Yet another sponsor lost. What a shame. Aging could be a bitch, huh? Fumie resisted the urge to shrug as her gaze turned sympathetic, "I'm sorry,
Shemar. Give it time, things will turn around." And she was done pretending to be understanding. She turned prepared to head to the kitchen for a
snack while she made a few calls for the summer program and waited for Koi to return, but Shemar's voice sounded again, this time with his version of
a compliment. Overdressed? She didn't think that was possible as Shemar Kidd's Wife (TM). Apparently it was. And she had to be going somewhere.
She looked at him again, a genuine smile coming to her lips as she thought again about her baby's big night. "I'm not going anywhere. Koi and Eri are
out grabbing his tux and I'm helping him get things together for tonight." She couldn't remember if she'd mentioned prom to Shemar. She knew Koi
hadn't as they had barely said three sentences to one another since Koi broke his arm. Well, since Shemar cussed him out about breaking his arm "over
a golddigging piece of pussy".
Fumie couldn't lie she'd been mad about that too. Not necessarily in those words, but Koi had scholarships to four D1 schools that fell through when
they heard about his injury. Granted, he still had back up schools to choose from, but...whatever. He would do a year, probably at KRU with Devyn, and
transfer. It was a big deal, but not big enough to stop talking to your son...of course they were talking about Shemar. So yeah, he probably had no
idea what she was talking about and she hoped he didn't ask. It was bad enough that Devyn was spending most waking moments with Koi, here. Shemar
knowing he was taking her to prom.
She could only imagine...
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Oh, she could be sure things would turn around...because every sponsor that dropped him was getting straight up sued! Getting rid of him because he
was too old??? There had to be some law against that that would have money end up in his pockets. No one dropped Shemar Kidd without
repercussions. No matter how many motherfucking companies balled up and did it because they thought they saw age on him. Whatever. What the fuck
did they know anyway?
His tux? The fuck was that little nigga grabbing a tux for? His early funeral? Definitely not his damn wedding as Shemar would kill his ass
before he got married to that gold grubbing slut he called a "girlfriend" before he made it to college, which thanks to Shemar was still happening.
That gaped legged bitch had already ruined scholarships to worthwhile teams for Koi after he'd fought one of his boys for her. Shemar would be damned
if she ruined anything else. So nah, it wasn't his damn wedding...
"A tux?" Shemar scoffed, rolling his neck that had started getting stiffer and stiffer from the stress the past few days.
Of course he had no idea what was going on with his kids. Especially not the one he had all but disowned over "his legacy". Fumie couldn't resist the
sigh that left her as she got herself together for the first fight in a couple weeks that she knew she was going to have to have. Shemar was going to
throw the tantrum of all tantrums and she really didn't want to entertain it. Ugh! Fumie walked fully into the living room, placing her shoes next to
the armchair as Shemar clarified his question. What would he need a tux for?
"Prom, Shemar. It's prom night." Fumie braced herself for the shit storm to follow. She knew there would be a fit and she hadn't even mentioned Devyn
yet. The fact that his son might be even the slightest bit happy was cause for ruin and if Shemar had his way, Fumie knew Koi wouldn't be going. But
Shemar wasn't going to have his way. Not now.
Not tonight.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Something had to be in Shemar's ear. Perhaps the shock of being dropped by yet another fucking sponsor had messed up his head, crapped up his
hearing...because he was pretty sure he'd just heard Fumie tell him that their son was going to prom. Their delinquent son. Their druggie,
disappointment of a son who hadn't done a damn thing in his high school career but get high and find some gap legged bitch to pull him down even
further...was going to prom?! And Fumie, of course, was behind it. Jesus. If there was one thing that Shemar could be certain of, it was that
his dumb ass wife would always coddle those two mistakes that Shemar couldn't help but call "their kids". And usually, he just stood by and watched
her do it. All of the drinking and manipulating on Koi's part...and Eri? Jesus, Eri. The girl couldn't make a straight sentence whenever she spoke to
him! Shemar'd never taken a firm hand with his kids the way his father had done with he and his siblings. The Kidd family didn't play that bullshit
because his father knew what a firm hand was worth. Well, his family was about to find out today.
"Who...the hell...said that his ass could go to prom, Fumie? Shemar spoke between gritted teeth in his idiot of a wife's direction.
"Last thing I heard, he was banned from prom? You know, from putting his fist through that Davidson kid's face." And breaking his arm right in the
middle of recruiting season, ending any chance that he had to even THINK about a D1 school in the fall. Because of that slut bitch that he'd been
bringing around, parading around like she was a goddamn trophy. And now, he was going to PROM?
Well, she said Koi could go. She was his mother. She had that authority. Of course that wasn't what she would say to Shemar. She had been trying so
hard to avoid fights with him these days. When it got to the point of him giving her the look he was now she usually caved, gave him what he wanted,
and rejoiced that he'd finally shut up. But she couldn't cave this time. Koi was going to prom. He had been planning it for weeks and this was really
important to him...Her baby was going to prom and that was all there was to it.
Fumie didn't answer his question, but it was apparently rhetorical as he kept talking, letting Fumie know the "last thing he heard". It was no
surprise that was the last thing he'd heard. He wasn't talking to his son! Please tell me you're bullshitting me. Fumie sighed, preparing to
give him the pushback he'd been missing the last few weeks. He wanted a fight? Well here it was.
