Chapter Eleven- Sofia #2
“Tell Yusef all is well. We just need him to let us know for himself that he has your best interests at heart. I could do with some ice cream. What about you?” My mother suddenly changed the topic. I made a face at what she asked.
“At this hour? It’s almost 1am,” I said, looking at the time on my phone.
“I never knew there was a particular time to eat ice cream,” My mother said, making a face as she got up from the bed.
I laughed and stood up along with her. I looked at Rocki and knew it was safe to leave her alone for a bit.
Both my mother and I walked toward the bedroom door, and I pulled it open.
Standing on the other side was Dior. She looked as though she was about to knock before I opened the door. The moment I looked at her, I knew something was wrong.
“Dior, is everything alright?” I asked, reaching for her hand. She shook her head and then reached for her stomach.
“No, I’m in so much pain; I think I need to go see a doctor,” she said before doubling over as she whimpered softly.
“Oh shit, is it the baby? Sofia, grab your car keys; we’ll take her to the private hospital. It’s the nearest,” my mother instructed me. I didn’t waste any time as I did as I was told. Running to my dresser, I grabbed my car key before walking toward Rocki.
My mother had her hand around Dior, holding her up as she continued to complain of sharp stomach pains.
When Dior got home earlier, she had a busted lip.
She explained to both my mother and me that her stepfather had done it.
Apparently, when he slapped her, the force was enough to knock her to the floor, and now here she was, in pain. This could not be good for her baby.
“I think you will have to leave Rocki with Tomasso, Sofia. I will need your help getting Dior down the stairs.” I looked at my mother in horror because I didn’t want to do such a thing.
“Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
“Do you really want to argue about this now? Put Rocki on the bed with her grandfather, and let’s get Dior to the hospital.” My mother’s voice had switched from motherly to don’t fuck with me, so I knew she was not playing.
Sighing loudly, I got Rocki’s favorite blanket and walked over to my parents’ bedroom. Tomasso was sound asleep, and I placed Rocki next to him before gently nudging him awake.
“Daddy,” he opened his eyes slowly and immediately looked a bit panicked because he probably believed something was wrong.
“What’s going on? He asked, trying to sit up, but I placed a hand on his shoulder to keep him still.
“Nothing, I just need you to keep an eye on Rocki for me. We need to take Dior to the hospital,” I explained what was happening.
“Is Dior alright? Is Buddha back yet?” My father asked, looking at his sleeping grandchild beside him.
I knew he didn’t know that Dior was pregnant, and it wasn’t my place to tell him.
“Um, she’s just experiencing a little pain, but I’m sure she’s fine.
Buddha isn’t back yet; we’ll call him when we get to the hospital.
If Rocki wakes up, just call me, alright, and I’ll come straight home,” I said, bending to give my daughter a quick peck on her cheek. She didn’t even budge.
“I’ve raised three children, Sophia. I think I can watch a sleeping baby. Call me and let me know how Dior’s doing,” My father said before I kissed him on his forehead. I promised him I would, and then I hurried back to my mother and Dior.
“Ok, let’s get her to the hospital,” I told my mother. Standing on the other side of Dior, my mother and I took our time as we descended the stairs to take Dior to see a doctor.
“I swear if Lewis makes Dior lose her baby, I’m encouraging Buddha to kill that man. He was spared once; he will not be spared a second time.” I know my mother meant every word of what she said.
*****
I blew out a frustrated breath. We had only been sitting here for ten minutes, but it felt way longer. Dior was attended to immediately, the beauty of a private hospital. She was warded, and now my mother and I were in the waiting area to find out how she was doing.
I had called my father three times since I left Rocki with him.
The third phone call had my father telling me that I was the most irritating of his three children.
He warned me that if I called again, he would be taking me out of his will.
It was safe to say Rocki was still asleep.
I turned to my mother as she toyed with the earring in her ear.
When we got here, she demanded everything be done to save Dior’s baby, because on our way to the hospital, Dior mentioned that she was spotting.
That was the reason she decided to come knock on my door in the first place.
“She’ll be fine, mamma, and so will the baby,” I said, reassuring my mother, reaching for her hand.
“I knew something should have been done about Lewis from the start, or none of this would have happened.” From the worried look on my mother’s face and the sadness in her eyes, I could tell just how much she really liked Dior.
My mother rarely liked anyone, so it was nice to see how much she appreciated having Dior as her daughter-in-law.
“Stop stressing, will you. Look, I’m about to get something from the vending machine. Do you want me to get you something?” I asked, getting to my feet. I looked down at my mother and waited for her to say if she needed a drink or a snack.
“Na, I’m good. Did you manage to get in touch with Phillipe?”
“No, but I’ll try again. I couldn’t get Vincent either,” I told her.
I walked toward the vending machine to get a soda.
As I stood contemplating what drink to get, my phone began ringing in my jeans pocket.
Believing it was probably Yusef, since I had called him earlier and he hadn’t picked up, I thought he was returning my call.
However, when I took out my phone, "Private" was displayed on my screen. I hadn’t gotten a private call in a minute. As a matter of fact, I had no clue that was still a thing. Maybe it was Buddha returning my call from the airplane.