Knightly
Taking what she said into consideration and the way she reacted to our situation, the probabilities are more than just a little high. I open up the app on my phone and scroll up the video of the little boy playing the quitar.
I didn’t get a good look at him at the airport because everything happened so fast and I was a little in awe about all of her. She looks amazing. The little pink outfit she was wearing hugged her body astonishingly. And the hair looks good. It frames her face into a perfect heart shape.
I have to know. I open up the messages and text our manager.
Me: I need the number of the new CEO of Royal Threads. Her name is Phoebe Altaha.
Josh: U kno her?
Me. Yes.
Josh: Give me a sec
My heart starts to race again.
Josh: best I can do is set up an appointment for Wednesday afternoon.
Me: Fuck it. I’ll take it.
Josh: can I ask y? u nvr ask 4 (shit emoji).
Me: I’ll tell u aftr I tlk to her
Josh: 10-4
I screenshot the picture of the little boy and send it to my mom with no context. It doesn’t take long for her to call me.
“Who is that, carbon?” she asks. “What did you do?”
“Oh, so I’ve been calling you for three days now and I send you a post of a kid and you‘ re free?” I scoff.
“Como chingas, Knight,” she says playfully. “Sorry, I’ve been busy,”
“I have the credit card bill to confirm that,” I laugh.
“Como estas, chamaco enfadoso?”
“I’m okay. I’m home now. For a while. Fel is pregnant,”
“Al fin,” she all but screams. “I am so happy for Rip. He’s a good kid. No como mi chamaco cabrop”
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roogit:
“I love you too, mom, moogi. now is Dad!
“He’s your dad. He’s on vacation, segun. Ya sabes como son los gringos. Will you be
visiting soon? When did you get here and why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”
1/4
“I’ve literally been calling you for three days,” I shake my head. “I would have gone home if I thought you were there. I’m here at Rip’s place,”
“Oh, pobrecito mi nino. Como sufre en Rip’s two million dollar mansion,” she mocks me. “Pendejo. Thirty–two year old man child,”
“This counts as verbal abuse, lady,”
“this counts as vErBaL aBuSe,” she continues. “What you can’t be alone in your own house or what?”
“Mom,” I groan.
“Okay. Okay, I’ll have your room cleaned in the morning. You could come home by yourself. You know that? You don’t need to be with your friends every single day. Get out of that routine. Clear your head, Mijo. You need this break. You’ve been on that bus for twelve years, Knight,”
“Why does every conversation we have end like this?” I sigh.
“I worry about you. You’re my baby,”
“What have you been busy with, lady?”
“Vanessa and her new granddaughter,” she boasts. Vanessa is our former leading betal female. “Esta hermosa,” she says dramatically. “De quien is el nino, Knight?”
The new CEO of Royal Threads,”
“Tiene tus ojos,” she says calmly. “You got something to tell me?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. I’m kind of freaking out,”
“From the start, hijo,”
“I met this girl at the BnB apartments when we started the Striker Tour. We spent the night together and this morning I ran into her and her two kids. The article says they’re five and it fits the timeline,”
“It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re yours, Knight. You know girls like that-”
“No, she wasn’t like that,”
“You don’t know that, mijo. You spent one night with her. Es todo. Hasta que hables con ella, get it out of your head,”
“Look at the picture, Ma, and tell me you’re not thinking about it,”
“Pos si. I’m thinking about it,” she confirms. “Son dos?”
“Yeah, a little girl and the little boy,”
“Aver la nina?”
I open the app up and find a picture of the two little kids and send it to her.
“That’s them,”
“Wow,” she says pensively. “If they are yours, ya le gane a la Vanessa. I have two
grandkids,”
“Mom,” I laugh.
“And if they are yours, Knight? Que vas aser? Is she human?”
“She is. I don’t know, but I have to know. I mean it’s a big coincidence,
“You’d think she’d try to contact you right away. You were just starting six years ago, mijo. Pero ya estabas arriba,”
“Like I said. I don’t think she was the kind of girl that went around doing what we did,
“Well, she did it with you. Come home. We’ll figure this out,”
“I’ll see you in the morning,”
“I found her on Twitter,” she sings. “Oh,” she says like she’s been caught off guard. “She‘ s a mean girl,”
“A mean girl?”
“Si. She got a kid kicked out of school in France when he tried to steal the little boy’s lunch. He scratched him. The mom said a bunch of racist shit to them for being American and she immediately pulled both of them out of school a week ago. She involved her lawyers,” she laughs. “They titled it Fashion Ikon met with discrimination against her son by a French Private school. The other says, Private School under scrutiny for discrimination against Phoebe Altaha and her son Aizen,”
“That sounds provoked,”
“At least she doesn’t sound boring,” she laughs. “Your dad would have shut the entire school down the next day.”
“Dad did shut the school down when Coach Estrada punched me in the face,”
“Carbon,” she scoffs. “Don’t get me mad. I’m on vacation,”
“You should be mad,”
“I already know you, Knight. You have your daddy’s ugly fucking temper. You hide it better, pero eres igualito. Esta nina made a choice. A choice that benefited all of you. want you to think about that before you go in there accusing her of shit. All things considered, you can’t blame her for it.
“You’re Knightly Blake. She doesn’t know you. She knows what everyone else knows. You can’t go in there like you own everything the way you usually do. She’ll fight you. Orita son sus hijos de ella. You’re just some guy she slept with when she was a stupid kid. Don’t fuck this up, son. Listen to her. Si?”
“Yeah,”
“Okay. Let me know if you need me. I’m on vacation, but I’m still your mama,”
“Okay, ma. Gracias,”
“Don’t. Pinche no sabo cabron,” she groans and I swear I can see her rolling her eyes
as dramatically as possible.
“You’re kind of forgetting you raised me,” I laugh.
“Oh. So this is my fault? Vas a ver estupido, she bites out.
“I’ll see you later, Ma,”
“Bendiciones, mijo, she says. “Freddy!” she shouts. “Your son fucked up!”
“Mom!” I call out but she hangs up.
Telling my mom the truth feels like a guaranteed answer because even if Phoebe tells me I’m not their father for whatever reason she’s convinced herself I didn’t need to be a part of this. My mom will figure out the truth whatever means. Especially if she involves my father. My dad is all about family and even if we don’t get involved, she’s going to be a part of our family if they are mine. We have to know and we have to make sure no one gets that information.
4M
