STILL BAD FOR YOU | CH. 3

Still Bad for You

Chapter Three

Baby Mama Energy

Jordyn wasn’t opposed to owning up to her shit when she was wrong, but she started to feel like Mega was being ridiculous. And a coward. He left the house two days prior and hadn’t reached out to her since he left.

Despite the dozens of times she called and texted him, he didn’t call back to check on her. He didn’t call to check on MJ. Didn’t call to make sure no one had come by and blown the house up. Nothing.

Jordyn was pissed, but she never stopped reaching out to him for a response.

“This is what? The hundred and twenty-something time I’ve called you? I don’t know where you are or what you’re doing, but this is really fucked up. I know you’re upset about MJ, but Mega, she’s yours. Deal with it. Nobody told you to be out here raw-dogging your baby mama. If you had kept it in your pants, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. Now call me back. I have to go back to work soon, and you’re going to have to keep your daughter while I do that. Seriously. Call me back.”

She had no idea what to do with MJ while she picked up the pieces of her own life. Her mom couldn’t babysit while she worked, and Kaylani had already done enough by helping with the kidnapping.

Jordyn refused to let herself believe that Mega would leave her stuck with his kid, so she continued to wait for him to call her back and do what she had been doing. Which was being a good girlfriend and mom to his child.

With baby MJ crying in the background, Jordyn looked around the room for keys to one of the cars Mega had collecting dust in his garage. She also scavenged for any money he may have had lying around to be able to buy things for MJ.

She felt like she was doing something wrong by looking through his things, but she needed it to be able to take care of his kid. Being the kind of person she was, Jordyn wouldn’t let the baby go without because he was afraid of stepping up to the plate.

“I found them, MJ.” She smiled, jingling the keys for baby MJ to see. “Now, where do you think your daddy keeps his money? Can you help with that?”

MJ had no idea what Jordyn was talking about, but the way her tiny little fingers pointed out objects around the room, you would have thought she did.

“You wanna try over there?” Jordyn asked, following the direction of her finger. “You think that’s where it is? Let’s see.”

Jordyn opened a drawer on an end table in the room, and what do you know? There was a wad of hundred-dollar bills. A gun. And a burner phone that she knew not to touch. If she learned anything dealing with drug dealers, it was to never go snooping through their call log.

“You are so smart, MJ. Thank you.” She kissed MJ’s chunky cheek as she sifted through the bills. “How much should we take? Let’s take… a thousand. That should be enough to get you everything you need for a while. Right?”

After MJ gave her consent, Jordyn headed to her room to get herself dressed so they could set out on their shopping spree for baby merch.

Having a kid wasn’t so bad, she thought. As long as you had the money and help with babysitting.

They were cute and cuddly. A little loud and restless at times, but other than that, Jordyn didn’t mind having a little friend to keep her company. Especially since Mega had been missing in action.

“Alright, girlfriend.” She stood in front of the full-length mirror, checking out her outfit. “I say we’re ready to roll, huh? But first, let’s give Daddy another call to see if he answers, and then we can go.”

With her diaper bag on one arm and MJ in the other, Jordyn used her shoulder to hold the phone to her ear while walking towards the garage to see which car she wanted to take.

When he didn’t answer that call either, she left another message and hoped for the best.

“MJ and I are on our way out. She needs diapers and clothes and stuff. And don’t be mad at me, but I had to look through some of your things to find keys and money. I would’ve used my own money, but I haven’t been to work. You know. I only took a thousand from your end table drawer. That should be enough for her. Whatever we don’t use, I’ll put back, and I’ll make sure not to crash your car. Call me back when you’re ready to talk. Until then, you know where to find us. Alright, I guess,” her voice started to crack when MJ chimed in with her giggles. “I guess we’ll see you soon.”

After taking a moment to get herself together, Jordyn opened the door to the garage and pressed the unlock button on the clicker in her hand. She decided to go with the BMW because she felt like it was the safest for MJ’s car seat. Also, she didn’t know how to drive a stick, so the muscle car that looked like it came off the set of Fast & Furious wasn’t even a second thought.

Like a pro, Jordyn fastened the car seat into the seatbelt, strapped MJ in, gave her a bottle to keep her quiet, and then made her way to the driver’s seat. She was surprised to hear her phone ring while she got herself ready to back out of the garage. She was even more surprised to see that it was Mega finally calling her back.

“Where are you?” she asked the minute she heard his voice.

“I been at Layton’s.”

“Oh, she’s home? Is she ok?” Jordyn was genuinely concerned.

“Yeah. They released her the day I went to sit down with Brenda.”

Jordyn wondered what Brenda had said to him that made him not want to come home. Whatever it was, she hoped it wasn’t something that would’ve made him abandon his daughter.

“Are you safe?” she asked.

Mega felt a sting in his heart when she asked that question because the only other women who ever cared to ask about his safety were his mother, Layton, and Mila.

“I am,” he replied.

“Am I safe?”

