by Ambria Davis
“No. I told you that I’m fine. All I really need to do is go home, take some medicine, and lie down for a bit,” I tried to protest. “I’m going to be just fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I replied, still holding my stomach.
“Really, are you sure, Brinay?” she asked for reassurance.
“I’m positive. All I want to do is go home, go to bed, and get some sleep,” I said to her.
“Okay, but I’m not leaving you until I know that you’re all right,” she replied.
“Okay, that’s fine,” I responded. I knew that if I would’ve tried to say no, she wouldn’t have let me. She was very caring, and she didn’t like when someone she really cared about was hurt and stuff.
When we pulled up to my apartment building, she found a spot in the front of the building, parked the car, and hurriedly ran to my side of the car. I already had the door open trying to get out, but it was hard to do, so she ended up helping me.
“Nay, are you 100 percent positive that you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?” she asked as we made our way to my apartment. It was a good thing that I lived on the first floor, because I’m not sure if I could have made it any farther.
“I’m sure,” I replied. I hope she stops asking me that, I thought to myself. I don’t want to go to no damn hospital, and I don’t know why she didn’t see that yet.
“Okay,” she replied. “Hold on while I open the door,” she said as she leaned my body against the wall by the door. She pulled out the set of keys that I had given her and unlocked the door. “Come on,” she replied, turning to help me. She helped me all the way into the bedroom, where I lay down on the bed.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to go and get your food and stuff from the car,” she said once she made sure that I was okay. “Don’t move.”
I wanted to ask her how was I going to move, but I didn’t. Instead, I lay back on the bed and waited for her to return. Not even five minutes later, she was walking back inside the room.
“Damn, what did you do? Run?” I asked her.
“Well, yes,” she said, laughing. “I wanted to make sure that I got back to you in case you may have needed me or something, so I ran to the car.”
“I’m okay, Kourt. It was probably my emotions and the fact that I haven’t eaten anything yet,” I replied, sitting up as best as I could.
“I know, which is why I have your food in the microwave, and you’re going to tell me where the Tylenols are,” she said, getting up from where she had taken a seat.
“They’re in the cabinet above the microwave, and catch me a bottle of water while you’re at it,” I replied.
“Anything for you, baby mama,” she said, cracking a smile.
“All right, baby daddy,” I replied, winking at her. She damn near fell to the floor laughing. She was so silly sometimes.
“You too foolish. I’ll be right back with your things. Then I’ll help you take a bath and get ready for bed.” She left the room to go and get the things from the kitchen.
“Here,” Kourtney said, reentering the room. I sat up as she handed me the container that I had gotten from IHOP that was filled with the food that I couldn’t eat earlier and the pills with the water. She then walked toward the other side of the bed with her own container and sat down.
“Where’s the remote?” she asked.
“It’s over there on the dresser,” I replied as I began to stuff my face. I hadn’t realized that I was that hungry until I was actually stuffing food into my mouth.
“I told you that you was hungry, lady. Over here trying to starve my god baby and stuff. Don’t make me have to whoop ya behind next time.”
I didn’t say anything. All I did was look at her, roll my eyes, and continue to eat my food. I wasn’t worrying about her one bit. I was more interested in this food than what she had to say anyway.
“I think I’m going to call my dad and cancel my trip,” I said after I stuffed the last bit of food into my mouth. “I don’t feel up to it anymore.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, removing her focus from the TV to me.
“Yes. Like, even though I’m feeling better now, I don’t think I’m in no shape to be driving on the road all them hours by myself, and I’m more than sure that I’d be feeling worse when I get there and see all those people who I can’t stand hanging around,” I said as I got out of bed and prepared to head to the kitchen . . . then a thought came to mind.
“Unless you want to come with me.”
“Are you asking me to come with you?” she asked, getting off the bed and following behind me.
“Yes, I am,” I replied, trashing the container. I then walked over to the refrigerator, grabbed another bottle of water, removed the top, and proceeded to down the water. “Damn, that was good.”
