My Ambitions as A Rider

Nicki sat at the table with Sherika and Candi, laughing about old times. They were interrupted by the sound of clicking heels. They all turned their attention to MacKenzie. She strutted in her heels, as she'd seen her mother do, to the chair across from her mother and next to her Godmother, Candi. She climbed in to the chair and sat as though she belonged.

"What do you want little girl?" Nicki rolled her eyes.

"You look pretty, Mommy." She smiled and Candi began laughing. "Godmother?"

"Yes?"

"Can I have five dollars?"

"Sure." Before she could push her chair back Nicki stopped her.

"No. I told you once and I'm not telling you again. No ice cream."

"But-"

"Take your behind to your room and clean it like I told you to do yesterday."

"The room is clean."

"There's toys everywhere."

"Cadence did that." She whined.

"Well, tell her to help." MacKenzie stared at her mother angrily. "Keep on looking at me crazy. You know what happens next."

MacKenzie huffed before sliding out of her chair. Her walk didn't have the same stride in it as it did a few minutes earlier. She began mumbling about wanting her own room.

"MacKenzie." Nicki called and MacKenzie faced her with a pout.

"Yes, ma'am?"

"You have something to say?"

"I-" She looked at her Godmother who was shaking her head as a warning. "No."

"I thought so." They all watched her leave before resuming their conversation.

"If that ain't your child." Sherika laughed and Nicki rolled her eyes.

"Her attitude is horrible. I don't even know what to do with her."
"Hurt her feelings." Candi said. "Ain't no screaming, whooping, or evil looks gone make her act right. She's emotional and feeds off of emotions like you."

"I'm not going to do that." Nicki said.

"I'm saying, she would have a heart attack if you really gave her a room to herself. Cadence is her Safaree. You want her to keep a clean room? Take away her rock."

"Or make her think that you will." Sherika added.

"I don't know." She sighed.

"Or take away them damn shoes." Candi laughed. "That really got her feeling herself."

"And hear Safaree's mouth?" Nicki shook her head.

"Wait. He's okay with her wearing those?"

"At first he wasn't but she cried her little river and she got em. She can only wear them in the house."

"Oh..." Sherika looked up from her phone. "We need to go."

"I don't wanna." Nicki pouted.

"They'll be fine."

"Really? My husband can't even watch our kids when all his body parts are working. Now, he has one leg and eight fingers."

Candi laughed, "Girl."

Nicki sighed, "I'll meet yall in the car."

Nicki began her walk to the in home theatre where she knew Safaree was. After breaking his leg and two of his fingers while doing stunts, he trapped himself in there. Today he was especially in a bad mood. It was L.A. bike week and he was stuck at home on doctors orders. He had hit his head and was unconscious for several minutes and was told to get rest.

"Hey, babe." She sat on his lap.

"Ow!"

"What?!" She jumped up.

"You sat on my hand."

"I'm sorry." Her face fell into a frown and she immediately felt bad.

"I'm just playing." He forced a smile. Her first instinct was to hit him but she was too afraid to.

"That's not funny." She rolled her eyes and sat beside him. His face became stoic again and she smiled.

"What?"

"You."

"What, Nicki?"

"That smile was fake." He huffed. "That smile was fake but you did that to make me smile." She had a wide grin on her face and he shook his head.

"Habit." He shrugged.

"Well, keep it."

"When you leaving?"

"Now. The girls are waiting in the car."

"Where yall going?"

"Out."

"To bike week?" He said lowly and with a hint of jealousy and spite.

"Why would I go to there when I know you cant?" She asked with an attitude.

"I can."

"You have three more days in the house, Safaree. Just... I don't know..."

"Play babysitter while you go hang?"

"Okay..." She nodded. "I'm going to go now because somebody pissed in your cornflakes this morning but mine tasted lovely." She stood.

"Right."

"You act like everyone wasn't already coming. Like, you being abandoned. Nigga, you been riding bikes for how long and now you decide to hurt yourself? Who's fault is that? Right." She imitated the way he had said "right". "I'll send the girls down. I don't want them running all over here getting into God knows what while you're enjoying your pity party."

He listened as she left and moments later the girls came running in. MacKenzie instantly began climbing all over her father while Cadence walked to the front row of the theatre and sat on the ground. Micaiah had told her a story about a man who kept his cast on for fifty years and when they took it off his leg fell off and maggots crawled out from everywhere. Every since then, she wouldn't go near her father. Cadence was the child that was most like him so it bothered him that she was keeping  her distance.

