You're My Little Secret 2

by Chenell Parker

  Brooklyn hasn’t been there again, so that’s good news. Aside from her being DJ’s mother, her name is never mentioned in my presence. I guess the joke is on her for thinking that she could keep a man just by getting pregnant. She had to find out the hard way that Dominic is all mine. I hate that Dominic still hangs out with her brothers, but I can’t stop that, and I really don’t try. I even told him that they could come to the wedding. I would love nothing more than for them to tell their little sister all about it.

  After stopping to get me and Dominic something to eat I made my way home. When I pulled up to my parking space, I said a silent prayer that we would have our house and our bed to ourselves tonight. As soon as I walked inside I knew that my prayer had not been answered. I saw Dominic in the kitchen warming up DJ’s bottle while holding him over his shoulder.

  “Hey baby,” I said giving him a peck on his lips.

  “Hey,” he replied dryly.

  “What’s wrong with you?” I asked him over his sons constant crying.

  “Nothing, I’m just trying to calm him down. He’s been in his feelings all day. My mama said he might be teething,” he replied.

  “He’s just spoiled. You bought all that stuff for him, but he never uses it.” Dominic had turned our spare bedroom into a nursery, but it was a waste of his money. He didn’t use anything in there. He has a bassinet, but DJ sleeps in the bed with us. Dominic would sleep on his back while the baby slept on his chest.

  “I know he’s spoiled, but it’s more than that. I think he’s feeling bad.”

  “You want me to fix you something to eat?” I offered.

  “No, I’m not hungry,” he answered. I fixed myself a plate and ate while he tried to soothe his crying baby. I really didn’t care so I didn’t offer to help. A whole hour had gone by, and DJ was still screaming. After I ate and cleaned up my mess, I went to take a shower. When I got out of the shower, Dominic was dressed and was now putting clothes on his son.

  “Where are you going?” I asked.

  “I’m going to meet Brooklyn at the hospital. I need to know what’s wrong with my baby,” he answered. I instantly got heated upon hearing Brooklyn’s name.

  “Let me put on some clothes. I’m coming with you,” I informed him. He gave me a strange look, but he didn’t protest. If he had nothing to hide, he had no reason to. I threw on some Bebe leggings with the matching shirt. After sliding my feet into a pair of white Air Max tennis shoes, I was ready to go. I drove my car to the hospital while Dominic sat in the back with the baby.

  When we got to the hospital, Brooklyn was already in the lobby waiting along with her cousin Candace. Even dressed down that heifer was the full package, and it’s hard to deny. She resembled a younger version of Lauren London, and I hated it. She checked the baby in and we waited for his name to be called. After a few minutes, David came in accompanied by Mrs. Liz. She spoke to all of us and went straight to DJ.

  “What’s wrong with Grandma’s baby?” She cooed as she took the baby from Dominic. When they called the baby’s name, Brooklyn and Dominic got up and walked to the triage nurse with the baby and Mrs. Liz. David and Candace were smiling at each other and making small talk while I sat there feeling like an outsider. I realized that coming here wasn’t such a good idea, after all. I was happy when Dominic came back to the front, but that didn’t last long. They called them to the back soon after. I wanted to go with my fiancé, but I was never asked. I pulled out my phone to call Tiffany. I needed something or someone to keep the tears in my eyes at bay.

  We had waited around for another hour before they were finally done. It turned out that DJ was indeed teething, and he also had an ear infection. They gave him something for pain, and he was knocked out in Dominic’s arms.

  “Make sure y’all get his prescriptions filled,” Mrs. Liz instructed before she left. I’m happy that Brooklyn is here and can take her own baby home for a change.

  “Give him to me so we can go,” Brooklyn said reaching for DJ.

  “I got him,” Dominic said pissing me off. “I know you have class so I’ll probably stay home with him tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, I can hold it down at work if you want to stay home,” David offered. He never could mind his damn business. This bitch Brooklyn is pathetic. What kind of mother wouldn’t want to stay at home with their sick baby? I followed Dominic out of the lobby and to my car. I started in on him as soon as I pulled away from the curb.

