Page 2 of Solace in Seven
“No, it can’t.”
I straightened my posture, unsure of what was about to fly off his lips. “Okay. What is it?”
“I’m uh—I’m going to be a father.”
My brows squinched together as my heartrate started to escalate. “Omar, what are you talking about?”
“I’m sorry, Cass. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.”
I looked across the table at the man I’d shared a life and my bed with, for the past eighteen months, in disbelief. There was so much I could say, yet nothing dare made it past my lips. I tried to wrap my head around how I could go from having a heart full of love for someone to hating them in a matter of seconds. When the words finally found their way off my tongue, out came an explosion of great proportions.
“Sorry for what, Omar? Tell me you’re not serious!” He reached out for my hand, and I quickly snatched it away. “Tell me this is a joke!”
“I wish it was, but it’s not.”
“Who is she?” I asked, quickly stiffening my tone.
He lowered his head as his waves glistened under the soft ambient lighting. There was an aggrieved look across his honey brown face as if saying her name out loud would cause him pain. Omar parted his soft pink lips and mumbled, “Malaya.”
My eyes bulged as if someone had clamped off my air supply. “Your ex, Malaya?”
Instead of responding with a yes or no answer, he simply nodded his head like an introverted schoolboy.
“She didn’t tell me about the baby until February.”
“Omar, it’s about to be fucking May. Are you kidding me right now? You’ve known for months and you’re just now getting around to telling me? And of all the times to find out, it would have to be on the anniversary of our first date. Wow, fuckin’ classic, nigga,” I said, giving him a round of applause.
“Cassidy, stop it before you cause a scene.”
“Nigga, you are a scene! Are you listening to yourself? This is not a fuckin’ BET movie. This is my life! You’re fucking with my life!”
“Don’t you think I know all of that, Cass? I’ve been fucked-up over this for months now, just trying to figure out what the fuck I was gonna do.”
“Oh, so you were only fucked-up about having a baby, not the act that created the baby in the fuckin’ first place? Keep talking, Omar. You’re doing an amazing job,” I said sarcastically.
He puffed out an aggravated sigh. “So, I’m telling you this because I—I’ve decided that I’m going to move back to Florida, t—to be there for my son.”
I pressed my lips together tightly as I locked eyes on my untouched glass of water.
All I wanted was Omar out of my sight for the rest of my days. Love be damned, I never wanted to lay eyes on Omar Devante Greyson again! All the energy had been sucked out of my body to the point where I couldn’t even yell at him like I wanted, no—needed to. “Son? It’s a—it’s a boy? Wow. Congratulations. Go ahead and order another round. This drink is on me,” I said, before swiping up my glass and tossing the water right in his face.
I left him sitting in the restaurant, drenched and embarrassed as I ran back out to my car with makeup, smeared tears, and a runny ass nose like a toddler. The moment I got home, I put down roots in my bed and embedded myself in my depression for a full twelve days. I told my job there had been a death in the family, and they allowed me to work remotely when I could while I “grieved the loss of a loved one.” Little did they know, I was just mourning over my heart that had been blown to smithereens.
“Cassidy? Cass? Hello? Cassidy Jhene Stokes, answer me!” Lauryn yelled, bringing me back to the present.
“Y—yeah, I’m here.”
“You okay?”
I nodded as I hugged my knees to my chest. “It just hurts, that’s all,” I admitted, fighting back tears.
“Listen, I get it. But if he could just up and ghost you like that with no explanation then he just wasn’t the nigga for you, which means there’s someone else out there that’s better.”
“That’s cool and all, but I don’t want any man ever again.”
“Bitch, who you tryna fool? You a Stokes girl like me, and we love the D!”
Knowing she was right, I let out a soft chuckle. “Whatever!”
