Like a mannequin, vacant and numb to the bone, Jack stood in the doorway with Alana standing on the other side with pleading eyes that he wouldn't give in to.
She had the fucking audacity to come on the same step that she left their daughter on with no kind of remorse or regret and it made him livid. "Are you fucking crazy?" He asked, in the most subtle voice he could get out.
"No...I just needed a break." Alana took a step forward, attempting to get inside, but Jack made sure she didn't.
"You're a parent. You don't get goddamn breaks. You have to raise a child every single day until their eighteen, and even after that, you're still a parent who will have to watch over them and make sure they're good. You have to take care of them until the day you die, Alana. This isn't a fucking game."
"I didn't say it was a damn game, Jack!" She shouted, her fist balling up down by her sides.
"Then stop acting like it is. You're not taking her with you, I swear to God you're not and I'm getting sole custody and I wish the fuck you would try to say otherwise."
Alan's face dropped to floor. "Don't you think you're being harsh?"
"Harsh? You left a baby on the doorstep with no knowledge if I was home or not and she could've been stolen or something. This could've ended different ways, but thank God I was just about to leave. I shouldn't even let you see her, but I will."
"Thank you." Alana forced a smile as Jack stepped aside and let her in. "Is she upstairs?" She brushed past Jack to get towards the steps, but he stuck an arm out to block her from wandering around his house.
Stepping in front of her with a slight glare, Jack turned around and slowly lead Alana upstairs. He wasn't sure what possessed him to do this and allow her to see the child she abandoned, but he knew it'd be the wrong and inhumane thing to do if he kept their daughter hidden away from her mother.
A smile slid onto her lips once they walked into the room and her eyes found the crib that was placed in the corner. "Hey, princess." Alana sang, strolling over to the crib, seeing her daughter for the first time in three weeks.
Jack then saw Alana reach for Vanessa and he never was the one to bite his tongue, now matter who they were. "Don't touch her." He snapped in a low tone, making her body jolt and her hands fall next to sides.
"Why? She's my daughter." She defended, folding her arms across her chest and shifting all of her weight onto her right foot.
"I don't trust you." Jack bluntly told her. With a quick glance, he seen Vanessa's blue eyes flutter open then scooped her out of her crib and held her close to his chest. "How the hell did you even have my child in the first place?"
"Sex." Alana stated, trying not to roll her eyes at the obvious question. "If there's any other way then please let me know."
Jack let out a humorless laugh as he took a seat on the edge of his bed, gently patting his daughter's back. "You need to clean out your fucking bong, I'd never fuck you sober again."
"You weren't sober." She propped her elbow on the crib railing and ran her fingers through her blonde beach waves, her ends fried due to the heat of a iron. "We were both drunk. I wasn't as drunk as you though." She mentioned with a hint of laughter.
Jack's face fell flat and more unamused than it was before. "You took advantage of me?"
Alana's stormy ocean eyes narrowed, irritation grasping her aura. "You nearly rearranged my guts that night. I didn't take advantage of you. Don't forget that a drunk mind speaks for sober thoughts."
"Yeah, and don't forget that pussy is pussy, so don't start thinking we're gonna be some big happy family or some shit. I had to be drunk to fuck you, you aren't special. Remember that."
Jack's phone rang on the nightstand behind him, pausing their argument. He reached for it and held it between his shoulder and ear as he gently shook Vanessa who was slowly falling back asleep. "Hello?"
"Hey, Jack." His heart skipped a beat when he heard the thick Cuban accent. "It's Reyna...I just wanted to talk to you and say sorry. Our fight the other night could've been prevented and sorted out. I'm sorry."
Jack didn't know whether or not he should accept the apology and pursue a relationship with her, especially with what was going on with Selena. Maybe there was a way for him to be able to be just friends with Reyna and maybe later on when he was completely over her being naked on tv, something could happen.
"Yeah...You're right. I'm sorry too." He told her, his eyes catching Alana tense up and her tongue poke against the inside of her cheek.
"Me and my friend were going out tonight, do you and Deshawn wanna come along?" Reyna asked. "I think we will just hang out at a bar or something."
"Yeah, just give me some time to find someone to look after Vanessa and we'll hang out."
"Okay, great." Jack could feel her smiling hard through the phone, causing a small smile to form across his lips. "I'll see you then, goodbye."
"Bye." Jack hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed before glancing at his daughter to see her eyes closed once again, sleeping softly.
"You and the fame-seeker still together?" Alana interrogated as Jack stood up to set Vanessa back in her crib, putting the blanket across her body.
"You mean Selena? The mother of my two children?"
Alana wrinkled her nose, but chuckled nonetheless. "If that's what you want to label her as."
Jack scoffed as he faced her. "Where have you even been? Under a damn rock? Everyone knows we got a divorce and her name shouldn't even be in your mouth. She's none of your concern and neither am I or whoever I was talking to on the phone. The only girl you need to worry about is her." Jack gave a nod to Vanessa before walking over to the bedroom door. "You can see your way out now."
Rolling her eyes at him, she then brought her hand to her lips then to Vanessa's forehead. "Bye, princess."
