Chapter Five
A few hours later, he found himself standing in front of a small house that was about the size of his bedroom at his house. It looked like it just had a fresh coat of white paint, and she had flowers in pots all over. He was impressed by what she’d accomplished.
He inhaled and knocked on the door.
His first glance at her took his breath. She was by far the most beautiful woman he’d ever known. Her hair was thick and very long. She had a light tan that made her eyes stand out more. The curves he loved so much weren’t there because she’d lost so much weight, but she was still gorgeous.
“King, what are you doing here?” she asked with wide, frightened eyes.
“I just came to talk.”
“There’s nothing to talk about,” she said.
“Let me come in, Cat.”
“I … no, please leave.”
The boy cried for Cat, and she turned to look at him. He took that opportunity to nudge the door open more so he could slide in.
“No, wait. You have to leave.”
He shook his head. “Not until we talk.”
She walked over to the boy and picked him up. He didn’t know a lot about children, but he seemed big for not being three years old yet, but he’d been a big child, too.
“W … what do you want to talk about?” she asked.
He hated that he was scaring her. “I would never harm you. You know I’d never hurt you, baby.”
A bitter shrill laugh came from her, making him cringe. “I would have rather been stabbed a hundred times than feel the way you made me feel, so don’t come in here saying that shit because I don’t believe you.”
The baby started fussing, so she turned away and tried to soothe him.
“I didn’t know about him,” he said.
She twirled around. “You’re a liar. You signed over all your rights to him.”
“I’m not lying. After you left—”
“You mean after you threw me away?”
He sighed and nodded. “Yes. I fell apart.”
“I’m sorry if I don’t feel bad for you. For the first couple of months, I had to fight to live. It gave me something to live for when I found out about Corey, but I had not even a dime to my name and no college or place to live. You still had a house to go to, a job, and all the food you could ever want. I bet you’ve never had to climb into a dumpster to get food because you were starving.”
Fuck, the picture she painted was so much worse than he could have imagined. “Y … you had to do that?”
“Only once, and I’d just seen the restaurant throw food in it. I finally figured out where the soup kitchens for the homeless were.”
“Where’d you sleep?”
“In alleyways or in front of stores.”
“Jesus Christ. I’m so sorry, baby. I would have done something.”
“I doubt you would have cared if you’d known.”
He would have liked to think he would have helped her. “What happened then?”