He gives Maira a frown, surprised. "I turned you gay." He repeats, and she nods. He lets out a breath, and sits down, wiping his face. "Get me a towel, Kayla." He orders, his voice harsh. Kayla looks at Maira, who shook her head.

"Don't let him do this to you." She says, turning to Kayla. "Don't let him trap you. Trust me." Riley chuckles, and Maira narrows her eyes. "Let me tell you exactly what happened. He's seven years older than me. We got together when I was eighteen, but he was talking to me when I was seventeen. He didn't wait for me like he said he was going to. He was fucking all types of girls, my friend, the same age as me, being one of them. But I didn't know until after that he fucked her while she was still underaged." Maira shakes her head and continues. "Now, everything was perfect, until he started fucking other girls. I let him fuck those girls, and that's my fault. I let him fuck those girls, run away but come right back to him. It happened three times before I got pregnant."

"With Avery?" Kayla asks, and Riley scoffs.

"No."

"Here we go." Riley mutters, but Maira continues to ignore him.

"I like to think the baby was a girl." Maira says, a far away smile on her face. "I would have named her Tamaya, after my mother."

"Did you…"

"Yeah. I was pressured. I had just turned twenty one when we found out. And he made me get an abortion. I was a wreck. It's disgusting at those clinics. I'm not saying anything's wrong with abortions, but I hate them. It wasn't fun. I was only two months, so it wasn't physically painful, but it killed me emotionally. I was just so tired, and I missed my unborn baby. I was dying." She inhales, her voice shaking. Kayla's eyes flicker from the tearful girl to Riley, who was unphased at her words and relaxing on the couch, using his slightly damp shirt to wipe his face of any droplets. "So I just… went crazy. I couldn't take it anymore."

"And she burned my shit." Riley says, sitting up.

"I sure the fuck did." Maira says, crossing her arms. "I burned a lot of it. Watching his shit out in the yard, in flames while Huey whooped his ass was just… the best. I felt better."

"Who's Huey?" Kayla asks.

"His older brother."

"That nigga ain't my brother."

"Maybe you shouldn't have fucked Jazmine then, huh?"

"She was begging for it Maira, you know she was." Riley says, smirking.

"And you just gave it to her, knowing she was with Huey and you were with me."

"You wouldn't have left." He says, and she rolls her eyes.

"I did though." She says, letting out a breath.

"Not after getting one more taste of this delicious-"

"Shut the fuck up." Maira says, turning to face him. "I was drunk."

"And we made Avery." He says with a smirk.

"The best thing to ever come from you."

"Shit, I can say the same for you, bae."

"Don't call me that shit." Maira says, turning away from him and looking at Kayla. "Especially in front of your girlfriend."

"Kayla knows wassup." He says, getting up and walking over to Kayla. "She just like you when you were still endearing."

"Poor girl." Maira mutters, looking at Kayla.

"Kayla, leave." Riley says, jerking his head toward the hallway. She looks at Maira before looking down and scampering out of the living room.

"How old is she?"

"Not younger than you." He says, strolling over to Maira. "You know what you should do? Bring your 'girlfriend' over for some-"

"Don't ever speak about Khia." Maira says, looking at him. "Don't say a damn thing about her."

"She got a cute name." He says, smirking. "She just not for you bae. You know what's gonna go down. You gonna leave the poor girl soon, or bring her to me and we-"

"Riley, I do not want you." Maira says taking a step away from him. "I am over you."

"Sure you are." He says, backing away. He shrugs. "Just know when you want some more dick, I'm always open for you."

"I'm fine, thanks." She huffs, looking down in anger. She couldn't believe this nigga.

"You ever thinking about having another kid with me?" He asks and she looks up at him, her eyes wide before narrowing in anger.

"No. Not only because I don't fucking want you, but because you treat Avery like shit."

"I love my fucking son."

"Then why do you hit him? He comes home with bruises all the time. He tells me that you get angry over the littlest shit, and when I fucking tell you don't hit him, you fucking hit him!" She shouts, ignoring Riley's footsteps toward her.