"He was banned, Shemar. Things changed. Koi caught up with his school work, he's been a model citizen since the fight...he wanted prom and
graduation...-," she paused, debating whether or not she wanted to admit her involvement in it. Shemar knew she had been the one to fix things for
Koi. That was her role. It was the role she was even trying to play now. "I talked to some people and pulled a few strings." She shrugged, hoping if
she pretended it was nothing, Shemar wouldn't overreact about it. She already knew that wasn't happening. She needed to head this off.
Fumie stepped closer, coming to kneel in front of him as she rested her hands on his knees, "He's having a night out and I thought we might have a
night in." She smiled up at him her hand pulling his knees a little further apart as she bit her lip. Shemar just needed a distraction. He
needed to stop worrying about what Koi was doing and worry about all he ever really cared about. Himself.
"I've seen how stressed you've been lately, baby. Let me help..."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
I talked to some people and pulled a few strings... Of fucking course she did. Of course Fumie talked to unnecessary people and pulled
unnecessary strings for her little boy. The little boy that she, to this day, couldn't see she was ruining! A mix between an annoyed groan and an
incredulous laugh escaped Shemar as he listened to Fumie's heroic tale of bullshit because once again, she'd stepped in and saved the goddamn day for
Koi, the ungrateful addict that lived under their roof. And it was funny! Shit, it was hilarious! That she'd actually believed she'd done a "good
thing"? Laughable. Fumie believed, in that twisted, empty fucking skull of hers that she'd actually saved the day. And the shit was pathetic. Pathetic
and irritating as hell.
"Di- did you ever think...that his ass was banned for a reason, Fumie?" He spat out at her, matching her shrug as she stood there, stupidly in front
of him.
"He fucked that Davidson kid up, you know. Fucked up his arm too in the process! Fucked up his chances at a Title 1. FUCKED UP MY LEGA-..." A forced
exhale interrupted Shemar's words as he flexed his hands, his knuckles cracking from the stress building between his joints. He wasn't doing it. He
wasn't going there with Fumie. No, he'd had enough from the day to honestly not want to even get into it with her ass. Lately, he'd argued
her...wanted a rise out of her...wanted her to forget herself so he could help her remember with the fucking toe of his Ferragamos. But not
to-fucking-day. He was over today...
...Let me help... Grimacing, he watched Fumie walk to him, her hips rolling underneath that tight skirt. She knelt in front of him, purring
at him with a voice he hadn't heard in weeks .Smiling up at him...pulling his knees apart as she bit at her full lips. Leaning foward, his eyes
connected with hers, his jaw clenching...
"Don't fuckin' touch me..." He growled, swatting at her hands. He moved his face closer to hers.
"The only way my dick in your mouth would help me is when it finally mutes your fucking voice."
Yes! Of course she did! That was what Fumie did. She fixed. When things went wrong in the lives of the people she loved and Shemar, she fixed. If he
hadn't been so hell bent on being all pissy right now (and if she cared more), she might have offered to fix a few of his sponsorship deals. But no.
He wanted to focus on things that were already in motion and wouldn't be changed. Koi was going to prom and that wasn't negotiable.
Did she think he was banned for a reason? Fumie sighed, listening to Shemar recount Koi mistake as if she hadn't been the sole adult handling that
situation too. Derrick's mother was all a mess and his father was talking about lawsuits. It had been Fumie who smoothed that over to a loss of
privileges and some community service. Shemar didn't know shit about it because he was too busy being a little pissbaby and crying about "his legacy".
She was surprised he knew the kid's name...but that was beside the point. Yes, Koi made a mistake. But Derrick was gone now and that was the past. Koi
had been nothing but compliant with school officials since then, he had completed all the work he had to for graduation, and he hadn't partied at all
since the fight. He'd earned prom. And he didn't even want to go! He'd done it all for Devyn and as much as Fumie hated to think it, she knew
if Devyn hadn't been pushing him to do all of that, Koi wouldn't be graduating.
No. He was going to prom. Shemar just needed a distraction. He was a simple man with simple needs and she could fill those. She would give him a
little preview of what he could have tonight and he would forget about his kids, as usual. Fumie was on her knees in front of him, the tease in her
voice apparent as she just waited for his go ahead...or...not. A frustrated sigh escaped her as he swatted at her hands and commanded her not to touch
him. Ugh!
"Oh my God, Shemar, you're being so dramatic for no reason right now-," Fumie expressed her true feelings, standing and putting distance between them
again. Her arms folded in front of her. "What do you want? What can I do to get you to fucking drop this?" Because he was going to drop this. It was
stupid and if he'd gone out to fuck whatever underaged girl he was supposed to be fucking tonight, he wouldn't have even known the difference.
Couldn't he just leave for the night like he usually did?
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Dramatic!? Shemar was being dramatic because he was making perfect sense? There wasn't a damn thing in Koi's previous four years of high school that
made prom a given! He didn't do shit when it came to his grades. His ass was always in the middle of some shit...as if Shemar needed a reminder of the
stacks that he dropped just to keep that idiot out of an overnight drunk tank stay. And even though Shemar couldn't say that he kept it together when
he was in high school, his behavior looking a lot like Koi's, but he sold himself on the damn court. His game was the reason why he'd deserved prom,
his diploma, and the seven offers he received from several D1 schools. He'd pulled his lousy ass high school team to win championships that didn't
nobody on that team deserve outside of him. He MADE shit happen. He put his high school on the map. Their asses should've paid for his tux AND the
limo. Compared to Koi? Shemar did his part. Compared to his half-wit, disappointment of a son? Shemar was golden.
