You're My Little Secret

by Chenell Parker

  “He parks around the corner,” she replied.

  “Baby, they been doing the damn thing,” Co-Co said snapping his fingers.

  “You really like him, huh?” I asked Brook.

  “No, I really love him,” she answered shocking me once again.

  “Well, since feelings are involved I know that telling you to leave him alone is not going to happen. I just want you to be protected when you’re with him,” I told her.

  “You better get her that three-month shot. Don’t trust her retarded ass to take a pill every day,” Co-Co said. “Yeah, I know, but I’m going to bed. This is all too much for me. Don’t forget Brook, Monday morning,” I said right before turning in for the night.

  ****

  I pounded on the hood of my car and cried my heart out while Co-Co tried his best to comfort me. Brook just stood there with tears in her eyes as she looked at us. Here I was trying to do the right thing and get Brook some protection, only to find out that this bitch is already pregnant. The signs were all there, but I ignored them. The dizzy spells she suddenly started having were written off as nothing. The fatigue, I assumed was because she studied all night. Then she’d been eating crab cakes from a local restaurant every day for the past two weeks. Hell, I liked them too so even that didn’t ring any bells. I didn’t understand why she never mentioned that her cycle hadn’t been coming down. Brooklyn was naïve, but nobody could be that stupid. Words can’t describe how I felt when the nurse came back and told us the news. Shocked was a complete understatement. We went to the neighborhood free clinic so they couldn’t tell us how far along she was. We would have to go to an OB/GYN to find that out. Unfortunately, we wouldn’t be going that far. As soon as I got home I was making her an appointment at an abortion clinic.

  “Calm down Candace, we’ll figure something out,” Co-Co said rubbing my back.

  “There’s nothing to figure out. She is not having a baby. Aunt Pam is going to kill us,” I cried. Honestly, I was crying more for me and my brother than I was for Brook. If they knew that she got pregnant at our house, there would be hell to pay. Then there was Kennedi. She was going to die when she found out about all of this. It was ironic that Brook met Dominic the same way that Kennedi met him. Then I couldn’t stop thinking about Nadia. No doubt she would think that I knew what was going on and be mad with me. This entire situation was all fucked up on so many levels.

  “We don’t even know how far gone she is yet,” Co-Co said.

  “They’ll do an ultrasound at the clinic. The price you pay depends on how far along you are anyway,” I replied.

  I knew from experience how everything worked since I had one of my own last year. I also knew that they sometimes took same day appointments and I prayed that today was one of those times. It was only a few minutes after nine so I just had to try.

  “Dominic is going to die if I have an abortion,” Brook stressed.

  “What! You better not tell him shit!” I yelled.

  “How am I going to hide it from him?” She asked.

  “Just ignore his ass until we figure everything out,” I answered.

  “He’s not going to stay away Candace. We see each other every day,” Brook replied.

  “I think she should just have the damn baby,” Co-Co said.

  “I know you didn’t just say some stupid shit like that,” I said in disbelief.

  “Yes, I did. You know he’s going to take care of the baby. Hell, he’ll take care of her too. I just think getting rid of it is a mistake,” he said seriously.

  “Well, you can think what the hell you want, but I’m about to see if the clinic can see us today,” I replied.

  “Wait, I’m getting an abortion today?” Brook asked fearfully.

  “No, but they’ll do an ultrasound and make an appointment for you to come back. We just have to pay half now and the rest when you go back,” I told her.

  “Does it hurt?” She asked.

  “It’s not that bad. You’ll get some medicine for the pain,” I assured her. I felt so bad when I saw her wipe away the tears that were falling from her eyes.

  “I’m scared Candace,” she said crying silently.

  “I’m so sorry baby. I just don’t know what else to do,” I replied. After Co-Co and I had called a few different places, there was only one that was willing to see us the same day. It was a clinic in the Gentilly area that sat adjacent to a strip mall. The building was a drab looking two story building on the outside, but the inside was immaculate. The walls were off white and displayed various awards and licenses held by their doctors. Brook was a nervous wreck. She jumped every time the door opened or a phone rang.

