Love Contract

by Andromeda

  She slowly comes back, her eyes widening as she looks around.

  "Easy girl," Pearl says. "You fell."

  "How's my baby?" she asks, her hand going to her stomach.

  Pearl looks at the OB, who looks back at her with sad eyes. "I'm sorry..."

  "No..." she cries. "NO!"

  She screams and arches her back; the OB puts on a gown. "You're having a miscarriage Malaika, don't fight it."

  "No..." she whimpers. "No...no...no..."

  I leave the room, unable to stay the sounds of her screams of pain filling my ears. She was pregnant...with my child...

  "Stop fighting it, Mala! Let it come, you've lost it!"

  "No! I won't let it go!"

  "Put her under!"

  I hear the uncap of a needle and Mala scream as they jab her in the arm. I thought they were supposed to put it into her IV? I guess not.

  My breathing becomes ragged as I hear her screams slowly begin to falter. Peeking in, I see the OB between her legs, scooping out large clots of blood that makes me leave again and throw up in a nearby trash bin. Running blindly, I go into an on-call room and burst into tears, unable to hold back. I cry for the first time in my life since...Veronica. While I'm sad, I'm also mad as hell at Malaika. Why didn't she tell me she was pregnant?

  Ding!

  My phone beeps as a text message pops up, marked unknown. With a frown, I open it; my blood runs cold.

  Unknown: Hello Giovanni. You don't know me but I know a lot about you. How's it feels being with my leftovers? Well, they won't be leftovers for long. I’ve been watching her, well having some of my men watch her; I must say she has gotten more beautiful than I remember. However, I must say I didn’t appreciate her opening her legs to anyone but me, so I had to give her a little push in order to try to guide her in the right direction. While I personally am not near her, I cannot wait until I am free to pursue her. Good bye Giovanni, it was so nice to talk to you.

  ********************************

  Malaika

  The light blinds me as I open my eyes, looking around in a daze. Where...am I...

  "Good, you're awake."

  Looking to my side, I see Giovanni sitting in a chair. He looks nervous, unshowered, and his eyes look wild.

  "How long have I been out?"

  "Two days," he says. "They...gave you a stronger dosage than needed."

  My hand goes to my stomach and he looks at it. "I know..."

  Tears threaten to spill from my eyes and I let them, unable to hold them. "What was it?”

  "You were too early to tell,” his voice is low and threatening. I can see his temper threatening to spill over. "Why didn't you tell me?" he whispers.

  "I just found out," I whisper. "Why are you even here...shouldn't you be with your fiancée?"

  "She's not my fiancée," he says. "Well...she was...once."

  I turn my head away. "Why didn't you tell me about her?"

  "Because I didn't have to. I don't have to tell you about my past relationships."

  I roll my eyes, still not looking at him. "So...are you going back with her?"

  "I...I guess so...she's having my child..."

  "I understand," my voice is low and laced with hurt.

  He takes my hand. "But...that doesn't mean we have to end things."

  I yank my hand free as if he's fire. "What?"

  "I still want you..." he begins, but I cut him off.

  I shake my head. "No, you don't want me. You want me in your bed, and that's all! I refuse to be the other woman!"

  "Hearing you talk in another language makes me want you more..." He tenderly touches my cheek.

  I turn my head away. "Don't touch me! We still have to address you thinking I lied to you even though you know I never have since the day you met me!"

  He flinches, but his eyes burn with anger. "I said I was sorry! I've sent you gifts but you've sent them back! I bought you cruise tickets but you gave them away! Hell, I bought you a car but you returned it and gave me the money back! What the hell do you want from me!"

  "Just leave me alone!" I scream back, tears slipping down my cheeks.

  This is all too much. Him and his mood swings, the fiancée who's carrying his kid, Derrick, me losing my baby...my hand goes to my stomach as silent tears slip down my cheek. It might have been a boy...it might have been a girl...I'd never hear them laugh, see their first steps, or any of the other things mothers are supposed to experience. And then there is the fiancée...the blond showing off proudly that she's carrying his child.

  "I can't do this," I whisper.

  "What?" he asks.

