by Nique Luarks
I couldn’t run like I wanted to, but the slow jog here had me huffing and puffing like I’d sprinted 10k. As I tried to catch my breath, I glanced in the direction I’d come from. When my finger found the doorbell, I pressed it ferociously.
“Somebody please help me!” I tried to yell loud enough for somebody to hear me either inside or within walking distance.
There wasn’t a car in the driveway, which meant there was a great chance that no one was home. Fear that Rel would catch up to me if nobody answered the door caused me to break down again. Just as I was about to take off to look for some other help, the door swung open and I came face to face with an older white woman. She squinted over the top of her round glasses, giving me a funny look.
“Can I help you?”
“I was kidnapped, and there’s—"
Her eyes widened in horror. “Come in. Come in.”
“Thank you.” I sniffled, making my way inside. “If I could just use your phone.”
“Of course!” She hurried towards the back of her home. “Follow me.”
I hesitated.
“If you feel more comfortable there, I understand.” She stopped in her tracks. “Let me just get the phone and inform my husband.”
Husband…
I looked back at the front door. Thanks to Rel and Piper, I didn’t trust a soul. Standing close to the door, I waited for her to return.
“She’s waiting by the front door.” she told her husband loud enough for me to hear. “Yes, she’s pregnant and she’s frightened.”
My eyes bounced around the room for a weapon I could use to protect myself. Footsteps from the back of the home approached just as I heard banging on the front door. I jumped involuntarily and then moved swiftly away from the door. I rushed in the direction I had seen the woman go in just as an older man approached me. His green eyes studied me in what appeared to be wonderment before looking behind me.
The knocking grew louder.
“My wife says you’re in danger.” He motioned for me to follow him.
This time happily obliging, I followed him to the kitchen.
“Maylen, someone is at the door.”
Worry lines formed on her forehead before she looked to me. “Maybe we should hide her, Albert.”
Albert stormed past me and back out of the kitchen. “I’ll handle this.”
“I’ve called the police.” Maylen went into a drawer. “Here, take this.” She walked closer to me holding a butcher knife.
I gladly took it from her. “Do you mind if I use the phone?” I only knew one number by heart, and that was Granny Ann’s. The main line to her home had been the same since I was a kid.
“Of course not.” Maylen handed me her cell phone. “You can sit back here in the day room while I go check on Al.”
I nodded, pulling up the dial pad. With two eyes full of tears, I called Granny Ann and put the phone to my ear. As it rang, I poked my head slightly out of the door.
“No woman came here,” Albert lied on my behalf. “You say she was hallucinating? Pregnant with your child?”
Rel…
I stepped back slowly into the day room and stood in a corner as far away from the door and any window as possible. When Granny didn’t answer, I called right back. Gripping the butcher knife tightly, I prepared for whatever was next.
“Aagh!” I bent over forward when a sharp pain shot through my stomach and sides. Dropping the knife, I hunched over, leaning on a table. “Oowww!”
I looked down to see the floor wet with clear liquid. The front of my gray slacks were drenched.
No…
My gaze shifted back to the door.
I was in labor after running from a man who was going to kill me. Warm tears trickled down my cheeks.
“Hello!”
I’d forgotten all about the phone in my hand.
“Hello!”
“Hello?” I whimpered as another sharp pain almost made me lose my balance. “Granny?”
“Oh my God, Chance!” Love screamed. “Where are you? True!”
“I don’t know.” Knowing True was right on the other side of the phone broke me down further. “I-I…I don’t know.”
“Hold on, Channy.” It sounded like Love was crying too. “True, Chance is on the phone.” She sniffled.
Maylen entered the room. “He’s gone. But I think he’s going to be back. The police should be here any second, dear.” Her eyes dropped down to the puddle on the floor. “Oooh nooo!”
“Chance!” True’s deep baritone rang in my ear.
“Al, her water broke!” Maylen rushed back out of the room. “Call 911 again!”
“Chance, baby,” True spoke again. “Where you at? Tell me where you are, so I can come get you.”
“True, my water just broke, and Rel is going to come back.” I panicked. “The police aren’t going to get here fast enough, and he’s going to come back and get me,” I rambled, now crying hysterically.
“The only muthafucka that’s coming to get you is me!”
I sniffled, wanting to believe him, but I was terrified that he’d be too late. Maylen and Albert were an elderly couple. If Rel did in fact come back, there wasn’t much they could do to protect me.
“Can you ask someone to tell you where you are for me?” His voice softened.
I nodded. “Yes.”
Albert rushed into the room. “The police are here and they’ve called an ambulance for you.”
“Chance.” True said impatiently. “Ask him where you are.”
Albert gently took my hand into his and led me out of the room.
“Where am I?”
“Olathe, Kansas. Is that far away from where you live?” The sympathetic look in his gaze when he asked didn’t go unnoticed.
“It’s a forty-minute drive away,” I mumbled.
“You in Olathe on the way to the hospital?” True sounded like he was moving around now. “Stay on the phone with me. Whose phone is this?”
“A nice man named Mr. Albert.”
Albert rubbed my back as he helped me out of the front door.