  “I still think we’re making a mistake. Dominic has money that’s longer than train smoke. You know he’ll do right by Brook and her baby. Everybody knows how bad he wants kids,” Co-Co said.

  “It’s not him that I’m worried about. You know how her brothers are. They’ll probably kill him before the baby even gets here. I think this will be best for everybody. Once it’s over we can get her some birth control and never discuss it again,” I said with finality.

  “Okay, but I’m going on record as being against this,” my brother said.

  “That’s fine, but I still need your half on whatever the cost is.”

  “I’ll pay, but I still don’t agree,” he said.

  The nurse called us to the back and explained everything in detail to Brooklyn. She had an ultrasound that told us that she was only nine weeks pregnant. The fee for the procedure would be four hundred total with two hundred due today. My brother and I paid the fee and set Brooklyn’s appointment for Friday. Both Co-Co and I would have to move around some of our appointments, but that was the easy part. The hardest part would be keeping Brooklyn away from Dominic. He was blowing her phone up day and night so that was going to be a hard task.

  CHAPTER 20

  BRYCE

  It seemed like for every good thing that happened, something bad always followed. Taylor and I had found the perfect apartment for us and our girls. They were newly built townhouses that weren’t too far from my shop. The shop that Taylor worked in was a little stretch, but she wouldn’t be there too much longer anyway. As soon as we were settled she would be coming to work in the shop with me. Co-Co was so excited about her coming and he had her workstation all cleaned out. The bad news was that the house wouldn’t be ready for another three months and I only had a month left on my lease. The house that I rented only did yearly leases so I didn’t have the option to do it monthly. Tiffany kept reminding me that it was almost time for us to renew, but I wasn’t trying to hear that. Taylor came up with the idea of us staying at her apartment until it was time to move. She didn’t have to tell me twice because I jumped at the chance. The only thing left for me to do was to break the news to Tiffany. I think she knew that something was up because she was being extra lately. She was cooking almost every day and she went all out when it was time to have sex. Most of the time I turned her down, but she never gave up. She would wake me up with oral sex and breakfast in bed. All of that was good, but it still wasn’t enough. She wasn’t the one who held my heart and that made her an automatic loser in this game.

  On another note, something strange was going on with Baby. I hadn’t talked to her in two days and that was not like her. It’s not that I didn’t try calling, she rushed off of the phone every time I called. She was still at our cousins so I knew she was safe. I just missed seeing her every day. I was so busy looking for my family a house, I didn’t get to see her as much. I wanted to spend some time with her, so I grabbed the phone and gave her a call.

  “Hello,” she answered sounding like she was asleep.

  “What’s up Baby? What you doing?” I asked her.

  “Nothing, I’m just laying down,” she replied sounding drained.

  “Well, get up, I want to take you out to eat or something. We haven’t done anything in a while,” I said cheerfully.

  “I can’t Bryce, I hav
e to study. I have a big English test Saturday. We can go somewhere after that if you want to.”

  “Baby it’s only Tuesday. I have to wait all the way until Saturday to spend some time with you?” I asked.

  “Yeah, unless you want me to fail my test,” she replied.

  “You know what to say to make me leave you alone, huh?” My Baby was really growing up. I was so proud of how responsible she was becoming. That let me know that even if I wasn’t always around, she could still handle herself.

  “Alright, you finish studying and I’ll see you this weekend. I love you,” I told her.

  “I love you too,” she said before hanging up. Since Brook wasn’t available I decided to go chill and call Dominic and his brother David. They were out shooting pool so I put some clothes on and went to join them.

