You're My Little Secret 2 (11 page)

“Dominic,” Kennedi whispered while shaking my arm. I opened my eyes sleepily and had to look around to see where I was. We were still on the sofa, but it was almost one in the morning. 

“Damn, I didn’t realize I’ve been sleeping that long,” I muttered.

“Your phone has been ringing off the hook. Somebody named Tiana keeps calling you,” she said. I jumped up from the sofa too fast and ended up falling to the floor. I snatched the phone from Kennedi’s hand to call her back, but it started ringing right when I did.

“Hello,” I answered in a hurry.

“We’ve been calling you for over twenty minutes,” Co-Co yelled. “Brooklyn said that she’s having light cramps. I think she needs to go to the hospital.”

“Oh shit, alright I’m on my way,” I stammered as I raced upstairs.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” Kennedi asked full of concern.

“That was Brooklyn’s cousin. He said she needed to go to the hospital.”

“Do you need me to come with you?” She asked. I was about to say hell no, but I caught myself before I did. Brooklyn’s family would kill her if she stepped one foot in that hospital, and Brooklyn would kill me.

“No, I’m good. I’ll call as soon as I find out what’s going on,” I promised while rushing out of the front door. I was doing eighty trying to get to Brooklyn’s house all the while praying that I didn’t get stopped by the police. I ran every red light that I came up to and barely stopped at the stop signs. I was just about to enter the code to the gate in front of her house, when my phone started ringing again.

“Her water just broke,” Co-Co yelled into the phone.

“I’m coming through the gate right now,” I panicked.  I jumped out of my car and ran up the three flights of stairs that led to Brooklyn’s apartment. My nerves were too bad to even wait for the elevator. As soon as I approached the door, it flew open, and Taylor pulled me in. Bryce, Candace, and Co-Co were pacing the floor, but I didn’t see Brooklyn anywhere.

“Where is Brooklyn?” I asked looking at all of them.

“Tiana is helping her crazy ass change clothes. She’s trying to look cute and shit instead of going to the hospital,” Bryce fussed. “My mama and daddy are already on their way to the hospital so you might want to call yours.”

“Call my mama and my brother,” I said as I tossed my phone to Candace. I was in such a rush to get here that I forgot to call anybody. I raced to the back of the house and found Brooklyn in the mirror messing with her hair.

“Are you serious right now Brook? We need to get to the hospital,” I shouted.

“I know, I’m ready,” she replied like it was no big deal. I grabbed her, my son’s bag, and his car seat from the closet, and we were ready to go. I sped all the way to the hospital with everyone else following close behind. Brooklyn was taken to labor and delivery as soon as we got there.

“The doctor is coming to check and see how far dilated you are before we can do anything else,” the nurse said once Brooklyn was changed and situated in her room. I sat on the side of her bed while my mother and hers occupied two chairs along the wall. Everybody else was in the waiting room waiting for the baby to arrive.

“How are you feeling Brooklyn?” Dr. Martin asked when he walked into the room.

“I feel alright,” she replied nervously. When he washed his hands and slipped on a pair of gloves, Brooklyn looked like she was about to cry.

“This might be a little uncomfortable, but I need to check and see how many centimeters you are,” he informed her. Brooklyn grabbed my hand tight as he reached under the cover and began his examination. I took note of the pained expression on her face.

“Okay, you’re about four centimeters, so we’re definitely going to keep you. I usually don’t give epidurals until you’re five centimeters or more, but you should be fine since you’re not in any pain yet,” he said. When he left, we sat around and watched TV, waiting until something happened.

“I’m starting to feel some pain,” Brooklyn announced about an hour later.

“You want me to get the doctor?” I asked her.

“That’s just her contractions starting. Just take a deep breath every time you get one Brooklyn,” my mama instructed.

“I need some water my mouth is dry,” Brooklyn said.

“I don’t think you can have water Brook,” I answered while rubbing her back.

“Let me go ask,” her mama said leaving out of the room.

“Ahh,” Brooklyn hollered out. “This shit is starting to hurt.”

“I know baby, it’ll be alright,” I tried to comfort her.

“Please stop touching me Dominic. You are not helping,” she yelled at me. I knew she didn’t mean it, but the pain had her all in her feelings.

“Here, they said that she can have some ice chips, but not water,” Mrs. Pam said handing me a cup of crushed ice.

I took the cup from her and started feeding some of the ice to Brooklyn. She was sweating like crazy, so my mama took a wet rag and wiped her face with it.

“Oh my God, I can’t take this pain!” Brooklyn cried. “Mama call somebody to give me some medicine or something.”

“Push the nurse’s call button on her bed Dominic,” my mama ordered me.

