38. Blessing
I traced my fingers along Saint’s chest as we lay tangled in our sheets.
My eyes landed on the diamond that sat heavily on my finger.
I couldn’t stop staring at it. The ring was beautiful.
The diamond sparkled every time I moved.
I knew Saint was up to something with all the pampering he set up for me, but a proposal was the last thing I expected.
I should’ve been excited, but a part of me feared that this relationship would end like the last. We moved fast, we hadn’t even been together a year yet, and I was already pregnant and now engaged.
“What’s on your mind, baby?” Saint asked, massaging my ass. I hadn’t told him about the baby yet. I kept racking my brain for the perfect announcement. But there was no better time than now.
I climbed on top of him, immediately feeling his dick harden as his eyes traveled my naked body like we hadn’t spent the last few hours making love. If I weren’t pregnant already, I would’ve been after tonight.
“I have to tell you something..” I whispered, staring down at him.
His large hands squeezed my thighs as his eyes locked on mine. “Is it bad? I don’t want to ruin our perfect night. Let’s enjoy this for a few more hours.”
I shook my head, “I just planned on telling you differently, but.. I can’t keep holding it in..” I removed his hands from my thighs and placed them on my flat stomach.
Saint’s eyes went from my face to my stomach, then back up. He gave me a questioning look, “Bless…”
I nodded as my eyes clouded. “We’re having a baby.”
“Is this what you want? Baby, we don’t have to keep it if you’re not ready.”
“I want this. I know I said I didn’t want two kids under two, but I want this baby. I want it all.”
His hands never left my stomach as he sat up and smashed his lips into mine. My arms went around his neck as he slipped his tongue into my mouth. “Thank you, Bless baby. Thank you so fucking much.”
A few days later, Saint was seated next to me at my OBGYN appointment, flipping through a parenting magazine. I was able to snag an appointment with my doctor quickly due to a cancellation. I just prayed I was actually pregnant and this wasn’t a false positive.
“Blessing Carter,” The nurse called, looking around the waiting room. She smiled when her eyes landed on me. Saint and I both stood to walk towards the back. “Good to see you, Blessing. You look amazing, and you’re glowing!” She gushed.
“Thank you, Cierra,” I responded. She’s been working here since I had Sage, so we were very familiar with each other. “This is my boy—” I laughed, catching myself. “My fiancé, Saint Simmons.”
“Girl, I know who he is! Nice to meet you, Mr. Simmons. Huge fan here. We’re going to the Super Bowl next year.”
“You know it. Nice to meet you, too, Cierra.” He shook her hand and chuckled. After checking my vitals and taking my weight, she escorted us to an examination room and left a cup for a urine sample.
The paper on the exam table crinkled underneath me as I shifted. I was trying not to gag at the smell of antiseptic. A knock on the door caused my eyes to shoot up. Dr. Inez stepped inside with a bright smile on her face.
“Hi, Blessing. Hi, Saint.” She greeted, turned to Saint, and stuck her hand out. “I’m Dr. Inez. I delivered Sage.”
He shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, Doc.”
“So, your urine test came back positive for pregnancy. How are we feeling about this? I know Sage is only a year old.”
“We’re excited. It wasn’t planned, but I’m not upset about it.”
“That’s good. Let’s take a look at the baby. Lay back and lift your shirt, please.” She instructed, then dimmed the light and took a seat on her stool.
I did, slightly shivering as the cold air hit my skin.
“This is going to be a little cold,” She warned. I flinched as she spread it across my stomach.
Saint chuckled, causing me to glare at him. He threw his hands up in mock surrender. The room grew quiet as she moved the wand across my stomach. The screen was nothing but static for a moment, then a small shape appeared. The sound of a heartbeat filled the room.
Saint leaned forward and grabbed my hand as he stared at the screen. “That’s our baby?” He asked.
Dr. Inez nodded and smiled. “Yes. The heartbeat is very strong, too.”
His eyes never left the screen. I was looking everywhere but the screen, holding in tears as I tried to process the fact that I was carrying another baby. I prayed this pregnancy was better than my last.
Dr. Inez moved the wand around again, her facial expression slightly shifting. For a moment, she paused and tilted her head before moving the wand again. My stomach dropped, and my mind immediately thought the worst.
“What?” I asked quickly. “Is something wrong?” Saint’s grip on my hand tightened.
