The Pact

by Monica McKayhan

  “What did he say?” I whispered to Uncle Keith.

  “He said that your nana is a very strong woman and that she’s going to be fine.”

  “For real?”

  “For real.” Uncle Keith planted a kiss on my forehead and eased my fears just a little bit. He didn’t say that Nana would be coming home with us, and that probably meant that she was worse off than I could’ve imagined. If God had had intentions of taking Nana away, he could’ve at least given me a warning.

  Nana’s eyes were just barely open, but she attempted to smile when we entered the room.

  “Hey, sweet pea.” She struggled with every syllable. “How you doing?”

  “I’m doing just fine, Nana. What about you?”

  She held her hand out and reached for me, and my heart pounded when I saw that fluids were being pumped through an IV in the back of her hand. I moved closer to the bed.

  “You scared me, Nana…. I didn’t know what to do.” Tears filled my eyes as I held her hand in mine.

  “You needn’t worry about me, sweet pea. I’ll be just fine.” She smiled. “Your nana is strong.”

  When I heard Nana say it, I actually believed it, and I finally exhaled for the first time that night.

  “I got here as soon as I heard.” Sabrina rushed into the room and straight toward Nana’s bed. She grabbed Nana’s free hand and kissed her cheek. “You gave me a scare, Nana.”

  “I’m doing just fine,” Nana said before drifting into a light sleep, her stomach moving up and down beneath the covers. The doctors had given her something to help her sleep.

  “We should go and let her get some rest,” said Uncle Keith.

  “I wanna stay.” I expressed my desires quickly. “I can spend the night with Nana so she doesn’t have to be alone.”

  “I don’t think you can sleep in here, Indi,” said Cousin Benny. “They have strict rules in the ICU, baby girl.”

  “Can we ask?” I couldn’t leave Nana alone. I wanted to stay with her, just to make sure she was all right. I had always taken care of Nana, monitoring what she ate and making sure she did the right things. She needed me.

  Unfortunately, the hospital staff disagreed. They were convinced that they could take better care of Nana than I could. And even though the doctor had assured us that Nana was out of the woods, I was still skeptical. Nobody had witnessed her just a few hours ago laid out on the lawn like that, except me—an image that would forever be burned in my memory.

  “Uncle Keith is right, Indi. We should let Nana rest.” Sabrina grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the doorway. “You can come home with me until Nana’s better, if you want to.”

  I thought about the alternative—being in Nana’s big old house all by myself, hearing those noises all through the night. “The house settling,” Nana would say. “Nothing to be afraid of, sweet pea.”

  “I think that would be a good idea, Indi,” Uncle Keith said, knowing that he probably wouldn’t show up until the crack of dawn, if at all.

  I kissed Nana on the forehead and prayed she would be home soon. As the nurse began to check Nana’s vital signs, I followed my family out of the room and down the hospital corridor. Grudgingly.

  Chapter 20

  Marcus

  A left-hand layup sent the ball soaring into the basket with a swish. The last two points, and that was all we needed to reach twenty. I glanced over at Michelle and Andre, who were sitting in the bleachers, and they gave each other a high five. The bass from somebody’s loud music caused everyone to turn around and look; it came from a silver Monte Carlo backing into a space in the parking lot. Cedric stepped out of the car, wearing white shorts and a wrinkled black T-shirt, his hair in cornrows. Two of his boys followed. He pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it into the bleachers, headed toward the court.

  “I got next,” he said to no one in particular, and nobody seemed to have a problem with it. I instantly knew he was a bully, the way he came on the scene and demanded his place.

  El tossed the ball to Cedric, and he passed it off to one of his boys to take it out. Cedric brought the ball downcourt, and within seconds he was standing right in front of me, bouncing the ball from side to side for a ridiculously long time, a mean sneer on his face. I reached in to snatch the ball away, but Cedric was quick and moved to my right, took the ball to the basket and tossed it in—an easy two points. El got the rebound and tossed it to a tall, slender dude on our team. Tall and Slender took the ball out and tossed it to me.

