Synergy by Georgia Payne

They were actually pleased that he’d made the
effort, as sadly, the child’s mother Janelle didn’t. She saw him on
the odd occasion but by the time she got heavily into drugs, her
visits became more sporadic and her parents banned her from seeing
the child.
    Tip’s
second child came along when he was sixteen to an older woman, a
woman ten years his senior. They’d met at a party, and he was in
awe that an older girl was interested. Technically, it was probably
rape since he was still fifteen at the time, but he made no
complaints. His second son Makai allowed him to grow up a little
bit, as he took responsibility for his actions, and was part of his
life. While the woman moved on and got married, she allowed him to
see his son on occasions and made the time for him to come over,
something he appreciated as he grew older. By the time he was
eighteen, Kara, Tip’s on/off girlfriend through school had twin
girls by him. Lovelle and Lilly sealed the deal for him, and he
moved in together with Kara. He really did fall for her, and the
two of them raised the twins happily.  Two years ago, they had
another daughter, but Sienna was stillborn. Tip had heard of
couples who broke up after suffering tragedy with children, but he
never understood it. After all, he loved Kara with all his heart.
He thought she was his beginning and his end, but something changed
in her when Sienna died. She became different, distant. They went
through all the usual stages of grief together. The denial, the
heartache, the anger and confusion, but when all was said and done,
Kara didn’t want to know him anymore. She said she loved him but
she never kissed him, never hugged him, she was never intimate. He
couldn’t live with it anymore so he had to leave. He could still be
a dad to his girls in another house.
    As Dee
pulled two cold bottles of beer out of the fridge and proceeded to
open them, Tip told her of his latest drama. Dee listened intently
as she handed him a beer and then bribed Tushaun with the TV remote
so he would leave the room for the remainder of the conversation.
She didn’t want her young son listening into something that was
bound to be messy. Tip leaned against the kitchen counter after he
put Tushaun down and swigged on his beer before
starting.
    “ So...if you ain’t
know already me and Kara been fucking” he
started, and before he could get any further, Dee
gasped.
    “ No !” she said in disbelief, but Tip
ignored her shock and carried on.
    “ Yeah. So, I
thought we was getting back together, you know? So the other night
I’m in the club and some bitch is grinding up on all these dudes
and, turn out, it’s Kara .”
    Once more, Dee said ‘ No !’ as she got stuck into his
story.
    “ Yeah. So I’m like, the fuck? Then
she see me and she all over me like a rash, like I ain’t just see
her with all these other dudes.”
    “ What did you
do?”  Dee asked, swigging on her beer
as she leaned on the other counter.
    “I  tol’ that bitch where to go,
ain’t nobody playing me like that. I’m her kids father or I’m her
dude, I ain’t try’na be sharing with nobody.”
    Dee
shook her head before giving her two cents.
    “I would have slapped that bitch if she did that in front of
me, she the one that acted like she ain’t want nobody but suddenly
she want all these other dudes? Hell no, you can’t play that grief
card  forever.”
    “ That’s what I
told her ,” Tip started, sipping his beer.
“ But ever since she been blowing up my
phone everyday leaving me messages and shit.”
    “You gonna get back with her?”   Dee asked with an air of
curiosity. Even if Kara was playing crazy, Dee knew Tip loved her.
However, after a second of debate in his own head on how to answer
that question, Tip simply shrugged.
     
     

Chapter 10 – Locked Up
    Dee
    Jarell
Thompson was known in his neighbourhood for selling the best kush
in the area. From the age of 16, he started selling weed as a means
of some extra