Chapter 4 #2
“Jahrein Ty Braxton, you are eighteen years old. You know better. You are too old for her, and you could’ve at least worn protection.
” Red vented. “Oh my God, how didn’t I see this?
All that jealous shit you be on. All those damn passion marks.
Boy, shit works in mysterious ways. Cause you know that if Ray-Ray would’ve been here you would be six feet deep right now. ”
“I apologize, mama.” he offered in a tone that said that he was anything but sorry. Red flipped out and popped him upside his head.
“You apologize?! Nigga you gotta come better than that! You now have a mouth to feed, son. And how the fuck am I going to tell her people that my eighteen year old son got this fourteen year old child pregnant?”
“Red, don’t talk so loud.” I whispered, not wanting my grandma to hear. “We’ll just tell them once we leave the hospital.” I tried to reason.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what we’ll do. But you better pray that her mama don’t press charges against your ass.” she gritted at Jah. “With your stupid ass!” she swung at him again.
“Mama, calm down.” he grabbed her hand. “I know that you mad. But I’m going to take care of my son. You aint even got to worry about that.”
“It’s not just about you taking care of the baby, Jahrein. Raven is my boyfriend’s daughter and you didn’t have no business fucking with her!”
“That’s why I apologize. But I know that that baby is mine and I aint gon apologize for that.”
I sat silently as Red had to take a second to look at her son.
He had some nerve, but at the same time I secretly admired the love that he already had for his child.
She looked like she was about to go off again, but instead a huge smile crossed her face and then she said, “That’s the attitude your ass better have about yours.
But you still gotta deal with Ray-Ray and you’re on your own with that one.
” She shook her head. “I knew that the baby looked too much like your ass. I kept trying to convince myself that I was tripping. That’s what I get for being in denial. ”
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Jahrein stayed at the hospital with me day and night.
He was there for me the entire time and it gave me a sense of security.
It was such a scary time for me and it was comforting to know that he was there for me.
I didn’t have to deal with such a huge responsibility alone.
He would sit in NICU for hours just staring at our son, praying that his lungs grew stronger.
I was also grateful for how Red treated me.
After she got over the shock of the situation, she just vowed to be here for me.
I didn’t have to suffer through her complaining about being disappointed.
A few of our friends came to the hospital to see how the baby was doing.
Shell stopped by damn near every day, until he was released.
She would sit and watch me and Jahrein kid around.
Sometimes I’d see an uncomfortable look on her face, and I figured that it was because she didn’t like people being all affectionate in her presence.
She had a new boyfriend that was crazy about her, so I knew that she wasn’t sweating my Jahrein.
Jahrein Jr. stayed in the hospital for a month, before he was able to go home.
He gained well over two pounds. People couldn’t believe that he was even three pounds at the time I gave birth, or the fact that I went all that time without knowing that I was pregnant.
He was considered a huge baby for the circumstances.
It was all new to me, but I was trying to adjust. The baby was so fragile and I didn’t really know how to hold him.
Red had to help me with everything, but not once did she complain.
Not soon after Ray-Ray found out about the baby his friend, Big Mike, the older cousin of this cutie named Amir who I kind of had a crush on, stopped by and gave Red over a thousand dollars to buy the baby everything he needed.
Junior had a playpen/bed, walker, swing, high chair, stroller, and a load of diapers.
We actually didn't need the help, because Jahrein had gone out and purchased the baby a majority of the things he needed. I ended up with almost two of everything, which left me wondering how was Jahrein able to do that.
Needless to say, my daddy knew the entire deal.
Red said that he was pissed, but also realized too that the damage was done.
Tisha, however, had a history of being a less understanding person, so she was the last to find out.
Of course, she tried to raise hell, but the drama was short-lived when she realized the alternative for us.
She barely raised me, so she sure as hell wasn’t trying to take care of my baby, too.
That was her motivation to just let shit go and let me “lay up with a grown ass man” as she liked to say.
The things Jahrein provided for the baby shocked me at times.
All I knew was that I never had to open my mouth and ask for anything, when it came to my baby.