"Watch your mouth, wifey." He growled, his eyes still burning into her's as she put on the familiar attitude that she'd been wearing for longer than
Shemar had really been comfortable with. Don't give a shit coated with fake compliance. And he couldn't for the life of him figure out where she'd
found the balls to keep treating him that way...like he deserved it. Like he was a fucking grub underneath the soles of her goddamned red bottoms.
"Let me remind you." His voice carried an edge from the day that expressed just how unready he was to deal with her bullshit. He didn't want to be the
only idiot fussing and cursing when her ass maintained the same fake smiles but don't really give a shit crap she'd been giving him the entire
conversation.
"Ain't nothing bitch made about the nigga sittin' in front of you." His eyes narrowed dangerously as he spoke. "And the next time I hear you hinting
towards that shit...using words like 'dramatic' attached to my person...I'll slap the words back in your mouth. For real..."
His threat met quiet as he stared at Fumie, daring her to come back with more sass, with more attitude, with more...something. Something that would
let Shemar get at her the way he'd been trying to since she'd started treating him like one of her damn children.
"Prom ain't happening." His words were simple, but the weight of them said "challenge". One that he hoped Fumie would answer...
HA! If she could have read his mind she might have laughed out loud at the notion that Shemar knew anything about Koi. Don't get it wrong, Fumie
wasn't confused about who her son was; he had always been more of his father than she liked, but he was changing. Ever since Devyn started coming
around there had been less. Less attitude, less drinking, less of the drugs that worried her to no end. He was getting better. Better grades, better
behavior, better...Koi had earned prom in the last few months, despite the little tiff he got in with Derrick. Besides, who was Shemar to judge? She
knew for a fact his womanizing hadn't started when he started screwing her over. His mother and his sisters had all attested to the nightmare he was
in high school. The apple didn't fall far from the tree...
Fumie stared, her face unreadable as Shemar told her to watch her mouth. It took very fiber of her being not to roll her eyes as the drama continued.
Why was he here again? She was sure he had some ass lined up that he could fuck his frustration into. What was he doing here taking out his depression
with old age on her. On her son. She wasn't sure why he thought he was allowed to have a say in the way she parented her kids...He sure didn't have
much to say when things were going wrong. Now that things were right and Koi was finally happy? Fuck that.
Let me remind you...Blah, blah, blah. She got it. He was a big man and nothing was "bitch made" about him and who the fuck gave a shit. He
was really starting to piss her off and she was tired of pretending that this was a real discussion. She'd done her best not to argue with him in the
past few weeks, Zori playing a big part in keeping her grounded, but tonight was the night all of that was coming to a head. Especially as he offered
his useless decree in the matter of prom.
"Yes. It is." Fumie's face remained stoic as she spoke, not an ounce of emotion in her voice as she stated simple fact. "My son is going to prom. He's
taking his girlfriend. And he's going to have a great time." Fumie shrugged giving Shemar the challenge he'd been looking for for weeks. Fuck it.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
The hell was she staring at? Did he fucking stutter? Shemar was sure that everything he'd said to her, she'd understood. She'd read between the lines.
No prom. Koi's staying his ass at home. That hoe he's with can choke on Shemar's dick. End of discussion. Try me and I knock your teeth clean into
your skull. Simple, right? Yet his clueless wife just looked at him, the expression on her face unchanging. Like she didn't get it...like she
wasn't taking him seriously. Which was the problem lately. Fumie thought he was playing. With that new ass came a new personality that Shemar wanted
to fucking punch in the face. And he didn't give a damn. She could be fine as fuck, have a body like a Kardashian...and still get knocked the fuck
out. All he needed was opportunity...and it looked like he had plenty of that as Fumie stared at him like she was going to challenge what he'd...
My son is going to prom...
Shemar's eyes widened as the rest of Fumie's words blended into each other, the rest as unimportant but as infuriating as the first. Koi was going to
prom? Oh, really? Shemar's lip curled into a sneer as he pulled himself from the couch, hands pushed into his pants pockets as he moved closer to
Fumie. Close enough that he could look her dead in the eye, his body towering over hers.
"Say it again." He spat, face lowering closer to hers as he continued to stare at her. He didn't blink, his threatening words hanging in the air.
"You bold as fuck lately, baby." His mouth moved closer to her ear. "So say it again. Please. So I can knock your fucking top-"
The sound of the door chime signaling the opened front door interrupted his threat, but the blood pulsing in his temples and the clinching of his
fists in his pockets kept him hovering over his mouthy ass wife.
He was surprised. As Fumie spoke to him she watched his eyes go wide in shock at her words. Her challenge. She saw the glint in his eye that always
appeared when he was about to start shit. The clench in his jaw that told her he was angry. Did she give a damn? Not today. Shema would not have his
way today. He would push this to the limit, Fumie would endure what she had to and when he was done throwing his tantrum he would storm out of the
house to be seen when he couldn't be away any longer. Hopefully by then she'd have gotten the balls to file for divorce...