  "Giovanni, we're through. Break the contract."

  "No."

  I look at him with a raised eyebrow. "No? I refuse to sleep with you and I don't care if you throw me into jail. You have a woman carrying your child...you should put all your attention on her. We're done; wait, we would have had to have been together for us to be done I guess. It's like you said: I was only around to warm your bed, and give you pleasure until I gave you a child. Well, go do that with your fiancée. Get the hell out of my room and don't look back."

  I can see mixed emotions in his eyes. He wants to start, he wants to yell at me to see reason, and deep down I kind of want him to; but another emotion pops up—pride.

  "Fine," he spits. "Fine, have it your way. You do know that I have the authority to have you kicked out of his program...but I won't. That would just make me a monster. I'll give you your wish, I'll leave and never look back. I'll take Brittany and our child far way, Italy maybe, to stay away from you. Goodbye Malaika, you're going to regret this..."

  I'm regretting it now, I think, but hold my tongue as he gets up and leaves the room, out of my life forever.

  Chapter Twelve: One Step Forward, Twenty Steps Back

  Malaika

  "Come on guys, or else we're going to be late!"

  "Mamman! Ruby pulled my hair!" Robyn runs up to me, her large hazel eyes swimming with tears.

  "I did not!" Ruby cries, running over and tugging at my jacket. "You can't believe her!"

  I roll my eyes and rub my temples. "I don't care who did it, just get in the car!"

  Ruby shoots me a withering look, but they comply. They all hop into my SUV, and I drop them off at school before I head to work. As I get out, my eyes can't help but linger at the spot marked: Giovanni Rindaldi.

  It's been three years, three long years since I've seen him. I learned that right after my miscarriage, he hopped onto a plane with Brittany and moved to Italy. I cried for days because it hurt so badly. While I was here, alone, he was living it up in Italy with the pregnant fiancée he never told me about. While I mourned the loss of an innocent life, he was celebrating the birth of his child. What is it, I don't know, but I heard that it was born a month after he left.

  I was fuming mad at him; I couldn't even leave my apartment. Joy gave me a month's worth of leave to deal with my mourning, and it helped greatly. I got so depressed because I blamed myself for my baby's death that I considered suicide.

  Giovanni, the man who I had opened myself up to, had failed me in a way that shattered me to my very core; but it was with the help of my friends and family that I was able to pull myself out of it. It took a while, but I was able to realize that I didn't need him. Time rolled by, and my life got better.

  I got several promotions in my department, even becoming the Head of Peds when I passed my boards and finished my residency. I was able to move out of my shabby apartment and into a four-bedroom house in the suburbs. My siblings have better clothes on their backs, don't have to worry about going hungry, and we have extra money to go out to the movies or go skating. I was even able to buy my dream car, dark-blue a Range Rover Sport (L494). I also got one of the greatest gifts I could have ever asked for in my life.

  One year ago, there was a knock at my door. It was strange since I wasn't expecting anyone, but I went to the door and gasped. It was Remy, my older brother. When I was young, he lef
t Jamaica to serve in the United Sates Army as an army surgeon. I hadn't seen him in almost ten years!

  "Alo ankò little sis," he said greeting me. "Long time no see."

  I wrapped my arms around him in a tight hug, tears streaming down my cheeks. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the middle of the Indian Ocean or something!"

  "I was..." he said. "But I got something to get me out..."

  He looks down and I do too, gasping softly. His right leg is gone.

  "Honorable discharge," he sighed. "I went back home and everyone told me you were in America. It took me a while, but I've found you."

  I took him inside and when everyone saw him, they all scream. The only one who didn't know him was Robyn, but that was because she was a newborn when he saw her.

  "She's beautiful, Mala," he says. "Looks just like you."

  "What are you doing here?" I asked, sitting on a couch.

  "After I got discharged, I got hired at the hospital you work. I start in a couple months."

  I was ecstatic; my brother was going to be working with me! It didn't take long for him to get settled in at work, and everyone likes him. Especially Marcus. I can't help but smile at that. My brother is bisexual, and I have nothing wrong with that. Marcus, I know for a fact is gay. I'm not even going to go into detail on how I found out.