“Well, in that case, I’d love to. I haven’t been to Miami in a minute, and I’m in dire need of a vacation,” she said as she placed the remainder of her food in the microwave as I handed her a bottle of water.
“Oh! I need to go home and pack.”
“Yes, you do, because we’re leaving in the morning,” I said, taking a seat on a chair by the table.
“Well, get up off your behind and come on,” she said, walking over to me and pulling me out of the chair.
“Can’t you handle it yourself?” I asked sitting, back down on the chair. “I’m still feeling a little bad, and I want to lie down a bit.”
“Yes, I can, and you can do that at my house,” she said as she headed to my bedroom. She returned moments later with my shoes, purse, and keys.
“Okay, but I’m telling you right now that I’m not lifting a finger. So don’t ask me,” I said as I slipped my shoes on to my feet, grabbed my things out of her hand, and headed for the door with her following behind me.
“That’s cool, Nay. I wasn’t going to ask, and I didn’t plan on letting you help me anyway,” she said, following behind me. I’d just reached the door when my phone started to ring. Pulling it from my purse, I saw that it was a number that I didn’t recognize, so I didn’t answer it. I simply ignored the call and dropped it back in my purse.
“Who was that?” Kourtney asked.
“It was an unsaved number, and you know I don’t answer calls from numbers that are not saved in my phone,” I said, opening the door and almost falling down as I bumped into a hard chest. I looked up and saw one of the last two people I’d expect to see right now.
“What are you doing here, Chance? Is something wrong?” I asked, staring Dontie’s cousin in the face.
“That’s what I came to find out,” he replied, looking at me with concern. “Dontie sent me over here to check on you, saying that he’s been trying to call you, but he’s getting your voice mail every time.”
“Well, I’m fine, as you can see,” I said, pushing past him. “Tell Dontie to kiss my ass and go to hell, because like I said to him before this, I’m through with his ass, so he don’t need to be worried about me and what’s going on over here.”
I left his ass standing right where he was. I liked him, but the mere thought of Dontie’s ass worrying about me made my skin crawl. He wasn’t worrying about me before when I kept calling and texting his ass for two weeks straight, and he ain’t replied to any of my attempts to contact him, so I don’t know why he sent his cousin over here to check on me, because I wasn’t flattered one bit. I didn’t need him to worry about me anymore, because I was through with him.
“Ma, please. You know I fucks with you the long way, and I love you like my actual family. So I wasn’t just doing this for him. I came to check on you for myself also. I don’t care what’s going on with you and Dontie. Just know that I’ll be here for you whenever you need me. I just needed to make sure that you was fine, because when he called, he sounded worried,” he said, stopping me.
“Look, Chance, I appreciate that, I do, and I’ll always look at you as my family too, but I’m not fucking with Dontie’s ass no m
ore. So you don’t have to come check on me when he asks you to,” I told him. I really did like Chance like a brother, but I wasn’t messing with Dontie no more, and I needed him to know that.
“Well, I did my part. Just call me if you need me, ma,” he said, then left.
“Oh no. Don’t let Dontie bring your mood to that level again,” Kourtney said, walking over to me and grabbing my arm. “Come on, let’s go to my house so I can pack, so we won’t be late tomorrow when it’s time for us to leave.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go, because if I don’t make it, I know my father will be very disappointed,” I said as we walked out of the building. I really couldn’t wait for all of this to be over and done with so I could just get my life back in order and get ready for motherhood. This stuff was already stressful, but I couldn’t let anything else mess with my emotions, and I knew firsthand something was going to happen once I got to Miami. I only hoped that it didn’t proved to be too much on me and the baby.
Chapter Six
Dontie
I was more than happy when our plane arrived at Miami International. I didn’t know how much I’d actually missed being home until I walked out of the airport and into the amazing Miami air. Like always, the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and it wasn’t too hot, which was perfect. I was glad to experience the beautiful weather.