Lately it was all she could think about. With Zori she was happy. Her kids were happy...well mostly Eri, as the one time Koi and Zori had met
(definitely not on purpose) had been just short of a disaster. But Koi had Devyn so the point was, everyone was good. And the key piece was an absent
Shemar. Shemar was holding this family back from happiness and she was getting closer and closer to letting him go. She was even beginning to wonder
why she stayed in the first place. It was strange for her...not fearing him for the first time in a long while.
And he was trying to combat that, coming to stand from the couch and hover over her. He was trying to intimidate her. But it wasn't working today. She
was willing to fight. Say it again. Fumie felt her lips twitch, itching for the chance to tell him again that her baby was going to prom and
nothing he could do would change that. She allowed herself to smirk as he kept talking, basically begging her to test him. He didn't have to. She was
going to--Shit.
The door chimed and Fumie knew this little pissing match could go no further. Fumie turned away from Shemar, a smile coming to her face as she heard
Eri's laugh from around the corner.
This was an argument for another time.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
"...and I can't wait to see Devyn's dress! Is mommy going to take pictures? When is Devyn coming? Is her family coming too?" Koi smirked as Eri fired
off question after question, barely taking a breath in between them. He shifted the tuxedo bag in his arms as he juggled his key ring, Devyn's
coursage and the shoebox that held his Saint Laurents. Between Eri's questions, his overly full arms and the nerves that he was just beginning to
feel, he couldn't wait for the night to get started. And not just so it could be over as he wasn't hiding the fact that prom was still something he
was doing for Devyn. But because everything that he'd been working for had built up to this moment. He was taking Devyn to prom.
"I dunno, little babe." He muttered, shrugging as he tried to stick the key into the deadlock again. "You could lend a hand, you know". He chuckled at
the long sigh his little sister released before she grabbed the shoebox and the bag with the coursage from him. The questions had been nonstop from
the second they'd gotten in the car, mall bound. Koi got it. Eri was completely excited. It was almost like SHE was going to the prom. She'd asked him
questions about everything. From the colors he and Devyn were wearing (red, of course) to the decorations the prom committee had used, Eri had to know
everything.
"You could at least pretend to be more excited than me." Eri muttered while Koi opened the front door, holding it open so that she could walk in
first. And even though he laughed it off, Koi knew she was right. Yeah, prom wasn't really his thing, but there were still things he could've been
excited for. Devyn hadn't shown him the dress she was wearing, but she'd let him personally pick out what she'd be wearing under it. And the after
party that the team had planned was about to be live! And to top it off, he and Devyn were sharing a limo with the crew. All that awesome and yet, Koi
wasn't exactly in the celebratory spirit.
"I'm am! I'm stoked, babe..." He forced a smile, shutting the door behind them, toting his things into the living room so his mom could check out his
tux...which meant "approve" of it as she'd been orchestrating "operation: prom" from the moment he'd come to her for help with it. Koi wasn't
complaining though. His moms had come through. She'd been...amazing about everything. He'd remember to do something nice for her after this as a thank
you. Take her to lunch...buy her flowe-
"Um..." Koi's steps stopped short as he surveyed the scene in front of him. His pops....entirely too close to his mom. And even though the smile on
her face attempted to diffuse how thick the "drama" was in the room, her attempt failed. Mostly because the angry glare that neared rage on his
father's face was directed RIGHT at his mother.
"...Eri. Why don't you take my stuff upstairs. I'll be there in a second." He said without looking at her, his gaze shifting between his mother and
his father.
I am! I'm stoked, babe...Shemar would not have his way. Not this time, not with this. Koi deserved this happiness! He had earned it and he
would have it without bearing witness to another one of his father's childish fits. So as Koi and Eri rounded the corner to look into the living room,
Fumie put on a smile and hoped, surely in vain, that Shemar would do the same. They could argue later! Koi's voice faltered taking in the scene and
dismissing his sister from what Fumie was sure looked like a bad situation. He'd always been smarter than he gave himself credit for.
Eri headed for the stairs without question, probably not wanting to spend another minute with an obviously pissy Shemar. "Nonsense-," Fumie waved her
hand as she stepped closer to Koi. "Go with her, Sweets. You need to get ready." And he needed to let her handle this. The last thing either of them
needed was for Shemar to get him all upset before he had to go to prom. It was no secret that he was only going because Devyn wanted it and there was
no reason to put him in a mood to make things worse.
Fumie watched his gaze drift between her and Shemar. No. "I've got this baby, really. Go."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
The kids were home. And just like the trained bitch that Shemar had been wondering for weeks if she remembered that she was, the obstinence in Fumie's
demeanor broke, a fake smile pasted to her lips as she turned away from Shemar and waited for Eri and Koi to enter the living room. All signs of the
shit building between he and Fumie had disappeared, a show that Fumie always tried to put on for...hell, anyone with eyes. The kids, her family that'd
had stopped fucking with her from the moment she'd ran off with him...even the complete strangers that ate everything the gossip mags fed them.
Everyone was a damn spectator at the Fumie Show. Everything is fine. We're fine. It's handled. And to maintain that charade that she'd tried
so hard to keep up, Shemar was almost positive she'd do the one thing that would keep the peace...
She'd back down. There was no way she was letting something as stupid as that little nigga's prom cause a blow up that she KNEW was going to cost her.
In the scheme of things, what the fuck was prom? Something that Koi wouldn't even remember after it was done...mostly because his ass would probably
be high through the entire thing. And years down the line, when that big assed girlfriend of his left him and he was strung out of something
snort-able or shootable, prom wasn't going to be the thing he remembered. No, it'd be the career he let get away from him the second he stuck his dick
in that bitch's slot and called it gold...