  I hustled downcourt toward the basket, and before I knew it, Cedric was in my face again—the same sneer on his face. It was almost as if he was focusing all of his energy on guarding me. When he pushed me, I didn’t see it coming.

  “Man, what’s your problem?” I asked.

  “I ain’t got no problem,” Cedric responded, and then pushed me again.

  I pushed back and then we were rolling around on the pavement. In seconds El was pulling me off Cedric and one of Cedric’s boys was holding him.

  “Cedric, what’s up with you?” El asked.

  “This fool is supposed to be messing with my girl!” Cedric spat through bloody lips.

  “Everybody knows that Rena’s your girl, Ced,” El said. “What’s your beef with Flash?”

  I wanted to know the same thing, and waited to hear Cedric’s response. There was no doubt I liked Rena. I thought she was fine; everybody did. Rena and I had gone to the beach together, and shared a kiss, but that was it. Besides, according to her, she wasn’t his girl, anyway. In my opinion, that made her fair game.

  “My beef is that Rena belongs to me, and this fool has disrespected me, crossed the line.” Cedric wiped blood from his mouth, smeared it across his white shorts.

  “That’s not what she told me,” I said, and pulled away from El’s grasp. I started walking away, headed toward Michelle and Andre, who were in the middle of the crowd that had gathered for the fight. “Let’s go, y’all.”

  “Marcus, you okay?” Michelle asked, and tossed my shirt to me. She pulled a Kleenex out of her purse and began to rub blood from a cut on my face.

  “I’m cool,” I said, and wiped my face with my shirt.

  The three of us headed in the opposite direction of the crowd.

  “You can have her, punk! She’s tarnished now,” Cedric yelled. I flipped my middle finger into the air and kept walking. “I hope you enjoy being a daddy, fool.”

  I stopped dead in my tracks, confused by Cedric’s comments. What was he talking about, “I hope you enjoy being a daddy”? Laughter followed his comments, and he continued with his foolish talk.

  “You better learn how to change diapers…. Waaa…waaa…waaa.” He made noises like a baby crying, and sounded so juvenile.

  I couldn’t shake what he said, so I turned to face him, headed his way.

  “What are you talking about, man?”

  “Oh, you mean she didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what, fool?” I asked.

  “She didn’t tell you that she’s pregnant?” Cedric laughed sarcastically. “And that you the daddy?”

  “That’s not possible,” I said, and seriously had to rethink my actions toward Rena. I knew that I hadn’t had sex with this girl. Either she was crazy or a huge liar. Either way, she had me in a bad situation. “I never touched that girl.”

  “That’s not what Rena’s claiming, punk!” Cedric said.

  “We’ll see,” I said, and walked away again.

  “Yeah, we’ll see!” Cedric yelled.

  Michelle, Andre and I cut through backside of the Diamond Shamrock store and walked through the parking lot of the Shell gas station. I walked briskly ahead of them, my mind on nothing but finding Rena as soon as possible.

  “Is that true what Cedric said, Marcus?” Michelle asked.

  “I never touched that girl,” I said through clenched teeth, never turning to look at Michelle. “All I did was kiss her. And I never knew anybody that got pregnant from kissing.”
/>   “That’s not what Rena’s going around telling people,” Andre chimed in. “She’s telling people that y’all are knocking boots, dog.”

  “I heard that, too,” Michelle said.

  “You heard what, Michelle?” I was suddenly in her face.

  “I heard that you and Rena, you know…that y’all were having sex.” She didn’t back down.

  “And you believed something stupid like that?” I asked, still in Michelle’s face.

  “Don’t be mad at me, Marcus. I didn’t start the rumors,” Michelle said.

  “But you listened to them.” I pointed my finger right at Michelle’s forehead.

  I walked faster, right into traffic as I jaywalked across the busy street. The horn from a U-Haul blared as the truck rushed toward me, swerving to keep from hitting me.

