Chapter 62 Ominous
Ominous
Babysitting the twins is weirdly soothing, even as Nickoi calls me.
I ignore it at first, focused on feeding the babies, but when I hear how deadly his tone sounds, I pause.
The formula is halfway to the twins’ mouths when I stop, watching them stretch for the bottle.
I laugh and teasingly push it a little farther.
A how the man sound so?
I walk into the living room, and the look on Nickoi’s face instantly makes me uneasy.
Confused, I furrow my brow as I walk over to him slowly.
He’s seated with a spliff between his fingers, glaring at the screen like it personally offended him.
He’s mad like, really mad and I can feel it.
My heart starts pounding, and the nervousness creeps in.
Mi nuh like when eh man angry wid me enuh because mi know eh man serious. Jah, a wah this bout?
“Yeah?” I finally say, testing the waters.
“Yaw idiot bredda?” he fires back, and I freeze.
Normally I’d snap at anyone who talks to me like that, but I can’t, not when it’s Nickoi. I’ve always looked up to my brothers, especially him. Disrespecting them? That’s not even a thought. I stay silent and wait for him to go on.
“You have a woman pregnant on her own pan eh road enuh. Yuh know that?” he asks, and I blink, stunned.
I shake my head, confused.
“You check pan har since yuh know she pregnant?”
“Mi did a plan fi go deh,” I retort quickly. I was actually planning to check on Jania tomorrow, even though I know her mother probably hates me right now. Truth is, I’ve already made up my mind. I want her. She’s a better girl for me.
“So how yuh think she feel when you live with a next woman and she breed, bredda? Nuh stress yuh a mek she stress dawg? Yuh can have yuh woman pregnant and nuh link har? Yaw waste man?”
He stands up and steps closer, and I feel the heat of his anger.
I take a breath. “No, a just the situation weh mi inna, and a that’s why mi come yer so… mi plan fi link har tomorrow,” I explain, voice steady. “…Mommy would a question me,” I add, hoping he understands.
He huffs but nods, calming down a little.
How him know ‘bout this though? Mi know a affi Jania tell him but how she reach to him?
I lean on the wall, thoughts crashing into each other like waves. Jah, a wah this man?
Nickoi sits back down and gulps some Hennessy before locking eyes with me again. He seems calmer now, but there’s still fire in his gaze.
“She wah know if yuh a go support har, and mi wah know too,” he starts, voice low but firm. “Cause if you ever say no, you a nuh my bredda! So if a that yaw go say, yuh can figet say we a bredda and a that mi a mek yuh know straight!”
He’s deadly serious, and I nod, accepting it.
“If yuh breed a woman, yuh fi stand up to yuh responsibility, bad man. All if yuh nuh like the idea of getting a pitney. If yuh nuh wah dem thing yah, just stop sleep wid woman. Or use a b’claat comfom.
You see the thing wid we though? We nuh meds dem thing yah when we inna the moment.
A always one thing deh pan we mind.” I chuckle slightly and nod again, because he’s right.
“Yuh see like how you know seh Zara a the one? A same thing with me and Jania. So mi a support har, bredda. Big woman thing,” I say like a promise, locking eyes with him.
“A nuh me yuh fi tell that though. Say it to har when she fawud wid Zara,” he replies, catching me off guard.
“She a fawud?” I ask, surprised, and he nods, taking another sip of his Hennessy.
“Yah.”
I sigh, already nervous. “How Zara know weh she deh?”
He shrugs. “She soon reach… deal wid unuh thing, mi woman a who mi wah focus pan right now,” he finishes. I laugh softly, then hear a car engine outside. My palms go sweaty, and I rub them down the sides of my Nautica shorts.
“Mi a go help any way mi can. Mi a lef yuh fi support yuh woman. Mi a go check pan mi youth dem,” he says just as the front door opens. Nickoi gets up, heading to the kitchen, and I watch the doorway as Jania walks in. Zara follows, giving a small smile.
“Good night,” Zara says, and I answer her, though my eyes are locked on Jania.
She looks terrible and instantly, guilt washes over me. Why yuh stress out the people dem daughta, dog shit? my conscience spits. I deserve that.