...You need to get ready...
"He needs to get ready?! Get ready for what, Fumie?" Shemar spat as his eyes didn't leave his wife as she moved closer to Koi.
"He ain't goin' nowhere! If you opened your motherfuckin' ears, you would've heard it when I said it the FIRST time!" Shemar waited for her to
respond, but she was still talking to Koi, talking about how she had it handled...how she would take care of it. It? IT?! Like he wasn't motherfucking
standing in the room with them!
"Don't you fucking disregard me like I'm not STANDING RIGHT THE FUCK HERE!" Closing the space between Fumie and Koi, he blocked her from view.
"Prom is out the damn question. I don't know what plans your sorry ass mama thought she was helping you make...but it ain't happening."
She wasn't having a screaming match with him. Fumie thought she'd made it pretty clear that Koi was indeed going to prom and she wasn't going to say
anything else about it. So yeah. He needed to get ready. And if Shemar wanted to fight about it, he could fight with himself. Fumie kept talking, her
hand coming to his face to focus him on her words. I've got this, baby. She didn't want him to be here for this little temper tantrum she was
sure Shemar was going to throw...hell, he was already throwing it.
With her back to Shemar, Fumie allowed herself to roll her eyes so far back in her head she thought she might lose them. She was about to respond to
him, but he appeared between she and Koi, pulling her roughly back by her shoulder. He was focused on Koi now, telling him again that prom wasn't
happening and he didn't--ha. Fumie scoffed sourly at the notion that Shemar would admit he "didn't know" something. Duh. And he was still clueless if
he thought she was backing down on this.
"Koi-," Shemar shifted, his eyes meeting hers, nostrils flared just daring her to speak against him again. She didn't need his challenge. "Go get your
stuff and your sister and go to Dhonny's." She was talking to Koi, but her her eyes stayed locked to Shemar's, her gaze obstinately defiant.
Shemar could huff and puff all he wanted, but tonight was not the night and Fumie was not the one.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
What the hell did he and Eri walk in on? Koi knew that on a regular day, there was no telling what he'd see when he entered the Kidd house. Mostly, he
expected empty. But that was on better days, when both of his parents were so busy avoiding each other that they steered clear of the house all
together. But on the shit days? He ran into his pops walking in the house smelling like a perfume that his moms never wore or he found his moms in
the kitchen, cussing out his girlfriend because she thought she was one of his dad's whores. And if all cards followed fucking suite? It looked like
this was going to be a "shit" day.
"Eh, chill with that..." He muttered, his father's eyes flashing angrily at Koi as he nearly pulled his mother off of her feet trying to get between
them just to speak his mind and tell Koi- wait, what?!
"I'm not going where?!" He asked, his question directed at his mother, even though his father was the one who'd said the unmistakable words. Prom
is out of the damn question... What?! Since when? And why! What the hell had transpired in the fucking three hours that he and Eri had been out
of the house that would cause Prom to be a non-factor to his night? One guess...Shemar fucking Kidd. His father had a way of ruining
everything! He tried to ruin Koi's relationship with Devyn after the shit that went down the Derrick. He'd tried to ruin Koi's social life after his
broken arm fucked his chances of getting offers from colleges. And now, he was ruining prom?! Nope. Fuck that. Koi's father could've honed in on
anything that night to ruin...but prom wasn't going to be it. Because prom didn't belong to Koi. Not one fucking bit of it did. Not the tux, not the
fly ass Saint Laurent shoes. Not the limo...and not even the penthouse suite at the Astor. ALL of that belonged to Devyn. It was HER night...and
Shemar Kidd would NOT fuck it up.
His face set as his mother called his name, trying to distract him from the look his father was giving him. The one that said "try me and see if I
don't knock the shit out of you." Psh. Fuck him. And fuck him twice if he thought Koi was about to kill months of planning for HIM.
"Mom..." He heard her. She wanted him to leave. Take Eri and get his shit and go to Dhonny's. And that was probably the better idea...but he wasn't
leaving her. He wasn't leaving her alone with his Pops...not with the way his father was staring at her. And not when he knew exactly what that stare
meant...
A "shit day" indeed. It hadn't started that way. Koi and Devyn had plans the night before that included Eri. With all of her kids occupied, Fumie had
spent the night with Zori and crept in at dawn like a teenager. Having a great night led to her having a great morning. She made breakfast for her
babies, listened to Koi agree with Eri's excitement about prom and made sure all of the moving pieces were taken care of. One of the moving pieces
that Fumie hadn't considered? Her husband. He shouldn't have even been here! Shemar never had a dry night. She knew there was a 19 year old
coed somewhere waiting for him. Why he wasn't with her now she didn't know...Instead he was here. Bitching.
I'm not going where?! He knew what his father was talking about, even before he pushed his way between them to make his point. Fumie watched
Koi's face change from a heartbreaking disappointment to a rage that made him look so much like his father. She couldn't let Shemar take this from
him! To take it from Devyn...Deep down Fumie knew that was what this was about.
Yes, on the surface, Shemar liked making the people around him miserable, but this was about keeping Koi away from Devyn. Fumie had heard him call
that girl ever name synonymous with bitch and golddigger in the book. He'd hated her since their kitchen episode and while he blamed it on her being
disrespectful, it was probably mostly because she made Koi happy. And Koi was trying to make her happy in return. Shemar would not get his damn way
tonight. Fuck that.
