Chapter 22
Halo Key
Iwas four months pregnant and ready to find out if I was having a little princess or a young prince.
Sitting in the dimly lit room, I stared at the screen while the doctor moved the ultrasound stick across my stomach.
The gel was cold, but my nerves made it easy to ignore.
My heart was beating fast as I held Lyrick’s hand, watching the blurry black and white images shift on the monitor.
The sound of the baby’s heartbeat was strong, and for a moment it felt like everything I had been running from no longer existed.
Lyrick squeezed my hand gently and gave me that look he always did when he wanted me to calm down. His thumb rubbed slow circles against my palm, and I could feel the tension leaving my shoulders as the doctor smiled at us.
“Are you ready to know what you’re having?” she asked.
I nodded, too anxious to speak.
She turned the monitor toward us and smiled. “Congratulations, you’re having a boy.”
A laugh slipped from my lips before I even realized it. My hands went to my mouth, and I felt tears sting my eyes. Lyrick leaned closer and smiled.
The doctor wiped the gel from my belly and handed me a small printed picture of the ultrasound. I stared at it like it was gold. “He’s healthy,” she said with a warm smile. “Everything looks perfect. I’ll see you both again in a few weeks.”
When she left the room, I turned to Lyrick, still smiling. I couldn’t stop. “A boy,” I said softly. “We’re having a boy.”
He smiled back at me with a slow grin that always made me weak. “You happy?”
“More than happy,” I said. “I feel like I can finally breathe.”
That was the truth. The past few months had been chaos, but somehow Lyrick had brought calm into my life. After everything that happened with Pressure, I never thought I’d find peace again, but here I was, sitting next to a man who made me feel safe.
When I left Trill-Land, I didn’t think I would ever stop running, but somehow, Lyrick made me stop.
After he finally left Nooré, things between us got serious fast. We got a house together, a small but beautiful three-bedroom home sitting on the quiet side of Halo Key.
I paid for it in cash using the money I had stolen from Pressure, but I told Lyrick it came from an inheritance.
I even made up stories about my grandmother’s death and how she left me a fortune.
He didn’t question it much. I think he wanted to believe it because it made things easier.
Lyrick introduced me to a woman he knew who could get me new paperwork, fake IDs, and social security cards.
She was good at what she did, and within a few weeks, I had everything I needed to disappear for good.
I became Jayla again, but this time the name came with a new life.
A paid-off house, a car in the garage, and a man who called me his peace.
His parents were nothing like Pressure’s.
They were down to earth, kind, and genuine.
His mother, Alina would call me sweetheart and bring me fruit bowls when she visited, and his father, Omari cracked jokes that made Lyrick shake his head.
They accepted me, and it felt good to be around a family that didn’t look at me like I was a problem.
For once, I felt like I belonged somewhere.
As we left the clinic, I held the ultrasound picture close. Lyrick’s hand was resting on my thigh as he drove, and every few minutes, he’d glance over at me and smile. He wasn’t saying much, but I could tell he was proud. I could see it in the way his eyes softened when he looked at me.
“I can’t believe we’re having a boy,” I said, still staring at the picture.
He chuckled. “You wanted a girl, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” I said with a smile. “But a boy feels right.”
He reached over and rested his hand on my belly. “He gon’ be handsome like his daddy.”
I laughed and placed my hand over his.
When we got home, the sun was starting to set.
I kicked off my shoes and went straight to the bedroom.
My body felt heavy from excitement and exhaustion.
I changed into something loose and comfortable, rubbing my growing belly as I sat on the edge of the bed.
My reflection in the mirror caught my eye, and for the first time, I could really see the curve forming.
My baby boy was really growing inside me.
As I sat there, the quiet of the house made my thoughts wander.
I thought about my father. I hadn’t seen him in months, and even though I tried to block him out, the guilt always crept back in.
I remembered the last time I called him and how it wasn’t even him who answered.
Just thinking about her made my stomach turn.
That was one crazy ass bitch. I still remembered the sound of her voice, calm but cold, when she told me my father couldn’t come to the phone.
I knew then that something wasn’t right.
I knew she had him, and deep down I knew I should’ve tried harder to get him help, but I need help too.
I chose to move on and focus on surviving.
Now I was sitting here, pregnant, trying to build a new life, and all I could think about was how much I missed my parents.
I thought about my mama, and how the last time I told her I might be pregnant, she said I wasn’t.
She was right, and I felt stupid. I remembered crying in the bathroom, humiliated and angry, but now things were different.
This time, there was no mistake. I was really pregnant, and I wanted her to know.
I picked up my phone and stared at the screen for a long time.
I had a new number, one that wasn’t connected to my real name.
Lyrick had helped me set it up so I could stay off the radar.
I told myself I’d never use it to reach home, but the loneliness hit harder than I expected.
I wanted my mama to know she was about to be a grandmother, and I wanted her to hear it from me.
I dialed her number, my finger hovering over the call button before I finally pressed it. The line rang three times before I heard her voice.
“Hello?”
My heart dropped. “Mama?” I whispered.
