Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Karsyn
“Well, Ms. Curr, it seems that you are indeed with child. And judging from the measurements, you’re about nine weeks along.” Doctor Connor’s attention was on the black and white screen while I stared intently at her.
At no point in my life did I ever think I’d be here like this alone.
I wasn’t one of those girls who planned their family or even their wedding day.
As a matter of fact, after witnessing the mess between my parents firsthand, I didn’t believe in marriage, let alone happily ever after or even finding and belonging to one person.
I was anti-love and anything that remotely resembled it.
Then one day I was somewhere I shouldn’t have been and a man I shouldn’t have crossed paths with stepped in.
My story with Posydiann was what it was but I couldn’t harp on it.
I had to feel it and move on, with what I guessed would be a little piece of him.
As the doctor babbled on and on about things I had never considered or thought of, I felt out of place. This was all so messed up because the only thing I could think about was Posydiann. Why did I feel guilty for doing what was best for me when he did the same?
When he called me yesterday, I was completely thrown and enraged because he had done to me what every man and my family was guilty of.
He made a decision for me, not giving me the chance to say yes or no.
What also made me mad was the fact that he’d called in the first place and I answered.
What was him calling going to do? I probably should have told him I was carrying his baby, but again, what would that have done?
Posydiann and I were nothing but a toxic cycle, tumbling through to the end because we were actually done.
It hurt to believe that, but I knew it, and the last thing I’d ever do was put a baby on him to keep him.
What would it solve besides putting my child in the middle of a situation so similar to mine that it awoke trauma I didn’t know I kept within.
I was sure Posydiann loved me and I sure as fuck loved him too but he said that wasn’t enough.
“We’ve got everything we need and everything looks normal in there. We’re gonna get you some prenatal vitamins prescribed at the front and get your next appointment scheduled,” Doc said as she moved around the room, then turned the lights back on.
I nodded. My words were kind of lost, just like my mind right now. Once I was decent and had the excess gel off my abdomen, the doctor left the room and told me to meet her up front.
I felt so alone. Like being alone hadn’t bothered me before, but now it felt deafening.
My thoughts weren’t the safest place these days, especially when the plan I had put together in my head ultimately meant I’d possibly be marrying someone who would raise and love my child like it was their own depending on how my meeting went in a little bit.
My stipulation to tell my father yes was that I had to meet this guy by myself.
Because in all honesty, I needed to gauge him.
After I set up my next OB appointment and gave them the address to the closest pharmacy to my home, I left Founders and headed to pop up on my twin to let him know I was not only alive, but pregnant.
I didn’t really keep things from him besides the whole I might be getting married to save your ass thing.
That, I’d probably try to take to my grave, because I knew Junnie wouldn’t tell him or anyone for that matter.
KB’s was right up the block from where I was meeting my possible fiancé, so it gave me time to either leave Kolton shocked or receive a long ass lecture. Either one I was prepared for, because at this point life had dealt me a hand of cards most would’ve folded on.
I parked my car and glanced down at the little black and white sonogram image. Regardless of everything, I loved my baby already. So I was willing to do whatever to ensure his or her safety and wellbeing.
I walked into KB’s a few seconds later. I stood at the front, eyeing the semi-busy space before my eyes landed on my brother seated in his normal crescent-shaped booth with a laptop and stack of papers in front of him.
Kolton worked too freaking much, but when you had a narcissistic asshole as a father, you had to.
I was greeted by Duke, his security guard, as I approached the table. It was then that my brother looked up. He was shocked to see me. My guess is he thought I was probably crying in my condo.
“Damn your hair is combed out, you don’t look pale, and you look like something. Tell me my pep talk worked without telling me that it worked.” He grinned.
I shook my head, sliding into the booth across from him.
“Hmph. It did something.” I shrugged.
“Ginny, get my sister a glass of Chardonnay.”
“No thank you. I’m not drinking for a while. Sparkling water is fine, Ginny.” I sat back against the royal blue velour back padding and looked at him.
“You’re not drinking.” He cut his eyes from the papers in front of himself to me. They held questions.
“Nope, when was the last time you saw me drink?”