Fumie ignored Shemar, surely fanning the fire, but she didn't care. She told Koi to take his prom stuff and his sister and head over to Dhonny's to
get ready. Because he was still going. His monkey ass daddy was not about to stop this show and Fumie was willing to have it out with him. What she
didn't want was to traumatize Eri anymore than she already was from the last time she had to listen to Shemar...lose his temper. And she didn't want
Koi in the way. She wanted him at prom.
A soft "mom" left him as he looked at her with sympathetic eyes. He knew what she was asking. He knew what would happen if he left...But he also
needed to know a child's place. It was her job to keep him safe and happy, not the other way around. He needed to go.
"Do what I'm telling you, Koi." Her voice was hard, stren. She wasn't asking him to leave, she was telling him.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
If leaving her with the pompous idiot of an ass that just happened to be his father meant doing what his mother wanted him to do, Koi would kindly
fucking decline. There was no way...and he really meant no way in hell he was leaving his mother with his father. What? Because he had to get ready
for prom? Yeah, prom meant a shitload to Devyn, which meant that it meant even more to him. But at the price of another family blow up? Nah. Koi was
tired. He really was. He was completely over it! The last big blow up his parents had had ended up in Eri seeing some shit go down that Koi had hoped
she'd never have to witness. Because he wasn't there...because the argument had been about HIM. He was tired of shit going wrong because of him. Shit
exploded that night and he'd been too stuck up his own ass to notice. That wasn't happening tonight...
"No!" He answered a little too loudly, the eye contact he held with his mother slipping as he saw her features darken dangerously. He shook his head
and met her eyes again.
"No, Mommy." His voice was softer, but it was just as firm as hers. He wasn't leaving her. He wasn't coming home to a cold house, broke shit littering
the floor telling him exactly what had gone wrong when he wasn't there. He wasn't leaving her with his father...
"And this is stupid..." He turned back to his father, hoping to speak some sense into the situation. Hoping that for once, He could be the peacemaker
that his mother always was. That he'd always hated her for being...
"All this over prom? Come on." He was...pleading. He hated himself for it. Begging his father without words to please...not do this. To be a
different...better person. Jesus, his father was a hard ass. He was spoiled and fucking selfish. He thought of himself first and his flesh and blood
second. He...was a bastard. But Koi needed, beyond anything, for there to be a reasonable person in him tonight. Of all nights, Koi was desperate for
it tonight.
"You guys worked hard as hell for me...and I ruined everything. I always do. I know I don't deserve anything from you...I know that." He looked down,
rubbing his hand over his cursl as he spoke.
"Pops, you got me into KRU...and on a full ride, too. And Moms...she got me into prom...but it wasn't just all you. I got my grades up...stayed out of
trouble. I mean...c'mon. I just...I need this. I need tonight."
No! Fumie felt her head tilt as her features darkened with her son's outburst. She was not about to take this shit from both sides.
All Koi needed to do was get his ass upstairs, take his sister, and leave. Fumie had the rest covered. WHat she wouldn't do though was damage Eri
anymore than she had the last time things got out of hand between her and Shemar. The poor baby still jumped at sudden noises and if she was hiding
from Shemar before, she was "Where's Waldo" to the bullshit these days. It was a wonder she'd stepped foot in the house hearing him...but Eri wasn't
the only one she was worried about.
Fumie opened her mouth to tell him to leave again, but he spoke first, another more docile 'no' leaving him. Fumie sighed her frustration, but her son
wasn't done. He wanted to try talking sense into his father? Okay. Maybe, just once, Shemar was going to be a decent human being and listen to what
his son had to say. Maybe, on this special occasion, he would take one night and not be the complete cunt his whole family knew he was. Maybe he just
needed his son to tell him, like an adult, that he had fucked up and he was sorry and he was trying to do better...Koi was...He was growing up.
In his pleading attempt to sway his father, Koi showed Fumie just a little bit of growth. He'd taken responsibility for his actions, he'd shown
gratitude, he had even made it a point to update his clueless father that he wasn't just asking for a handout. He had indeed tried to earn prom. And
Shemar thought he was taking that from him? After that? Nah...
"Shemar-," her voice was soft again; the voice she used when she wanted to convince him something was for the better and his idea. "Be reasonable,
baby." She stepped closer to him then, a careful hand reaching out to his arm to draw his attention.
"It's one night..."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
Shemar looked from his son's pleading face to his wife's, her voice as soft as her touch to his arm. He saw the plea in her expression too. The want
for everything about that night to be simple...to go her way. Their way. It's just one night... Be reasonable... I need tonight,
Pops. Those words. The last words he'd heard were from Koi. And whether they'd known it or not, Koi's words had done the trick...
"You've got...to be fucking kidding me." Shemar said quietly, his lips curling into an incredulous smirk, a chuckle sounding the disbelief in his
voice.
"This ain't Dr. Phil!" His voice raised as he shook his head at his son and his wife. "And you can back the fuck up...hand." He nodded toward Fumie's
hand, signaling her to get it the hell off of his skin before he removed it himself.
