The Talk

Micaiah looked at his younger sister wide eyed trying to figure out what to do next. He had changed her, like his mom taught him, and she was still fussing. He picked her up and bounced her while he walked to his parents room. As soon as he entered the hall he heard the now familiar sound of his mother giggling. He had been home for two days now and had barely seen his parents. They would come out to feed his sister and him, made sure they were bathed and then retreated back to their room. He sighed and kicked the door with his foot.

"Just a second." He heard his mother say through a laugh. Moments later his father appeared in the doorway in only sweatpants and a smile.

"She hungry?"

"I guess." He said dully.

"Alright." He stepped out and pulled the door closed. He took MacKenzie from Micaiah and began making his way downstairs with Micaiah following.

"What happened to your back?" Micaiah asked quizically while examining the scratches and welps on his fathers back.

"Basketball." He said as he placed MacKenzie in her chair.

"Basketball?" He asked as he took a seat at the table.

"Um, yeah. I went to dunk on dude and he went to block, we bumped into each other and I fell and slide back on my back. It was crazy."

"Oh." Micaiah watched as his father fed his sister until he too became hungry. "I'm hungry."

"What you want?" Safaree asked and Micaiah pushed his shoulders upward. "Sandwich?"

"You making it?"

"Yeah, man." Safaree huffed and shook his head as though he always cooked. If only Nicki would've seen this.

"You gone grill it?"

"Why not?" He asked sarcastically as he cleaned up MacKenzie.

After Safaree had finished making their sandwiches they sat at the table eating. Safaree was giving MacKenzie small pieces of bread to keep her from screaming. He didn't want Nicki breaking her neck to get down the stairs to baby her. Safaree tried to make conversation with his son but he wasn't saying much.

Nicki soon entered the kitchen and Safaree was grateful. Hopefully she could get Micaiah to talk. She kissed Micaiah's forehead and then went to sit on Safaree's lap. He inhaled her scent. She had just taken a shower.

"You smell good." He smiled at her.

"Thanks." She picked up half of his sandwich and took a bite.

"Hey!" He frowned.

"I thought it was mine." She covered her full mouth while she spoke.

"Nah, yours in the microwave son."

He took what was left out of her hand. He tapped her leg indicating that she should get up and she rolled her eyes. When she didn't get up right away Safaree pulled her closer and whispered something in her ear. She giggled and got up to get her food. Micaiah looked back and forth between the two of them strangely. Nicki grabbed her plate and stood by the island.

"Micaiah?" She spoke.

"Hm?"

"Me and your Dad wanna talk to you." Safaree instantly began fake coughing and Nicki cut her eyes at him.

"About what?"

"Well, really we need to apologize."

"For what?" He asked.

She sighed, "I know you kept asking to stay in New York cause you didn't wanna deal with us."

"No, I just-"

"No. No." She gave him a reassuring smile. "Its fine. We shouldn't have ever exposed you to that. I don't ever want you to not feel comfortable at home."

"Yeah, I'm sorry man." Safaree said.

"Its alright." Micaiah said. "Are you guys gonna get a divorce or something?"

"Oh, NO!" Nicki got wide eyed.

"Nah." Safaree said. "Why you think that?"

"Yall always fighting and telling each other to leave."

Nicki and Safaree looked at each other and then back at their son. Nicki suddenly felt a stronger pull of guilt on her heart.

"Micaiah, we aren't getting a divorce. We got married because we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together and that's what we're gonna do." Nicki said.

"Its not always gonna be happy times though." Safaree chimed in. "Sometimes we gone have fights but sometimes that's what it takes to prove you care."

"I don't get it." He looked at his father confused. How does fighting prove you care? It made him feel like crap just being around it.

"Look, just know that we aren't seperating. Ok? Things will never ever, ever get that bad again." Nicki said.

"Alright." Micaiah sighed. "Can I go over Austin's?"

"What?!" Nicki frowned. "You just got homeeee." She whined.

"You guys won't miss me." He shrugged and went to put his plate in the sink.

"Why you say that?" Safaree chuckled.

"Cause yall just be in yall room all day."

"Well, we're not now." Nicki pouted. "Oh! I have an idea. Lets have a game night!" She beamed.

"Awww, Nic." Safaree whined.

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes. "Safaree, go shower and bring down MacKenzie's walker."

"Her feet don't even touch the ground."

"She likes the toys. Now, do what I said or what we discussed won't happen." She rolled her eyes and turned her attention to Micaiah. "Go pick out some games."