“Yes, Jordyn. You and the baby are safe. I would never leave your side if I knew you were in any kind of danger, Jordyn.”

In her heart, she believed him. Even though they weren’t an official couple and had only been seeing each other for a short time, she knew he would’ve protected her at all costs.

“Good,” she said. “Are you coming home anytime soon? I’m supposed to start work again tomorrow, so you’re going to have to babysit. If my boss wasn’t such a dick, I would take her with me.”

“You know you don’t have to go back to work, right?” Mega asked. “You proved yourself worthy enough for me to take care of whatever it is you need.”

Jordyn couldn’t help but smile, but she knew better than to solely depend on a man. Polo had sold her the same dream once upon a time, and it cost her a lot of her sanity.

“Are you just saying that because you don’t wanna be left alone with MJ?”

“Nah.” Mega frowned. “The baby has nothing to do with what I said.”

“Okay, first off, we’re not calling her the baby anymore.” Jordyn lectured. “Her name is Mecca. Or MJ, for short. And I don’t know how I feel about not going to work. I’m used to making my own money.”

Mega was slightly turned on by her authoritative tone. She was the most wholesome chick he’d ever dated, so hearing that she had a spicy side made him want to see more.

“Did you get my message about the money? And the car?” she asked.

“I did,” he nodded. “You don’t need to tell me what you took. I trust you.”

His sentiment made Jordyn smile so hard her cheeks hurt. Because being trusted by the man that she found herself falling for was a huge step closer to the happy ending she had always wanted.

“Where you going anyway?” he asked.

“MJ and I,” she emphasized, “are going to get baby stuff. So, maybe Target and then the mall? I don’t know. I’ve never been shopping for a baby before.”

“Let me know when you get to the mall. I’ll meet you up there.”

When the call ended, Jordyn felt ten times better. She was afraid Mega would never come around to being a father, so the fact that he was the one to initiate meeting them really meant a lot to her.

It also meant a lot because she knew how scared he was. And she didn’t blame him. Being a parent was a huge responsibility. Especially while being the biggest kingpin in the city.

“Your daddy’s coming to meet us, MJ,” she sang, looking at the baby through the rearview mirror. “This is a big deal, girl. He’s so scared of you. So, we’re gonna be on our best behavior, get him comfortable, and then make our way right into his heart.”

When she realized she spoke for more than just MJ, she smiled to herself and thought about the possibilities. She also thought about how she didn’t shed one tear over Polo being dead. Which was crazy to her because she loved him at one point in time.

But, after doing the most reckless shit she had ever done in her life for Mega, Polo meant absolutely nothing to her. And she had Mega to thank for that.

If it wasn’t for him throwing all his positive energy around, she might’ve still been stuck in the cycle of not knowing her worth.

“Where you two headed?” Pauline stopped her as she got out of her Uber at the end of the driveway.

“Shopping. Wanna go?”

“Nah, I’m worn out after bingo.” Pauline gave her daughter a curious look when she saw MJ. “Mega got you out here playing house, don’t he?”

“Something like that.” Jordyn laughed. “My baby’s just a little scared, that’s all. He’ll be alright.”

“And what about you?” Pauline asked. “How will you be? You can never know a man’s true intentions, baby girl. I like Mega and everything, but I don’t want you getting your heart hurt behind any of this.”

Jordyn heard her mother’s concern and grew concerned herself. She liked Mega too, but she also knew there was a possibility for things to end badly for them. Because after finding out that he really was Mj’s father, she had to remember that Mila was still her mother.

“I’ll be fine, Ma,” Jordyn said. “Mega has kept it realer than family with both of us. I don’t see him changing up now.”

“Ok, Baby.” Pauline gently stroked her daughter’s cheek. “Y’all be careful on that road. And let me know when you make it to where you're going.”

“I will. I love you, Ma.”

“Love you too.”

Pauline’s words drilled into Jordyn’s skull until she got a headache. She hoped like hell that MJ wouldn’t make Mega fall back in love with Mila.

She was the mother of his child, so she couldn’t have been mad at him if he decided to work it out with her. Besides, Jordyn had always told herself that if she ever had a baby of her own, she would want to be with the father of her child. So she didn’t expect anything less from Mega.

“Alright, Jordyn.” She wiped a subtle tear from her eye. “Enough of thinking negatively. Whatever happens, happens. Right, MJ?”

It had been years since Jordyn had been up close and personal with a baby, and the more time she spent around MJ, the more she started to want one of her own. It even brought back the painful memories of when she was pregnant by Polo but got rid of it on his demand.

That was a time in her life she wished would have never happened.

He made her get an abortion because he wasn’t ready, and at the time, it killed Jordyn inside. But the deeper they got into their relationship, the more she realized it was for the best.

Truthfully, she really didn’t know why she stuck with Polo for as long as she did. Because aside from the money he gave her to help with her mom and bills, they didn’t have anything in common.

Not like she did with Mega.

 

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