"Mommy told us to cheer you up, Daddy." MacKenzie said.

"Really?" He asked.

She nodded her head hard. "She said you was acting like a poop head."

"Did she?" He laughed knowing that 'poop' probably wasn't Nicki's choice of words.

"Do we have to watch this, Daddy?" Cadence asked sweetly.

"What do you want to watch, Princess?"

"Princess and the Frog."

"Of course." He laughed.

"No!" MacKenzie yelled and got in the theatre chair next to her father and began jumping. "Let's watch..... um...."
"You don't even know what you wanna watch, son." Safaree shook his head. "Aye, get down."

"I do." MacKenzie hopped to the seat next to that one and continued to jump. "I wanna watch one of mommy's movies."

"You not old enough. Get down!"

"We can watch Ice Age." Cadence said.

"That's not what she talking about." Safaree said. "If I have to tell you one more time..."

"You're funny, Daddy." MacKenzie continued to jump.

"Am I?"

"Yup." She jumped. "Cause you can't catch me!" She hopped down and began running through the aisles.

"MacKenzie." He said sternly.

"Kenzie, stop." Cadence said. MacKenzie continued to giggle and run.

"MacKenzie Grace!" He raised his voice. As she was running down the last step she looked back at him and fell. She instantly began crying. He looked at his watch. Nicki hadn't even been gone for fifteen minutes. He shook his head before hopping to see about his daughter.

"Come here." He sat in a seat and opened his arms. She sobbed as she walked towards him. "Where does it hurt?" She pushed her eyes closed so that her tears could spill over before pointing to her leg. He shook his head at her dramatics.

"Is she gonna have to get a cast like you, Daddy?" Cadence asked.

"No." He laughed. "Go get that ice thingy your mom uses when yall get hurt."

"The princess ice pack?" She tilted her head to the side and pushed her brows together.

"Yeah." He pulled up MacKenzie's pant leg to see if she had a bruise.

"I can't do that." She said plainly.

"What?" He looked at her funny. "Why not?"

"I'm too short." Her voiced squeaked and she shrugged.

"Look." He sighed and looked at MacKenzie who was still playing her role. "You listening?"

"Um, hmmm." She nodded.

"Get a paper towel and-"

"I can't reach that either."

"You can reach the ones in the bathroom." She nodded in agreement. "Then go to the kitchen and get about four ice cubes and-"

"I can't-"

"Cadence." He huffed irritably.

"Daddy, mommy said she gone whoop the black off me if I play with that." Her eyes grew wide. If anybody in the house feared Nicki, it was Cadence.

"You not playing. You're helping your sister. Mommy will be proud."

"Okay."

"Ok... So, you're going to put the ice in paper towel and bring it to me."

"That's ghetto." MacKenzie sniffled.

"What?" He looked at her funny. "How would you know anything about anything being ghetto?"

"Mommy said that to Caiah when he did that. That's why we have ice packs, Daddy." Cadence nodded in agreement.

"Well, your leg must not hurt then."

"Noooo." She whined. "It does. It hurts bad, Daddy."

"Cadence." Safaree said.

"Yes?"

"Go get the ice."

"Ok."

After three movies, two hour long debates and a popcorn fight, the girls had finally fallen asleep. They were curled up together in one chair and sharing a blanket. He couldn't help but to smile. He took a picture and uploaded it to Instagram with a caption that read, "#MyView #Wouldntwanttobeanywhereelse #Lovemygirls #Missingone #andmyboys". Just as he started to enjoy his movie, he felt two familiar hands on his shoulders.

"I have a surprise for you." She whispered in his ear. "Come on."

She helped him get up and they made their way to the elevator. The ride up was silent. She thought that he was still upset but he was actually just tired. She lead him to the garage.

"Ok... you ready?" She smiled wide.

"Yeah..." He said dully. She hit the button on the wall and the garage door began to rise. Suddenly he heard the familiar sound of motorcycles from every direction. They began doing stunts and riding around as if they hadn't a care in the world.

"Babe-" He smiled.

"You couldn't go to bike week so I bought it to you."

"I love you."

"I know."

"You're the best."

"I know." She smiled and turned her attention to the show before them.











***Idk where that title came from. Tupac just randomly popped up in my head and I ran with it.***