22. Saint
FRIDAY
Blessing had been acting weird as hell these past few days.
She’d blamed it on her period, but deep down, I knew there was something else bothering her.
The episode of Stats & Soul dropped a couple of days ago, and it worked in our favor.
The blogs had been devouring it, and Mariah was no longer the victim.
I was just glad the bullshit was finally over.
Today I was heading to Georgia with my mother to meet with the director of the mental hospital to identify the man who could be my father. I asked if we could see a picture and save us the trip if it wasn’t him, but they claimed it was against policy.
“Bless.. what’s wrong?” I asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She’d been spaced out for the past few minutes.
“Saint.. We need to talk. I cannot keep this shit from you and ruin what we have going on.” She responded. Her words caused my stomach to drop.
I sat down on the bed, pulling her into my lap. Her soft body relaxed against me. “Whatever it is, I promise I won’t be mad.”
“When I tell you this, it has to stay between us. Okay?” I nodded. “Serenity is pregnant-”
“What the fuck do you mean Serenity is pregnant?!” I cut her off before she could continue. My blood immediately started to boil.
“Saint, please. Let me talk and don’t interrupt me.”
“Aight.”
“She’s pregnant by the guy she’s been seeing, and she’s not ready to be a mother. Her best option is to terminate the pregnancy, and she asked me to take her. I told her that I couldn’t do that, but I’d come with her to talk to you and Mama.”
I almost smiled when she referred to my mother as mama. “Who’s the father?”
“I’ll let her tell you that. Please don’t say anything to her yet. She’s really fragile right now. Just wait til she’s ready.”
“Hell naw, Blessing. She had no business having unprotected sex. She knew the fucking consequences. This shit is not cool. On my mama, I’m killing whoever got her pregnant.” I removed her from my lap and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
“SAINT!” Blessing yelled, following behind me.
She pushed the door open, putting her hands on her hips.
“Look, I know you’re upset, but she’s a teenager.
She’s going to make mistakes. You can’t hold this shit against her.
At least she’s smart enough to get an abortion instead of being a teen mother. Just let her talk to you.”
I sighed, running a hand across my face.
“You’re right. I’m just so disappointed in her.
I didn’t even know she was having sex, bruh.
I know she’s almost 18, but damn. Nobody wants to know their little sister is having sex.
Mama gave her ass too much freedom. Ever since she got that car, she can’t stay her ass in the house. ”
“You’re her brother. She’s never going to tell you things like this.
Journey tells me everything because we’re sisters.
Serenity doesn’t have a big sister she can go to.
I guess I’m the closest thing she has to a big sister.
That’s why she was comfortable enough to talk to me about it.
Everything is gonna be okay. Now, finish packing. ”
“Thank you for not hiding this from me, baby.” I leaned down and pecked her lips. “And thank you for being a safe space for her.”
“I lov- I care about you too much to keep something like that from you.”
I chuckled. I noticed her slip-up, but decided not to bring it up. Shit, I love her ass too, and she’d know it soon.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” The stewardess asked after handing me a glass full of bourbon.
“No, I’m good. Thank you.” I took a sip of my drink and glanced over at my mother.
She was sleeping on the sofa. I chartered a luxury private jet from my homeboy Gavin.
Gavin owns a luxury rental service with some of the best jets, cars, and even yachts.
I took another sip of the cool brown liquor and relaxed in my seat.
The flight was only two hours, and we were an hour away from landing.
I couldn’t even pretend like I wasn’t nervous.
This visit could potentially change our entire lives.
In the back of my mind, I was still seething about Serenity being pregnant.
My sister is too smart to be this reckless.
I wasn’t even aware that she had a fucking boyfriend.
I wasn’t mad that she was having sex. It was rare for people in her age range not to be having sex.
This new generation is different. Social media and music so easily influence them.
This is her senior year. She should be focused on graduating and enjoying her teenage years.
Scheduling an abortion should be the last thing she’s worried about.
I’m thankful that Blessing told me what was going on.
I could tell keeping it from me was bothering her.
She communicates so well, and it’s one of the things I love the most about her.
With all the shit going on around me, she’s my peace.
Our road trip wasn’t coming fast enough for me.
I couldn’t wait to make her my girlfriend.
Shit, I was tempted to skip the whole girlfriend phase and just make her my wife.
I’ve been in love with her since the first time I laid eyes on her.
I never thought love at first sight was real until I saw her.
If the time had been right, she would’ve already been my wife, and Sage would’ve been my daughter.
But God knew I wasn’t ready for her. He sent her to me when the time was right.
I tightly gripped the steering wheel as my knee bounced.
My chest filled with panic the closer we got to the mental hospital.
My mom hadn’t said a word since we’d gotten into the rental car after getting off the jet.
I gave her hand a small squeeze as we pulled into the parking lot of the facility.
There were only a few cars in the area. The city was small, like Brindleton Bay.
I held the entrance door open for my mother, allowing her to walk in first. As soon as I stepped inside, I felt uneasy. The facility had a musty, moldy smell, reminiscent of mothballs.
“Hi, I’m Jackie Simmons. We spoke earlier about Seba— I mean John Doe.”
“Oh yes. He’s already waiting in the conference room with Dr. Henson.
You two can follow me.” The director, Adrienne, said as she stepped around the front desk.
Her eyes lingered on me for a second before turning to lead us down the hall to the conference rooms. She added an extra sway to her hips, assuming I’d be watching—I wasn’t.
My mom glanced up at me as we stood outside the door to the room. I rubbed her back in reassurance before walking inside. The doctor was seated at the head of the table. John Doe was sitting across from him, with his back towards the door.
My heart sank when he turned to face us.
My mom let out a soft cry and hurried out the door.
The man in front of us was not my father.
I gave the doctor a quick head nod before following behind her.
I felt like shit for getting her hopes up just for us to end up disappointed and heartbroken. We still had no answers.
“I’m sorry Ma. I really thought it was him.” I apologized, pulling her into my arms. Her body was stiff in my arms as she bawled into my chest. This shit was my fault, but it could’ve been avoided if they’d just sent a photo and saved us a useless trip.