He shrugged. “Didn’t you do some type of thirty-day bullshit? Thought that was over.” His attention was back on the papers.
“It is, but currently I can’t because I’m pregnant.”
His face scrunched up and he tilted his head forward. The papers no longer had his attention. I had all of it. “Run that by me again? I think I’m hearing shit and I’ve been trying to go through this zoning paperwork for the last few hours.”
I reached into my purse and pulled out the sonogram then handed it to him.
He studied it for a while, expression unreadable. “You told him?”
“Nope. Not into using a baby to keep a nigga, especially one who doesn’t wanna be kept.” I shrugged.
“But this is his kid. It changes everything.”
“Not for me. I gotta do what’s best for me and this baby. Potentially putting it in a situation similar to what we grew up in is not what’s best.”
His eyes were still on the sonogram. “I’m not following.”
“I love him. God knows I do, but he told me to stay away from him and keep my distance. Our father killed his uncle, now I’m not a street person, but I’ve thought about this over and over. He broke me because he didn’t trust me enough to think I would choose him.”
Kolton set the sonogram down and granted me his eyes.
“Don’t look at me like that. You’d choose a fork over our father.”
He chuckled. “Hm, you’re right about that, but I’m me and you’re you. We got different hearts, sis.”
“Maybe, maybe not. But I can sit here and tell you honestly I would have chosen Posydiann over our father in a heartbeat. However, I wasn’t given the choice, so I have to do what’s best for myself and this baby.”
Kolton shook his head. “I don’t like this, but you’re my sister and I’ma support you regardless.” He then extended my sonogram back to me.
I accepted it and put it into my purse. Maybe I’d go home and frame it or some corny mess like that.
“What baby?” I heard a familiar voice and looked up from the table. Of course Amethyst was standing there with a puzzled expression on her face.
“Pause, what are you doing here?” I cut my eyes from her to my grinning brother.
“I’m here to meet with him about the interior designs of his lounge with the expansion. Now don’t change the subject. What baby, Karsyn ‘I go missing on my friends’ Curr?”
I laughed. “The one I’m carrying. But I cannot get into that right now. How about I schedule a catchup session with you and Patience very soon.”
She pursed her lips. “As soon as this weekend because I feel like I missed some things. And I need to get caught up.”
“Yep, sounds like this weekend it is, Purp, because your little pretty ass is on the clock.”
Amethyst waved him off.
I glanced down at my watch, seeing it was time for me to head out for my meeting. “Speaking of, I have a meeting I need to attend at the restaurant down the street, so I’m gonna leave my car here and head there.” I slid out of the booth and hugged Amethyst.
“With whom?” My brother’s eyes were on me immediately.
“Probably my future. I’ll call you later.”
He sent me a mug but nodded. “Don’t fucking forget either.”
I nodded.
“I’ll be waiting on that call. Don’t have us pull up on you. I know where you stay,” Amethyst threatened, bringing a smile to my face.
“Oh, I know you do.”
I left the lounge and headed to the restaurant up the street. I didn’t know what to expect because I had never done anything like this before. This was sorta like a blind date. I didn’t know how this man looked, all I knew was I was meeting him here. Damn, it sounded sketchy.
When I walked into the restaurant, I smiled at the hostess. “I’m meeting somebody here. Seth Morris.”
She smiled immediately. “Oh right this way, Mr. Morris is waiting for you.”
When I was told this restaurant, I immediately assumed this was casual because Junnie and I ate here plenty of times.
We ate in the main dining hall, nowhere near where she was leading me.
We went through a set of sliding doors then out a set of garden doors and took a left before we found the awaiting private patio.
“I don’t care about any of that and you know I don’t. As long as the money is good, I’m good.” I didn’t see his face because he was facing the windows.
Then he turned around and the most beautiful set of hazel eyes landed on me.
Shit, he was beautiful, something I didn’t expect.
His features looked carefully structured, a broad forehead with cheekbones from the gods.
His skin was the richest shade of medium brown with light texture to his complexion.
Those almond shaped, hazel eyes gave off the most intense stare as his full lips sat against one another.
He sported a short fade with a curly textured type of hair that connected to his precisely trimmed mustache.