I stood behind Marley with my eyes locked on ol' dude at the door. Izzy was fast asleep in my arms and the last thing I needed was for Marley's dude to get crazy and wake my baby girl up. It was obvious he fucked up, that's why his corny ass was here with wine and fruit. I couldn't help the low chuckle that escaped my lips.

"What are you doing here Carter?" she asked again, seeing as he was too busy looking at us to answer her question.

"I came to talk to you, we need to talk," he replied simply.

"Well, I was just leaving," I spoke up, ready to go.

Marley turned around and looked up at me with pleading eyes. "I know it's getting late, but do you mind waiting inside with MJ and Miracle until I'm done talking to him? It won't take long at all."

I didn't know if she was afraid of this dude or if she was trying to let him know just how much she didn't want to be bothered with him; either way, I wasn't leaving until she asked me to. I looked down at a sleeping Isabella and then at my watch and nodded at her. It was only a little after 8 pm, so I could stay here for a little while longer to make sure Marley was good.

"Let me get that." I switched Isabella around in my arms so that I could grab the plates of food Marley made for us.

I walked away from the door, allowing her to close it behind her. I didn't feel too comfortable about her being out on the front porch with this dude by herself but I was sure Marley could handle him. If he got too crazy, I was right here. After sitting the plate down on the kitchen island, I made my way back to the family room. I laid Isabella down, making sure she was comfortable before taking a seat at the other end of the couch.

After I got comfortable, I turned the TV on and went to Sports Center, making sure to keep the volume low enough not to wake Izzy. Not too long into the show, Micah walked into the living room with a mug on his face.

"What's up Eli?"

"What's up with you bro? Your face all kinds of screwed up right now." I chuckled while he sat down across from me in the lazy boy.

"I heard that ol lover boy ass nigga at the door." He shook his head while getting comfortable.

"Your aunt wants me to stay until he leaves so, I'm chillin til she comes back inside."

Micah nodded his head and mugged the front door as if he could see through it.

"I don't like dude. I'm honestly hoping he'll get crazy, so I can finally beat his ass," Micah scoffed.

"He never hit your aunt or no crazy shit like that, has he?" I said, ready to go outside my damn self.

"Nah, he not that stupid. He just a cornball ass nigga, I don't like him."

"As long as he behaves, it's all good," I said, shrugging.

While we sat there, I found myself on mycellphone. I scrolled through my contacts, stopping at her name; a smile creptacross my face as I went to send her a text.

I smirked to myself after hitting send. I glanced over at Micah, who wasn't paying much mind to the TV. He was waiting for his aunt to come back inside, like me. A little while later, my phone went off, letting me know I had a text message.

>>

She didn't understand that I really didn't mind.

Marley came back inside a little while after I sent the last text. She chuckled to herself when she noticed Micah sitting in her chair with his eyes glued to the front door.

"You good aunt?!" he asked while getting up from his seat.

"Yes Micah, I'm fine. Go to bed baby, I love you." She laughed while kissing his forehead.

"Just checking Aunt, I love you too," he said while hugging her back. "Aight, see you in the morning. See you at school tomorrow, thanks again for helping me with my car."

"No problem bro, holla at you tomorrow."

Once Micah was gone, I got up from the couch and followed Marley into the kitchen where I was able to see her face better. She was starting to cry again.

"You okay?" I asked while approaching her.

She didn't reply verbally, she just nodded her head and wiped her face dry. Now standing face to face with her, I could really see the hurt on her face. For the first time since I met her, she actually looked stressed, hurt and down. That shit broke my heart. It's something about seeing a strong woman break down; it does something to your spirit.

"C'mere." I sighed heavy while pulling her into a hug. She cried silently into my chest for a few minutes before finally calming down. When she was done crying, I pulled her away from me and looked down into her eyes. "You're gonna be okay. You know that, right?"

"I know...it just...this entire situation sucks that's all." She sighed heavy and shook her head.

"Well, at least you were able to deal with him without it getting too crazy; your nephew was ready to catch a case."

She laughed a little and looked back towards Micah's door. I was just glad she had a smile on her face, even if it was only for a second.

"He is his father's child." She shrugged while heading to the kitchen.

I noticed her grab a tub of ice cream out of the freezer. I was about to say something smart until I noticed it was dairy free. She pulled out two small bowls and placed a few scoops of ice cream into each of them. I took that as an invitation and joined her at the table. She grabbed two cupcakes out of the cake dish and placed one in front of my bowl of ice cream.