“Can I help you?” The nurse asked over the monitor.

“Yes, we need Dr. Martin please,” my mama said

“Yes ma’am, I’ll get him for you,” she replied.

“I can’t do this shit!” Brooklyn screamed. She must have really been in pain because she never cursed in front of her mama. I felt so helpless, but there wasn’t much that I could do.

“Just let him see how far you’ve dilated Brook. You can get something for the pain if you’re five centimeters,” her mother said. I just sat there and held her hand while she cried out in pain.

“I see the contractions have started to get stronger,” Dr. Martin said when he walked into the room a few minutes later. He washed his hands and put on a pair of gloves just like he did before. “Okay, let’s see how you’re progressing Brooklyn.”

“No, I’m in too much pain for you to check me again. Just give me some pain medicine,” she sobbed.

“I have to check you before I can do that. I’ll try to be as quick as possible,” he assured her. I damn near had to hold Brooklyn down when he checked her this time. She was screaming and crying out from all the pain. Her mother had to look away to keep from crying herself. Even I blinked back a few tears just seeing what she was going through.

“Okay, you’re doing great Brook. You’re six centimeters so we’ll get you something for the pain,” the doctor said. That was music to my ears, and I knew that Brooklyn was happy. It only took a few more minutes before the nurse came in with another lady to give Brook an epidural. We had to wait in the hall until they were done. When we walked back into the room, Brook was lying down with the bed slightly elevated.

“You feel better?” I asked while sitting down next to her.

“Yes. I don’t know what they gave me, but it worked. I’m never doing this again,” she said while looking at me.

“I said the same thing after I had Bryce and I still had four more after him,” her mama said.

“I don’t see how some people have so many kids. It felt like somebody was pulling my insides apart,” Brooklyn said.

“Well, the worst part is over. You just have to worry about pushing him out now. Let us know if you start to feel pressure,” my mama said. It was after three in the morning, and I still hadn’t called Kennedi. I’m sure she knew that I would be home late, but I sent her a text anyway.

“I’m tired,” Brooklyn said yawning.

“Get you some rest. I’ll go update everybody on what’s going on,” Mrs. Pam informed us. Brooklyn ended up dozing off while we sat in the room and talked. After a few minutes, everybody was asleep except for me. I was texting back and forth with Kennedi giving her updates. It was ten minutes to five and this stubborn little boy still refused to come out. Brooklyn was still six centimeters when they checked her thirty minutes ago. Dr. Martin said that didn’t mean anything because he could come in the next five minutes or five hours, depending on when he was ready.

“What’s wrong Brook?” I asked when I saw her moving around.

“I feel some pressure down there,” she replied.

“Aye, call the doctor,” I yelled waking both of our mothers up.

“What’s wrong?” Her mother asked.

“She said she feels pressure down there,” I replied. My mama called the nurse, and she and Dr. Martin rushed in not long after. Another nurse came in and started setting things up while Dr. Martin checked Brooklyn again.

“I think he’s ready,” he announced while washing up again. The nurse started breaking the bed apart, and Brooklyn’s legs were put in the stirrups. I didn’t know if I wanted to hold Brooklyn’s hand while she pushed or watch as my son came out.

“Okay Brooklyn, on the count of three, I want you to start pushing,” Dr. Martin said. I went to the edge of the bed and watched as he counted off. When he counted off the second time, and I saw the head, I almost knocked my mama down running back to grab Brooklyn’s hand. Now I see why niggas say they passed out in the delivery room.

“Look at all that hair,” my mama yelled.

“Give me one more big push Brooklyn,” Dr. Martin urged. He counted off again, and Brooklyn pushed hard as she tightly gripped my hand. I was all smiles as my baby came out screaming at the top of his lungs. I let Brooklyn’s hand go and rushed over to cut the cord. I was happy that Mrs. Pam was there because me and my mama forgot all about Brook. We followed the nurse to the nursery to weigh the baby. Dominic Omari Roberts, Jr. was born on May 24th, weighing seven pounds, eight ounces and was twenty-one inches long. He hadn’t even been in the world for a good hour, but I swear I’ve never loved somebody so much in my life.

BRYCE

Tiffany had been blowing my phone up for the past few weeks, and if she wasn’t calling, she was texting. She was pissing Taylor off, and we stayed arguing about it. She was working in the shop with me now, but we weren’t even speaking. I can’t remember how many numbers I blocked messing with her stupid ass. I couldn’t get my number changed because that would have been bad for business. I’ve had the same number for five years, and all of my customers knew it. My number is on billboards and buildings all over New Orleans and the surrounding areas. My shop, So Xclusive, is very popular, and I wasn’t about to let Tiffany fuck up my money with her bullshit. That crazy bitch had me scared to answer my own phone.