"Some-"

"No video games. Board games and card games."

"But-"

"Micaiah."

"Ok."

After gathering a couple of snacks and MacKenzie, Nicki made her way into the living room. She put MacKenzie down before placing the snacks on the coffee table that Micaiah pushed back so that they would have more room to play the games. MacKenzie crawled over to the stacked boxes and tried pushing and pulling on them. 

"Caiah."

"Hmm?" He looked up at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said dryly.

"Stop lying. You still upset? I told you-"

"You lied."

She looked at him confused.

"No, we really are better than before, Micaiah. I meant every word th-"

"You and Daddy said that a man should never put his hands on a woman. How come he's allowed to hit you?" 


"Micaiah, what are you-"


"You have two bruises on your neck and one on your shoulder." He said dully.



"Wha-" Her eyes got wide when she realized what it was and how things appeared. She folded her lips trying to figure out how to approached the topic. She sighed. "Look, babe, I promise you that your father has never put his hands on me. He's not that kinda guy. . .you do know that right?" He didn't say anything. She reached for his arm and pulled him close. "Baby, I-I wouldn't lie to you about something this serious and I would never, ever be with a person who physically hurt me or you guys. Ok?''


"Yeah. . .I guess." He sighed. "But, how did you get that?"


"Um, Daddy is gonna have a conversation with you about that. Maybe after we play. Ok?"


"Ok."


"Kiss?" She turned her cheek to him and he pecked it.


"Love you Mama." He hugged her.


"I love you even more, baby." She rubbed his back until he released her. "Alright. What you want me to kick yall asses in first?"


They played board and card games for almost four hours together. They all had wide smiles plastered on their faces. Things felt normal. It felt right. After Nicki's several attempts at cheating in Blink by pushing Micaiah's hands away, Safaree and Micaiah came to the consensus that she should be made to sit out for five rounds. She was now sat watching them with MacKenzie and her lip poked out. Safaree glanced at her and winked. She discreetly gave him the finger so that her son didn't see it. Safaree chuckled.

"What you laughing at old man?" Micaiah asked. "You still ain't win yet."

"Yo, I think you cheating." Safaree began dealing the cards.

"Yup." Nicki chimed in. "That's what I was trying to say when yall put me out."

"Ma." Micaiah dead faced her and she rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You better hope I don't get let back in this game."

"You can't beat me either!" He laughed and slapped his knee like it was the funniest thing he'd ever said.

"I'm bouta whoop yo ass right now though." Safaree said.

"Yup!" Nicki chimed in again. "You got this babe. You gotta redeem us." She laughed.

"Yall ain't never been ready." Micaiah said cocky.

"What?" Safaree looked at him with a mug.

"You heard me old man. YOU ain't never been ready. Ya wife ain't never been ready. Yo mama ain't neva gone be ready!"

"Oh, here we go." Nicki huffed and rolled her eyes seeing where this was headed.

"My mama?" Safaree asked with a raised eyebrow and a hint of offense in his voice.

"Yup." Micaiah gave him a 'What you gone do?' look.

"Nah, you ain't say that cause that my nigga is something YOU ain't ready for."

"Try me."

"My nigga, yo mama so short that she can sit on the curb and swing her feet."

"Alrighty." Nicki stood with MacKenzie. "Imma just go put Kenzie to sleep. Faree, have that talk and yall clean up this mess. I don't wanna wake up to this."

"Alright." Micaiah waved her off. "Yo mama so dirty. . ."

After giving MacKenzie her night time bottle and putting her to sleep Nicki made her way to her room. She cut on the t.v. then grabbed her phone and got into the bed. She was responding to emails when she heard Safaree's phone going off. At first she ignored it but it kept going off. She put her phone down and crawled over to his side of the bed. She picked it up off of the nightstand and unlocked the screen. Safaree had been using the same password for the longest so Nicki could always get into his stuff easily.

When she opened it she saw several missed calls from his friends, his mom, and of course Stephanie. She opened the text messages and saw her begging him to talk to her. Safaree hadn't replied to her in three days. The last message simply stated, "No. Working on my family we done". Nicki smiled until another message popped up. Stephanie asked him to meet up. Nicki chewed on the inside of her cheek before responding. Once Stephanie responded she deleted the messages and put his phone back.

"What you doing?" Safaree's voice boomed and scared her. She turned her head to see him smiling.

