Great One

by Nayla Matthew

  “I’m pregnant,” I spit out, before covering my mouth. Zahara meets my probably frightened gaze.

  “Really?”

  “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to say that, I haven’t even told my boyfriend, I just don’t know what to do,” I say, before dropping my head in my hands. “I don’t know what to do,”

  “Oh honey,” she pulls me into a hug. “I think you should do whatever is best for you,” she pulls away. “If you choose to keep the kid, we’ll work around it, albums take a long time to make,” she smiles.

  “I’m scared,” I admit.

  “It’s okay to be scared, life is scary! Just take it one step out of a time,” she says, before pulling me into another hug. “Now, I’ll call in a few days so we can meet before I head back to L.A,”

  “Okay,”

  “And whatever you do, know you have someone on your side,” she says nudging me.

  “Thank you,” I say. Geo and Laila are waiting for me with chocolate and flowers when I make it back to the garage. We celebrate in the car, before Geo drives us back to Laila’s house where we celebrate more with cupcakes. “I can’t believe this is all actually happening to me,”

  “You deserve this! You’ve worked so hard for this Deya,” Laila says, nudging me. My phone suddenly pulls me back to earth.

  “Hey,” I answer.

  “Hey, where are you?” Braum asks.

  “Oh, hey B, I just got back from the recording studio, I’ve got news!” I say.

  “Where are you?” he asks, again.

  “At Laila’s is everything alright?” I ask.

  “I’m outside, can you come out?” he asks, I hang up the phone shoving my phone away.

  “Is everything alright? Too much cupcakes?” Laila asks.

  “Braum is here, I’ll be right back,” I say, Braum is waiting for me outside of his car. He looks like he hasn’t slept in days. “I haven’t seen you all weekend babe,” I say, stopping in front of him. “We really need to talk,”

  “We do, and I don’t know how to tell you this,” he says.

  “What’s wrong?” I ask.

  “You know I love you, and I wouldn’t want to ever hurt you,”

  “I feel like there is a but coming along,” I say.

  “I think we should take a break,” he says.

  “What?”

  “We’ve only been with each other, and I don’t want us to settle down and realize we hate each other,” he says.

  “What are you talking about Braum? Hate each other? I could never hate you,” I step back, before he has the chance to grab me. “Is it Demetra?” I ask.

  “Adeya,” he starts, but I cover my mouth before projectile vomit. “It’s not what you think,”

  “Then where is this coming from? You want to break up because of what?” I say.

  “I want to figure things out Deya, I want to make sure that,”

  “You still love me?” I ask.

  “You know I will always love you,” he says.

  “Then why are you doing this to me,” I say. He doesn’t answer, and it breaks my heart even more. I step away from his car, heading towards Laila’s house.

  “Deya wait please,” he calls after me, I turn around.

  “Why?” I say.

  “We have to talk about this,”

  “I don’t even know what to talk about, I don’t even know what’s happening….” I say, running my fingers through my hair.

  “I didn’t want it to be like this,”

  “Then what did you want it to be like Braum? I don’t understand why you don’t want to be with me anymore!” I say, the door to Laila’s house swings open and she steps in the doorway.

  “D?” she asks, I turn around running up the stairs. Going back inside and rushing to the bathroom. “Adeya?!” Laila follows me, I make it to the toilet emptying my stomach of all the celebratory cupcakes and sweets. “What happened? What’s happening?”

  “He broke up with me,” I say, through the tears. “He broke up with me,”

  My mother and Father had to pick me up from Laila’s house, I could bring myself to move. My Father had to carry me in the car, and it took heavy convincing from my mother for him not to go across the street and talk to Braum himself. I spent the rest of the night in my room and would have spent the next day if I didn’t have school. I didn’t know how I was going to make it, without Braum I felt like a different person, I felt like I wasn’t myself.,

  He broke up with me, he wanted space. Words I never thought he would say, words I never thought I’d have to comprehend. He couldn’t even explain himself; it was like one day he wanted to be with me and then suddenly he changed his mind. Nothing made sense, and now I couldn’t even bring myself to tell him about the baby. Was he going to think I was only telling him this now to spare our relationship? Would things be different if I told him my news first?

  “You have to tell him D,” Laila says.

  “I don’t know what to say,” I say, staring down at my lunch. I couldn’t bring myself to eat, even though my mom packed me a special lunch. She refused to have her grand-child unhealthy, even if I didn’t know whether or not I was keeping it. “I don’t know what he’ll say,”

  “Are you going to keep it?” she asks.

  “I want too….” I say, putting my hand over my stomach. “I don’t think I can part with it,” I whisper.