“Her crazy ass is still calling you?” Kyle asked as we stood outside in front of my shop. I hadn’t seen him since we got at Larry a few months ago. I’d been talking to him for twenty minutes, and Tiffany called me ten times back to back.

“That bitch is retarded. Now she’s calling from her work phone like I don’t recognize the number,” I replied.

“Boy, you must have gold down there or something,” he joked.

“Yeah, but enough about my drama, what’s going on with you?” I asked him. Kyle had been kind of distant lately, and I’d been hearing some things about him and Kevin. A few dudes that I knew from our old neighborhood told me that a few people had been asking about them. They had supposedly robbed a well-known local hustler named Vamp, and he wanted some info on them. Vamp was cool, and all three of us went to high school together. I also didn’t miss the new Navigator that Kyle was riding in. Something was going on with him I just didn’t know what.

“I’m good man. I’m living good and eating good too,” he replied arrogantly.

“Yeah, well, I heard that nigga Vamp been asking around about you. Niggas saying that you and Kevin robbed him and shit,” I informed him.

“Fuck Vamp and his whole crew,” he said brushing me off.

“Alright man, just be careful. You know how those boys get down,” I warned. He never once denied the accusations so they must have been true. Kyle is my boy, but I wasn’t into his kind of lifestyle anymore. It wasn’t just me that I had to think about. I had Taylor and my girls to worry about too. After today, I had to create some space between the two of us. I couldn’t afford to pay for another man’s mistakes. I noticed Jaden pulling up and walking towards us. I didn’t even get a chance to speak to him before he walked up to Kyle and started swinging on him. Kyle didn’t even see it coming, and neither did I. Jaden was going crazy swinging until Kyle finally went down. When my brother started stomping him, I ran over and pulled him away.

“Let me go man,” Jaden seethed as he struggled to get away from me. Co-Co and Candace had to run out of the shop to help me restrain him. “What the hell is going on with you?” I asked my hot-headed little brother.

“This ole punk ass nigga is always smiling in your face, but he was trying to fuck your lil sister behind your back,” Jaden fumed. Kyle was now on his knees trying to stand on his feet.

“Who told you that?” I asked him.

“Kia told me what happened. She was on the phone with Baby when he came at her, and you knew about the shit too Candace because it happened at your house,” he barked. “Nigga disrespecting my sister like she one of these hoes on the street.”

I looked over at my cousin, and I knew then that it was true. She looked ashamed and embarrassed.

“So you were playing with my little sister Kyle?” I asked my best friend.

“Man fuck you and your sister,” he said through a blood filled mouth. I let Jaden go, and both of us started beating his ass. Co-Co and Candace had a hell of a time pulling us off of him, but they finally succeeded.

“Y’all are dead,” he threatened as he dragged himself to his truck.

“Not if you die first bitch,” Jaden yelled after him.

“I can’t believe you kept some shit like that from me Candace,” I yelled at my cousin.

“I already handled it, so there was no need for me to tell you,” she replied. Now I knew why she wasn’t dealing with him anymore.

Jaden and my cousins went inside while I stood in front of the building for a while. Kyle had been my best friend since forever, but that was a wrap after today. He better be lucky that I was out here because Jaden would have killed him if I wasn’t. I looked down at my ringing phone and cringed when I saw Tiffany calling again. Instead of ignoring her I picked up the phone and went off.

“What the fuck do you keep calling me for?” I shouted.

“We really need to talk Bryce,” she answered.

“We don’t have shit to talk about and you’re pissing my girl off with this bullshit.”

“I’m asking you nicely to meet me somewhere so we can talk, or I’m coming to your shop every day until you do. I know that Taylor works there now,” she replied.

“I really don’t understand what you want.”

“I want closure Bryce. You up and left me with no explanation. The least you could do is tell me why,” she cried.

“Girl, I left your ass months ago. If you don’t have closure by now, you never will.”

“Are you going to meet me or do I have to come to your place of business and act a fool?”

“Where do you want to meet up at Tiffany?” She gave me the place and time that she wanted to meet up before I hung up the phone. She did right to pick a public place just in case I felt the need to strangle her ass. I still hadn’t forgotten about her putting her hands on my sister while she was pregnant. Just thinking about Baby made me want to call her. She’d given birth to my nephew a month ago, and she’d been holed up in her apartment since then. I needed her to tell me the deal about what happened between her and Kyle. I also wanted to ask her opinion about the situation with Tiffany. I had a feeling that I was making a mistake, but I didn’t want her coming to my shop with all of her drama. Taylor would body both of us if she did. I just hoped she went away after this one last meeting, but knowing Tiffany that would never happen.