"Oh, um, trying to get comfortable." She laughed a little and her eyes followed him to the bathroom.

"I don't see how you do it." He stated from the bathroom.

"Do what?" She asked apprehensively.

"Be pregnant." She heard the toilet flush and he came into view at the sink at the same time his phone buzzed.

"I actually like it." She stared at the lit up phone hoping that it wasn't Stephanie.

"All you do is complain though." He laughed and walked back into the room and right to his phone.

"But its the closets I'll ever be to my baby." He just nodded and furrowed his eyebrows.

'Shit.' She thought. 'I should just apologize now. Nah, play it cool Nicki.'

"Is that work?" She asked.

"This late? Nah." He still had the same look but then it turned into a smile. "Yo, you remember Leah?"

"The bitch who tried to stab me?" She asked with an attitude.

"Yeah." He was still smiling. "Yo, look at this."

She looked over the screenshots that Rex had sent Safaree. She smiled in relief.

"Still a thirsty hoe." She rolled her eyes and handed him the phone.

"Thought that was your best friend." He joked.

"Bitch was never my friend." She sighed. "You talk to Micaiah?"

"Yeah." He watched her move to her side of the bed then got in.

"And?"

"And?"

"How'd it go?"

"Good until he realized that we have sex."

"Oh my God." She covered her face in embarrassment then looked at Safaree again. She shook her head. "That's so weird."

Safaree chuckled, "He looked like he wanted to beat my ass." He sighed and pulled her close. "What's this?"

"Um," She squinted and looked at the t.v. She hadn't even paid attention to what was on. "Oh, Pretty Woman. It's about to go off."

"I hate when movies end like this. Shits whack." He said in reference to the male character playing music outside of the females window.

"It's cute." Nicki smiled.

"Of course you'd think that.''

"Only because someone really special did that for me." She smiled thinking back.


Nicki, Candi, and Lauren pushed through the bodies in the club until they got to the bar. Surprisingly, Nicki was having fun. She really didn't want to go out but like always her friends dragged her out. While they waited for their drinks Nicki scanned the crowd until she spotted someone familiar. She instantly felt herself get pissed as she watched him in one of the VIP areas with nothing but hoodrats surrounding him and his boys.

"I'll be back." Was all she said before making her way over to him. She said nothing, just smacked him in the back of his head. He quickly turned around and his face went from a strong scowl to a softer one.

"Yo, what the fuck is wrong with you? I almost punched the shit outta you." He said.

"The fuck are you doing here?" She asked with an attitude.

"Yo, Nic, chill." She heard one of his friends say.

"Don't fucking talk to me." She rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Safaree. "So, when you get up in the middle of the night to go to work this where you be going? This work now?"

"No and yes."

"You know what, fuck you! You a muthafuckin' liar! Not once did you say shit about going to a club!"

"Neither did you."

"I told you I was going out with my girls."

"Nicki."

"If you wanna hang around hoodrat bitches instead of being with me then by all means do you, Safaree."

"Excuse me?" She heard one of the girls say but ignored her.

She went to walk away and felt the pull of her arm. He knew that she hated to be  grabbed when she was pissed but he still did it. She turned around and began shouting obscenities at him until her friends and the security told her that it was time to go.

A hour later Nicki found herself in her room writing a new song. Safaree was going to hear what she had to say one way or the other. Just as she was geting in her zone she was pulled away by the booming sound of someone's car radio. She rolled her eyes and went to the window. When she looked out she was surprised to see Safaree. She knew he was trying to further piss her off because he knew better than to pull up to her house blasting music.

She threw on some shoes and quickly ran down the stair and out of the apartment building. She knew if she didn't get him to shut the music off that her elderly neighbor would file another complaint. The first was from her friends coming over being loud in their drunken state, the second was when Candi and her boyfriend decided to argue in the front of the building at three o'clock in the morning. A third complaint would mean her finding somewhere else to live.

Once Safaree saw her he leaned into his car and changed the song. He just needed to get her out of the house. Before she could put up any objections he began singing along to 911 by Wyclef ft. Mary J. Blige. She rolled her eyes, folded her arms, and dropped all her weight to one hip. When he dropped to his knees in front of her and placed his hands on her hips and gave his all to sing the chorus she began smiling.  

"Foregive me?"

"Kiss me?" He kissed her before going to shut off his car and carrying her up to her apartment.















Lol. Yall probably get sick of my movie and song references but I can't help it. Here's the song in case you've never heard it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L3Pua6D9DsE .