Page 63 of Love me Like XO

“My sister’s charts. Her mother would like to see them.”

He nodded his head, following me to Empress’s room. When we entered, Mama Tanya was still standing in the same place that I left her. The only difference is now her purse was on the chair near the bed.

Once handed the chart, she looked it over before looking at the doctor. “And both babies are still progressing at normal rates?”

He nodded. “Yes. We have them and her on an around the clock monitor. Usually by now we would have lost either the baby or mom, but as you can see they’re all still kicking.”

Tanya nodded. “And the brain swelling?”

“Treated, and slowly coming into a notable reach. Though they are not fully out of the woods, they’re here.” I could see in his face that he didn’t want to give us too much hope, because things could take a turn for the worse.

“She could indeed wake up any moment now, but we’d need her to stay on bed rest.”

She nodded and I was about to respond, but the vibrating in my pocket stopped me. I pulled my phone out seeing that it was Malik.

“Yes, I’m gon?—”

“Look baby, some shit went down. Ro won’t be up there. But I need an update or something, ‘cause ain’t no way I can keep him from up there without one.”

My being went rigid because I didn’t like the tone of his voice. “Why are you trying to keep him from up there?”

“He took one to the side. We’re getting him stitched up. Doc says he needs to rest and stay low for a few days.”

My eyes immediately pinned themselves to my sister because what the fuck? What was I supposed to tell her if she woke up at this moment? Hell what could I tell her?The truth.

“Ree, baby. Give me something.” At this point he seemed to be borderline begging.

“She can wake up any moment. Though the three of them are not out of the woods, she’s a fighter. The brain swelling went down as well.”

“Good, good.”

“Malik,” I called out to him.

“Huh?” he answered within seconds.

“I like you a lot.” It was all I could muster knowing darn well I wanted to say the other L word.

He laughed. “I like you a lot too.”

After he and I hung up, my eyes went to Mama Tanya. She was now seated on the other side of the room staring at Empress. Shit, that stare alone should’ve been enough to wake her.

“She didn’t even tell me she was pregnant.” She was the first to speak.

I shook my head. “Girl could keep a secret better than anybody I know. Big Mama cornered her in the kitchen, and that’s the only way anybody else knows.”

She nodded. “The father? He a good guy?”

“Yes. They’re a match made in heaven.”

She nodded again. “Then where is he?”

“I sent him away to take care of himself. There was no use of him sitting here staring at her when he could be handling who did this to her.”

“So, she got wrapped up in his mes—” I could hear in her sentence that she was ready to pass judgment.

“No, the guy she was dealing with before him did this. But this isn’t something we should be discussing here. All that matters is that she’ll be fi?—”

“How is my baby?” My grandmother shuffled into the room with her big ass purse, which meant she was here to stay.

---