Tears of joy sprung from my eyes when I saw the police cars. Maylen stood off to the side talking to an officer.
“Ask him what hospital they taking you to.” A car door slammed on his end.
I passed the phone to Albert as I felt another contraction coming. Two officers rushed to my side, so he let me go.
“Ma’am, can you tell us your full name?”
I had to squeeze my eyes shut and bite down hard on my bottom lip instead of screaming out like I wanted. The pain was agonizing. It took everything in me not to drop to the ground and ball up in a fetal position.
“Chance...Robins,” I uttered. “You…you have to call my mom.” I gripped one of the officer’s hand tight.
The loud sirens from the ambulance made me glance in the direction they were coming from in excitement. I’d never been so happy to see the paramedics in all my twenty-seven years on earth.
“You’re safe now,” another officer assured me.
True
As I rushed down the hallway, that stupid-ass fear kicked in. Even though I’d talked to Chance, that Albert dude, and the police; I needed to see her in the flesh. She sounded so shook up and scared. I didn’t know what to expect. Did Rel rape her? Beat her?
I didn’t have to ask which one of the rooms was Chance’s, because there were two officers standing outside of the door. As I approached, they stared me down, arms crossed.
“Can we help you, sir?”
On any other day I would’ve said fuck the police, but my current situation forced me to answer to them. “I spoke with Officer Lawn. I’m True Jones.” My eyes skipped back and forth between each pig.
“Oh, yeah. Do you mind showing us some identification?” The officer I assumed was Lawn asked, unfolding his arms. “Just for safety precautions.”
Nodding, I went into my back pocket for my wallet. I then handed my driver’s license over. Afte
r making sure I was legit, they moved to the side to allow me to enter the room.
Chance’s back was to me when I entered. Sounds of sniffling filled the room as she hugged a pillow.
“Jelly...”
Her head popped up quickly and she faced me. Through her watery eyes and tear-stained face, she forced a smile.
“True.”
I approached the bed, pulled her into my arms, and hugged her body tight. “Where’s the doctor, baby?” I kissed the top of her head softly.
“He and the nurse just left. He’ll be back soon, though. They’re monitoring me for any signs of an infection and Carlee’s heartbeat before they go any further.” She wiped her face.
After kissing the top of her head, I sighed. “You in pain?”
“A little. They gave me pain medicine so it’s not too bad.”
“I’ma kill that nigga,” I mumbled lowly just as the door opened.
“Ms. Robins?”
I spun around.
“You must be Dad.” The doctor made his way toward me with his hand extended. “I’m Dr. Anders.”
I accepted his handshake. “True.”
He glanced down at his tablet and then looked back up at Chance. “So, we’re going to go ahead and get things moving. I spoke with your primary care giver and she’s on her way like you requested.”
Chance nodded.
“As you know, Baby Girl Robins is only thirty-four weeks, so she’ll be born five weeks prematurely. Her heartbeat is slowing down, so we want to go ahead and let her make an early debut.”
I caressed Chance’s back.
“Is she going to be okay?” Chance asked softly. “She’ll live, right?”
“At thirty-four weeks, she should be fine but fragile. She’ll spend some time in our NICU until her lungs are fully developed and she gains adequate weight.” He touched Chance’s hand. “She’ll be in the best hands possible. I promise. We have a team of qualified neonatal specialists and nurses who are more than willing to go out of their way to assure the good health and safety of your little one.”
“Okay.” She hung her head. “Thank you.”
“I’ll give you guys a moment before we get the ball rolling. Don’t worry. We’ll take great care of you and baby, Ms. Robins.” With that, Dr. Anders excused himself and stepped out.
“What if she—"
“She gon’ be straight, Chance.”
“But how—"
“Chance...” I gripped her chin and made her look up at me. “She good. You heard the doctor.”
Uncertainty lingered in her gaze before she nodded and then rested back against her pillow. “I hope my mom is on her way.”
“Her and your pops are coming with that nigga, Gino.”
“Okay.” Even though her eyes were shut tight, tears still managed to slip and fall rapidly down her cheeks.
I wanted to ask about that nigga, Rel, but I needed to make sure Chance and Carlee were straight first. For the sake of my Jelly and our jelly bean, I had to put his bitch ass on the back burner for now.
I stared at Carlee through the glass as I watched a nurse handle her delicately. I smiled when she started whining, giving the nurse a hard time.
My girl...
She’d come out with way more hair than my other kids, which I assumed she’d gotten from Chance’s side. Carlee’s little slanted eyes were exact replicas of my other seeds, though. Her little body looked so fragile, and all the tubes connecting her to monitors along with the oxygen machine had a real nigga deep in his feelings. Since her lungs weren’t completely developed, she could not breathe on her own. Jelly bean had ten toes, ten fingers, and a strong wind pipe, though, and for that I was grateful.
“You okay?” Love stood next to me.
I nodded.
“I was just in the hallway while Sonia and Granny Ann talked to the doctor. They said she’s a moderately pre-term baby.”
“Yeah, I know.” Carlee wasn’t as small as we had expected she’d be.