  CHAPTER 21

  BROOKLYN

  I hated to lie to Bryce, but I didn’t have any other choice. Until I got rid of this life that was growing inside of me, I wasn’t going around anybody. It looks like since I found out I was pregnant I’ve been feeling like shit. I’ve been having dizzy spells for the past week, but I didn’t think anything of it. Then, just this morning, the nausea started. Candace got me some ginger ale and crackers, but even that came right back up.

  “Are you alright Brooklyn?” Candace asked me.

  “I hate throwing up,” I complained. I got up from the floor and started brushing my teeth. There was no way I could hide being pregnant if anybody paid attention to my symptoms.

  “Don’t worry, it’ll all be over soon. You sure you’re going to be okay being in here by yourself all day?” Candace asked me.

  “I don’t have a choice. I can’t go anywhere feeling like this.” I hadn’t even been going to school. My professors gave me my assignments and I was able to complete some things online. I would still be marked absent, but at least I wouldn’t be behind. If that wasn’t bad enough, Dominic had been blowing my phone up like crazy. I missed him a lot so it was killing me not to answer. I know he was probably wondering what was going on. The last time he was here was when Co-Co and Candace walked in on us. I just hope he didn’t think I was cutting him off because of that. Since we started messing around we never went one day without talking to each other.

  “Don’t forget that the cable man is coming out today. Make sure you tell him to leave another remote for Co-Co,” Candace instructed me. She only had one appointment so she wouldn’t be gone all day. Co-Co started early so he should be home early too. I hated being inside all day by myself and I was happy when they came back. It usually didn’t matter because I had my boo to keep me occupied. It was Tuesday and I only had three more days to go before all of this would be over. I just hope Dominic was still around that long.

  CHAPTER 22

  DOMINIC

  It was now Wednesday and I still hadn’t talked to Brooklyn. I hadn’t seen her since early that Sunday morning and I was really stressing. I kept thinking back to our last encounter trying to see if I’d done or said anything wrong. As far as I knew we were in a good place. At first, I thought her cousins might have told her to stay away from me, but I talked on the phone with her all day Sunday evening so that couldn’t be it. I didn’t know what the problem was, but I needed to fix it and fast. Even if I didn’t see Brook every day we didn’t miss a day talking on the phone. For three days to have passed with no contact just wasn’t like her at all.

  “I’m going to get something to eat. You want me to bring you something back?” David asked me. We were at the office and it was already past noon.

  “Nah, I’m good,” I replied.

  “You still haven’t heard from Brooklyn yet?” He asked.

  “No man, you ask me the same shit every day. When I hear from her I’ll let you know,” I said aggravated.

  “Nigga don’t get an attitude with me. I just asked you a question,” David replied.

  “My fault man,” I apologized. “I’m just disgusted with all of this shit. It’s like we were good one day and she stopped answering the phone the next. I might feel better if I know what I did wrong.”

  “Well, you need to stop sitting around wondering. Go find her ass and make her tell you what’s up. That’s not like Brooklyn so something is definitely wrong,” David said.

  “Yeah, but I don’t want to just show up at her cousin’s house. I don’t even know if that’s where she’s at.”

  “The only way for you to find out is to go see. It’s not like they don’t know about y’all anyway. They saw it up close and personal,” David said laughing.

  “Man you a clown,” I laughed.

  “But seriously, I’ll hold it down here if you want to go and try to talk to her,” he offered. He didn’t have to twist my arm because that was exactly what I wanted to do.

  “Yeah, when you come back from lunch that’s just what I’m going to do,” I replied.

  “You can leave right now. I’ll just order a pizza for lunch.” It was reasons like this that made me love my brother so much. He goes out of his way to make sure I’m alright. Kennedi doesn’t understand our bond and she never will.