  “She should have taken him home. I’ve never seen a mother not care for their sick child,” I commented.

  “I know how to take care of my baby Kennedi. Brooklyn can’t do anything for him that I can’t do,” he replied with a frown. I didn’t want to start an argument, so I left it alone for now. When we got to the house Dominic wiped DJ off and put him in some pajamas. I changed my clothes and laid in the bed waiting for him to come back into the room. After waiting for over an hour, I got up to go see where he was. I was heated when I saw him knocked out on the couch with his sleeping baby on his chest. I hated feeling like I’m jealous of a baby, but I am. I don’t have to worry about Brooklyn or any other woman getting any of Dominic’s time. Thanks to DJ, he doesn’t have time for anyone else myself included.

  NADIA

  I have to be about the dumbest bitch on the face of the earth. What was supposed to be a one-time thing with Kyle turned into months. He and Kevin are into so much shit that it’s unbelievable. Not only are they into check and credit card scams, they’re out here robbing people too. They aren’t robbing just anybody they’re robbing well-known drug dealers. These dummies don’t go somewhere else where nobody knows them they’re doing the shit right in their own hood. I can honestly say that they’re the dumbest criminals I’ve ever met, and Shannon was just as dumb as they were because she’s always right there with them. She’s not as bad as I thought she was, but she’s a damn fool for Kevin. I lost count of how many times he’s whipped her ass since I’ve been coming around. She’s forever popping off at the mouth, and he’s always popping her in it. Although I don’t like what I’m doing, the money I’m seeing is nice. It’s so nice that I quit my job at the cell phone company where I was working. Kyle and I have made things official, but that still doesn’t stop him from being a dog. There were plenty of times that I showed up at the house, and he wouldn’t be there and he wouldn’t answer his phone. Whenever I asked him about it, he would go off on me or worse. Shannon isn’t the only one who’s been getting her ass whipped all the time. Kyle is forever putting his hands on me if things don’t go his way. Unlike Shannon, I don’t just sit there and take it. I fight his ass back every time. I feel bad for Shannon because Kyle and Kevin are the only family that she has. Her mother is dead, and her father is in jail for life on a murder charge. She has other siblings, but they’re younger than she is. The state got custody of them, and she hasn’t seen them since. She’s never mentioned any other relatives, and I never asked. It took her a while to warm up to me, but she’s been cool ever since she did. She made it known that Kevin is off limits, and I have no problem respecting that.

  “Look at this shit,” Shannon said when she walked into the living room. She showed me Kevin’s phone and how many times a day he calls Brooklyn. “He’s going to get that bitch killed.”

  Shannon hates Brooklyn with a passion, and I understand why. It didn’t take a genius to see that Kevin is crazy about her. He has pictures of them that they took throughout their friendship all over the house. I remember Shannon saying something about it one day and the next morning she was sporting a black eye. She continued to flip through some pictures on Kevin’s phone until one of them caught my eye.

  “Let me see that picture,” I said holding my hand out for the phone. It was a picture of Brooklyn’s baby that she sent to him. I couldn’t lie even if I wanted to he is too damn cute. He looks exactly like Dominic with a head full of curly black hair. I flipped through the rest of them until I couldn’t take it anymore. I wiped the tears that were threaten
ing to fall and handed Shannon Kevin’s phone back.

  “You alright girl?” Shannon asked. She knows all about my relationship with Dominic and my friendship with Candace. She thought it was foul how everything went down as well.

  “Yeah, I’m alright,” I replied. “You better put Kevin’s phone up before he comes back.”

  Kevin and Kyle were out doing God knows what while Shannon and I stayed home. I still have my own apartment, but I sleep here most of the time. That is until Kyle decides that he doesn’t want to be bothered for a while. Shannon told me that he had other girls here sometimes when he didn’t want me to come over. I confronted him about it and ended up with a busted lip. I began to notice that every bad habit that Kevin has comes right from his older brother.