"Break up munchies?" I chuckled while looking over at Marley.

"I guess we can call it that; this is the only time I'm giving myself to sulk. After this, I'm moving on completely."

I nodded my head, letting her know that I understood her fully.

"You know, even though this ice cream is fake, it's on point," I joked, earning another laugh out of Marley.

"Shut up, this ice cream is real." She giggled while shaking her head at me.

I could tell she needed my company, so I just sat back and focused on cleaning my bowl until she was ready to talk about it.

"Can I ask you a question?" she finally spoke up after sitting in silence for what felt like forever.

"Shoot," I said while giving her my full attention.

"You know what, never mind." She chuckled and waved me off.

I raised my eyebrow and gave her a look before shrugging it off.

"We don't have to talk now but I'm here if you need me."

"I just don't understand how me trying to be here for my brother and his kids can make me a bad person. I'm stretching myself thin as it is trying to make sure my shop is doing well, making sure my brother makes it through this rehab program, watching over my niece and nephew, trying to make sure their spirts stay up during this situation all the while making sure my boyfriend is happy. He never once asked how I was feeling, how my brother's condition made me feel; nothing and he knows, Eli. He knows," Marley stressed while shaking her head.

"You can do all of this and more, you just needed to get rid of the dead weight, and I know that was your man not even two hours ago, so hearing me say that might not sit too well with you but listen to what you just said. He never stopped to make sure you were good; he never put his feelings to the side to help you through this situation. You need someone to be strong for you. Like I told you, you need someone to care about you. I'm not saying your brother doesn't but right now, he can't. He's recovering from addiction; you're taking care of two teenagers with no help might I add and it wasn't too long ago you were one your damn self." I chuckled while wiping her tears. "I'm here though, I'll be your friend through this, I'll make sure you don't skip meals and you're not stressing yourself out over things you can't change. I'm here to help in any way I can while you navigate through this. Don't forget that, Marley."

The look Marley gave me was unreadable. After a short moment, a smile appeared on her face.

"I'm sorry for keeping you so long," her tone was softer than usual.

"You don't have to apologize, what are friends for? Besides, it's barely 9 pm; I don't have to be at work until 11 am. It's my last day at the school and Isabella will be with my mom tomorrow. Once I'm done eating your ice cream up, me and Izzy are going to head out but we'll see you tomorrow," I assured her.

As promised; Isabella and I left shortly after I was done eating; I made sure Marley was good before heading out. I also made sure to text her once I got back to my house and settled in.

>>

I didn't believe her. I had a feeling that as soon as we left, she went right back to crying over that bitch ass ex-boyfriend of hers. I Facetimed her so I could see for myself.

She answered the call with a wide grin on her face, her arm covering her eyes.

"You better not be crying Marley. I already got Isabella in bed man; I'm not trying to wake her up again," I huffed while she giggled.

"Nooo, I'm fine I swear." She moved her arm so I could see her full face.

The girl was beautiful.

"Okay...that's better." I smirked into the camera. "You know why I called you."

"To make sure I wasn't still crying over that bitch ass nigga." Marley giggled while nodding her head.

"Hey, you said it...not me." I laughed while shaking my head.

"No sir, that's exactly what you said actually," she sassed while getting under the covers.

"Whatever ma." I laughed. "I just wanted to make sure you were good before I decided to KO. I'll talk to you tomorrow though, aight?" I asked.

She nodded her head, letting out a huge yawn.

"I appreciate it. I appreciate you, Elijah. See you tomorrow. Goodnight," she sang.

"Goodnight, ma."

After ending the call with Marley, I headed back to Izzy's room to make sure she was still asleep. I kissed her cheek and left her room, making sure her night light was on before turning the hall light off. I didn't know what it was about Marley but she stayed on my mind the entire night. I literally couldn't think of anything other than this girl. She was selfless, caring, intelligent, beautiful and independent. She was just amazing and I didn't understand how ol dude could be anything other than supportive right now given that she was going through a lot. If he couldn't do it, someone else would and I was willing to be whatever she needed me to be. She needed a friend and I'd be lying if I said I didn't need a friend like Marley to add some kind of balance to my life. We had only known each other for a week and she was already changing my view on things. I needed to keep her around.

