“Man, chill with all that. Do you like living with your mom?” Miego gave Yami a serious expression which had her thinking.
“No, but I can't just move in with you. We barely even know each other, and what about Ray? How am I supposed to explain that to Ray?”
Miego cut his eyes at her. “Ray, or her bitch ass father?”
Yami was quiet for a minute before she spoke in a barely audible tone. “Both.”
“I’m not gon’ keep having the same dead ass conversation with you, Yami. How many times I got to tell you, fuck him, and Ray is two years old. It's as simple as we’re moving, this is where we live now. You already know I ain't on no bullshit with her. I don't know shit about kids, but if I got you, I got her. That ain't up for debate. I understood that the second I saw her with you. There are three rooms, one for you, me, and Ray, if that’s how you wanna play it. The bottom line is this, you ain't happy with your situation and I need a place to lay my head. Stop making got damn excuses and do what the fuck you want and not what you think everyone else wants. Who the fuck cares how long we’ve known each other? One day, one week, one fucking year, that shit is irrelevant. Somebody’s gon’ have something to say about it regardless, so are we going to buy shit for our place or am I taking your ass home?”
“No expectations, right?”
Miego laughed. “The fuck you mean no expectations? I already told you that I have a lot of expectations, like your ass bent over one of the sofas we’re about to buy, but I know that shit will come in time.” He winked at her and she shook her head. There was just no winning with him. He had no chill.
“For real, though, shorty. I got you on that. We play it however you want, but I need you to be clear about one thing. You might start off in your own room, but you’re gon’ end up in mine eventually. I’m not rushing it, but it's happening. You down with that?”
Miego’s expression didn't break and Yami knew that he was serious, so even though she still had reservations about it, she figured that they would find a way to make it work for both of them, so she simply nodded and agreed.
“I’ight then. Let's go buy some shit.” And with that, the plan was set in motion.
Chapter Thirteen
It had been over a month since Yami had talked to her sister and she missed her. Yaz wasn't answering her calls, hadn't responded to her texts, which really had Yami in her feelings. As much as she hated the way her sister was constantly on her about her life choices, a part of her felt empty without having her sister around to talk to, and she needed to change that because she was over it.
Yami walked around picking up toys that Ray had thrown all over her room and smiled. Over the past month, things had fallen into place. Her daughter had definitely made herself at home, and she was slowly doing the same thing. Miego was still Miego, but he respected her request to give them time. The more she was around him, the more she realized that she wanted to be more than just friends.
The first few days after they moved in, Black had blown up her phone with threatening calls and texts. Yami hadn't been around, which meant that Ray hadn't been around, and he wanted to see his daughter. Yami didn't want problems, so she went out of her way to make sure that Ray got to see Black, even if she didn't. That meant extra-long drives to get Ray to her grandmother’s house so that she could keep her distance from Black. Even though she had to lie to his mother about her current situation, it was easier to lie to her than it was to be confronted by Black.
She wasn't ready to deal with him about the fact that she and Miego were living together, and she planned to avoid it as long as she could. Until a week ago, it wasn't really a problem because she didn't have to see Black, thanks to his mother. All of that changed when his mom delivered the message that she could no longer be the go between for them.
Apparently, Black had refused to let her, and he wanted Yami to bring their daughter to him. Yami knew that Black was eventually going to start questioning her about where she was staying, so she did the only thing that made sense to her and stayed away. It had been over a week since Black had seen Ray, but he also hadn’t called or texted her about it, which she thought was strange.
After she was done cleaning up after Ray, she stepped out of her room and walked down the hall to Ray’s room where she was taking a nap. She stuck her head in the door and found her daughter balled up on the bed with her thumb in her mouth, hugging the stuffed elephant the she fell in love with and Miego had insisted that she have.
Anything Ray wanted she got if he was around, and Yami loved that about him. As much as he screamed that he didn't know anything about kids, he was a natural with Ray. The two of them were thick as thieves, even to the point where they ganged up on her a lot.