CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It had been three fucking days since I showed Jokah that pregnancy test, and he hadn't called me once. Not one fucking time. I stared at my phone before calling him again. It rang until his voicemail picked up. I hung up.
"Okay."
I opened our messages.
We need to talk about what we're going to do.
Jokah, I'm serious.
Both messages showed as read, but he didn't respond. I tossed my phone onto the couch.
"You got me fucked up."
I didn't expect him to come running back to me just because I told him I was pregnant, but damn. I expected him to at least have a conversation with me, ask some questions, or give me something to let me know where his head was. Instead, he was acting like I'd told him I changed my fucking hair.
I picked my phone back up and opened Facebook. It didn't take long to find Kaior's page. She had posted new pictures, and the more I scrolled through them, the more irritated I got.
She was still living her life like nothing had happened. Going to work, posting pictures with her sisters, smiling and carrying on like everything was perfectly fine. I went to Instagram and found more of the same. And from what I could tell, she was still with Jokah.
That was the part I didn't understand. I had just told this man I could be carrying his child, yet somehow, I was the only one whose life seemed to be standing still.
If I told some bitch's nigga, I was pregnant by him, I would've expected all hell to break loose. I knew Jokah well enough to know that he already told Kaior, so I knew she knew. One thing I could say about him was he wasn’t a liar.
He would tell the truth even if it hurts your feelings.
Yet she was still there, smiling and posting like what I said hadn't changed a damn thing. That was the part pissing me off. What the fuck was it going to take to get this bitch out of the picture?
Then again, maybe he hadn't told her. That thought made me smile at first, but the smile didn't last long.
Whether Kaior knew or not, Jokah still hadn't come back to me.
I clicked on one of her pictures and stared at it.
What the fuck was so special about her? She wasn't ugly.
I'd never lie and say she was, but neither was I.
I'd been there first. I knew Jokah before she even knew he existed.
After two years together, I knew what he liked, what irritated him, how he moved, what he ate, and how he slept.
I knew his family, his friends, and the life he lived.
I knew him. But yet and still, I was the one on the outside looking in.
I stared at Kaior's picture for another few seconds before backing out of Instagram. Then I made a call. He answered after a few rings.
"Yeah?"
"I need a favor."
"What kind?"
I looked back at Kaior's picture.
"I need you to find something out for me."
"About?"
"A bitch."
He was quiet for a second.
"That's gone cost you."
"I got it."
"What you need to know?"
"For now? Her routine."
"Routine?"
"Where she goes. Who she be with. Shit like that."
Another pause.
"You got a picture?"
"Yeah."
"Send me what you know."
"I will."
I hung up.
Then I sent him Kaior's picture. Maybe I couldn't figure out what Jokah saw in her. But I could figure out everything else.
By the time our last patient left, I was ready to go home. I grabbed my purse and headed toward the front.
"Alright, y'all. I'm gone."
"Bye, girl," Jasmine called from behind the desk.
"See you tomorrow," Will said.
"Bye, everybody."
A few more goodbyes followed me as I walked out of the office. I dug through my purse for my keys while heading across the parking lot to my Infiniti. I got inside, tossed my purse onto the passenger seat and pushed the start button. The lights came on, but the car didn't.
"What the hell?"
I pushed it again and nothing happened.
"Come on."
I tried one more time but still got nothing. I sat back in my seat and stared at the dashboard.
"You have got to be kidding me."
I didn't know shit about cars outside of putting gas in them, getting my oil changed and calling somebody when a light came on that wasn't supposed to be there. So, I did exactly that. I called Jokah and he answered on the second ring.
"What's up, baby?"
"My car won't start."
"Where you at?"
"Still at work."
"What is it doing?"
"Nothing. The lights come on, but when I push the button, it won't start."
"Don't keep fucking with it."
"I only tried it three times."
"That's enough."
I rolled my eyes. "Okay, mechanic."
"You know what the fuck wrong with it?"
"No."
"A’ight then."
I laughed. "Well, how am I supposed to get home?"
"I'm working. I'll have Hulk come get you."
"I can call an Uber."
"For what?"
"To get home, Joaquin. That's generally what people use Uber for."
"You ain't getting in no fucking Uber. Hulk coming."
"Jokah—"
"Kaior."
I sighed.
"Fine."
"I'm sending somebody to get the car too."
"Can we at least figure out what's wrong with it before you start sending people?"
"That's what they're gonna figure out."
"Oh."
"Exactly."
I smiled.
"Thank you."
"Mhm."
I looked at the dashboard again.
"I hope it's nothing expensive."
Jokah was quiet for a second.
"Sound like it's time for you to get a new car anyway."
"Excuse me?"
"You heard me."
"My car doesn't start one time and now I need a new one?"
"Yep."
"There is nothing wrong with my car."
"The motherfucker won't start."
"Today!"
He laughed.
"Jokah, I'm serious. I like my car."
"You can like another one."
"I don't want another one."
"We'll see."
I narrowed my eyes like he could see me through the phone. "What does we'll see mean?"
"It means Hulk on the way."
"That is not what that means."
"I gotta go, baby."
"Joaquin."
"Love you."
I paused.
He knew exactly what he was doing.
"Don't use that to get off the phone."
"Did it work?"
"No."
"Love you."
"Love you too."
"Stay inside till Hulk gets there."
"I'm sitting in my car."
"Go back inside."
"Why?"
"Because I said so."
"Oh my God."
"Kaior."
"Fine. Bye."
"Bye, baby."
I hung up and grabbed my purse. “Bossy ass.” I was pouting but my ass got out, locked my car and headed back toward the office. Jasmine looked up when I walked through the door.
"Didn't you just leave?"
"My car won't start."
"Damn."
"Exactly."
"You need a ride?"
"No. Jokah's sending somebody."
Her eyebrows went up.
"Must be nice."
I laughed. "Until he gets on your nerves."
About twenty minutes later, my phone rang. It was Hulk. “Hello.”
"I'm outside."
"Coming."
I told everybody goodbye for the second time and headed out. Hulk was waiting near the entrance.
"Hey, Hulk."
"What's up?"
I pointed toward my car. "She's sick."
He looked over at it. "Jokah got somebody coming."
"I know."
I climbed into Hulk's truck and buckled my seat belt.
"You hungry?"
I looked at him.
"No."
"Jokah said make sure you eat."
I shook my head and laughed. "Of course he did."
"You hungry or not?"
"Yes."
"What you want?"
I thought about it.
"Wing Stop."
"A’ight."
He pulled out of the parking lot, as I settled back into the seat and grabbed my phone. A text from Jokah was already waiting.
Jokah: Hulk got you?
Me: Yes, Daddy.
Jokah: Fuckin’ right I’m yo’ daddy (winking emoji)
I laughed at his response and put my phone down.