  “Don’t blame us because you didn’t wear a condom, Marcus!” Michelle bellowed across the street.

  That took my anger to another level.

  Rena wasn’t on her throne when I made it to the pool area. She was nowhere in sight, and I wondered where she was when I needed to confront her about the lies that were spreading like wildfire.

  “Where’s Rena?” I asked her redheaded counterpart.

  “She’s sick today,” he said. “She’ll be back tomorrow.”

  I didn’t say another word, just headed toward Rena’s building. I had to get to the bottom of this, and today. I took the stairs two at a time until I reached her unit. I banged on her door. When nobody answered, I rang the doorbell. Still no answer. Just as I turned to walk away, the door slowly crept open.

  “Hey, Marcus,” Rena said softly.

  “Rena, we need to talk,” I said.

  She looked terrible. Her hair was all over her head, her eyes were bloodshot and she was dressed in wrinkled pajamas.

  “Can it wait, Marcus? I don’t really feel well today.”

  “Rena, I just left the basketball court. Your boyfriend, Cedric, was there.”

  “Ex-boyfriend,” Rena corrected me.

  “Whatever he is, I just got into a fight with him…over you and your stupid lie….”

  “What lie?”

  “Well, apparently you’re going around telling people that you’re pregnant, and that I’m supposed to be the father,” I told her. “Rena, you know that we never…”

  Rena pulled me into her house.

  “Marcus, who else knows about this?” she asked.

  “Everybody who was at the court today.”

  She sighed long and hard. Tears rolled down her face, and I wrapped my arms around her, hugged her until she got herself together. Then I followed Rena into the living room. A black-and-white portrait of Rena hung over the fireplace, and lots of other black-and-white framed photos covered the brick-red walls. I found a seat on the edge of the black leather sofa.

  “I did a home pregnancy test two days ago, and it was positive. I accidentally left the box in the trash can in my bathroom, and my mother found it. She and my father started grilling me about it…asking me if I was pregnant. I finally fessed up…told them yes. Of course my daddy wanted to know who the father was, and I wouldn’t tell him. He kept asking me if it was Cedric.”

  “Well, is it?” I asked.

  “Yes, but I can’t tell my father that, Marcus. He would kill Cedric. He hates him. That’s why we broke up, because my father forbade me to see him. He said that Cedric is a thug and a good-for-nothing drug dealer.”

  “Is he?”

  “He’s not that bad. He came from an abusive home and moved out when he was fifteen. He’s lived on his own since then. And so he’s had to make a living somehow.”

  “There are legal ways of making a living, Rena. And selling drugs is not one of them.”

  “I know that, Marcus. I did as my father asked me to…. I broke up with Cedric. But I still loved him…at least, I thought I did, until you came along. I really like you.”

  “I like you, too, Rena. But why did you tell Cedric that I’m your baby’s father?”

  “Because I couldn’t tell him the truth. He would demand to be involved in this pregnancy, and my father’s not having that.”

  “Who does your father think you’re pregnant by?”

  Rena gave me a sheepish smile.

  “What? You told your father it was me?” I asked, standing now. “What did you do that for?”

  “Because you’re such a great guy, with values and stuff like that. You’re from a decent home,” she said.

  “He’ll be trying to kill me, too.”

  “He won’t, Marcus, I promise,” she said. “Can you play along? Just for a little while?”

  “Until when?”

  “Until I have a chance to take care of it,” she said. “I’m getting an abortion.”

  I brushed my hand across my waves, shook my head. I was nervous about this whole scheme of Rena’s. Taking claim of a baby that didn’t belong to me was downright crazy; it was something I needed to think through.

  “I don’t know, Rena….”

  “Please, Marcus,” she begged. “I have an appointment at the abortion clinic next Tuesday. Just until then.”

  “And what happens on Tuesday? How will you clear my name?”

  “I’ll tell my father the truth. If there’s no baby, then he has no reason to kill Cedric.”

  “Of course not, he’ll be looking for me instead.”

