2. Aaliyah #2
I nodded, then grabbed some of my things from the drawers and stuffed them in the bag with my dress. “I’ll get the rest of my things later.”
He nodded, then followed me out of the room to take me to my car. My car was still at the clinic. When we got to the garage, I glanced at the hood of his vehicle, then said, “Send the bill to me when you get your vehicle fixed.”
“Girl, I’m leaving that dent there. I’m gon’ miss yo’ sexy ass.”
I bit my bottom lip, doing my best to contain my emotions, then got in after he opened the door. I sat back in the seat and closed my eyes until I heard him say, “I’m just gon’ bring the water hose in this muthafucka.”
I giggled. My fluids were every damn where.
He reached over and grabbed my hand and held it as he drove to the clinic.
When he parked next to my car, neither of us moved.
I didn’t want to show my vulnerability or that I felt more for him than he even realized, so I quickly turned to him, and said, “It was so good while it lasted, Royal. I’m gonna miss you too. ”
Immediately after, I opened my door and slid out of his SUV, grabbed my things, and hightailed it to my car.
When I saw him hop out, I tried to move faster.
I wasn’t fast enough though. He caught me and held me tightly.
I pushed away from him and quickly got in my car before I threw up everywhere.
I swallowed my emotions and cranked my engine to head home.
I gave him one last look and backed out of my parking spot.
If he didn’t know how I felt about breaking things off with him before, he definitely knew now.
The only time I’d dropped tears in front of him was when we were having sex and when PJ died.
I refused to allow them to drop over a sexual relationship that was more to me than I let on.
When I got to the highway, I peeled out of the parking lot like Street Racer, then allowed my tears to flow.
I was gonna be sick anyway from holding them in.
I needed to talk to my mama. She was never judgmental of my decisions, but she did offer sound advice.
She knew how I was living, so there was nothing to really hide from her.
When I turned in my driveway, as if hearing my thoughts, she was on my porch with her phone in her hand.
She stood when I zoomed to the back of the house.
The second I stepped out of my Mercedes, I ran to the bushes and threw up everywhere.
When I felt her caressing my back, it only caused me to cry more, which produced more vomit.
She left me where I was and went and unlocked the back door.
She came back with a towel and a cold bottle of water.
That shit had splashed on me. I began undressing right there.
I kicked off the flip flops I had at Royal’s house and poured water on my feet, then went to the porch in my bra and panties.
Thankfully, my washroom was at the back door. My mama brought my things and threw them in the washing machine, then joined me in the kitchen as I rinsed out my mouth.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
I took a deep breath, and said, “Royal isn’t the father. We won’t be seeing each other anymore, because he said it would be disrespectful to whoever’s children I’m carrying.”
She pulled me in her arms. She was the only one who knew just how much Royal meant to me. After consoling me for a while, she asked, “Who’s the father, baby?”
“I don’t know. I was pretty sure Royal was. There was only one other man that I remember around the time of my conception date, and he didn’t cum inside of me. I don’t know what to do, Mama. I messed up so bad.”
“Try not to focus on that, suga. The most important thing is that you are bringing two beautiful babies into this world who will need the best version of you. In the meantime, we can call and ask the DNA center to reevaluate the specimens. If they need another sample, y’all can provide that.”
I closed my eyes. “I don’t want Royal to know that I don’t know who my babies’ father is. I must look like a ho. I hate this.”
“Leelee, it’s not like his rep is squeaky clean. He can’t accuse you of being that without accusing himself as well. You aren’t a ho. You just like sex. There’s no crime in that. Now if you’re messing around with married people, then we have to talk about that.”
She used to call me Leelee all the time when I was little. I was her precious angel back then. Hearing her call me that now, let me know how emotional she was feeling. I gave her a tight smile. “No. I draw the line at that. I don’t need any more drama than I already have.”
“You love him?”
“No, but I was definitely on my way to that. He was going to want to be with me if the babies were his. He never said so, but I could tell. He was being extremely tender with me, and his sex was more passionate. I know he has feelings for me. We’ve been doing this dance for over two years.
He’s the only man I was with consistently.
I hate that we didn’t consider how we felt for each other before all this. ”
“You live and you learn, baby girl. You’re still young, so consider it a lesson learned. Ashanni called, looking for you. She’s worried about you.”
Between Ashanni and Kambel, I didn’t need any other close friends.
Kambel was my oldest brother, Asad’s sister on his mother’s side.
Kambel may as well had been my sister too.
She was at the wedding as well, but she wasn’t a part of the bridal party.
She wasn’t as close to Noni. They were rarely around each other, since she lived in Liberty and was younger than me.
It wasn’t like Noni was the easiest person to get to know.
She was extremely standoffish. I noticed she was getting better with that, especially since she found out she was pregnant.
“I’ll call her back. She called while I was with her brother. She gives really good advice too.”
“I’m sure she does. Y’all were a lot alike before she started dating your brother. She told me as much.”
I nodded. She’d told me too. I stood from the couch, and said, “I’m gonna go take a shower. I’m freezing.”
“Okay, baby. I came to check on you. I love you. If you need to talk, you know I’m only a call away.”
“I know, Mama. I love you too. I was actually thinking about you on my way here.”
She smiled and kissed my forehead. “See you later. I’ll lock up when I leave out.”
“Okay. Kiss my daddy for me.”
“I will. He was looking for you.”
She left out the back door and when I heard it lock, I made my way to my bedroom.
I loved this barndominium. This was my brother’s place.
He moved in with Noni and told me there was no sense in me paying rent or living with my parents.
I could live here. I surely didn’t want to own my own home right now.
That was too much responsibility for me right now.
So I moved in within days of him saying that.