“Come on, Dontie, the car is waiting on us over there,” Sky said, interrupting my thoughts.
“Next time we go on a trip, please try not to bring your whole damn closet,” I told her. She already had an ass load of things, not to mention the things she bought while we were down there. It was just too much, and I was barely able to hold everything.
“Yeah, whatever. Just come on so we can get home, because I’m tired and sticky. All I want to do is take a bath and lie down for a minute,” she said, placing her shades on her face and walking toward the car. She didn’t offer to help with not one of the bags that I had in my hands. I don’t know why she always felt as if she was too much for the next person, because really and truly, she wasn’t.
“Yeah, bitch, the minute I get home, I’m ghost,” I said under my breath as I followed behind her. Once we made it to the car, like always, she got in without trying to help me, and I was left to help the driver with the bags. Once everything was inside of the trunk, I hopped in the car. I was about to give her ass a piece of my mind when my phone began to ring. Looking at the phone, I noticed that it was my cousin Chance calling me. Since I knew what he was calling me about and I was in the car with Sky, I let the call roll to voice mail. I’ll call him back when I make it to the house, I thought as I slipped my phone into my pocket.
I lay my head back and thought about Brinay. I’ve been torn up over the fact that she called herself ending things with me. I know I’ve been MIA for a while, but I didn’t think she’d be in her feelings and try to break things off. On top of all that, she hasn’t been answering the phone, which is why I sent Chance over there to check on her. I wasn’t sure if she was okay or if something had happened to her. I needed to know, but I couldn’t answer the phone and risk the chance of Sky finding out about her. I mean, I wanted Sky, but she wasn’t Brinay. Had I met Brinay first, Sky wouldn’t be in the picture. The only reason I’m still with her is because I don’t want to hurt her.
“Dontie,” Sky said, calling out to me. I was so deep in my thoughts that I had barely heard her. If it wasn’t for the fact that she started waving her fingers back and forth in front of my face, I don’t think I would’ve.
“What’s up, ma?” I replied as she snapped me back to reality. I looked out of the window and noticed that we were almost to our house. Since we didn’t live too far from the airport, it took us no time at all to make it home.
“I was telling you that I have to run to the office and get a few things once we get home,” she said.
“Sky, we just got back from our vacation. Whatever it is that needs to be done at the office can wait until Monday morning, when you’re due to go back to work,” I told her. She was beginning to get on my last fucking nerve with all this working shit. I mean, she just took a two-week vacation from work, so why in the hell was she trying to go back so fast?
“I know, baby, but I need to get all of this done before tomorrow. I promise that after I’m done with this, I won’t be doing anything else until Monday,” she said just as the car pulled up to the house. She didn’t even wait for the car to come to a complete stop before she got out and practically ran inside the house. Lately, I don’t know what’s been up with her, but all she does is work, work, and work. I’m starting to believe that something else is going on at that office where she works. I just don’t know what it is yet, but I’m going to find out.
After getting all the bags from out of the car, I left them sitting in the middle of the living-room floor. I then made my way upstairs to our bedroom. Since I could hear the water running in the bathroom, I knew that she was already in the shower. I walked over to the dresser, removed a pair of boxers and a wife beater, and headed to take a shower in the bathroom down the hall. Hopefully, when I get out of the shower, she’d already be gone, because I wanted to chew in her ass so bad but decided against it. Besides, I had to go and see what was up with Brinay, so fuck whatever it was that she was about to do.
I didn’t take that long in the shower. I was basically in and out in a heartbeat. When I was done, I dried off, threw my clothes on, and went to the bedroom. Like I had hoped, she was already gone once I entered the room, so it took me no time to throw some clothes on and head out the door. Before I left, I made sure to lock the door. I hopped in my smoked-gray Mercedes-Benz S-Class and headed straight for the highway. I didn’t have much time, and even though I wanted to go make my rounds around the block, I didn’t since I promised Sky that I was going to be back in time for her little “event” at her parents’ house. Instead, I decided to phone my dude, Jessie.