  “Have y’all decided where y’all are moving to yet?” I asked her. Kyle felt that too many knew where they lived, and he was ready to move.

  “I don’t know anything. Kyle has that bitch Tiffany helping him,” Shannon replied. My heart started beating rapidly in my chest when she mentioned Tiffany’s name. I just had to be sure it was the same one that I thought it was.

  “What Tiffany are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about Bryce’s ex-girlfriend Tiffany. They sit on the phone and talk about Bryce all day like some messy bitches. He doesn’t think I know, but she was over here one day when he made you stay home, and you better not tell him that I told you,” Shannon said. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. First it was Kennedi, now it was her cousin. Those bitches really didn’t know how to get a man on their own. They always had to take one from somebody else and Kyle is just pathetic. Bryce was his best friend up until a few months ago. I know he’s feeling salty about the beat down that Bryce and Jaden gave him, but damn. He walked away with a few cuts and bruises and he deserved it. Shannon didn’t have to worry because I wasn’t going to say anything. They had the right one this time. I know more about Kyle’s wrong doings than he thought. I would have every nigga that he ever crossed gunning for his ass if he tried to play with me, and that was a promise.

  CANDACE

  It’s a Sunday evening, and I am thankful to be off. David, Brooklyn, Co-Co, and I decided to hook up and go see a movie. Dominic is off with Kennedi somewhere doing something for their wedding. Of course, DJ is with him, so Brooklyn has some free time as well. We ended up watching The Wedding Ringer starring Kevin Hart, and I was not disappointed. When the movie was over, we went to the lobby and got us a drink and stood outside. We were all ready to go until a dude started hollering at Brooklyn. We were standing outside near David’s car while she talked to him. Brooklyn has been meeting different people for the past few weeks, but nothing ever happens with them. She’s still messing with Dominic even though he’s getting married in less than a year. Everybody is surprised that he’s still going through with it, especially David.

  Ever since Brooklyn had DJ, David, and I had gotten closer. We were always around each other when Nadia and Dominic were together, but we never really talked. When we were at the hospital all those hours waiting for Brooklyn to have the baby, we started talking, and we’ve been talking since then. We’re just friends right now, but he wants it to be more. He’s sweet, and I like him, but I’m not ready to take it there just yet. David is the male version of me. We don’t do relationships because we’re both afraid of commitment. I don’t know what his reason is, but I’m afraid of getting hurt. The few times I was around him he was always with a different woman. That alone let me know that he was trouble.

  “Co-Co shut the hell up,” I said laughing at my brother. He was pointing out different men in the parking lot telling us which one of them were gay. David was doubled over laughing at his crazy ass.

  “I’m telling you Candace, my gaydar is never wrong,” he swore.

  “What the hell is a gaydar?” David asked him.

  “That’s my gay radar, so I call it my gaydar. It never leads me wrong. I can spot a down low nigga in a second. Even the fake ones with girlfriends,” Co-Co said like he was teaching us something.

  “Man, you play too much,” David said laughing.

  “But I’m dead ass serious. Ask Candace how many times my predictions have come true. Hell, a few of them have even followed me home from the club. The same ones that try to play hard in front of their friends wake up next to me in the morning.”

  My brother wasn’t lying about that. I remember being ready to fight a dude at the club for calling him a faggot. That same dude ended up coming to our house spending the night with him. Then he went crazy when Co-Co didn’t want to deal with him anymore. I’ve learned to never judge a book by its cover because appearances aren’t everything.

  “Brooklyn better bring her lil hot ass on over here. If my brother was with us, she wouldn’t have pulled no shit like this,” David commented.

  “Your brother is about to be a married man so she can do whatever she wants,” I replied.

  “That bitch is crazy. As good as Dominic is to her I’ll be the other woman and the mistress too. He’s with her just as much as he’s with Kennedi,” Co-Co said.

  “She’s doing the right thing by trying to move on. That’s not fair for her to play second to Kennedi or anybody else,” I retorted.

