23. Ozyris Brentley
Noree was lying across my chest with one arm draped over my stomach. My fingers moved lazily up and down her bare back as I stared at the ceiling.
She lifted her head and looked toward the crib on the other side of the room. Oaklynn was still sound asleep, completely unaware of anything happening around her.
“How the hell did you get somebody to bring a crib over here so fast?” Noree asked, pointing toward it.
I laughed. “I have my ways.”
“Well, I appreciate you for doing that. I usually don’t let her sleep in the bed with me because I don’t wanna have to worry about her trying to go on one of her little journeys.” She laughed and lowered her head back onto my chest. “That girl loves trying to get off the bed by herself.”
“Baby girl is adventurous,” I kidded.
“Too adventurous.”
We laughed for a few seconds before I tightened my arm around her.
“Nah, I just wanted to make sure y’all were comfortable.”
“I see you bought her a whole bunch of toys too. That girl does not need another toy. I’m always stepping on something and hurting my damn feet.”
“That ain’t got nothing to do with me. Watch where you walking.”
She lifted her head and cut her eyes at me.
“Yeah, okay...”
We both laughed again.
Once the laughter faded, the room grew quiet. Noree gently rubbed her hand up and down my chest before looking at me.
“Well, I guess I can’t continue being your nanny after this, huh?”
A laugh left me. “I already told you I didn’t want you to keep being my nanny anyway.”
“I remember.”
“I want you and Oaklynn around without you feeling pressured to work for me just to make money. When I say I got y’all, I got y’all. At the same time, I know you independent, so that’s why I didn’t give you too much pushback.”
“Yeah, I don’t know how to be anything but independent. I don’t even play like that.”
“I know.”
I reached for her hand and locked our fingers together before bringing it to my lips and kissing the back of it.
“Listen, love. Like I said, I’ll leave the decision up to you. But I don’t want you feeling like you gotta be the nanny. I want you to be my woman.”
A smirk tugged at her lips.
“Damn. I put it on you that good?”
I laughed. “Actually, you did. Better than the last time. You had a nigga’s eyes rolling to the back of his head and shit.”
“Shut up.”
I kissed her forehead as she settled against my chest again.
We were just getting comfortable when my phone vibrated on the nightstand.
“Hold on for a second.”
I leaned over Noree and grabbed it. The brightness from the screen made both of us squint.
“Damn,” she complained, shielding her eyes.
“My bad.” I chuckled.
I glanced at the notification.
My heart skipped a beat. “We got the DNA results back.”
Noree immediately lifted her head. “Damn, that was quick.”
“Yeah, hold on. Let me pull it up.”
I opened my email and tapped the message from the lab. It took a few seconds for the attachment to load.
I started reading it aloud.
“Based on the genetic markers analyzed...”
The document shifted as the rest of the page loaded.
My voice trailed off when my eyes landed on the conclusion near the bottom of the report: The alleged father is excluded as the biological father. Probability of paternity: 0.00%.
I stopped breathing for a second. My eyes moved over the line again, but the words didn’t change.
“What?” Noree asked.
I didn’t answer.
“Ozy, what does it say?”
I swallowed hard and stared at the screen. “She’s not mine.”
“Huh?” she shouted.
Noree pushed herself off my chest and sat up, pulling the covers over her naked body.
I sat up too and rubbed my hand down my face.
“Hold up.” I looked at the report again. “She ain’t mine?”
Her eyebrows pulled together. “What are you talking about?”
I turned toward her. “So, you fucking lied to me?”
“No! What?” Her face twisted in confusion. “That has to be wrong. I wasn’t with anybody before you.”
“Nah, it sounds like you tried to trick me, love.”
“Ozy, don’t do that. I did not trick you. She looks exactly like you. What the hell are you talking about? Let me see it.”
She reached for my phone, but I pulled it back.
The phone started ringing before I could say anything else.
I glanced at the screen but didn’t pay attention to the name.
“I feel stupid as fuck,” I said. “I’m sitting here talkin’ ’bout taking care of y’all and building a family with you. I really believed she was my daughter.”
“She is your daughter Ozyris!”
“According to these muthafuckin’ results, she ain’t!” I yelled, my voice echoing.
“No... Ozy, let me see it!” she begged.
The phone continued ringing between us. I looked down at the screen again, ready to silence the call, but the caller ID stopped me.
WESTbrIDGE MEDICAL CENTER.
My stomach dropped. I answered immediately.
“Hello?”
“Hi, may I speak with Mr. Ozyris Brentley?”
“Yeah, this is him. Is my uncle straight?”
“This is Nurse Dana Collins calling from Westbridge Medical Center. Mr. Marcus Brentley went into cardiac arrest again. His medical team was able to revive him, but this episode was more severe than the first. His medical team is preparing to take him back for additional imaging and treatment. I wanted to contact you so that you would be aware of the change in his condition and...”
“I’m on the way.”
I ended the call and threw the covers off me.
“What’s going on?” Noree asked.
“Something happened with my uncle.”
I grabbed my sweatpants from the floor and pulled them on. Noree climbed out of bed with the sheet wrapped around her body.
“Is everything okay?”
“Unc went into cardiac arrest again.”
“Oh my God.”
I picked up my white tank top and pulled it over my head without looking at her.
She hurried over and reached for my arm, but I pulled away before she could touch me.
“Ozy, can you just wait one second, please?”
“Look, I’m ’bout to go check on my family. We’ll talk about this shit later.”
“But…that test is wrong.”
I shoved my feet into my shoes.
“Ozy, please…”
I looked at her one last time.
Her eyes were filled with tears, and the sheet was clutched tightly against her chest.
I shook my head and headed out.
“Ozy!” she called after me, but a nigga kept walking.
Luckily, the key fob to my Urus was still in my pocket from when I’d followed the ambulance earlier. When I got back to the main house, I hopped in quickly, not even thinking about a fucking seat belt, while security scrambled to follow me, running to their cars.
I couldn’t even think straight. Oaklynn wasn’t mine. The shit with Unc. PB still hadn’t called me back, and Noree’s ass was a fucking liar.
Everything was happening at once, and I felt like I was about to lose my fucking mind.
The front gates started opening, and I sped through without stopping.
My grip tightened around the steering wheel as I pressed harder on the gas. Anger burned through me until my entire body felt hot.
Images of Reesie flashed through my mind. Then my mother. My father. Uncle Marcus lying on that floor with security surrounding him.
“Fuck,” I mumbled. “I can’t lose nobody else.”
My eyes burned, but I blinked the tears away and focused on the road.
I picked up my phone and called PB again. It rang several times before going to voicemail.
“Bruh, what the fuck? Call me back! The fuck you got going on? I need you bruh. Call me as soon as you get this shit.”
As the voicemail ended, another call came through.
I pulled the phone away from my ear. Noree was calling just as I hit a fucking pothole while exiting the neighborhood. The phone slipped from my hand and fell near my feet.
“Shit.”
I glanced down and reached toward the floorboard.
A horn blared, and my head snapped up. Bright headlights filled my windshield.
BOOM!
TO BE CONTINUED...