  However...I hope that Giovanni...wherever he is...is as happy as I am...

  ********************************

  Giovanni

  "...I don't care if you have a spa appointment!" I roar into the phone. "It's your turn to watch our daughter!"

  "But I made this appointment months ago!" the whiney voice on the other end says. "I need it, our daughter is giving me worry lines! And I still haven't been able to get rid of the stretch marks she gave me!"

  I rub my temples, trying to keep my temper in check as I listen to Brittany's whining. Is it so hard for her to not think of herself for once in her life?

  "FINE!" I finally bark, unable to hold back anymore. "I'll pick her up!"

  "Thank you, my love," she purrs before hanging up the phone.

  Groaning, I order my driver to change course and head to my daughter's daycare. When we arrive, she's waiting for me, my dorato principessa; my Golden Princess Rosie. With large blue eyes and ringlets of pure gold, she is the most beautiful little girl I've ever seen. She doesn't look like me at all; she doesn't have the Rinaldi dark looks (olive skin, green eyes, or jet-black hair) and that surprised me in the beginning. I thought that dark looks were dominate; I guess not.

  "Babbo!" she cries with she sees me, toddling over and leaping into my arms.

  I smile. She calls me babbo, meaning daddy; rather than Papà. At only three years old she's very smart, speaking a majority of Italian, but also basic words in English and French. The French, I guess she gets from her mother, who always wishes to speak the 'language of love'. Please; if anything, Italian is what gets the women dropping to their knees before you, or on their backs with their legs spread.

  "How was your day?" I ask her as I lead her to the car.

  "Nico tugged on my bwaids," she says, her voice high and clear.

  "That wasn't very nice of Nico," I say, buckling her up.

  "No it was not.”

  I smile as she babbles on, telling me of her friends and how her day went. She truly is the most beautiful girl in the world.

  "Look Babbo!" she suddenly cries. "A pettirosso!"

  I flinch at the word. Pettirosso means Robin and the moment I hear it...the memories come back.

  No, I tell myself. No, no, NO! You will NOT think of her!

  Too late. I'm remembering her laugh, the feel of her kisses, the way she twisted her face when she climaxed, the sense of comfort I had just being in her presence.

  Three years. Three long years. My mind goes back to when she told me we were through. I got Brittany and flew to my family's house in Naples and didn't look back. This was only hours after she lost our child. It took me a while, but I was able to suppress my thoughts of Malaika, and when Rosie was born I finally had a child of my own.

  It hasn't been the best life. Brittany and I are constantly arguing, but Rosie is what keeps me her. I refuse to be a deadbeat dad. But...every now and then my mind goes to Malaika, my Angel. Is she alright? How are her siblings faring? Does she have a new man in her life? I can't help it, but the thought of another man holding her, kissing her, making love to her makes me see red.

  To get my thoughts from her, I take Rosie out to eat and by the time we get back home, she's fast asleep and it’s dark. Holding her on my shoulder, I walk through the door...and almost trip on a pair of pants? Looking down, I see a trail of clothes scattered around the room; my blood beings to boil.

  Following the clothes, the sounds of moaning and the bed banging against the wall fill my ears. Slowly, I open the door and see Britney on top of her normal massage therapist. Honestly, I'm not surprised. She has been going to the spa every week for the past two years, no one goes normally that much. They are so into it that they don't see me, but when my shadow looms over them they stop.

  Brittany whips around and screams, trying to cover herself. "Gio, it's not what it looks like!" she cries.

  I ignore her and look at the man who is sweating bullets. He knows who I am, and he knows his life is in my hands. "Grazie," I say to him, before turning on my heel.

  "GIO! COME BACK!" Britany screams to me, but I block her out.

  Getting back in my car, I bark at my driver, "Airport now."

  I can hear Brittany pounding on the door, trying to talk to me but I ignore her.

  We pull away, leaving her in the dust. When we arrive at the airport, I carry Rosie into my private jet and place her in her seat.

  "Where to, sir?" the pilot asks.

  "Richmond," I growl. "And I want to be there in less than 12 hours."