As she walked out the room, Jack grabbed a hold of her arm. "How old is she?" He made sure he asked the question that never left his mind since he first picked her up.
Alana squinted at him, before inhaling deeply and answering him. "Eight months...Her birthday is September ninth."
"Okay."
"This isn't over by the way...I'm getting my baby back."
Jack snorted, wondering where she got the audacity from. "Good luck with that." He smirked, knowing she wasn't getting her back anytime soon.
The comforting scent of exotic spices greeted Jack as he walked into the house with Vanessa wrapped in his arms and cheek pressed against his beige Champion hoodie. Sauntering down the hallway and into the kitchen, he found his other two children at the table, enjoying their dinner.
"Hey Dad." Dylan chirped with Naomi's voice following behind his to say the exact same as she folded her knees onto the chair to reach her father as he leaned close to her to receive a peck on the cheek.
Jack set Vanessa in Naomi's old high chair then leaned down to peck the top of Dylan's head before ruffling his hair. "You guys have a good time with your uncles?"
"Yeah, Uncle Jerry took us swimming." Dylan informed him, scooping up his mashed potatos with a fork when Naomi added, "And then we went go cart racing and Uncle Bobby's cart wouldn't start." She giggled uncontrollably.
Jack softly laughed at the thought of Bobby getting pissed over something so small, but that was excepted from him. "Sounds fun, I'm glad you guys are happy."
Selena walked into the kitchen as she was tying her hair up, noticing Jack, she gave him a soft smile as he turned around to meet her gaze. "Hey, when did you get here?"
"Just a minute ago. I was wondering if you could watch Vanessa for awhile? I'm meeting someone tonight and I didn't have anyone to look after her."
"I will." Selena nodded, opening one of the cabinets above the counter. "Did she eat yet?"
"Not yet." Jack watched as Selena grabbed a plate and began fixing Vanessa's dinner, piling mashed potatoes onto her plate. "Guess who came by."
"Who?" Selena asked, walking over to the table where the kids sat. Setting the plate in front of her then pulling a chair up to next to Vanessa and facing Jack, she waited for him to answer.
Jack chuckled as he sat on the stool and leaned his back against the counter, folding his arms across his chest. "Alana."
In the middle of spoon feeding Vanessa, she pauses and looks up at Jack with wide and still eyes. "Really?"
"Really."
"Who's Alana?" Naomi asked, finishing the last of her food.
Selena turned around to see both of their plates empty. "Go get ready for bed." She ordered, watching them pout and leave the table. "Say goodnight to Daddy."
The both of them said their goodbyes to Jack as they walked past him, leaving the both of them to converse without any questioning by their children.
"What happened?" Selena continued to feed Vanessa, her attention still on Jack. "Did she want her back?"
"Yeah. I told her I was going to get sole custody. There isn't any way in hell I'm letting her get Vanessa alone any time soon. I might not ever see her again."
Shaking her head and scoffing, Selena wiped her fingers on a nearby napkin. "Someone needs to kick her ass."
Jack let out a soft laugh, running his hands through his hair. "You did that already...I choked her if that makes you feel any better."
"When? During sex?"
"No." He bit his lip as he shook his head. "It was when I thought she was the one who nearly killed you that one time. I almost snapped her neck." He chuckled.
Her brows drew together as she eyed Jack who wore a smirk. "If you weren't a serial killer I would laugh with you, but you're probably serious so I find that a bit creepy, so I won't."
"I'm not a serial killer. You have to kill at least three or more peopl-"
"You killed five and told Bobby to kill one, so you're basically at six."
"I didn't kill him, so I'm at five and you didn't even let me finish my sentence. You have to kill three or more people in a month to be considered one."
Selena let out a disbelieving chuckle as she shook her head. "You killed three in one day."
Jack laughed and stood up from the stool. "Talented, I guess." He shrugged.
There was no missing Selena's amusement, which was punctuated with a loud snort as she stood up along with him. "More like psycho."
"Maybe." Jack walked over to the high chair and kissed Vanessa's cheeks, getting a giggle from her. "Kissable cheeks just like yours." He smiled as he pinched Selena's right cheek.
Swatting his hand away, she pointed towards the door. "Time to go."
Jack walked over to the door with Selena following behind him, he stopped before leaving and turned to look at her. "So, am I just some kind of booty-call now?"
Selena snorted as she leaned on the wall. "I wasn't gonna put a name on it, but you said it, not me."
"Right." Jack laughed then took a second to look at her, a slow smile sliding across his lips.
Selena's cheeks tinted red, attempting to purse her lips together but they broke out into a smile instead as she giggled. "What?" She asked, wondering why he was staring at her so hard.
Slowly shaking his head, his smile grew wider at how coy she was beginning to act. "Nothing." He said softly, taking another second to himself to gaze at her before dropping a kiss on her forehead. "Goodnight angel."
Unwanted butterflies erupted in her stomach, but she wanted to vomit it out instead of feeling the way she did. She despised still having some kind of feelings for him, whether they were romantic or not.
"Goodnight Jack."
The next chapter will include a issue in society that everyone should know about and it will remain as a topic throughout the book.