There was silence at first, and then I heard her breathe out. “Kashmere? Baby, is that you?”
Tears filled my eyes. “Yeah, it’s me.”
“Oh my God,” she said, her voice trembling. “I’ve been so worried about you. I didn’t know if you were alive.”
Hearing her sound like that broke something in me. “I’m okay, Mama. I’m fine.”
She sniffed softly on the other end. “I heard about what happened. I’ve been praying every night, hoping you’d call.”
I wiped my face with the back of my hand. “I’m okay now. I promise.”
There was a pause, and then I asked the question that had been sitting on my heart for months. “Have you heard from Daddy?”
Silky’s voice grew quiet. “He ran off,” she said.
I knew that wasn’t true. I could hear the lie in her tone, but I didn’t want to ruin the moment. Not when everything finally felt good for once.
“I miss you,” I said softly.
“I miss you too, baby,” she replied. “You don’t know how good it feels to hear your voice.”
I smiled through my tears. “I got something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“I’m pregnant, Mama. For real this time.”
She gasped, and then I heard her laugh. “You are?”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice shaking. “I’m four months. I just left the clinic, and I’m having a boy.”
There was a long pause, and then her voice softened. “A boy. My baby girl is having a boy. I’m so happy for you, Kash.”
That made me cry even harder. Hearing her call me baby girl after everything we’d been through made my heart feel light again. “I want you to be part of his life,” I said. “I know we’ve had our issues, but I really need you right now.”
“I’ll be there,” she said gently. “You deserve a fresh start, and this baby is your blessing. I know I’ve made mistakes, but it’s time to move forward.”
Her words made me believe her. For the first time, I felt like we were turning a new page. “I want you to come see me,” I said, my voice trembling. “Please, Mama. I’m living on an island called Halo Key. I bought a house here. I want you to come stay for a few weeks.”
“I’d love that,” she said. “Give me the address so I can write it down.”
I hesitated. “I don’t want to text it. Get a pen and paper, and write it down, but please don’t leave it laying around.”
“I won’t,” she said. “Hold on.”
I heard the faint sound of her moving around before she came back. “Okay, I got it.”
I told her the address slowly, making sure she got every detail right. She repeated it back to me, then said she’d book a flight soon.
There was a pause on the line, and then she sighed softly. “Baby, I can’t lie. Hearing from you after all this time feels like God finally answered one of my prayers.”
Her words made my chest warm. “I didn’t mean to disappear, Mama. I just… I didn’t know what else to do. Everything got so bad, and I felt like running was the only way to save myself.”
She was quiet for a second, and then she said, “Any other time I would’ve told you how foolish that was, but I understand. Sometimes you have to get away to protect your peace. I can’t even be mad at you for that.”
“I know I messed up,” I said softly. “I did a lot of things wrong, and I hurt people I shouldn’t have, but I swear I was just trying to survive.
I didn’t have nobody, Mama. I didn’t even know what tomorrow would look like.
I just packed up and ran until I couldn’t run no more, and somehow I ended up here. ”
“You did what you had to do,” she said gently. “You hear me? I’m not proud of some of the things I’ve done either, but you’re my daughter, and I don’t ever want anything to happen to you. You’ll always be my baby girl.”
I could hear her voice trembling, and it only made me cry more.
“I met somebody,” I said after a pause. “He’s good to me, Mama.
He makes me feel safe, like I finally found peace again.
I know it don’t make up for everything that happened, but for the first time in my life I feel like I can breathe. ”
“Well sweetheart… I’m proud of you.”
I smiled through my tears. “It feels different this time. I got my own place, Mama. I bought a house. I used what I had and made something of it, and now I’m about to be somebody’s mama. I’m really proud of myself too.”
“You should be,” she said. “I just hate that you had to go through so much to get here. But maybe this is your new beginning. Maybe God’s giving you another chance to do things your way.”
Her words came out so calm and loving that it made my heart ache. I hadn’t heard my mother speak to me like this in years, if that. This moment felt real. It felt like forgiveness.
“I really want you to come here,” I said softly. “I want you to see my new life. I want you to meet my boyfriend, Lyrick, and I want you to be here when the baby comes.”
“I will,” she said with a smile in her voice. “I’ll come soon. Just give me a little time to get everything together. I’m so happy for you, baby.”
“Thank you, Mama.”
We talked for a few more minutes about little things.
She asked if I was eating enough and if I had been sleeping well.
She told me to stay off my feet when I could and to drink plenty of water.
It felt good to be mothered again. Every word she said soothed a part of me that had been hurting for years.
“I can’t wait to see you,” she said finally. “We’ll sit on that porch of yours, drink tea, and talk like old times.”
“I’d love that,” I said, smiling.
“You just focus on taking care of my grandson,” she said sweetly. “Let me handle the rest.”
When she said that, I felt a deep calm wash over me. I actually believed her.
When we hung up, I sat on the bed smiling while holding my stomach. My heart felt light and full of hope. My mama was coming to see me, I had a man who loved me, and a baby boy growing inside me.
Finally, I felt safe.