"The answer is STILL 'fuck no'! Because regardless what you or your delusion mama thinks, you don't deserve shit, Koi!" The thought that his son, the
son that had caused more trouble for the family than he had good, deserved anything besides military school and a spot on an episode of "Scared
Straight" was hilarious! It was insane how Koi even started to think that not causing trouble for a month muted out his entire high school career. The
little nigga BRED trouble. Trouble followed his ass like a fucking fart! And yet, he deserved prom? HA!
"All your little punk ass has ever done was breathe and take up goddamn space. So you can stop with the 'Cosby kid' moment, take your shit upstairs
and get the fuck out of my face..." With a scoff, he turned around and started walking back to the couch.
And just when she thought he would decide to be a reasonable person; when she thought he would decide to be a father...nope. And she was the dumbass
for getting her hopes up. All Shemar ever did was tear his kids down. He took joy in ensuring their absolute misery...She didn't know why she thought
that just this once he would be decent to his own damn blood!
Her eyes rolled as he told them this wasn't Dr. Phil and she needed to back up. Ugh. Again with the drama and the theatrics! Couldn't he just keep it
fucking simple, tell them no and then run off to escape his responsibilities? Then they could do what they wanted anyway...in fact, she
wasn't sure why he was under the impression they needed his approval. Oh, but he was going to give it wasn't he...Fumie took yet another step back
from him as he yelled at Koi, repeating his answer and telling the two of their "delusional" asses that Koi didn't deserve shit.
"As if you would fucking know that-," Fumie let her voice trail off, probably unheard as he was still focused on telling his son what a disappointment
he was, spouting utter BULLSHIT because Shemar had no idea what Koi did unless he was getting into trouble. The Golden Age? When Koi and Devyn were
together, before the insanity of that pregnancy scare? Koi had been nothing but good. No, he hadn't won any Peace Prizes or gotten a key to the city,
but he kept his nose clean - in all senses of the phrase as far as she knew - and his grades up. His life had literally been, school, practice, and
Devyn for MONTHS. And all he was was trouble?
"How the fuck would you know that Shemar?" She was irritated. Here he was telling them all the shit he knew about his good for nothing son and he
spent what...maybe three days out of the week here? "I make the mistake of calling you when your son is in trouble because I used to be under the
delusion that you gave a shit, but you don't know shit about what happens with the people in this house. You're never fucking here and, don't get me
wrong, we prefer it that way, but don't act like you know what Koi has been up to this year."
She hadn't gotten loud. She wasn't doing too much with her hands. Fumie was just giving him the cold facts. He was never here and he never asked what
was going on with Koi. She was over pretending it was okay for him to dictate their lives. They were people, not puppets and she wasn't letting him
pull anymore strings.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
How the fuck would you know that Shemar?" Apparently his wife hadn't figured it out when he'd ignored her the FIRST time she'd let those
ignorant words out of her mouth. What the fuck more WAS there to know besides the countless times that she'd called Shemar to bail their son out of
some illegal, fucking situation he'd gotten himself into? How many times had she asked for a little extra on his tuition to "soften the blow" of some
stupid incident, not excluding the very recent episode of his nearly bashing his supposed-best friend's brain all the way the fuck in? What part was
he not very clear on? What was he missing? Because if Shemar remembered, that shit was why his ass shouldn't have been going to the damn prom in the
FIRST place. But Fumie...predictable ass Fumie. She always had Koi's damn back. Always pleaded him innocent when he was ALWAYS guilty as fuck.
"First of all, MOUTH." He pointed his finger into her face, his warning to watch her words already understood as he turned back towards her, his eyes
burning into her.
"I don't need a fucking recap on the shit I do for YOUR goddamn children, Fumie. Because regardless how you wanna play "forgetful", EVERY GOD DAMN
TIME you call, I come running to save these fucking kids from some shit bomb they've gotten themselves into BECAUSE OF YOU!" His eyes blazed as he
advanced on Fumie again. Slowly, Koi moved in front of his mother, his eyes warily on Shemar.
"And who the FUCK do you think you're talking to?!" Her mouth was reckless, her voice a little too high and her expression a little too fierce for her
to be talking to the man she knew could put her ass through a wall, regardless if her goddamn son was watching.
"You walk around here, demanding shit that ain't yours to demand! Bitching about a nigga that's always kept you and the kids right! FUCKING SET for
life! And all you do is complain!"
Shemar's chest pushed against Koi's as he stared Fumie down, Koi's voice cutting into a "grown folks" moment that he should've had his ass out of when
it began...and Shemar would've told him so...if Fumie hadn't started speaking first.
She was so done. The more she talked the more she realized that she was done with Shemar. She was done playing with him, done pretending with him,
done...done. She felt herself smile a bit at the inkling of freedom she felt with that thought. She could be free. She wasn't sure now why she thought
she couldn't before, but something had changed and she saw it now. With Shemar staring at her like she'd lost her mind and saying more things she
wasn't interested in, she saw that this didn't need to be her life.
Somewhere between her realization and Shemar's rant, Koi had slipped between them. This didn't need to be his life either. It should have never been
Eri's. Why had she done this? Years had gone by with her tolerating so much more than Shemar deserved from her and...why? She couldn't remember
anymore; not since Zori. He made her the woman she had been before this marriage dissolved. When all she was interested in was loving who she was with
and being everything her kids needed...She hadn't been with Shemar in years and she hadn't been who her kids needed in even longer...That ended today.