“So, she’ll be okay. She won’t even be here that long,” Love assured me, hooking her arm through mine and laying her head on my shoulder. “She’s going to be so spoiled. Way worse than Chasity.” She giggled. “I already see it coming.”
I chuckled lightly.
“Chance is still sleeping.”
“Good.”
“True...” Love sighed sadly.
“Wassup?” My eyes stayed on Carlee.
“I’m sorry.”
I cleared my throat. “For what?”
“Everything you’ve had to go through and deal with.”
I looked down at her.
“You’ve always bounced back from situations, but I know you have feelings just like everybody else.” Love hung her head and then sniffled. “I take you for granted, forgetting that just because you’re tough it don’t mean you don’t have a heart and a history of hurt.” She wiped her face. “I’m sorry.”
“Love—”
“And I know why you’re tough. One of us had to be.” Her gloomy eyes pierced right through my soul. “You’re a way better parent then she ever was.”
“‘Preciate that.” I gave my attention back to Carlee.
“Granny is ready to go, though. We’ll be back tomorrow.” She let me go. “She said we can’t come until the late evening. She wants to give Chance some alone time.”
“A’ight.” I faced her. “Text me when you make it home.”
“Will do.” Love took off down the hallway and then spun back around as that nigga, Gino, approached. “I love you, True.” She offered a half smile before taking off again.
“We need to talk.” Gino spoke.
“Not right now.” I crossed my arms, watching my jelly bean.
“Nigga, my baby sister just gave birth to my niece prematurely after being kidnapped, so now is the perfect time to talk.”
I glanced at him for a hot second before I dismissed his ass to refocus on my daughter.
“Who is this nigga, Rel and how long has he and my sister been fuckin’ around? Me and my brothers went back up to his office, but they said he still wasn’t available. And wasn’t nobody at that house either. Police are surrounding that muthafucka.”
He was telling me shit I already knew, shit that muthafuckas with common sense could obtain. Rel wasn’t going to go back to places he knew people were looking for him at.
“You need to use your ties with the mob and figure some shit out.”
“Ayo, Gino...” I clenched my jaw. “Back the fuck up and go find you some business, bro.”
“Nigga, my sister—"
“Gino.” Chance’s pops called from down the hallway. “Not now. Not here, son.”
Gino smacked his lips. “Yeah, a’ight. This conversation ain’t over, nigga.”
“Gino!” Her pops said sternly.
“I’ma talk to you later, True.”
“That a threat?”
Gary started towards us.
“Take it how you want.” he gritted.
I stared at him, unmoved. “That ain’t what you want.”
Gino was gang affiliated, but that shit didn’t faze me. All I had to do was make a phone call and he would be no more. I had little niggas on my team harder than him. All gang affiliated, waiting to put work in for their big homie.
“Gino, I said let’s go.” Gary approached us. “Your mama is tired.”
Gino didn’t budge.
“You better listen to yo daddy.”
“True, I’m trying to defuse the situation, so don’t make it worse. Chance doesn’t need this right now. Y’all want to get banned from up here? Y’all know how these white folks do.”
I gave my attention back to my daughter.
Gino chuckled. “Yeah, a’ight.” He stalked off, shaking his head.
“Gino is just being a big brother.” Gary sighed. “You have to understand where he’s coming from.”
“I ain’t gotta understand shit.” I frowned. These niggas were testing m
y gangster.
“You’re my grandbaby’s father, so I’ll always respect you, young man. But you need to take responsibility for all the wrong shit happening in your life right now. Chance wouldn’t even waste her time dating these bums, if you’d open your goddamn eyes.” he snapped.
“Gary, I’m ready.” Sonia walked in our direction.
He scoffed before taking off.
“Get some sleep, baby.” Sonia told me softly. “Chance and Carlee are going to be okay.”
3
Wise Decisions
Chance
“Knock, knock.” The door opened slowly and Morgan poked her head in.
I smiled. “Come in.”
She stepped all the way inside the room carrying a big bear and way too many balloons. “Hi, Mommy.”
“Hi.” I rested against my pillow again.
“How are you feeling?”
Shrugging, I watched her place the bear in a chair and then let the balloons go.
“I just passed your baby daddy in the hallway.”
“Yeah, he left to go take a shower.”
After putting her purse down, Morgan took a seat on the bed. “Have you eaten?”
“I really don’t have an appetite.” And to be honest, I really didn’t want visitors.
“I understand.”
Do you?
I glanced at the television mounted on the wall.
“I stopped by and saw LeeLee before I came in. She’s so damn adorable, Chance. That nigga, True, be marking the fuck outta of them kids.” Morgan laughed, shaking her head.
I sighed and the room fell quiet.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Chance.” Her voice lowered. “I—" She hung her head. “I’m just happy you’re okay.”
“But, I’m not okay, Morgan.” I looked at her. “I’m traumatized.” I’ll never look at people the same.
“I understand.”
No, you don’t.
Three taps on the door made me roll my eyes, but I cleared my throat and fixed my face and posture. “Come in.”
Ava stepped in followed by Erin. They each had a gift bag and a vase of flowers in their hands.
“You don’t know how hyped I am to see you, yo.” Ava grinned, making her way to my bed side.