  “Good looking out bruh, I’ll call you and let you know what’s up,” I said giving my brother a fist pound. I hopped in my truck and sped all the way to Candace and Co-Co’s house. I couldn’t explain why, but I was nervous about just showing up unexpectedly. I kept trying to shake the feeling that maybe Brooklyn had somebody else. I was engaged to be married, but the thought of it had me feeling some kind of way. Then I kept thinking that she might have somebody else coming there since I hadn’t been invited lately. When I pulled up to the house none of the cars were in the driveway, but that didn’t mean no one was home. Co-Co and Candace usually worked during the day and Brook didn’t have a car. I wasn’t sure about her school schedule so I decided to take a chance and see if she was there. I rang the doorbell and listened for any movements on the other side. After a minute of hearing nothing, I rang the bell again.

  “I’m coming,” I heard from behind the closed door. I would recognize that voice from anywhere. I heard the locks on the door turning before the door was partially opened. The security chain was the only thing preventing it from being opened all the way. Brooklyn peeked through the small crack and was shocked to see me standing there.

  “Were you expecting somebody else?” I asked taking in the surprised look on her face.

  “Actually I was,” she replied making my heart drop. “I thought you were the cable man.”

  Her reply made me feel better, but I also wondered if it was true.

  “We need to talk, open the door,” I said looking right into her eyes.

  “It’s not a good time right now Dominic. I’ll have to call you later,” she said looking behind her.

  “What the fuck are you looking behind you for? Who do you have in there with you?” I asked angrily.

  “Nobody is here with me. I’m here by myself,” she replied. She sounded like she was lying and that only made me madder.

  “Open the door Brooklyn,” I said calmly.

  “I told you it’s not a good time right now.”

  “And I told you to open the damn door. Either you open it on your own or I’ll kick this bitch down?” I yelled.

  “Okay, stop screaming,” she said closing the door. I heard her fumbling with the security chain before the door slowly opened. I walked straight in like I was the police and started searching. I looked in every room and closet just to make sure she was telling the truth.

  “It’s not even that serious,” she said when she saw me looking under the beds.

  “Yeah, it’s that serious. It’s a reason why you acting brand new all of a sudden,” I replied following her into the living room.

  “I’m not acting brand new. I just have a lot going on right now.”

  “Like what Brooklyn? We talk about everything, so if you have a problem, you should have told me.”

  She put her head down without responding.

&nb
sp; “I don’t understand what’s going on. Last time I checked we were good,” I told her.

  “We are good,” she answered.

  “I can’t tell. It’s like you woke up one morning and said fuck me,” I said getting upset. “Is somebody else in the picture?” I asked. Instead of answering she stood up and quickly walked away.

  I guess I got my answer even though she didn’t say anything. This discussion was far from over and I wasn’t letting her walk away without explaining herself. After a minute or two, I got up and followed right behind her.

  CHAPTER 23

  BROOKLYN

  I didn’t want to get up and leave while Dominic was talking, but I didn’t have a choice. A wave of nausea hit me unexpectedly and I had to rush off to the bathroom. A minute longer and I would have messed up my cousins’ carpet. I’d barely made it to the toilet before the sandwich that I’d just eaten came right back up. I was kneeled down in front of the toilet hugging the bowl like it was my pillow.

  “Are you alright baby?” Dominic’s concerned voice asked from behind me. I didn’t hear him come in, but I cringed when I heard him speak.

  “Yeah, I’m good. My stomach is just a little upset,” I replied. He wet a cold rag and placed it on my forehead.

  “Are you sure that’s all it is?” He asked me. Before I could answer, I was hit with another wave of nausea. Dominic pulled my hair back as I continued to relieve myself of my lunch.

  “Oh God, I need a mint or something,” I moaned miserably. I had a horrible taste in my mouth and my breath had to be awful.

  “I don’t have any mints. Do they have mouthwash or something in here?” Dominic asked.

  “Yeah, look in that cabinet,” I said pointing behind me. He got up and opened the small white cabinet that sat next to the bathtub. After filling a throw away cup with mouth wash, he handed it to me. I flushed the toilet and gulped down a mouthful of the minty liquid. When I spit it out, I repeated the process just to make sure the foul taste was gone. Dominic was leaned up against the wall watching my every move.