Kendra...

Saturdays in the Wright household have always been something to look forward to. There would be old-school R&B sing-alongs while we cleaned, then Kyle would go play basketball with Eli, leaving me all to myself. And when they got back, we all got to hang out together.

Those were simpler times, good times.

Now, I found myself laying in bed, still in PJs, waiting to hit the ignore button on my phone. I started off the week being worried about my boyfriend and ended it without having one.

How could he do this?

All this time we spent together, all those times he had the opportunity to tell me who he was and he didn't. He acted like Angela's brother was a whole other different person. Why was telling me who he was such a hard thing to do? Was it me? Was I not enough for him? Was a single mother not good enough for the Grant name?

And here I was, believing everything he had said to me. Why was I like this? Why did I fall for men who didn't care about me and lied to me? Was I so damaged that I couldn't tell when a man was just playing with my feelings and just using me? I was stupid. I was stupid to let my feelings take control and not listen to my logic. I knew this was a bad idea. I knew this would end badly. I knew all the men like him were the same, caring about themselves and their stupid legacies.

A wave of emotion came over me again, but before I had the chance to break down, I heard a knock on my bedroom door. I quickly dried my tear-stained face and tried to not look so gloomy.

"Come in," I said and Kyle peeked into my room.

"Hey mom," he said lowly as if scared to speak.

"What's up?"

"Do you know when Eli is coming to pick me up?" he asked.

I sighed. I was not ready to hear his name.

"He's not coming," I simply answered.

He raised his brow, "Why not?" he asked, obviously disappointed.

"I don't know Kyle," I lied, a bit of edge in my voice.

"Oh, ok," he looked down.

He stood at the door silently, obviously having more to say.

"What do you want Kyle?" I asked annoyed

"I-is he gonna come next week?" he asked.

"No, he's not coming next week. Or the week after that. Matter of fact, there won't be any basketball with Eli from now on."

"What?" he asked baffled

"No more basketball with Eli!"

"Why not?"

"Cause I said so, Kyle!" I raised my voice at him, and I instantly regretted it.

His forehead wrinkled and his face turned into that mean mug I hadn't seen in a while. He turned and stepped back into the hallway.

"Kyle, wait!" I said and got the door slammed as my response.

In any other situation, I would be raising hell for slamming doors in the apartment. But he wasn't at fault this time, it was me. He didn't deserve this. I didn't have to hurt him because I was hurting. Not only was I now a bad judge of character, but I was also a bad mother.

**********

Eli...

I stared at my phone, watching it ring for the third time in a row. The same three calls had come about an hour or two ago. It was Kyle, and he was probably calling to find out about our basketball game. I couldn't find it in me to pick up and tell him I wouldn't be there today, or maybe any other Saturday. When he starts asking why, how do I explain it to him? Is it even my place to explain it to him?

I was still dealing with the aftermath of that day. My mother was upset that I would do something like that. Angela has been sending me glares and mumbling slick remarks. She really likes Kendra and couldn't understand why I would even do something like that. Both women were afraid that my actions would make Kendra write a bad report on us. Uncle Bernard was the only one who was supportive, but he still expressed his disappointment in my actions.

I had never in my life felt like such a horrible person. I've hurt my dad, mother, sister, and even Alex in many ways before, and I felt like crap then. But hurting the woman I loved, that was a whole other level of crap. The guilt seemed almost overbearing. And the fact that I didn't know what to do to fix it made it all worse.

I had been calling her, every day since then, multiple times a day. She wouldn't answer. I left voicemails, and I was sure she hadn't listened to any of them. I sent texts, those definitely weren't read. I even tried sending messages through Iris, but the best friends had talked, and by the words Iris had sent me back, I knew she was not on my side. I had contemplated calling Cooper's but thought that might have been doing too much. She had a right to do her job in peace.

Coupled with the guilt was the overwhelming feeling of this new role. I had been in this home office for hours at a time every day, going over documents filled with words I didn't know the meaning of. I knew that running a business was hard, but I didn't know it would be like this. I would ask my sister for help, but she was way too pissed to help. Uncle Charles and David were still lurking around, waiting for me to mess up. I have no idea how my dad did this. And I don't know why he thought I could even do it.

The door to the office opened and pulled me out of my thoughts. My sister walked in, a newspaper in her hand.

"You're lucky she's a good person," she said, dropping the newspaper on my desk.

She turned and walked out, not saying another word.

I grabbed the paper, looking through the articles to find Kendra's. Once I found it, I started to read, nerves rising as I went line by line. I waited to see my name, coupled with some snarky remark about me being entitled or something of the sort. After reading, I felt a mixture of relief and disappointment. She mentioned nothing about what I did, or spoke badly about my family. But she didn't use my name, not once. Instead of it being about my family, she made it into a praise piece about the women in my father's life. She had managed to uplift my family, without uplifting me.

The guilt showed its head again, and I knew that working was going to be impossible to do now. It was time to take a camera break. It's been a while since I took pictures around the property. It would be a good distraction to everything.

I stacked the documents to the side and grabbed my phone. The voicemail notification caught my attention when I checked the time. It must be from Kyle, it had to be.

I contemplated listening to it. I didn't know what he knew. I didn't know if it would be pleasant or not. But all this wasn't his fault, and I should at least listen to what might be my last ever voicemail from him.

I dialed the numbers and held the phone up to my ear.

"Hi Eli, it's Kyle. I'm sorry about your dad, mom told me he died. I know you're probably busy with all the funeral stuff and feeling sad, but...mom says I can't play basketball with you anymore." The boy sounded confused, none of this was making sense to him. "I tried asking her why, and she didn't tell me. Do you know why? Because I really want to keep playing basketball with you, it's a lot of fun, and we get to talk and stuff and...I just want to play basketball with you."

I felt my heart break.

"Can you call mom and ask her to make us play? Pleeeeease? And be careful when you ask, she's been really mean and-"

The voicemail abruptly ended, and I slowly moved the phone from my ear. For the first time since that day, I felt like crying.

Kyle didn't deserve this. He shouldn't be the one paying because his mother and I were on bad terms. But what could I do? This was my fault. I was the one that hurt his mom and caused her to not want me around him. I'm the reason his Saturdays would be back to being boring. I was the reason he now had no one to talk to about his issues.

I was the reason that the only man he had ever gotten this close to was leaving him.

My knees got weak, and I dropped into the waiting chair.

My shoulders shook. I held my breath, hoping that would keep it all in.

But it was too much.

My hand covered my face, and the tears I had been holding back for days finally came up.

Kendra was right. I am like Anthony. 

Look who's back!! My 4th Term is finally over!

Just want to start off by thanking you guys for sticking with me and being understanding of my crazy schedule. It is very much appreciated. And if you want to continue to make this stressed out girl happy, vote and leave a comment telling me what you this of the chapter. 

Now that I'm free for about a month, I'm going to try my best to post the final chapters before the end of July. So look out for some more frequent updates. If a week passes and I haven't posted anything, you are encouraged to come into the comments or my PM and gently pressure  me into posting.

Before I go, I have a little special announcement to make. Drum roll please.

*drum roll*

I am currently working on a second book that is all about Kyle! It will follow him as an adult and the relationships he has with his family, friends and special lady. What do you guys think?

As time goes on, I'll give you guys more info about the characters, release date and so on. 

That's all for now and hopefully the next chapter will be up next week. Until then!