He'd gone out and bought his baby Jordans and Nikes. He was so attached to Junior, and was spoiling him rotten. It was like he couldn’t believe that he had a baby, judging by the way he’d hold him, and stare at him for hours.
Sometimes I had to ask him if I could just hold the baby.
That baby looked like the spitting image of him, which didn’t help with the infatuation Jahrein had with his son.
I couldn’t stop him from proudly parading our little boy around the neighborhood.
Once I had his baby the whole game changed. There was no more hiding or sneaking around, and he openly slept in the bed with me and his son. We became a couple without ever even discussing it. It was just assumed.
After six weeks, I headed back to school and got caught up with my work. Red’s mama kept Junior, while I was at school. Since, I only gained a little weight and that was gone once I had the baby, my body was still perfect. It just gave those broads another reason to dry hate.
Those bitches were coming out in flocks to fight me, once the word got out about me having Jah’s baby. I lost count of the fights that I had after school. A few hoes even tried to jump me, but I guess they never factored in Jahrein helping me fight them. But that was exactly what he did.
I was walking home with Le-Le, after missing my bus one afternoon. We were talking when I spotted the bitch Ciara approaching us with like four other girls. I thought that maybe they were just in the area, until I moved off the sidewalk and they did too.
“What’s up, lil mama?” Ciara asked me as she moved into my space.
“What’s up?” I slung my backpack to the ground, ready for whatever. “Why you walking up on me like that?”
“You know why! So, your baby is for Jahrein, huh?” she interrogated, as her dumb friends gathered around. The scary bitch Le-Le just stepped back into the background.
“You already know that, so why you asking me these stupid ass questions?” I gritted.
“This little bitch talking shit.” She looked back at her friends, laughing as she pointed her thumb at me.
“Leave that girl alone!” Amir yelled from across the street.
“You stay out of this, nigga!” she yelled back.
“So, what’s up? What’s all this for?” I backed up a little, giving myself just enough room.
“You knew that he was my man, while you was fucking him!” she shouted.
“Girl please, you wasn’t shit to him. He talked to you, and a million other hoes. Don’t try to play crazy. And I recall him breaking up with you way before I even had my baby.”
“Bitch, you’s a lie!” she shouted trying to drown me out. I guess her friends didn’t know about him dumping her.
“Bitch?” I shouted as I took steps towards her, and yanked her by the hair. She grabbed mine too, but I still managed to push her head into my knee. On impact blood spewed from her mouth, but suddenly I felt a punch to back of my head. Ciara lost the grip on my hair, as I pulled away.
Punches were coming from everywhere and I found myself swinging at anything in my path. I’d try to focus on one chick and daze her with a hard one, but right then somebody would blindside me. Then some girl gripped my hair and slung me on the ground. She placed all of her weight on me.
“Y’all got me fucked up!” I heard a dude say. Everything was happening too fast to pick up on the voice. Then the girl that was pulling my hair was lifted off of me.
I struggled to my feet and realized that it was Jahrein who had lifted the girl.
She tried to take a swing at him, but he ducked and countered with a mean one to her jaw.
She dropped to the ground. I took that opportunity to stomp that bitch.
Then one of her girls ran up on me, and hit me in the back.
That's when I spun around and threw a right.
“Raven, dazed that bitch!” somebody shouted from the sidelines.
Just then two other girls ran up at the same time. Before they could swing Jahrein picked one of them up and body slammed her to the ground. I tackled the other chick to the ground, and slammed her head repeatedly into the concrete.
“Damn!” a bystander shouted.
The girl was now bleeding from her head, but I wouldn’t stop pounding her. “You bitches want to jump me!” I lashed as she gave up on the fight.
“Raven, let her go.” Jahrein commanded, as he pulled me off of her.
After he succeeded in pulling me away from the girl, her friend ran to her aid. “Jahrein, you’s a punk ass nigga! Out here fighting on girls!” she screamed as she helped her girl stand up.
“Bitch, I don’t give a damn! I wasn’t gon let y’all jump her! You can believe that!” he spat.
Ciara still had blood dripping from her mouth when she tried to run up on Jahrein. “I hate you!” she cried as she took a swing at him. With one punch he dropped her to the ground. I moved in and kicked her like twice, before he pulled me away.