  “Then you need to tell him, he deserves to know,”

  “Don’t you think I know that Laila?” I snap. Before drinking down the rest of my juice. “Every time I see him, he can’t even look me in the eyes and every time I go to knock on the door, I feel like I’m going to faint,” I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

  “I’m sorry, I know this is hard,” Laila says, grabbing my hand. “I’m sorry if I’m making this extra stressful, but you know that you’ll feel much worse if he finds out later and you didn’t tell him,”

  “I know,” I say.

  “And have you talked to your parents about L,A?” she asks.

  “I think if I tell them now, they’re going to think I’m just running away from Braum,” I say.

  “This is a once in a lifetime chance! If they want to sign you then they’ll help you live in L.A you can record and start a new life,”

  “I don’t want to leave you,” I admit.

  “I’ll be one plane ride away,” she says, grabbing my hand. “I’m going to miss you like crazy, and I want nothing but to be by your side the whole pregnancy but…. You have to do this,”

  Chapter Four

  “Hey Girl! Don’t you look great,” Zahara says, pulling me into a hug. She smelled like expensive perfume, we sat at the outside table of the café she chose us to meet at. “How have you been? Have you told your boyfriend about the news?” she asks.

  “Not yet,” I admit, leaning back in my seat. “I will, soon…. I was actually wanting to talk to you about California,” I say.

  “What about it?”

  “Can I come with you?” I ask, she cocks her head to the side.

  “What?”

  “I’m already lightyears ahead of my classmates, so I don’t mind graduating online and I really need a fresh start,” I say.

  “Things aren’t going well?” she asks.

  “I just need something new, and what better time to start recording and beginning my new career then in the city itself,” I say, she nods to herself.

  “And your parents? You’ve talked this over with them?” she asks.

  “I’m almost 18, but yes, they know,” I say, she nods before pulling out her phone typing away.

  “This is a bit last second, so it might take us a minute to pull a living situation for you, but until then you can stay with me,” she says, with a smile.

  “Are you serious?” I ask.

  “But I’m leaving town on Sunday night, I can’t stay any longer,” she says. “So, are you ready to leave?” she asks.

  “Yes,”

  After lunch, Zahara dr
ops me back off at home. I feel like crying, but I’m also happy with excitement. I wait on the curb watching Zahara leave, before looking up at Braum’s house, my stomach twisting in fear. I walk across the street, and before I know it, I’m knocking on the door, Mrs. Clifford opens the door.

  “Oh Adeya! It’s been so long I’ve missed you!” she says, pulling me into a hug. “How are you honey?” she asks.

  “I’m doing well, is Braum home?” I ask.

  “He’s up in his room, you can go up if you want,” she says.

  “Actually, I have to start packing soon, I’m leaving on Sunday,” I say.

  “Leaving? Leaving where?” she asks.

  “Los Angeles, I have some meetings lined up, seeing what happens,” I say, she pulls me into another tight hug.

  “I’m so happy for you honey! You were always so talented,” she says, peppering my face with kisses. “Congratulations! I’m going to miss you,” she says.

  “I’m going to miss you too,” I admit. Before she was my boyfriend’s mother, she was my best friend’s mother. Host of many slumber parties, and pool parties, she was there for every birthday, and most Christmas, she was like my second mom. She moves upstairs, and shortly Braum appears.

  “Hey Adeya,” he says.

  “Hey,” I say, he stops in front of me and I almost spill away thing out. “I’m leaving, I’m moving to Los Angeles on Sunday,” I say, his face twist up.

  “Oh,” he says.

  “And this isn’t because of the breakup… I’m not running away from you, or what happened, I just…. It’s what I need,” I say. “I’m going to miss you, “I say.

  “I’m going to miss you too Deya,” I step back turning away, knowing I should tell him. He was there, right in front of me, I could tell him the truth. Maybe it would change everything, maybe it wouldn’t change anything at all. I knew I’d regret not telling him, keeping it all a secret. Maybe I would tell him before the child is born, maybe when it stopped hurting to look at him.

  When I return home, I start packing. My life flashing before my eyes, many of my memories filled with Braum, many pictures that hung, songs that I wrote, but never finished. So many things that I felt like I was running away from, but I knew this what was best for me.

  “I can’t believe this is actually happening,” Laila says, before pulling me into the hundredth hug since we made it to airport. Zahara was already waiting inside with all of our luggage, she surprised me with the news that we would be taking one of Jacob Dawson’s private planes back to California.

  “You’re coming in June! And we’ll talk every day,” I say.

  “I’m going to miss you,” she says.

  “Me too,” Geo says.

  “I’m going to miss the both you so much,” I say.

  “Don’t forget to take your prenatal vitamins and eat three meals a day we want my niece to be healthy,” she says, rubbing my stomach.

  “Or Nephew,” I say.

  “It’s a girl, I can feel it,” she says, before pulling me into our final hug. “Call me when you land,” she says.