The next day started off smooth. I got Izzy to my mom's house on time, thanks to Marley's wakeup call. Hell, I even made it to work on time. I was kind of glad this would be my last day here; I was literally only doing this substitute assignment as a favor to my aunt, who was the school's principal. It was a last minute situation and I was always willing to help her out at the school whenever I could, although it would often make me wish I never got the certification but I needed money at the time and was nowhere near opening my auto shop, so I made it work for me.

Marley called right after my first class ended to let me know my snake ass baby mama had finally shown up to the shop. I hit my lawyer and let him know what was up so that we could get this ball rolling. The icing on the cake was during lunch when I got a call from my lawyer letting me know I had temporary custody of Isabella until my court date, which was a month from now. He suggested I get a restraining order out on Natalie; he wanted my mother to get one as well, seeing as she took care of Izzy during the day and Nat knew that. After that call, the rest of the day went by faster than I thought it would. Micah's car was fixed, so I didn't need to give him and Miracle a ride today after school.

I headed straight to Marley's nail salon to tell her the good news.

"Hey Eli!" Miracle sang from behind the receptionist desk.

Marley was at her station, cleaning up when I walked in, so she didn't see me but when she heard Miracle say my name, her head shot up in my direction. A smile spread across her face instantly.

"Hey lil bit. Your aunt got you in here working today?"

"Nah." Miracle chuckled. "I'm on Facebook." She giggled while turning the computer screen, so I could see.

I shook my head and laughed at her before making my way over to Marley's workstation. The ladies in the shop watched my every move, whispering among themselves. I heard them but the only person I saw was lil Marley, standing at her station with a smirk on her face and her arms crossed.

"What are you doing here sir?" She laughed while I took a seat in the chair in front of her station.

"Came to thank you," I replied while looking around, noticing all eyes on us.

"Let's go to my office." She nodded towards the back of her shop.

I followed her to her office and sat down on the sofa that sat in the corner of the room.

"So, you're welcome?" She giggled, taking a seat behind her desk.

"Man..." I laughed while shaking my head. "You don't even know; I have temporary full custody until our court date next month. I have a feeling I'm going to win that case, Marley." I smiled while sitting up, smoothing my jeans out.

"I'm glad, you deserve it. I'm sure you will win."

"Let me take you out as a thank you. I know y'all are going to see Micah Sunday, you want to do dinner afterwards?"

I felt like I was being forward but with Marley, I couldn't be out here beating around the bush and acting like I was afraid to ask her out for a simple thank-you dinner. She looked shocked, to say the least.

"Umm, it's actually funny you offered to do it Sunday. Micah and Miracle are going to see him tomorrow along with my little brother Moriah. I was going to go Sunday by myself but my brother wants to meet you. Micah's been telling his dad about you apparently since the two of you met, so hearing that you're looking out for his son while he's in a situation that prevents him from doing so made him want to thank you." She chuckled a little. "And I might have told him how you held me down last night after that shit with Carter."

"Damn, why I feel like I'm about to meet your parents or some shit," I joked.

"C'mon, Micah's cool and he really just wants to thank you in person," she assured me.

I nodded my head while standing up from my seat on the couch. "Aight, sounds good. I'll holla at you later though. I gotta go get Izzy from my moms crib."

"See you later Eli," she said while making her way over to me, shocking me by reaching out for a hug.

I hugged her back before making my way out of her office. Of course, just like when I entered, all eyes were on me. Ignoring the whispers and the women obviously checking me out, I said my goodbyes to Miracle before leaving the shop.

With the weekend ahead of me, I figured I'd take Isabella and my mother out to dinner tonight. I had a spa day set up for my mother to thank her for helping me with Isabella this past week and I was going to take Izzy out to the fair tomorrow for a daddy-daughter day.

Even after hearing from my lawyer; the fact that I hadn't heard anything from Natalie still had me a little pissed. It had been a week and still not one word from this chick, yet she found time to get her nails and shit done, showing off pictures of a child she had basically abandoned. I figured she was back with her on again off again dude. He was a corny ass guy who didn't like the idea of Natalie having a kid, so Isabella always ended up with me or my mother so that Natalie could be free to do whatever her lil punk ass boyfriend wanted to do. Don't get me wrong; I saw no loss in losing Natalie, so I had no bad feelings towards her dating. What I didn't like was my daughter being put on the back burner because whoever she was fucking with didn't like kids or some punk shit like that.

I'm done stressing over Natalie though, if she doesn't want to be here for her daughter, I can't make her. I just hope she don't take it too hard when I win this custody battle.