As expected, Royce woke up real early since she slept the whole evening after the aquarium. When I mean early, I'm talking 6 am. Even though I had a late night, I had no choice but to get up. Fuck me.

I can't get on the road like this. I need at least 2 more hours of sleep. We both got in the shower. I thought it would wake me up, but it only made me more sleepy. Meanwhile, Royce was wide awake. She kept going on and on about any and everything. I felt bad that I wasn't listening. I only nodded and hummed every so often as she spoke. She picked out her own outfit and I opted for some sweats.

"Thank you," I told Robyn as she handed me a cup of coffee and a bottle of water.

"You can go sleep some more. I'll watch Imani."

"I wish I could, but I need to take care of something. I'll be back."

"Royce!" I yelled trying to get her attention from wherever she ran off to. I heard her little feet before she peaked into the kitchen.

"What were you doing," I teased her.

"Nothing," she shimmied over to me and I picked her up, placing her on the counter.

"I need to run an errand real quick. Will you be good while I'm gone?" She shrugged and I cocked my head to the side staring at her. She then started laughing.

"Yes mommy." I poked her in the side and started tickling her.

"You better be." I pulled her off of the counter and she ran off again.

"I'll be back," I said to Robyn.

"Are you going to eat first?"

"No, I'm good."

I got in the car and just drove. I knew where I wanted to go, I just didn't know if I really wanted to go there. I ended up in front of Dashawn's house anyway. I parked in front of the house and just sat in the car staring at the beautiful home in front of me. I released a shaky breath and got out. The locks hadn't been changed and the code to the alarm was still the same. Everything looked just as he left it. I walked through the foyer running my hands on any surface my fingers made contact with. Only a small layer of dust coated the tips of my fingers, meaning this place had been cleaned not too long ago.

I went into the kitchen and searched for some alcohol and a glass. I found a bottle of 1800 and I poured me some, just a little. I drank all of it before putting the bottle back where I found it. I continued aimlessly walking around until I spotted the door to the garage. I made a beeline for it and flicked on the light.

Dashawn's white Rolls-Royce was still there. His other cars were gone though. His Royce was technically mine now since he lost the bet, but I couldn't bring myself to take it. Not after he was killed right before Royce was born. He wasn't even there to see that I won-to see that I pushed out a 6lb baby girl, his baby girl. I shook the negative thoughts away. I cut the light off and closed the door. It's been damn near five years and I'm still trying to get over it. It still cuts me up. I'm trying my hardest to let it go, let everything go, but it's hard. He was supposed to be here helping me, only him. We were going to coparent for fucks sake.

I didn't even want to go upstairs, so I went into the still fully furnished living room and sat on the sofa. I thought about Royce and whether or not I should start telling her about Dashawn. Would it even matter? It's not like he's here, maybe telling her would only hurt her and make her long for something I can't give her. She has absolutely no father figure in her life. Why should I fill her head up with hopes and dreams of a dead man? If she doesn't know about Dashawn, she won't understand what she's missing. Even thinking about this is fucked up because regardless of what I tell her or don't tell her, she's gonna grow up and want to know why other kids have fathers and she doesn't. Ugh, I wanted to scream, but the headache I currently had caused me to lay down instead. I pulled my knees up and curled up into a ball on the large bed-like couch.

I went back and forth with myself for so long that I didn't realize I had fell asleep until a rough hand caressing my cheek woke me up. I nearly jumped out of my skin.

"My fault. I ain't mean to scare you," a deep unfamiliar voice spoke up. My wide eyes tried to adjust to the light as I took in his large frame. I scrambled further up the couch away from him.

"Do I know you?" My voice came out scratchy.

"Meech," he said taking a seat in the chair across from me.

I made an o shape with my mouth. I knew who Meech was from word of mouth and through the grapevine, but I've never actually seen him before. Dashawn talked about him a lot saying he was his right hand and shit. So it was only fitting for Meech to take over after D.

"I'm Asha," I said.

"I know."

"Sorry if I'm intruding. I didn't think anyone came here anymore. Well...the house is still spotless and barely any dust so I assumed someone still came here, but not anyone important."