“You good?” I ask softly.
She shakes her head, then walks right into my arms, her voice cracking as she cries, “Mi nuh okay, Jor.”
I hold her close, grabbing her gently by the waist of her jeans. “Mi know a foolishness mi do… but mi a go fix everything,” I promise. She nods against me. We pull apart, and I motion for her to sit on the sofa. She does, looking beautiful even through the pain I know I caused her.
“You go a school today?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “Mommy nuh wah have nothing fi do with me, till mi… till mi hear from you.”
I sit beside her. “Yuh wah nutt’n fi drink or eat?”
“No, mi just wah know if yuh a go support me so mi can go back home,” she breathes.
“Go back home?” I ask, eyebrows raised. She nods. “Mi nah mek yuh go home.” Nickoi calls Zara from the kitchen, clearly giving us space. I respect that. He knows how awkward and emotional this is, and he’s not the type to be up in anybody’s business.
“Feel at home, okay,” Zara says gently, and Jania nods.
“Yeah, thanks again, miss,” she replies. Nickoi calls Zara again, and Jania sits closer to me as Zara heads to the kitchen.
“Yeah baby, a something mi a bring in,” Zara calls out, and I glance back at Jania. She’s holding a rag to her cheek, eyes glued to the TV.
“Mami fawud!” Nick shouts and Zara approaches him.
There are marks on her skin. Bruises. On her face, her neck, her hands. I lift her blouse and see more on her waist.
I curse loudly, startling her.
“Who a do this to yuh?!” I ask, voice sharp.
Tears stream down her face.
She stares blankly at the TV. “Kim see mi and fight mi… and somebody go tell mommy. From that, the woman nah stop lick me even knowing mi pregnant. Honestly, mi just tired.”
I wrap my arms around her, kiss her lips gently, then place my hand on her belly. “Mi nah mek she beat yuh no more,” I whisper. “And mi a go take care of the baby… and you.”
She smiles through her tears and wipes her face. Then she leans back, and we start talking about exams, how she could maybe sit them at a private school and how we move forward from here.
Zara laughs loudly from the kitchen. She’s clearly playing with Nickoi, and I smile at the sound.
“Wah yuh say?” I ask, turning back to Jania.
She rolls her eyes playfully. “You nuh have Kim? Mi just wah yuh help wid the baby and that’s it.” Why she a bring up Kim?
“A lie that. Yuh nuh want back what we did have?” my brows pulling closer.
She sighs deeply.
“Jor, yuh lie to me the whole time say a me alone, enuh.”
I sigh too. “That inna the past. Mi change. Mi single now… and a one girl mi want.”
She hums, and I smile, but then her face shifts like something comes to her.
“Wah happen?” I ask, sensing the change.
She sighs again before answering, voice low.
“Mi nuh know how fi tell yuh.”
My curiosity spikes. “Find a way,” I say, leaning closer.
“Find a way,” I press, my eyes locked on her face.
“She go probably beat me and say mi a inform.” She mumbles, voice shaky, barely meeting my gaze. A really wah this bout? I stare at her intently, trying to make sense of it all.
“Mommy think you nah go help me and because of that she wah hurt you,”she says hesitantly, voice small, like she’s afraid the words alone could cause damage.
“Hurt me—” I’m interrupted before I can finish my thought.
“Hurt him how?” Nickoi cuts in with a cold tone that makes the hair on my arms stand. “Hurt him like see him and drape him up or hurt him like tek him points?”
JANIA
Somebody can really sound so calm yet so deadly? Damn. I’ve never felt so scared and intimidated in my life, and I’ve been through a lot of trauma. He doesn’t raise his voice, doesn’t move aggressively, yet I feel every single word.
“Eeeh wah yuh madda mean when she say she a go hurt mi bredda?” he asks again, and this time his words hang heavier.
Jordane is awfully quiet beside us, his silence adding to the weight of the moment. Mrs. Jacobs is standing beside Nickoi with a cute baby boy in her hand, it’s my first time seeing her baby.
But wait… wasn’t it twins? I swallow the thought and focus.