"I'm talking to you." Her words were slow and clear and obviously unexpected as Shemar's rage slipped to surprise. Fumie smiled fully, giving a soft
scoff as realization just washed over her. "I hate you. I have hated you for so long, but I was so interested in what people thought and how I wanted
things to be that I ignored that I hated you and tried to make this work. I...hate you, ohmygod." A giggle left her as she turned away from him, but
only for a second as she tried to get control of her excitement.
"You make me NUTS! Constantly trying to please you and meet some impossible standard that might make you love me again when I know that deep down you
will never love me again because you don't even love yourself like...-," Another pause as she ran a hand through her hair, feeling every bit of
tension leave her body, "And I have let you do that for so long! And I hated every minute of it but now...-," moving a stunned Koi from between them,
she stepped closer to her husband of almost 20 years. Her fingers adjusted his tie and brushed off his lapel as she looked back into his eyes.
"Now I want a divorce."
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
With his asshole of a father basically shouting at his mother in his FUCKING ear, Koi was surprised that he could only think of ONE thing...how
much he fucking wished they wouldn't do this tonight. Not on prom night. Damn, he knew it was selfish, especially since the reason they were at
each other's throats again was none other than HIM. But if he was honest, he wasn't weighing on his parents' fucked up relationship or their bullshit
tonight. It was about them. He and Devyn. He'd done his part. He'd worked miracles, even. And now, it was time for something to go right for he and
Devyn. Tonight was supposed to be that something "right". With everything Koi had fucked up...tonight needed to be perfect...and not...this.
His father screaming at his mom...AGAIN. His mother not taking his shit, which was a new development. And honestly, Koi would've been pretty amused by
it...if it hadn't been happening on PROM NIGHT.
"Yo...please. Not tonight... Please, Pops." He whispered frantically as his father nearly swatted him dead in his fucking face. Shemar Kidd was doing
what Shemar Kidd always did...not listen to anyone and run his damn mouth. And with all the intervening that Koi found himself doing, he knew
how everything was going to end up. No matter how his moms fought it. No matter what...Shemar was going to bitch and yell until he got his way. That
was Koi's father. Spoiled. Selfish. A "bitch" in every sense of the word. And not even his family could change that about him. Not even on...
Shit. Koi's face crumpled as he caught movement out of the corner of his eye...and he saw her standing there. Eri. Kneeling on the landing
and peering through the rails of the staircase, her face in the same expression that it always fell into when Shemar was around. Eyes unbelievable
wide. Mouth tight. Hands taunt around the bars of the stair rail. Koi didn't want her to see this. The fact that she could hear it was enough, but
seeing it? Seeing his dad in his mother's face and the words coming out of his mouth? It was too much for her...too much for...
I'm talking to you...His mother's voice broke Koi's eye contact with Eri as his head twisted as far as it could to look at her. His father's
body went slack with shock for a second, the surprise on both of their faces making he and his dad look more like twins than they already did.
What did she just say?
I hate you. The words were so...calm. Like Koi's mom was just realizing how blue the damn sky was or how green the fucking grass was for the
first time. Like it was something as inconsequential as a comment on the weather. But it wasn't...just words that she spoke. She said everything.
Everything that Koi wished she would say to his dad...from day fucking one. From the day he'd stopped giving a shit about his family. The day she and
Koi woke up enough to see how fucking stupid it was being Shemar Kidd's number one fan. Everything that Koi KNEW she felt towards him, hid inside
herself. Just to keep the peace. Just to save the family. Just to fool the media and the public. The words that she'd fucking logged for years and
years. From every fight, every mistress, every bruise...
It felt so good to finally tell the truth. To finally get out a decade and a half of the feelings she packed down whenever she had to deal with his
bullshit. It felt SO GOOD! Even as she stood there, her eyes connecting with the shock in his as he tried to comprehend what she'd just said. I
want a divorce. Sure, she'd said it before; but it had never been like this. She'd always been so unsure, teetering on the edge of hope that he
would go back to the man she'd fallen in love with as a kid. The first time he'd cheated? She yelled it at him in the lobby of the hotel he was
staying at for an away game. She had wanted to surprise him, but the surprise ended up being on her. And she did take Koi and leave for a while, but
Shemar apologized. He promised not to do it again. She went back to him. She'd said it again the first time he fractured one of her ribs during one of
his tantrums. But Shemar apologized. He cried and he promised never to do it again. She went back to him.
This time? She was at ease. At peace with closing this chapter in her life and starting something new with someone else. Something better with Zo.
Even if they only dated for a while and it didn't work out, she would at least be done with Shemar. And more importantly, her kids could be done with
him. Never again would Koi jump into a fight between she and his father. She would be done going to find Eri in her favorite hiding spot when her
father was home. None of them would ever have to live like prisoners in this house EVER again.
Fumie waited for his response to her...outburst? She could call it that. She knew it would be met with violence and she hated Koi was going to have to
see that, but she still didn't regret what she said. She did hate him. She was leaving him. And the fact remained that Koi was still going to prom.
This night was for he and Devyn. Devyn wanted this and Koi wanted it for her. Fumie was not going to let Shemar ruin a night that Koi had jumped
through hoops in hell to get to. She could only hope that Shemar would get angry, smack her and storm out; although everyone in the room knew that was
a lot to hope for in any of this.
I was a heavy heart to carry but, he never let me down.
When he held me in his arms my feet never touched the ground.
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