She didn’t respond right away. Instead, she pointed at the screen. “You see that?” I squinted at the screen and nodded. I was a little concerned about how developed the baby was already. “And this?” She shifted the wand and pointed again.
“Mhm?” My heart pounded in my chest.
“There are two babies.”
The room fell completely silent, and I repeatedly blinked, allowing tears to finally fall.
“Tw- two fucking babies?” I whisper-shouted.
“Ain’t no way.” Saint chuckled, shaking his head.
“Yes. Twins. Both twins are in the same sack, so they are identical. You’re about twelve weeks along. Both babies look healthy.” She said gently before standing to turn the lights back on.
“Twelve weeks? That’s impossible! I’ve gotten two periods. Yeah, they were light, but they were still periods. Oh my— I’ve had alcohol more than a few times.” I cried.
“Relax, Blessing. Cierra is going to come in and take a few blood samples. As far as alcohol consumption, you should be fine. Don’t stress about it. Both babies have really strong heartbeats, and they are growing exactly how they’re supposed to.”
“When can we find out the gender?” Saint asked. The smile on his face didn’t make my worried expression.
“If you want, we can do a blood test. You’ll have the results back in two to three days. Otherwise, we can wait until our next appointment in four weeks.”
“I want the blood test,” I said quickly.
Saint and Dr. Inez both laughed.
“Perfect. I’m going to get these pictures printed out, and they’ll be at the front desk when you schedule the next appointment. Congratulations!”
“Mannn.” Saint dragged with a whistle. “God knew what He was doing. Twins, man.”
“You happy?” I asked, pulling my leggings up over my stomach.
“Happy?” He repeated, stepping closer to me.
“Bless, we’re about to be parents of three.
God blessed me with more than what I prayed for.
I’m more than happy, baby.” He leaned down, pressing a kiss to my forehead, then to my lips.
Then to my stomach. “I know y’all probably can’t hear me yet, but daddy loves y’all already. ”
I laughed, wiping my tears. “You’re insane.”
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be.” He kissed me one last time.
“Your hips are spreading already. I cannot believe you’re having twins!” Chanel said, spinning me around.
“Seriously. You have that pregnancy glow, too. You won’t be able to hide it for much longer.” Taryn added.
I groaned, sitting down. “I know. I’m not looking forward to the weight gain. It’s like as soon as we found out we were having twins, I suddenly had a bump.” Saint didn’t even want me to come tonight, but there was no way I was going to miss Dru’s listening party.
Dru’s meeting with the record label went great, and they were negotiating a deal.
To say I was proud of him would be an understatement.
His weekly freestyles haven’t stopped going viral.
It was only up from here. The small venue he rented for the occasion was decorated nicely.
The room was only big enough to fit about fifteen people.
That was the only reason Saint allowed me to come.
“Y’all good over here?” Dru asked as he walked over with Saint and Rome. Messiah was across the room with a few of the niggas that worked for him. Kaia was glued to his side. She spoke once and hadn’t said a peep since. I made a mental note to talk to her about her distance soon.
“Yeah, we’re fine, babe,” Chanel said, kissing him.
I smiled, admiring their relationship. For a long time, Chanel ran from love.
While I was away for college, Chanel fell for some guy and swore off love.
She never told me who he was, only that he wasted her time and never wanted to experience hurt like that again.
“Since we’re all here right now, Blessing would like to ask y’all something,” Saint announced. Everybody turned to look at me.
“Okay, since we’re having twins, we figured they’d need two sets of godparents. Sooo, Taryn and Rome, baby A would love for you two to take those roles. Dru and Chanel, baby B would like to extend the same invite.”
Of course, everyone agreed, and of course, I shed a few tears.
These babies were making me so emotional, and I wasn’t feeling it.
After a while, the listening party started.
Every song was great, and it could tell that all the guests were feeling it.
Dru performed one song, and of course, Chanel was on stage next to him, rapping every word.
“I wanna thank everybody for showing up for me tonight. This shit means everything to me. First, I wanna thank God. Shout out to my nigga Moo for encouraging me to follow my dreams. I love you nigga. Messiah and Rome, thank you for believing in me. Last but not least, my love. Chanel, I love yo—” before he could finish his sentence, the door swung open.
My stomach dropped. Adonis stood in the doorway with his gun aimed at me.
Saint immediately shoved me behind him. Everything happened so fast. Gunshots rang throughout the room.
