20. Our Peace
Our Peace
Ihad my son home, my girl was home, my money long, my dick big. Life was back on track, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I woke up before Islah and slid out to pick her up some flowers and breakfast for her and Amir.
My girl had been through a lot, and she was far from being okay, but I was trying to get her there any way I could.
She wasn’t the only one hurting. If I could kill Gio all over for what I heard him put her through, I would.
As I moved through the city, I made a few calls, putting together a few things that I thought would help Islah feel like herself again.
When I got back home, Islah was already up and in the kitchen.
“I know you are not cooking.”
She laughed. “No, I was getting some juice.”
I kissed her and handed her the flowers.
“Good, cause I bought y’all something.”
Islah took the bags from me and pulled the food out while I called Amir down.
“What are you doing today?” I asked her.
She looked around. “Laying around the house.”
I shook my head. “Nah, mamas, I need you to get dressed. I made you a doctor’s appointment so we can check on the baby.”
She paused for a second. “Are you sure?”
“Hell yeah, I am sure. That nigga was dragging you and tossing you in rooms and shit. I want to make sure you and our baby are good.”
Amir came down, and Islah handed him his plate while looking at me worried.
“That is not all that he did.”
I stood up straight, trying to compose myself.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, one night I told him I wanted to leave, tried to walk to the front door to see if I could get out, and he tripped me.”
I closed my eyes and held my breath. “When you fell… did you hit your stomach?”
There was silence for a few seconds.
“Yeah…I did.”
I opened my eyes, and Islah looked at me sadly.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
“Girl, quit telling me you are sorry. I am sorry you went through that shit. Go ahead and eat, then get dressed. You too, Amir.”
Islah nodded, and I went to the basement, mad as bitch that I had nobody to take this anger out on, when Keith called.
“Wussup?” I said as I picked up.
“Damn, nigga, you good?”
“Yeah,” I shot back. “Just learning more and more about what that bitch ass nigga put my girl through, and it got me tight.”
“Damn, I bet it does,” Keith expressed. “But she is home now. That’s all that matters.”
“She’s home, but her mind is still in that house in Cali. She’s been having flashbacks and shit. She looks sad randomly, then she just told me that nigga tripped her and made her fall. I want to kill him all over again.”
“That’s a lot. Is she talking about it?”
“No, not since she told me and her parents what happened.”
“Damn, at this point all you can do is be there for her,” Keith said.
“I know, and I am. We are about to go to the doctor. I just want her to be okay. I know it’s gonna take time, but that nigga fucked her up more than before.”
“Ask her what she needs.”
“She needed me, and she got me. The rest of the shit, I’ma figure it out.”
I hung up with Keith and went back upstairs to check on them.
Amir was just about ready, brushing his hair in the mirror while Islah was in our room, standing in a towel.
“I don’t know what I want to wear.”
“Something that I can rip off later,” I joked.
She laughed. “I will pick this two-piece set then.”
I watched her as she did her hair and makeup. Helped her oil her body. Then watched her put on her clothes and shoes.
By the time we left the house, I had about an hour to move us through the traffic to make it to the appointment on time, and Amir asked me to stop to get him a snack. Making Islah chime in, sayin’ she wanted one too.
We made it inside the office just in time to sign her name on the paper before they canceled her shit.
Islah filled out the paper on a clipboard that the receptionist gave her while I talked to Amir about what type of chain he wanted for his mom.
As he gave me his idea, I watched Islah take the paper back up to the desk, then walk back holding her stomach.
“Are you in pain?”
“No, I’m just nervous.”
I nodded. I was nervous myself.
“I understand. I believe everything is okay, luv.”
She held my hand as we waited for them to call her name, and as soon as they did, she jumped and looked at me.
“Come on, mamas.”
She got up, and we walked through the door, following behind the nurse. They checked her weight, made her pee in a cup, then we got led to a room.
And of course Amir talked. I was glad though. I didn’t know what to say, while praying to God that everything was okay with my baby.
After a while, the doctor came in and talked to Islah for a few minutes before turning on the TV on the wall across from us and putting that jelly shit on her stomach. I stared at Islah while she had her eyes squeezed shut.
It was quiet for a few seconds. The nurse was moving the tool around back and forth and pressing shit on the screen, and then we heard it…
Our baby’s heartbeat. Islah’s eyes shot open, and she looked at me with the biggest smile.
“Babyyy!” she said softly.
I nodded and kissed her forehead.
“I told you everything was okay.”
I exhaled and looked at the screen.
“It’s still kinda tiny, but there’s your baby,” the nurse said.
Amir was all in the screen.
“Wow! This is so cool,” he expressed.
As I looked back at Islah, she had a tear coming down her face.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
She wiped her tears. “I am just glad everything is okay.”
We got some pictures printed out, made the next appointment, and left out, all of us happy as hell making beats about whether it’s gonna be a boy or a girl.
I didn’t mean to watch Islah like a hawk, but I was. She had me worried, but I didn’t want to be doing too much.
We pulled out of the doctor’s office, and I took Islah to a nail and spa joint that I saw on Instagram and pulled up in front.
She tilted her head at me.
“What are we doing?”
I unlocked the door, walked around, opened her door, pulled her out, and handed her her replacement credit cards.
“Go in there and get whatever you want and need. I want you to relax.”
She smiled at me.
“Are you serious?”
I walked her to the door and opened it for her.
“Call me when you’re ready to get picked up.”
I walked back to the car just as Amir was climbing into the front seat and pulled off. I took him to the store with me, and we got started on the piece he wanted for his mom.
My lil’ nigga was a fast learner. He asked questions about the different tools I used and when I needed to use them.
We got it halfway done to the point we could take it home to finish it by the time Islah called and said she was almost done.
After getting some dinner, we went to scoop Ishlah, and she walked out with a smile on her face.
“I needed that,” she said as I helped her in the car.
“I’m glad to hear it. I picked up some dinner.”
When we got home, we ate together, then Amir went off to talk to his lil’ girlfriend.
Islah washed the dishes while I took out the trash. When I came back in, I turned on some music and walked up behind Islah, wrapping my arms around her waist and kissing her neck softly.
“Thank you for today,” she said while putting a cup in the drying rack.
“Would you move out the city?” I asked, ignoring what she said.
“Why you ask that?”
“I don’t know,” I responded. “It was just something I thought.”
She shrugged. “Yeah, if it was worth it.”
I laughed a lil’ bit. “You know with me everything is worth it, mamas.”
Everything is worth it… A switch-up might be what Islah needed to feel like herself again. I knew how to open her up again.