  “I will,”

  When I walk inside, I’m greeted by beefy security guards who escort me to the private gates. Zahara is waiting for me, pacing on the phone before waving me towards the door. We take a golf cart to the plane, where I see them loading all of my things.

  “Are you ready?” she asks.

  “As I’ll ever be,” I say. I spent the entire plane ride on the edge of my seat, Zahara had a lot of tele-meetings to attend, and told me to occupy my time by looking through my 3-album contract deal. My father had a copy as well and told me he would read through it thoroughly. When we landed, Zahara was off to a long list of conferences, sending me to her house to unpack. Zahara lived in the hills, a private community that you needed a pass to get inside. Her house was two stories of gloriousness, something I didn’t think someone would want to live all alone.

  “Zahara? Baby is that you?” I hear someone say, a boy in nothing but tight swim trunks. “Oh, Hello,” he says.

  “Hi,” I say.

  “You must be our new temporary living guest,” he says.

  “Yes, my name is Adeya,” I say, he nods.

  “I’m Calum, pleasure to meet you,” he says, before stepping back. “I’m going to get dressed,” he says, before disappearing down the hallway. I wait in the main hallway, looking at all the pictures hanging on the wall, and awards set up everywhere. “How was the flight?” Calum appears again, this time in sweatpants and a tank top.

  “It was great, I’ve never been in a private plane before,” I admit.

  “There’s more where that came from sweetheart,” he says. “I’m Zahara’s boyfriend, if you didn’t gather that already, your room is upstairs your bags came like an hour ago,” he says, leading me down a hallway. “So, I understand your pregnant?” he asks.

  “Yes, just one month,” I say.

  “And the father? He didn’t want to come with you?” Calum asks.

  “I didn’t really tell him, not yet…. I have a lot of things to process right now and it’s just all a lot,” I say.

  “Oh no! I completely understand,” he says, leaning against the door. “I don’t pry or anything,” he shrugs. “Well I’ll let you unpack and get comfortable, I’m sure Zahara will be home shortly,” he says.

  “Thank you,” I say, he disappears from the door and I move into my new temporary room. The bed was made up neat, with all of my bags sitting on top. I find my laptop amongst the boxes setting it up on the dresser and calling Laila.

  “There she is!” she shouts. “I already miss you so much,” she says.

  “I miss you too,” I say.

  “Let me see it! Let me see your new pad!” she says. I pick up the laptop showing off the room. I had my own private bathroom, and a walk-in closet that could hold more things then I owned. “It’s beautiful,”

  “Isn’t it!”

  “So, what is it like being in L.A, do you feel it setting in?!” she asks.

  “It’s something,” I begin unpacking and Laila talks about how bored she is at school. She had one more month left until the school year was finished, and then she was hopping on the first plane over to visit me. She also mentions how tension is rising between Geo and Bo, and Braum, in which I have to practically beg him through text messages not to follow through with, because I didn’t want any drama. Zahara doesn’t come home until I’m practically completely finished with my room, she brings dinner and I sit in the kitchen with her and Calum to eat.

  “So little lady, you have a busy week ahead of you, are you ready?” she asks.

  “Sure,” I say.

  “Alright tomorrow you have a Doctor’s appointment, we have to make sure everything is in tip top shape, and we have a lunch date with your new band,” she says. “And then on Tuesday we’re meeting with stylist and an event coordinator, because on Thursday you’re going to an Album release party and you’re performing your fist single,”

  “Wait, I am,” I say.

  “Don’t worry honey, and On Friday you’re meeting with Mr. Dawson to sign all your contracts and everything,”

  “Wow,” I say.

  “This is just the start kid,”

  ++

  If I would have known, up and coming artist would be this busy. I would have probably chosen a different career path. Since the day I arrived, it’s been meetings, band practices, and long days in the record studio. I’ve done 5 radio interviews, and I have more followers on Instagram then the amount of people that go to my school.

  After three weeks, Laila and Geo were finally arriving. Calum went with me to pick them up, since Zahara was in meetings out of her ass. I was bouncing in my seat nearly the entire drive to the airport, jumping out of the car before Calum can fully stop and tackling Laila to the ground.

  “I missed you!” she screams.

  “I missed you more!” I say, Geo pulls us to our feet pulling me into a tight hug.

  �
�How have you been? How is my little niece?” he asks, rubbing my stomach.

  “Or Nephew I still don’t know the gender yet,” I say.

  “It’s a boy,” Laila states.

  “It’s defiantly a girl, I feel it in my bones,” Geo says. I pull them to the car where Calum helps put their bags in the trunk.

  ‘This is Calum guys, Zahara’s boyfriend and my personal chef,” I say, doing a chef kiss and earning an eye roll from Calum.