy, me, and…” he didn’t continue.

“Buddy, who’s this?” Shane pointed at the brown stick. “I promise you won’t get in trouble.”

Grayson shook his head, and started crying. “I no hurt, Daddy,” his tears rolled down his cheeks. “No hurt… I sorry.”

The lady took notes.

Shane’s heart broke, staring at his son crying. Memories from his childhood resurfaced, when his parents used to take turns beating the hell out of him. If it wasn’t for those fucking monthly checks he used to steal from his father, he wouldn’t have been able to run away from home. “I promise, son,” he wiped his tears. “No one will hurt you again.” His voice cracked.

Grayson pointed at the picture. “Rissa.”

Shane took a deep breath, cracking his neck. “Your mommy hit you because of Rissa?”

Grayson nodded his head, “Mommy said I bad boy.” Grayson turned around, and lifted his shirt. Shane gasped, and clenched his jaw. His little boy had marks across his back, down to his butt and legs. Memories of his abuse came back in full force.

“Mommy did this?” Shane could feel the tears burning his eyes. If they assumed he was crazy the other night, they were going to think he was insane now. He had never put his hands on a woman before, but Liza might be the first.

“Yes,” Grayson turned, and bowed his head like he did something wrong. “I sorry, Daddy.”

“Buddy, you didn’t do anything wrong,” Shane tipped his chin. “I’m so sorry Mommy did this to you, buddy.” He folded the piece of paper. “I’m so proud of you for telling me.” He kissed his forehead, and then stood. “I have to take a few pictures of your back, butt, and legs.” Shane took pictures of all his marks with his cellphone, and then he grabbed all of Grayson’s things. He was feeling like shit. Why didn’t he try harder to get custody of his son, why wasn’t he there to protect his baby? His teeth hurt from clenching his jaw. Shane wanted to yell, and fucking hit something, but his son came first.

“Sir, you can’t take him. I haven’t finished.” The CPS worker stopped him.

“Watch me!” Shane pulled out his wallet and retrieved one of his business cards. “Lady you don’t want to fucking come between me and my son.” He handed her the card, “I will answer any questions you have later, right now I’m taking my son to the hospital. Since none of you idiots thought of that.” He took Grayson’s hand and walked out the office. “Patrice…” he glanced around looking for her.

“Yes Shane,” she came around the corner.

“Grayson will not be coming back,” Shane ambled out the daycare with his son right next to him. He took out his cellphone, swiped, and called Liza; it went straight to voicemail. “I’m fucking coming for you, and this time bitch you won’t be able to hide from me!”