“Uh-uh like program him,” I say, hesitant and fearful. I’m not trying to snitch on my mother. I just think she’s making a really stupid move, and I want him to talk to her, reason with her, before this gets worse. I overheard her on the phone with a man that’s clearly not safe.
Sup’m nuh right.
“So why you a tell we this right now?” His question hits hard and fast, cutting straight to my conscience. My heart picks up momentum as if it’s racing against time.
I look over at Jordane, silently pleading for support. “Because I love him,” I confess, my voice cracking. “And I-I don’t want them to hurt him. I don’t want to live with the guilt of saying ‘if only I knew.’ So I’m letting you know… since you’re the Don.”
He breathes deeply, clearly in thought. The atmosphere tightens around us as if the room itself is holding its breath.
“Call yuh mother,” he instructs suddenly, and I scramble to obey. My fingers fumble with the phone as I put the call on speaker, silently praying she doesn’t say anything reckless. Please nuh say nothing rude, please nuh say nothing rude, I chant in my head like a prayer.
As soon as she answers, she proves me wrong.
“YUH FIND EH DUTTY BWOY YET JANIA?!” she screams through the speaker, her voice loud and raw, echoing in the silent room. Nickoi raises a brow but stays silent.
I’m trembling now.
Jordane’s eyes are glued to the TV, but I can tell he’s listening. His face is tight, jaw clenched, he looks upset… and worried.
“Mommy, calm down nuh… and yeah, mi find Jordane and he’s willing to help me,” I say quickly, hoping the news will ease her tone. But instead, she goes off again, louder this time.
“MI MIGHT NUH BOTHER SEND EH MAN DEM PAN HIM BECAUSE HIM WILLING FI HELP BUT HIM MAKE EH GYAL LICK YUH!” she yells, voice shrill and violent. I swear, she doesn’t know how to talk like a normal person. No filter, no self-control, just straight chaos.
Adrenaline floods my system when Nickoi takes the phone from me mid-rant. My mother doesn’t stop. Her voice continues, full of noise and disrespect, spilling through the speaker. I freeze, heart pounding. What have I just done?
“Mommy,” I try to stop her, but she continues.
“IT CUT ME ENUH! A NOW DEM A GO SEE A MAD WOMAN WEH NUH FRIGHTEN FI NOB—”
As soon as he starts talking, to my surprise, my mother lowers her voice.
“Hello, goodnight,” he says, calm but commanding. I slide my hand behind me. God, I hope this goes well. I hope she hears the seriousness in his voice. I really hope she doesn’t disrespect him.
“G-goodnight… a the big bredda this?” she stutters. Seems like she hear it.
“Yes you hear bout me? Hm. You a talk to Prezi mon, Jordane big bredda and if I were you mi take deh program thing outta mi head cause mi nuh ramp when it come to my family especially mi likkle bredda and sister weh mi look at like a mi youth dem…yaw hear me?” he asks.
“…yes… sir,” my mother says. That catches me off guard. This man deadly.
“So hear wah gwaan,” he continues. “Mi know from experience that whenwe deh pon we bed about to drop asleep, a deh so we think freely. So whenyuh about fi sleep, mi want yuh fi meds how far yuh think mi would go if yuh mek anything happen to mi bredda. And know this, I’m in a good mood today, ‘cause normally, from yuh violate mi family… yuh dead. But because a yuh daughter, and because mi calm tonight, mi decide fi be lenient. But mi want yuh fi really consider wah mi say. Goodnight,” his voice is low.
Calm.
But deadly.
The kind of calm that makes your blood chill.
This is Mrs. Jacobs’ husband?
That sweet, quiet woman married to him?
When he hangs up, he just walks off, no fuss, no noise, leaving us frozen.Even Jordane looks stunned.
I love my mother. But I think she needed that.
She needed to understand the danger she’s putting all of us in, ‘cause she’s not thinking straight.
I think I did the right thing telling him.
Or… saying it loud enough for him to hear.
At first I didn’t want him to know. But now that he handled it, mi kinda glad him did hear.
Still—
That was scary. I expected him to warn her, yes…
But not like that.