“’Sup with ya, boss man,” he said, answering the phone.
“Ain’t shit. How’s everything going on around the way?” I asked him.
“Everything’s fine. There wasn’t one problem while you was gone,” he replied. “You back in the States yet?”
“Well, that’s good, and yeah, I just got back not too long ago,” I said just as my phone began to beep. Pulling the phone from my ear, I noticed that it was Chance calling me back.
“Cool, so that means we’re going to see you on the block today?” he asked.
“Nah, I got some other business to take care of. I won’t make rounds until Sunday,” I said to him. “But tell everyone that I’m back, and if you need me, you can call me.”
“All right, man. I’ll let them know.”
“Well, I got to take this call. Just call me if someone needs me,” I said and hung up the phone. I immediately dialed Chance’s number back.
“What’s up, li’l nigga,” I said once he picked up the phone.
“Ain’t shit, man. What’s up with you? How’s everything? You still on vacation?”
“Nah, I just got back home. You did what I asked you to do for me?” I asked, referring to Brinay.
“Umm . . . Yeah, I went,” he said.
“Well, what happened? Is she okay? Is something wrong? Did she say why she wasn’t answering the phone?” I asked, spitting out one question after the next. I needed to know why she wasn’t answering my calls and texts.
“To be honest, man, she said she was okay and to tell you that she wasn’t fucking with you no more,” he replied. “She also told me to tell you to leave her the fuck alone.”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I just sat there taking in everything that he had just said to me. I don’t know what was going on or what I did to her to make her feel that way, but I needed to fix whatever it was. I wasn’t trying to lose her, and I damn sure wasn’t about to let her find another nigga to deal with. Yeah, I know I sound cheeky and whatnot, but I don’t give a fuck. I wanted Brinay in my life,
and I wasn’t about to let her go that easily.
“All right, man,” I said after a minute.
“What are you going to do?” he asked. “I know you, and you like her, so I know you’re not about to let her go that easy.”
“Man, I don’t know. I’m on my way coming up there right now. I just hope that she lets me in so we can sit down and talk about whatever problem it is that we have, because I’m not trying to lose her, nor will I let her go,” I said as serious as a heart attack. “All right, man. Holla at me when you touch down. I have to go.”
“See you when you get here,” he replied.
“All right, man. I’ll see you in a few hours,” I said, hanging up the phone.
I didn’t know how to feel about what Chance just told me. I mean, I knew she sent me a text message and all, but I thought that she was just going through something. Now that she said it to him and I’m hearing it from someone else, I know that it wasn’t just a phase that she was going through. She’s really through with me, and I don’t know why, but I planned on finding out as soon as I made it there. I knew one thing for sure . . . I wasn’t coming back to Florida without squashing whatever beef we had between us and getting my boo back.
* * *
My mind was so clouded with thoughts of Brinay that the seven-and-a-half hours it took me to get to South Carolina felt way less than that. I had powered my phone off and rode the whole way in silence. I wanted to be able to focus, and my mind needed to be clear when I arrived there. I didn’t need any distractions, and I know that if I would’ve kept my phone on, then Sky would’ve ended up calling and wondering where I was. Like I said before, I don’t know what’s going on with her, but something most definitely ain’t right. Right now, I don’t have the time to find out, though. I needed to get my shit right here in SC first; then I’d worry about what’s going on down in Miami.
When I pulled up to Brinay’s apartment building, I spotted her car in her designated parking spot, so I know that meant she was there. I hurried to find a spot, got out of the car, and practically ran my ass all the way inside to her door. When I made it to the door, I began banging like I was the fucking police. I wasn’t about to leave until she answered the door. I ain’t give a fuck that she had neighbors, I needed to see her, and I wasn’t going to stop until I did. Before I knew it, about twenty minutes had passed, and I was still there knocking on the door, waiting for someone to answer it.