  “She’s not playing second to anybody. Trust me when I say that my brother is in love with Brooklyn. He’s getting married for all the wrong reasons. I think he has love for Kennedi, but he’s not in love with her,” David claimed. I looked up towards the theater’s exit where Brooklyn was standing, and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Nadia was walking towards us, but I was shocked at who she was walking with. Shannon is Kevin’s girlfriend, but I never knew that she and Nadia were cool. Brooklyn started walking back to us at the same time as .they were

  “What’s up Nadia?” David spoke. She spoke to all of us, but Shannon didn’t say anything. She just kept looking at Brooklyn with a scowl on her face. She didn’t even try to hide her dislike for my cousin, but she better think twice before acting on it.

  “Where’s your baby Brooklyn? He’s so cute. I saw his pictures on Instagram,” Nadia said.

  “He’s with his daddy,” Brooklyn replied while looking right back at Shannon.

  “I’m happy you mentioned that Nadia. Brooklyn, please do me a favor and stop sending pictures to Kevin’s phone. Y’all are friends on Instagram and Facebook so he’ll see them eventually,” Shannon demanded. Brooklyn didn’t have a chance to say anything before Co-Co went off.

  “Girl, if you don’t go sit down somewhere with that drawstring ponytail in your head. Don’t be mad at my cousin, be mad at your hair stylist,” he roared.

  “You mind your fucking business,” she yelled at my brother while walking up on him. I didn’t miss the blade that she slipped from underneath her tongue and held in her hand.

  “Let it go Co-Co,” I warned my brother.

  “Fuck that upside down built bitch. I’m not scared of a damn blade. They didn’t stop making them when they made hers,” he yelled.

  “Y’all chill before they call the police on us,” David warned.

  “Yeah, let’s go and for the record Shannon, your man blows up my phone, so you need to go check that nigga,” Brooklyn said before walking away. Nadia pulled Shannon away in the opposite direction. I can’t wait to call and ask her how that friendship came about. Nadia has been on some other shit lately, and now I know why. One thing was for sure, friend or not, that bitch can get it too.

  DOMINIC

  As soon as I dropped Kennedi off at the airport I headed straight to Brooklyn. I have the entire weekend to myself, and that’s who I plan to spend it with. Kennedi is going to New York with her mother and Paris to get her wedding dress. We only have a little over six months before the big day arrived. I actually have two big days coming up. My son will be turning one at the end of May, and I’m getting married two weeks later. Brooklyn and I have never discussed it, but I want his first birthday party to be huge. DJ is
my first and only, so I have to go all out. I don’t know how long before any more came, but I’m enjoying the one I have.

  Brooklyn and I had another pregnancy scare two months ago, but it turned out to be a false alarm. She’s taking birth control pills, and it causes her cycle to be irregular. She went crazy when she missed her period, and even I was a little bit shaken. When we went to Dr. Martin, he told us that it was the pills, and everything was fine.

  Kennedi wants to go to a fertility clinic, but it’s just not the right time. The prices to start treatments are ridiculous. Not only are we paying for a wedding, but the house that Kennedi wants is expensive as well. She doesn’t know it yet, but we aren’t moving anytime soon. Kennedi wants me to empty out my accounts just so we won’t have to pay a house note. I was almost about to do it until my father talked me out of it. The idea he proposed made perfect sense. I would open up a homeowners account and save some money in there for an entire year after the wedding. Then once I had enough money saved, we would purchase the house for our one year anniversary. That way the house would be paid for, and I would still have a nice amount of money in my personal accounts. I planned to talk to Kennedi about it once she got back. My mind is already made up, so she has no choice in the matter. I’ve also been thinking about getting Brooklyn a car. I didn’t mind doing whatever she needed me to do, but sometimes I wasn’t available when she needed me. I don’t like her having to call other people to do things for her or my son. Her family doesn’t mind, but I do. I just feel like Brooklyn and DJ are my responsibility, and they always will be.