Screams erupted, and my body hit the floor.
Saint’s body was on top of mine, protectively.
The sound of a body dropping caused a sob to escape my lips.
So many of my loved ones were in this room, and all I could do was pray that we all left safely. Moments later, the gunshots stopped.
A wail sounded throughout the room. A voice I knew too well.
Saint jumped from the floor and rushed to the other side of the room.
Against my better judgment, I followed behind him.
Nothing prepared me for the sight in front of me.
Chanel was kneeling beside Dru with her hand pressed to his bleeding chest.
“Dru, please. Please don’t die, baby, I need you!” She cried.
“Fuck. Fuck. FUCK!” Saint yelled, pressing his hand on top of hers.
Blood dripped from the side of Dru’s mouth as he stared up at the two people who meant the most to him. “I-I love y’all.” He mumbled as his breathing slowed. I could hear sirens in the distance.
“EVERYBODY OUT THE WAY!” The paramedics yelled as they rushed into the room. “One dead. One injured. Critical condition. Get a stretcher in here.” One said into their walkie. I knew the dead body was Adonis.
“I need both of you out of the way.” The female paramedic said.
“No!” Chanel cried as Saint tried to pull her away. “No! Please, I can’t lose him. Please!” She sobbed as Dru was lifted onto a stretcher.
“Ma’am, we got him. I need you to move so we can do our job!”
“Come on, Chanel,” Messiah said, lifting her. She fought against him. He tightened his grip on her as she thrashed in his arms.
“LET ME GO! DRU! DRU BABY I’M RIGHT HERE.” She cried, reaching out to him as the paramedics rushed him outside to the ambulance. My chest was so tight I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Saint…” I whispered, tugging his arm. He didn’t respond. His eyes were locked on the paramedics. His jaw clenched so tight I thought his teeth were going to crack.
“Saint,” I called again. His eyes snapped to me.
“Fuck Bless!” His eyes filled with tears as he examined me. “Yo’!” He called out to the paramedics. “My wife is pregnant! She needs to get looked at NOW!” He yelled.
Across the room, Chanel dropped to her knees the second Messiah loosened his grip.
“He can’t die.” She sobbed, rocking back and forth. “He can’t fucking leave me like this!”
Taryn rushed over to Chanel, pulling her into her arms. Rome was right beside her.
Hours Later..
The hospital was cold. Being here reminded me of the night Seven was killed.
Life had a funny way of coming around full circle.
After the doctor checked the twins, I was discharged and joined everyone in the waiting room.
Hours passed. Miss Jackie had joined us, and she hadn’t stopped praying since she set foot inside the hospital.
Dru didn’t have any relatives. His pops was still in prison.
His mom ran off when he was a kid. His grandmother died years ago. We were his only family.
Saint’s hands caressed my stomach as he stared off into space. I couldn’t even form words to comfort him because deep down inside, all this shit was my fucking fault. The realization caused my eyes to leak.
The doctor didn’t even have to speak when he stepped into the waiting room. The solemn look on his face told us everything. My stomach dropped. Chanel’s cries filled the air before he could even open his mouth.
“No…no…no, no,no…” She chanted, shaking her head as she backed away from him. “You’re lying! He can’t be gone!”
“Ms. — I’m so sorry. We did everything we could—”
Her scream cut him off. The sound sent daggers to my heart. It shattered with hers. I felt Saint begin to tremble next to me. Taryn wrapped her arms around Chanel in an attempt to comfort her, but I knew nothing would help.
Rome ran a hand down his wet face. Messiah slammed his hand against the wall. Saint pulled me against his chest and wrapped his arms around me. His hand immediately went to my stomach.
My chest caved in as guilt wrapped around my throat.
I should’ve told Messiah. I shouldn’t have tried to handle Seven on my own. If I didn’t involve Rell. Symone would still be here, and Dru wouldn’t be dead. Everything was my fucking fault. All this blood was on my hands.
A sob spilled from my lips. “Saint…” I cried softly, gripping his shirt.
He pulled back and looked at me, his own eyes filled with pain. His face softened. I knew he could sense me blaming myself.
“Nah, Bless. This shit ain’t on you.” His voice cracked before he broke down.
He was wrong. This shit was on me. I felt it in my soul. Just when we thought we’d finally found peace. Life showed us how it’ll never be fair. My best friend had lost the love of her life, and my fiancée lost his brother. The family we built had taken a loss.