Wren
THREE MONTHS LATER
When I got the news about Big John, I thought I was gon’ be more upset than I was, but turns out, he’d burned that bridge.
It didn’t bother me that he was gone. I cut off all communication when it came to him.
After I bumped into him and his family, I placed him on the fucking block list. I’m not sure when his funeral was or who even went.
Uncle Trayvon wasn’t even dealing with him.
After Maniac told me what he’d done, nothing else was spoken about Big John again.
I’m closer to my due date now and I’m more nervous than ever.
Solei and the family planned us a baby shower.
I’m hoping that everything goes well unlike the gender reveal.
Instead of having it at the house, they rented out a venue.
I’m not sure what anything looks like. I was told to find something pink to wear and leave everything else up to them.
Aria was even in on it a bit. I’m assuming they brought her in to see what I actually liked.
It's now warm outside and I’m so glad that the cold months were over.
I’d be burning up in some of my clothes, trying my best to keep warm, while having hot flashes from being pregnant.
These days, I’ve gotten to the point where I barely want on any clothes.
I wasn’t spending much time out of the house.
Maniac ripped me away from my job a couple months ago, so I hadn’t been there.
Since I haven’t been able to go to work, I’ve been putting plans in motion for the building that he’d bought me.
It took me some time to figure out if I wanted to open a library or bookstore.
“What’s taking you so long to get dressed?” Maniac asked me from the doorway, grasping me from my thoughts.
“Sorry, I got a bit sidetracked. Can you put my shoes on for me?” I asked him, dangling my silver Christian Louboutins.
Maniac entered the room and kneeled in front of me. Gripping one of my shoes, he lifted my foot and slipped it on then clasped it. The way this man handles me with care is insane, especially since I know how he does everyone else. Somehow, I’ve managed to get a soft spot in this man’s heart.
He took the other shoe and slipped it on. The pads of my fingers trailed his jawline. Our gaze locked. “You’re so handsome when you’re taking care of me.”
His lips curved just a lil at one corner first, then the other followed softening his whole expression. “Oh, so only when I’m taking care of you, huh?”
“No, but especially when you’re taking care of me.” His lips parted and I covered them with mine to shut him up. “Let’s go,” I said when our lips peeled apart.
Gripping me by the hand, he helped me to my feet. I’m not even sure why I’d put on heels in the first place to go somewhere, knowing that my feet gon’ be barking within the next thirty minutes.
I grabbed my clutch off the dresser and we exited the bedroom. When we got downstairs, all of the cats were standing outside the bedroom door except for Zilla. “What’s going on down there?” I asked Maniac.
“Nothing,” he quickly replied, pulling me toward the door, causing me to trip over my own feet.
“Where’s Zilla?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Pulling away from him, I headed toward the cats to see what was going on.
When I got to the doorway, I saw Zilla taped to the wall.
“Maniac!” I slapped him against the chest and went into the room.
The cats followed me. Reaching up, I ripped the tape from the wall and Zilla slowly peeled away from it, tumbling to the floor.
“Now, why would you do this?” I questioned him as Zilla dropped to the floor. I’ve reached the size in my pregnancy that I couldn’t bend down like that, so I wasn’t able to pick him up and make sure that he was all right.
“That mufucka bad as fuck. You be letting him play you.”
“Take that tape off my cat.”
Maniac eyed me before leaning down and ripping the tape off Zilla’s back. It removed a couple spots of his fur, and I gasped.
“We’ll discuss this later,” I told him and left out the room with him right on my heels.
The baby shower was fun. I liked watching everyone play the games.
Unlike the gender reveal, everyone had a good time.
There were so many gifts that was bought.
Some which couldn’t even be brought into the building because they were so big.
I’m grateful for everything that everyone has done for my lil family.
When I was brought into this family, I never thought that they’d love me and treat me as if I was one of their own, but that’s exactly what they did.
These people welcomed me with open arms despite what everyone else had to say about them.
I don’t think I would rather be a part of another family.
“You okay?” Luxe questioned me, bringing me from my thoughts. Everyone was still mingling and talking even though the baby shower was winding down.
“Yeah. I’m so grateful for everything that y’all have done for us. I can’t thank y’all enough.”
Luxe waved me off. Girl, you’re bringing the first heir into the family, you’re lucky they didn’t go harder than this.”
“I can’t imagine anything more than this.”
“Trust me, it’s possible.” She patted me on the shoulder and then walked away from the table.
Everyone started leaving while the men packed up a moving van with all the gifts. We didn’t make it through everything that was bought. I’d go through it another day and have everything set up in the nursery so that it’ll be ready by the time the baby gets here.
“How are you feeling?” Liliana asked when she sat down at the table with me.
“My feet are killing me.”
She snickered. “I don’t even know why you didn’t just put on some flat shoes. You should’ve known better than that.”
“I thought they were cute and it went perfectly with my dress.”
“Girl, you’re pregnant. You shouldn’t be worried about no fashion. Your main concern should be being comfortable.”
“I think you’re right.” We both laughed.
“The truck just left for the house,” Maniac announced when he made it to the table. “You ready to head home?”