"I keep tabs on D's crib and I have people clean it from time to time. He liked it a certain way and never let outsiders in, so I keep it that way."

"How do you know who I am?" It sounded like a dumb question, but even though I knew who Meech was, I've never met him in person. If I know I've never seen him before, I know he has never seen me either. How did he know I wasn't just some random chick.

"D told me a lot about you, and he often joked about me keeping an eye on you if something were to ever happen to him."

I scoffed. Look how that turned out.

"There's also cameras all around here so I know who enters and exits."

It was quiet between us. I sat with my knees pressed to my chest while he watched me. He soon skillfully rolled up a blunt and lit it. Intrigued, I stole glances every now and then.

"I know you got questions so ask."

I cleared my throat and licked my dry lips. "Who killed him?"

"It was handled."

"But who was it?"

"It don't matter. They were all handled."

"You're not answering my question, why?"

"Cuz the who don't matter. Telling you who it was means nothing. You ain't know them. D kept you out of the loop for a reason. None of this has anything to do with you."

"But it was my fault. Wasn't it that nigga's crew. The one-"

"You know his name or what D had done to him?"

"No, but-"

"See, it don't matter. We been had bad blood with that nigga and his crew way before you. But, cuz of what happened with you, we had a reason to end him. I bet he never saw it coming, and all over some pussy." I was confused about what he was talking about until I thought for a moment.

"You mean Kennedy." He nodded. Kennedy never knew I had ties to Dashawn, which happened to be the enemy of the man she was fucking. So, that's what she was talking about when she came to my baby shower screaming and yelling that I had him killed.

"She came to my baby shower accusing me of having him killed, but I didn't know. I-I...Dashawn never spoke about it. Oh god, does she know-"

"She don't know shit. She ain't know shit then and she don't know shit now. That crazy bitch in some mental hospital as we speak."

I sighed in relief, not because of where she was, but because she didn't know anything. The last thing I need is for her coming after me and Royce.

I knew Kennedy was still alive, but I never knew what exactly happened to her after she crashed my shower. Like everything else, Dashawn never spoke about it. They must have done something far worse to her for her to be in a psychiatric hospital.

"Her weak ass went insane," Meech said blowing out a cloud of smoke.

"What happened after that?" I carefully asked.

"We got too comfortable. We thought it was a win for us, but we underestimated them even after we wiped out the top of their hierarchy. We should've never let them get the drop on us, and because of our carelessness, D ain't here to watch his child grow up," he said with all seriousness.

"After that, I took control over everything and tied off loose ends."

I sat there trying to take everything in because this was the first time I was hearing any of this. When I say Dashawn kept me in the dark, I mean it. I bet Meech ain't even telling me the whole story either.

"I heard you doing good and shit," he said changing the subject.

"Yea, I'm trying."

"You gone move back down here?"

I shrugged, "Y'all act like I moved thousands of miles away when it's only a couple hundred."

"D would somehow find a way to kill me if I let something bad happen to you."

"Y'all just want me back so y'all can watch everything I do. I'm working and I'm being independent. I don't need anyone down my throat every second of the day, not Robyn, not Iris, and not you." He just shrugged.

I reached for my phone when I felt it vibrate in the pocket of my sweats. I looked at the time and realized I had been gone for four hours. I needed to get on the road soon so that I can get ready for work and Royce for school. The text was from Robyn. I called her and told her I was on the way back. When I hung up, I shimmied to the end of the couch and stood up.

"I need to go. I gotta get back home." Meech stood up and he towered over me, even more so than Dashawn did. He didn't say anything as I walked to the door.

"What are you going to do with this place?" I asked.

"Ion know yet." I nodded in response.

I got to my car and turned around. "It was nice to meet you Meech."

"Let a nigga know if you need anything," was all he said. I stared up at him as he stood rather close. Just from our first interaction, I could tell why he and Dashawn were so close. Meech seemed like a real ass nigga.

"You remind me of him," I said.

"Is that a good or a bad thing," he asked leaning into the car.

"I don't know yet."

"Yet?"

I rolled my eyes. "Goodbye Meech." I opened the door and he backed up.