Caesar woke up to a dimmed room. He felt like he had hit his head on a rock. He turned his head to find his girlfriend holding ice to his forehead. "Hey, babe," Caesar grunted. "I had this awful dream. My ex, Diamond, came back. She had this kid and said that he was my son." He then chuckled.

"Ahem."

Caesar turned to see Diamond staring him dead in the face. Her son was sitting on his lap, sucking on his thumb. "It wasn't a fucking dream." Caesar mentally groaned. "Wait, maybe this is a lucid dream or some shit! Nah, my head hurts way too much." He then looked towards Jazmine. Caesar couldn't imagine what was going on through her head. She looked incredibly stressed. Her eyes were dropping and she didn't wear that smile that was always on her face.

"I actually reached out to Jazmine," Diamond spoke up. "She helped set this the whole thing up."

"So, you knew about all of this?" Caesar asked Jazmine.

"Yeah…I found it a few hours ago," Jazmine responded. She got up and kissed Caesar on the cheek. "I think you two should talk without me in the room."

"Alright." Caesar agreed. "I'll call you later." He gave Jazmine a quick kiss before she left the room. Now, he did not plan his day to go like this. He woke up childless, in a great relationship, and with little responsibilities besides school and paying his bills on time. Then he gets off work and he finds out he's a daddy. How did his life change in a span of a few hours!?"

"I guess I should explain." Diamond started. "Remember how we slept together one last time before I moved away?"

Caesar nodded in response. Mr. Freeman went to Costa Rica with Mr. and Mrs. Dubois that weekend. Something about a "Do it big" trip or whatever. In teenager language, that meant throwing a huge party. Though Huey protested against it, they all threw a party at his house. There was loud music, underage drinking, and teenagers with a high sex drive. Caesar and Diamond were able to sneak away to have one last night together.

"Well, you know I ended up moving the very next day. A couple of days after moving, I met this group of friends. Three girls and two boys. They were starting the BLM activist group at the university they were attending, and I went to go check it out. One guy caught my eye. His name was Cairo."

"Cairo…that name sounds familiar." Caesar wondered. "Oh well, carry on."

Diamond rolled her eyes. "Anyway, I ended up hanging out with him that night. We were both heavily drinking, I was a mess because I missed you so much, he was a mess because of shit going on in his life. Then one thing led to another. A month later I pee on a stick and it comes up positive. I assumed Cairo was the father. However, he was uninterested in being a dad. I ended up raising Jamari by myself. Then a few months ago, Cairo decided that he would be involved with Jamari if he took a DNA test. We got one done, and it came back that he wasn't the father. You were the only person I slept with around the time Jamari was conceived…so that means you're his dad."

"…You sure there's nobody else?" Caesar asked.

"Of course not! Boy, you know me better than that!" Diamond bellowed.

"Well can you blame me for being a little skeptical!? I mean, I haven't heard from you in years! Shit, I didn't even know you were alive until today!"

"When I found out I was pregnant, I deleted all of my social media. I was…kind of embarrassed of becoming a teen mother." Diamond explained. "I didn't want anyone else to know. Shit, I didn't want you to know."

"Why wouldn't you want me to know?" Caesar questioned.

"Caesar, imagine yourself logging into Facebook or Instagram to find out your ex-girlfriend that you broke up with about a MONTH ago is pregnant."

"…Yeah. That shit would have pissed me off." He admitted.

"I guess I thought I was protecting you. Though I probably should have gotten the DNA test when Jamari was a baby." Diamond looked at her son.

"Diamond, you were a teenager. You know we all lacked common sense back then." Caesar joked.

"So, you're not mad about me not telling you immediately about Jamari?"

"I mean; I wish you would have told me sooner. But I wouldn't say I'm mad. I am anxious as hell though." Caesar got up and started pacing around the room. "My parents are going to KILL me. ESPECIALLY my old man! Oh, and child support too! Mane, I am going to have to start picking up extra shifts at work…."

"Caesar, instead of worry about all that, how about you introduce yourself to your son?" Diamond suggested.

Caesar stopped in his tracks. He just realized that he had never said a word to the little man. Hell, he wasn't just a little man, that was his own flesh and blood. Caesar walked over to his son and squatted down. "Hey, little man." He greeted. "Do you know who I am?"

"My daddy," Jamari responded.

"I am…can I have a hug?" Caesar opened his arms. Jamari did not hesitate to hug him. His hug was so strong that it nearly tackled him to the ground. "Dang, man! You're strong!" Caesar laughed and sat up. "My son…" Caesar could not believe that he just said that. He was a father now.

"So, Diamond…are you really staying here in this motel?"

"Well, yeah. At least until I can find an apartment."

"Nah, you two are staying with me. You and Jamari can sleep in my room while I sleep on my couch."

"Caesar, I don't think your girlfriend will be fond of that idea…" Diamond said uneasily.

"What? Oh, Jazmine would understand. Besides, this Motel is shady. You two would be more safe staying at my crib." Caesar tried to convince.

"Well, alright. I'll pack our bags."

Jazmine sat outside on the porch. She had just gotten off the phone with Caesar. He explained to her that Diamond and Jamari would be staying with him until they found an apartment. Jazmine told Caesar that she was fine with it, but deep down she wanted to tell him no. Jazmine wanted to trust Caesar, she really did. But she knew how Caesar was in the past. He was unfaithful to every girl he dated except for Diamond. Now that she was staying with him, that made Jazmine uneasy.

"Hey, Jazmine…" She looked up to see Huey Freeman. He had just dropped off Lela from visiting Mr. Freeman. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Jazmine forced a smile. Huey shook his head. She should know by now that he can tell when she is lying.

"Jazmine, you know you can talk to me, right?"

Jazmine sighed, patting the seat next to her on the steps. Huey sat next to her. "Diamond is living with Caesar now. "She explained. "I know he's only letting her stay because they have a kid together. But part of me is afraid that Caesar is going to forget about me and fall in love with her again."

"I see…" Huey sighed. "Well, with Caesar's past, you have a valid reason to be concerned."

"I do?"

"Yes, but…has Caesar given you a reason not to trust him?" Huey asked.

"No…he hasn't." She admitted.

"Whenever I talk to Caesar, he always talks about how great you are and how much he's in love with you. I've never seen him this happy in a long time." Huey said.

"He said that?" Jazmine blushed.

"Yes…Caesar loves you, Jazmine. So try not to worry too much about Diamond, okay?"

Jazmine started to smile again. She leaned over and kissed Huey on the cheek. "Thanks for listening to me, Huey. I'll see you tomorrow when I drop off Lela." She patted him on the back and skipped inside the house. Huey sighed and headed back into his car. Once he got into the driver's seat, he rested his head on the steering wheel.

She didn't know how hard that was for him to tell her all of that.