  Chapter Thirteen: Bring the Pain

  Malaika

  "...and he's running...and he's running...and he makes it! Jordan Robinson scores a touchdown!"

  We all leap to our feet, clapping and cheering, screaming our hearts out as Jordan does his little dance in the end zone.

  "That's the game, ladies and gentlemen, the Knights have done it again! All thanks to Mr. Jordan Robinson!" the announcer's voice booms.

  I clap my hands as tears stream down my cheeks. Hugging Remy, we run down with Pearl and the others and attack my brother in a massive group hug.

  "Hey! Hey! Hey!" he grumbles. "Let the star running back breathe!"

  "Whatever," I say, punching his shoulder.

  "That was awizom, little bro," Remy says, slapping his back.

  "Yay Jordi!" Robyn cheers, clapping her hands.

  "I say we go out," Remy says. "Let's all go out for dinner to celebrate!"

  "I'll pay for it," a voice behind us says.

  We turn around and see a man in a suit. Tall with dirty-blond hair, his blue eyes roam over us before settling on me. He gives me a small smile before turning to Jordan.

  "That was some fast running there," he says.

  "Thanks," Jordan says, beaming with pride.

  "He's so fast because of his little chicken legs," Grace giggles.

  Jordan shoots her a withering look, and she shoots back one of her own.

  I give them my own look that could kill Medusa, and then turn back to the man. "I'm sorry about that Mr..."

  "James," he says holding out his hands. "James Jamestown III."

  Behind me, I hear a couple of my friends snicker and try myself not to grin.

  "Nice to meet you, Mr. Jamestown," I say, shaking his hand. "I'm Malaika, that's Jordan, Ruby, Grace, Remi, Robyn, Pearl, Kenny, Marcus, and David."

  "It's nice to meet you all," he says. "And I meant my proposal to take you all for dinner. I'm greatly interested in Mr. Jordan."

  "Why?" Robyn asks, always the curious one.

  "Well, I'm the head coach of Richmond State," he answers.

  All of our ja
ws drop. Richmond State is one the best Ivy League colleges in the country, if not the world.

  "O...oh," I stammer. "U....um...we'd love to have dinner with you. Just...not right now." Everyone gives me the 'oh hell naw' look, but I ignore them. "Can we reschedule?"

  "Of course. Here's my card." He hands me a card with the picture of the Richmond Cardinal on it, and shoots me a dazzling smile. "Until we meet again, I'll be awaiting your call."

  Jordan gives me hell for the next two days, but then turns into an angel so I will call this James Jamestown. Strange name; Grace once told me there is a man named Philip Philips.

  "So have you called him yet?" Pearl asks me as we walk into work.

  "I will," I laugh. "Just give me some time."

  "It's been a week," she says as we change. "Plus, I saw how he was looking at you..."

  I roll my eyes. After Giovanni, the last thing I need right now is another guy. All of my close friends and family know the real reason Giovanni was with me, and while they were pissed at me for keeping it a secret, they are pissed even more so at Giovanni for having a pregnant fiancée and not telling me about it; but I don't care about them, I'm free and living my life.

  "Here are your charts," Joy says. "You first patient is in a room 403 with a minor cut that'll need a few stitches."

  "Alright." I walk to the room and open the door. "Hello, I'm Dr. Robinson and I'll be your..."

  The words die on my lips as a pair of emerald green eyes look into my own.

  Merde!

  ********************************

  Giovanni

  How did I end up in this situation? Oh wait, yeah I know—the nanny I hired to watch my daughter is a complete and utter idiot! I leave the house for 20 minutes and then she calls me, screaming that my daughter almost cut her arm off! Well, cut her arm off is kind of extensive to say; more like she just cut herself really badly, but still!

  This woman was supposed to be the best of the best, and she can't even take care of a three-year old! And now, here I am speeding through traffic to take her to my hospital, where I know she'll get the best care I can afford. Running upstairs to Glitterland, I bark at a nurse who puts us in room to wait for a doctor. 5 minutes seem like an eternity and after 2 more, I'm ready to fling the door open and scream when the handle moves.