Page 48 of Whatever It Takes
I blushed, propping the phone up while I changed back into the cotton sundress I’d worn. “I miss you too, baby.” I loved how he always referred to me as his lady. We hadn’t made things official yet, but I knew it would happen soon. There was no reason to keep things a secret anymore since the cat is out of the bag.
“Aight, love, I’m about to head into the weight room. I’ll see you tonight. I’m taking you and the girls to dinner.”
“Okay, baby, see you later.” I blew him a kiss before ending the call.
I thanked the valet attendant as he passed me the key to the rental car I’d been driving. I made sure Sage was secured in her car seat while Journey loaded our bags into the trunk. I went to open the driver’s side door, but stopped when I felt eyes on me. I glanced around the parking lot until I locked eyes with the person I’d been avoiding for the past few months. My heart sank as his dark eyes pierced into mine. I quickly got in the car and sped off. He had to be following me. There was no way he’d be out in the open knowing people were looking for him.
“Girl, what’s wrong?” Journey asked, looking over at me, concerned.
“Nothing.. I’m just going to cook at the house since Saint is taking us out to dinner tonight.” I pulled out of the parking lot, making my way home. I was glad I lived in a gated community, so there was no way for him to get through undetected. But I wasn’t confident that he wouldn’t find a way in.
“Ooo, can you make a turkey BLT on those croissants? That would be so bomb.” She said, as she hooked her car up to the aux. A smile spread across my face as soon as I heard the beat of the song she was playing.
“Ahhhh, I haven’t heard this song in so long!” I snapped my fingers to the beat and danced in my seat, “Maria mariaaaaashe remind me of a westside storyyy” I sang along to the music. Journey joined in, swaying.
“Maria, you know you’re my loverrrr. When the wind blows, I can feel youuuu, through the weather!” She sang, pointing a finger at me. Sage wiggled in her seat, giggling.
I sucked in a breath, blinking away tears. When we were younger, our mom would dance around the house with us while this song played. We’d probably listened to it every single day. I heard Journey sniffle from the passenger seat.
“Please don’t cry, Jour. Fuck. I miss them so much.” I reached over and rubbed her arm. I didn’t bother to wipe away the tears that had fallen. Our parents were taken from us too soon. My heart ached every time I thought about waiting outside of school for them to pick me up, and them never showing up.
“It’s not fair, Bless. They won’t even get to watch me graduate.” She wiped her tears and sighed.
“I know. But Me and Messiah are going to show up every single time. We’ll never miss anything important in your life. We can’t replace them, but you’ll never be alone as long as we’re alive. I love you. Okay?”
“I love you too, Sissy.”
The rest of the ride home was silent. I could tell she was in deep thought. Once we made it home, we ate lunch and lay on the couch, catching up onCake Wars.
“Blessing..” I heard Journey call out.
“Yeah?”
“I have to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell Moo.”
I sat up, turning to face her. “Jour.. what’s going on?”
She pulled her phone out and started a FaceTime call.
“Hello?” Serenity answered.
“You can tell her. She won’t tell Moo..” Journey said before passing her phone to me.
“What’s wrong, Ren?” I questioned. Her eyes filled with tears. Her face was pale, and her hair was a mess on top of her head. I immediately knew what was wrong with her before she even told me.
“I’m pregnant. I don’t know what to do, and I have no one to tell. I can’t have this baby. I’m too young to be a mother. I can’t do this.”
“Serenity.. what the hell.” I groaned. They just sprung this shit on me and expected me not to tell my man. We were in a great space, and keeping this from him would cause problems neither of us needed right now. “Who’s the father?” She broke out into a sob and dropped the phone. I turned to look at Journey. She looked away. “Alright, somebody’s going to have to tell me something. I can’t help you if I don’t know everything.”
“Pee is the father.” Serenity finally said.
I blinked slowly, not knowing if I had heard her correctly. “Nah, Ren.. Pee who? I know damn well you’re not talking about that grown ass man Pee that runs with my brother. Are you crazy?!”
“I didn’t know his real age until after we’d already had sex. He told me he was 19!”
I scoffed and shook my head. Pee was the same age as me. He had no facial hair and a baby face, so he could easily be mistaken for a teenager. “Jesus Christ. Ren… you can’t keep this from Saint. Shit, I can’t keep this from him. Look, your mom and brother will be gone this weekend. They have some business to attend to. We can discuss it with them when they come back.” Serenity had no clue about her father possibly being alive and it wasn’t my place to tell her.
“I can’t tell them who the father is.. I love him so much. I don’t want anything to happen to him.” She cried.
