Page 50 of Free to Fall

“I’m positive.”

We left in silence. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I finally exhaled. And the tears came. I didn’t cry loud. Didn’t break down. But the tears wouldn’t stop falling.

Averi looped her arm through mine. “So, what now?”

“I’m having a baby.” I tried to smile through my tears, but it barely touched my eyes. Because the truth of the matter was, I was going to do this alone. I felt stupid as fuck for believing Nasseem was going to be different, for believing that he loved me just because I loved him. I just felt so damn stupid.

“Stop crying Egypt. We got this, you hear me? When you’re ready we can loop in Serenity and Ari and we’ll make a plan; we’ll all figure this out. You will not be alone.”

“I need a break,” I said quietly. “From everything. From LA, from stress and from... him.”

“Where are we going?”

“Home, to Memphis.”

She nodded. “For how long?”

“A few weeks. Just enough to be around my Nana and get my mind right. I can record while I’m there, lay low.”

“E…” she said gently, “I’m coming with you, of course. But you can’t keep running from that man. Even if he doesn’t want the baby, you have to tell him you’re keeping it.”

“I’m not running,” I lied. “I just need space. And I’ll tell him when I’m ready.”

“You’re lying,” she said, squeezing my arm. “But I’ll let you cook.”

I didn’t respond. I just stared out the tinted window of the car as we pulled away from the clinic. I had made up my mind. I was keeping my baby. I was going to Memphis. I was going to figure it out—without Nasseem if I had to. Because I’d rather raise a baby in peace than build a life in pieces.

14

NASSEEM

Iain’t never been blocked on everything before. Not like this and not by her. It’s been over two weeks since I last saw Egypt—since I told her to get rid of the baby, since I let my fear talk louder than my heart—and she ain’t returned a single call, text, not even a fuck-you emoji. I been blowin’ her shit up like a man possessed. Tried to hit her on IG, on X, Snapchat, on TikTok even. Radio silence. Blocked on all that shit. I knew I deserved it. And yet, the silence was still fuckin’ me up.

I sat in the dark in my condo too many nights playing our songs, listening to her voice through the speakers like that was gon’ bring her back. It didn’t. It just reminded me how bad I fumbled. And of course,Lipstick Confidentialhad to stick their nosey-ass foot in it. Jay, my manager hit me with a text that made my stomach drop:

Jay: LC is running a piece on you and Egypt. Not sure what you want me to respond, but I can draft a statement when you’re ready.

Clicking on it, I read the full article.

Lipstick Confidential Exclusive

Are Egypt & Nasseem Done Already?!

Posted: 5:33 AM PST | By: Genni Carter

I swear this friend group is toxic because what??

Listen, we’ve seen a lot over the years when it comes to the Friend Circle Formerly Known as The Coven & Co., but this one right here? This one hurts. Just last month, we were celebrating Egypt Armstrong and Nasseem Walker finally soft-launching their relationship after months of playing cat and mouse under the radar.

We were happy for them. Really. A bad boy turned heavyweight contender and a chart-climbing songbird turned screen queen? It was giving fan fiction. It was givingblack love excellence. It was giving… finally. But y’all… it’s giving over.

Here’s what we know.

Sources close to Lipstick Confidential (aka our very well-placed DM spies) have confirmed that Egypt has unfollowed Nasseem on all social platforms and reportedly blocked him from her phone. She hasn’t been seen with him in over two weeks, and the once-flirty back-and-forth between the two has completely stopped. The same fingers that were wrapped around each other last month were now used to hit that big red BLOCK button.

So, what happened?

We’re told that Egypt has been going through it privately—and we respect her privacy—but what’s got folks talkin’ is the timing of it all. Just as Egypt's career is reaching new heights following her viral Jimmy Fallon performance and her appearance on the first night of Royal’s Concrete Roses tour in Atlanta, Nasseem has found himself embroiled in family drama with his ex-con brother Nate Walker, who’s been talking a lot to the press lately. Nate’s gone on record with some heavy claims, including that he took a charge for Nasseem back in the day and is now being ghosted.

---