  “I promise this will work out, Marcus.”

  I felt uneasy about the whole thing, but I agreed to play along until Tuesday. I walked toward the front door, and Rena followed.

  “Thank you, Marcus,” she whispered.

  “I’ll holler at you later,” I said, and opened the door.

  “Hey, Marcus…one more thing…”

  “What’s that?”

  “Can you take me on Tuesday?”

  She was asking a lot from one guy, but I couldn’t leave her out there alone.

  “Yeah, I’ll take you.”

  “Thank you.”

  I didn’t say another word, just walked slowly down the stairs and into the bright sunshine.

  Chapter 21

  Marcus

  I parked in the most inconspicuous space I could find in the parking lot, as far away from the door as possible.

  “I’ll just wait in the car,” I told Rena.

  “You sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Okay. It shouldn’t take long.” Rena stepped out of my car, the bill of her baseball cap down over her eyes. She wore sweatpants and a tank top.

  I watched as she walked slowly to the door, and just before she went inside, she gave me a look over her shoulder. I gave her a smile of reassurance and then she stepped inside. I should’ve gone in with Rena; that would’ve been the manly thing to do. But I didn’t want to be seen in a place like this, a place where babies’ lives were ended before they even had a chance. It wasn’t something I wanted to be involved in. Just the thought of ending a baby’s life made me sad. It wasn’t the kid’s fault that things were this way, so why should he or she be punished? It wasn’t my call, though. I was simply the driver. I had no say-so in this situation whatsoever. That was my position, and I was sticking to it.

  I sat in the parking lot for at least an hour, sunk down in the driver’s seat of my car, listening to Young Jeezy’s CD. By the time Rena finally tapped on the window of the car, I had fallen asleep. I hit the power locks and she got in.

  “Well?” I asked.

  “Well what?” She was different.

  “How did it go?” I asked.

  “Let’s just go, Marcus,” she said.

  I started the car and pulled out of the parking lot of the abortion clinic. There was total silence on the way home. She didn’t want to talk about it, and I didn’t make her. I was just glad that the whole experience was over with. Wanted Rena to be the happy free spirit she’d once been. I figured that something like this might change her forever, though.

  I pulled into my usual spa
ce in the subdivision. I sat there for a moment, thinking that Rena might want to talk. But she didn’t. Instead, she eased out of the car and slowly walked toward her house. She didn’t even say goodbye, and I didn’t pressure her. I just shut off my engine, hopped out and headed up the stairs.

  When I walked into my house, Mom was on the phone with one of her girlfriends, gossiping about something. I walked right past her and rushed to my room, shut the door behind me. I heard Mom say, “Girl, let me call you back. Something’s wrong with Marcus.”

  It wasn’t long before she popped her head into my room.

  “Hey, Ma,” I said.

  “Marcus, what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I lied. I wasn’t ready to share this type of news with my mother.

  “Baby, we need to talk,” she said, then stepped inside and sat on the edge of my bed.

  Had she heard the news, too? That I was supposed to be the father of Rena’s baby, when I hadn’t even done what it took to earn that title? None of it mattered anymore, anyway. Rena had taken care of it, and the nightmare was over now. She’d promised to tell her father the truth and clear my name so I could have my reputation back. Only irresponsible dudes found themselves in situations like this. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to make love to a beautiful girl like Rena, but I would’ve taken precautions to be responsible and safe.

  Mom’s little talk was interrupted by the doorbell.

  “That’s probably Leon,” she said, “but why is he ringing the bell when he has a key?”

  She had given him a key? Had he already moved in and nobody told me? I followed her and popped into the kitchen for a Cherry Coke.

  “Are you Mrs. Carter?” The man on the other side of the door had an unfamiliar voice. It definitely wasn’t Leon. This guy stood at about six feet, three inches tall. A full beard covered his face.

  “Yes, I am,” Mom said.

  “May I come in?” he asked. “I’m David Jordan, Rena’s father. She’s a friend of your son’s.”