"You keep on forgetting who I am, Mai. Stop raising your voice in my fucking house."

"Stop hitting my fucking child!" She shouts back, and Riley grits his teeth and grabs her roughly by the arms.

"Shut the fuck up."

"Let me go." She says, angrily breathing out her nose. Without another word, he lets her go, taking a step back.

"Your temper has gotten worse over the years."

"He's not coming back." Maira responds, walking past him.

"What?"

"Avery is not coming back here." She repeats, opening the door to the room designated for Avery. She stops at the door, her heart stopping and she closes her eyes. "What the fuck is this?"

"He always complain about missin you." Riley mutters. "So, I painted it. Lil nigga say it help him sleep."

Maira opens her eyes, staring at the painting of her on the wall. Without another word, she walks into the room, and heading straight to the drawer, pulling out clothes.

"So you serious."

"Sure am." She says, grabbing clothes and shoving them into a small backpack located in the closet. She grabs the backpack and gets up, only to see the doorway being blocked by Riley. "Move." She says, walking up to him.

"I won't hit him anymore. If you wanna be a hippie mother and keep him away from all belts, hangers, switches, and anything else that can be used for a whooping, then fine. We'll have it that way. Just… don't do this, Maira."

"I'm not saying that. You hitting my child in his face isn't right."

"Our child."

"Whatever. Hitting Avery's face is off limits. And so are bruises. If things last like that, then it was too much. He should be better after a few hours, not a few days."

"Alright, I get it." He says, looking away.

"And bond with him. Don't push him away or neglect him. He's your son. You should want him to be the best kid he can be. You want to teach him how to be a better person and a strong man."

Riley scoffs. "How am I gonna teach him that shit? You see how I turned out." He shakes his head, chuckling. "Fuck, I'm a mess. I fuck around with people's emotions and lives and I messed you up and all that shit. I can't teach anyone to be a good person."

Maira sighs. "Just tell him the opposite of what you do."

Maira stretches, yawning a bit as the door opens. "Sup Riley." She says, and he gives her a head nod, kissing her cheek.

"Oh, shit, you still with-"

"No." Maira mutters, looking away. "She said long distance is too hard for her."

"Where she at?" He asks.

"College. University of Florida." She says, a sad smile on her face. "Well, I'm here for my baby."

"Oh, yeah." He says, moving to the side. She walks in, and looks around.

"When did you rearrange everything?" She asks.

"Last night. Avery helped a bit. He's really strong for a lil nigga."

"My big strong man. Where's he at?" She asks, looking around.

"Avery!" Riley calls out. "Momma's here!" Without another beat, a door opens and Avery scampers down the hall, a wide smile on his face.

"Momma!" He says, and she smiles, falling to her knees and taking him into her arms.

"I missed my baby." She says, pressing kisses to his head. "You miss me, Avery?"

"Mmhmm." He nods, his small arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

"Did you have fun with daddy?" She asks, pulling away. Riley's eyes widen and he looks away. He knew she was talking to Avery, but hearing the word daddy fall from her mouth just…

"I did." Avery says, and Maira smiles, letting go.

"Okay, let's go to the car." She says, standing up. "Huey isn't driving us, so we can get some McDonald's." She says, and Avery jumps around, cheering. Riley watches as the walk toward the door, Avery doing a little jig while dancing and Maira laughing at him.

"Wait, Maira." He calls out, and Maira turns to him, her laughs stopping. "C'mere." He says, motioning her over.

"What?" She asks, walking over. He grabs her hand and pulls her into a kiss, making her raise her eyebrows in surprise.

"Ooooh, Mommy and Dad are kissing." Avery says, making Maira pull away.

"We have to go Riley." She says, and he sighs, grabbing her hand.

"Don't go back to Huey's place. Just, come stay here and live with me, Maira. I love you."

"Don't do this to me, Riley." She mutters, looking at Avery. "Just… we'll see you later."

"Will you marry me?"

"Riley…"

And now the story is over. It is up to y'all if they get married. Tell me what you think happens in the end in the reviews. I really wanna see what you guys think and why. So yeah. Love all y'all.