“Absolutely,” I told him and lifted to my feet. “I can’t wait to make it home and get in the bathtub. Hopefully, I make it there the way these yawns are tearing me up. “Goodnight, Mrs. Saint-Mercier.” I pecked her on the cheek.
“What I told you about calling me that. It’s Ma or Liliana.” Her lips slipped into a grin.
“I’m sorry, Ma.” Liliana is the first woman I’ve ever been able to call Ma.
It was strange and I had to get used to it.
Maniac took me by the hand and led me out the door.
He opened the passenger door for me, and I climbed into the car.
Soon as he shut the door and rounded the car to his side, I heard gunshots.
I wasn’t able to drop down like I wanted to because of my big ass stomach.
Metal pierced the side of the car. More gunshots rang out before I heard tires screeching.
I pushed the door open and climbed out the car to go around and make sure that Maniac was all right.
My heart thumped rapidly in my chest as I rounded the car. I released my breath when I saw that he was fine as he stood there with his gun in his hand.
“You alright?” He looked over at me and asked.
“I think so. What happened?”
His eyes shot to my arm, and he levitated over to me. “You been shot!”
“What! Oh my God, I’m gonna pass out.” I looked down at my arm and saw blood coming from it. “Lord, someone shot me.” My mouth slacked. I was so worried about him that I hadn’t noticed the pain ’til he said something.
“I need to get you to the hospital.”
He looked over at the car that had several bullet holes riddled in it. I’m surprised that I wasn’t shot more than once. “Am I hit anywhere else?” I asked him, spinning where he can check out the rest of my body.
“I don’t see anything.”
“What’s going on?” Liliana asked when her and Bishop exited the building.
“Someone just shot at us. Wren’s been shot. I need to get her to the hospital.”
“We can take y’all,” Bishop offered. He already examined the car and knew that it didn’t need to be on the road in that condition.
Maniac scooped me up into his arms and carried me over to Bishop’s car. He placed me in the back passenger seat and climbed in next to me. Bishop hopped into the driver’s seat and sped out of there.
“How’s the baby?” Liliana looked back at me and asked.
I gently rubbed my stomach, trying my best to keep myself as calm as possible. “It’s fine, I think.”
“Don’t get too worked up. I don’t want your pressure to go up,” she replied.
I think it’s a lil too late for that. I’ve just been shot for the first time in my life.
That bullet could’ve hit me somewhere else.
It could’ve killed me or my baby. For someone to shoot at us after our baby shower, it just lets me know that they wanted to take either me or Maniac out.
Everyone else left there peacefully. That hit was for us.
“Who would want to kill us?” I questioned Maniac. He had his phone up to his face, probably making moves. Me being shot was the worst thing that anyone could’ve done. I actually feel sorry for them. Once he gets his hands on them, there’s no telling what he’s gon’ do to those people.
“I don’t know, but I’m damn sure gon’ find out. How ’bout you just worry ’bout you right now. I got everything else.”
Bishop pulled into the parking lot of Jackson hospital, which was the closest hospital.
He stopped in front of the emergency entrance and ran into the building.
From where I sat, I saw the guard stop him at the metal detector.
He removed his gun from his waistline and backed up toward the door.
“She needs help! She’s been shot!” he yelled, running back to the car to place his gun inside.
The way he was moving, they probably thought that he was the one who shot me or something.
The guard talked into his walkie talkie and got up from his seat. He poked his head out the door to see Maniac pulling me from the back seat. “My wife has been shot. She needs a doctor right now,” he told them as he carried me inside.
“Do you have any weapons on you too?”
“Fuck all that shit. Get her a mufucking doctor before I give you a fucking reason to be worried ’bout a damn gun.” He walked straight through the metal detector and it went off and carried me over to the double doors. “What the fuck are you staring at? Open the fucking door, nigga.”
The guard looked from us and to the people behind the glass window and then pressed the door for it to unlock. Maniac carried me into the back and into the first empty room that he saw. A nurse rushed into the room behind us.
“What’s going on?” she asked as he placed me on the bed.
“My wife been shot. She needs a doctor.”
“Shot where?”
“Are you fucking blind? Do you not see the blood coming out of her arm?” He thumped her in the center of her forehead for asking him that stupid ass question.
“Sir, you don’t have to be rude. I don’t see any blood pouring that indicates a gunshot wound. I was just trying to see where the wound was.”
“So, you don’t see that blood?” He pointed to my arm. She looked at me and then back at him.
“Sir, it’s not bleeding as much as a gunshot wound would be.” Stepping over to me, she took a closer look at my arm. “It’s just a graze.”
“You mean to tell me that I didn’t get shot?” To say I was relieved was an understatement. Maniac was about to cause me to have a heart attack up in here. I’ve never been shot before, so I didn’t know how the pain would feel from it. I was just going off of what he’d said to me.
“No, ma’am. We just have to get you cleaned up and patched up.”
“Thank God.”
She grabbed her supplies and then came back over to the bed where I was. I sat there as she cleaned my arm and wrapped it up for me. Once she was done, Maniac walked me out the room to the discharge station and we got out of there.