Page 59 of Dom 5: The Finale
“Carmen,” the doctor said gently, pulling my attention back. “We’re going to do everything we can to keep you stable, but I need you to understand that if the bleeding gets worse or if the baby goes into distress, we’re going to have to deliver her.”
Keondra moved closer to the bed immediately and grabbed my hand. “Hey,” she said softly. “Hey, look at me.”
I looked at her through my tears. “You gotta be strong,” she whispered. “Do you hear me? You gotta be strong for your baby. We can’t be weak in this life; you told me that now get it together. You can do this. I know you can. ”
I shook my head. “I’m so scared. I’m terrified and nothing terrifies me.”
“I know.”
“I need Dom.”
“He’s coming. I know he is.” She assured. I just stared at her and she said it again. “He’s coming,” she repeated firmly. “You know he is and when he get here, he gon’ be right here with you but right now, you gotta hold it together.”
I nodded even though I didn’t know if I believed in myself. Another nurse came into the room after that with paperwork and more monitors. Everything was just moving so fast with people talking, the damn machines beeping, and the doctor giving instructions. Keondra was still holding my hand and through all of it, all I could think about was the tiny little girl on that screen.
O’SHYNN ROYAL
When the pilot’s voice came over the speaker to tell me we were getting ready to land, I had already looked through my text thread with Malik enough times to make myself sick. Only to see the same unanswered calls and the same messages sitting there looking stupid with the same little gray “Delivered” underneath my last text that had been there for almost two months now and all that one said was ‘Call me back’ and he still ignored it.
I sat in the black leather seat near the window with my legs crossed, my phone in my hand, and my purse sitting open beside me while the lights of Philly started glowing through the glass. The cabin lights were low and soft, but I wasn’t paying attention to none of that because I had spent almost the entire flight staring at Malik’s name.
I should not have been on no damn plane. That was the thought that kept running through my mind over and over again. Me? O’Shynn Royal, flying somewhere for a man? Not just any man either but man who had been ignoring me. A man who had looked at my name lighting up his phone and still decided not to answer. I should’ve stayed my ass in Miami. I should’ve let him be mad. I should’ve let him wonder if I missedhim but then I would think about those pictures again from the blogs with Malik leaving that restaurant in Philly with that girl yet another time and this time not hiding it.
I had zoomed in on those pictures so many times over time I almost hated myself for it. I was looking at his face and looking at her hand on his arm. Looking at how comfortable they looked walking side by side. He had one of them little expensive jackets on with his expensive chains around his neck and that damn watch on his wrist with a fresh haircut and beard lined up looking too good for his own good.
Meanwhile, she had been smiling hard as hell and that part made me sick. It wasn’t that I thought Malik owed me anything, but I knew I was the reason he was entertaining anybody else in the first place. I had spent so much time pushing him away and acting like I didn’t care that I never stopped to think about what would happen if one day he got tired of it, and maybe he had.
That thought pissed me off with my damn self. The second the jet touched down, I looked at my phone one more time before I stood up knowing it still wouldn’t be anything from him. No “I miss you.” No “Where you at?” Nothing.
I slid my phone into my Chanel and stood up. If Malik was going to look at me tonight, then he was going to really look. I had changed before we landed into a money green-colored fitted jumpsuit with a camel coat over it and a pair of Chanel boots. My hair was bone straight down my back, my makeup was soft, my lips were glossy kept the jewelry simple because I wasn’t trying to get robbed but I was ready to shoot if I had to.
The jet door opened, and the cold air hit me in the face so hard it almost made me stop. This was not Miami cold either. This was real cold. Like the cold that made your nose cold and your fingers stiff before you even got out the house good.
I pulled my coat tighter around my body while I walked down from the jet. The Philly air smelled way different than Miamitoo. The SUV was already waiting for me near the runway. I climbed into the backseat and looked out the window while the driver pulled away from the airport. The whole ride there, I kept checking my phone even though I already knew Malik still hadn’t called.
Outside, the city looked beautiful in that rich, dark kind of way. The wet streets reflected lights from expensive restaurants and tall buildings. People moved fast as they walked the sidewalks. Everything about the city felt colder than Miami in itself, forget the weather. However, this was Malik’s home, and he fit there so well.
By the time we pulled into his neighborhood, my stomach was in knots. The houses out there looked ridiculous with big gates, long driveways, and perfect landscaping. It was the kind of homes people bought when they wanted everybody to know they had money. Malik’s house sat at the end of a curved driveway lined with little lights and tall hedges with dark stone, black trim, and huge windows glowing warm from inside. He had three luxury cars in the driveway.
I sat there in the truck for a second staring at it through the tinted window. Then I looked at myself in the reflection and fixed my lip gloss. I used my hand to smooth down my hair which was already perfect and the pulled my coat straighter over my shoulders.
“Is everything okay?” the driver asked.
“No,” I said honestly. Then I got out.
The gravel crunched under my boots while I walked toward the front door. Every step made my chest tighter and made me feel stupid. I could hear my own heartbeat in my ears by the time I rang the bell and then I stood there waiting. A few seconds later, I heard footsteps coming toward the door. Then the door opened. The second I saw him, my stomach dropped.
Malik stood there with one hand still on the doorknob and the other holding a short glass with dark liquor in it. He had on black sweatpants hanging low on his waist and a white t-shirt fitted across his chest. His chains were still on and his beard was fresh. He smelled like cologne... just real refreshing and for a second he just stared at me like his brain stopped working. His eyes moved over me slowly from my boots all the way up to my face and then back down again like he couldn’t help himself. Like he couldn’t believe I was really standing there.
He frowned and a crease appeared between his eyebrows. “O’Shynn?”
I folded my arms across my chest because suddenly I didn’t know what else to do with them. “What?” I frowned. “You thought I was just gone let you ignore me forever?”
He still didn’t move, hell he still didn’t blink. He actually looked like he forgot somebody else was even in the house. Then I looked past him, and there she was. The same girl from the blogs. She was standing near the kitchen island with a wine glass in her hand and one of Malik’s oversized shirts hanging off one shoulder. Her bare legs were out, and her hair was pinned up with her makeup still intact… she looked comfortable. Almost like she had been there for a while. I noticed the takeout containers on the counter and the candle burning near the sink as well as the half-empty wine bottle and the half empty bottle of Don Julio. The second glass sitting beside it. All of it irritated me and Malik saw me looking.
His jaws got so stiff. “O’Shynn…” he said again more irritated or simply just tired of what he thought was games.
“Who is she?” I questioned with my eyes locked in. He had no idea how serious I was right now, but he knew I wasn’t the one to play these games. She wasn’t a threat to me or else I wouldn’t have been here.
