Chapter 17 #3
She took the baby in her arms and smiled. “So, so, so beautiful. Hi, you! Hi, beautiful,” she cooed. Pearla looked up from rocking the baby. “Girl, you made a beautiful-ass baby. OhemG!” she squealed, making me laugh.
“Thank you.”
“Hey babyyyy. You are everything, for real.”
Watching Pearla rock and speak to the baby had me feeling relieved in a sense.
Since I’d walked through the hospital doors, I felt like my life was over, and I’d committed the ultimate act.
Blayke and I had been sitting around, and I felt like I had to pee.
As soon as I stood, water gushed from my leggings and then blood.
I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t know what was happening.
Once the cramps tore through my body, I screamed for her to take me to the hospital.
The nurse had poured life into me, and now Pearla had come in bearing gifts and offering friendship. I needed this, and I hadn’t even known I did.
“Did it hurt?” Pearla asked with wide eyes.
I winced, remembering the labor pains, the confusion, and the baby ripping through my vaginal walls. I even felt them stitching me up. I was in and out of it, but I felt and heard everything.
“Hell yes!” I imparted.
“Oh my God! Yeah, issa no for meeee!”
We both laughed.
“I’ll just love on this cutie and my sister’s baby and all the other babies being born in the family.”
“Yes, do that.”
Pearla’s smile dropped. “You know your life isn’t over, Glee. Right?”
“I hope it isn’t.”
“I know it isn’t. My sister had a baby younger than you, and while I’m not trying to shit on your situation, we had nothing.
Everyone is going to help you. I know I am, and I know your sister is too.
My girls, Bella and Mahzeyah, will help too.
The three of us do everything together. They even wanted to come up with me today, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. You got us—all of us.”
“Thank you, Pearla. I need y’all.” I held back my tears. I was so tired of crying.
Taking Pearla in, I couldn’t believe the girl I’d seen on TikTok with famous people was sitting on my bed.
My sister was famous in a sense, too, but Pearla and her friends had been seen with rappers.
She was as pretty in person as she was online; all of the women were, and it was embarrassing as hell that my first time meeting them had been when I was in labor.
“I told myself… I was never stepping foot back in this hospital. And yet, I did today. I'm so glad I had.”
“Why, what happened?”
Pearla sighed. “My ex is here. He’s in a coma, a few floors up. Long story short, I fell for a man who was constantly telling me to wait on us and to focus on my future. I fell anyway against his warnings and ended up hurt. Found out he's married.”
Her story sounded exactly like mine, except Leader wasn’t married. However, he wasn’t exactly single when I fell for him, and against his warnings, I fell hard.
“My baby fatherGosh, that sounds weird to say.” I blinked back tears.
I never thought I'd put him and baby daddy in the same sentence. At least, not right now. “He told me to focus on school, but that didn’t stop me from handing him my virginity like it was a two-for-one coupon. He’s in jail now.
He was riding with his first baby mama, and she had drugs on her. He took the charge.”
“He did what now? Oh no, that bitch would have had to take her own charge.”
“Right. But that’s not who Leader is. He would never fuck over someone he cares about.”
Besides him being in jail and us breaking up, what hurt the most about the whole situation was Leader really stepping up. That showed he loved his baby mama to some extent. I didn’t fit into their world, and that’s why I made my exit. Now, here I was with a whole baby.
“That sounds like Grind…” Pearla’s face fell, and many tears rolled down her face. I couldn’t stop mine either. We were two young girls in the room crying together.
“Life… It’s fucked up, ain’t it?” she asked.
I nodded, not being able to verbally answer her.
“But it’s okay. We’re going to get through it, Glee. Together. This cutie won’t hurt like us. Never.”
I nodded again.
Using her shoulder, Pearla swiped at her tears. “Let me stop crying. I done made you cry, and next the baby will be crying. Can’t have that.”
Pearl’s phone began to ring. Using her free hand, she pulled it from her pants and rolled her eyes at the screen. Using her pinky finger, she swiped the button, connecting to a FaceTime.
“Damn, bitch! Let us see the baby! You already got us up early as hell waiting on an update.” I heard a voice ring out before the black box connected to show a face.
Someone kissed their teeth. “Right! Let us see!”
“First, y’all need to speak to the mama.”
Pearla held the phone up and flipped it so I could see.
Tucking my messy hair behind my ears, I waved at two pretty girls.
One was lighter than me but had a bonnet on her head, while the other was chocolate, pressing out her hair in the mirror.
I could see a cheer uniform on her body and wondered which school she went to.
“Hey, girl!” the darker one spoke first.
“Oh, you’re pretty. Hey, boo!” the other said before Pearla turned the phone back around.
“Y’all so rude. The one in the cheer fit is Mahzeyah, and the other is Bella.”
“I’m big mad I gotta do cheer camp on the weekends and all summer,” Mahzeyah fussed. “Now, let us see our baby before I have to go.”
Pearla looked at me for confirmation. When I nodded, she held the phone over the baby.
Squeals erupted from the phone as the baby still slept peacefully.
“Y’all too loud!”
“My bad, my bad! That baby is so damn pretty! The niggas really gonna be on us with a baby riding shotgun. You know they love playing stepdaddy to bad bitches.”
“Bella, please!” Pearla rolled her eyes with a grin.
I loved their dynamic, and it made me miss my own best friend. I hadn’t heard from Blayke, which meant her parents had taken her phone.
“What’s the baby’s name?” Pearla asked.
Licking my lips, I inhaled and exhaled, repelling all the negative thoughts and feelings.
I didn’t know how he’d feel about it, but only one name came to mind. “Her name is Leader.”